摘要:

EDITORIAL IMAGINATION AND ACTION It is a good habit to dwell at times upon the great discoveries and great imaginings of famous men. It helps us to recover a sense of wonder and mystery; it touches a deep chord within us and reminds us that science can still be the adventure it seemed to be in our young days. Great discoveries in science like other great achievements generally receive their share of public admiration even if they are but imperfectly under-stood. They appeal as much to the imagination as to the intellect. Lavoisier might have learned little by following up the incomplete experiments of Boyle and workers after him; Ramsay might have been wasting his time looking into an apparently unfinished experiment of Cavendish ; yet under their imaginative and searching gaze these subjects -the nature of burning and the composition of the atmosphere-yielded secrets that ushered in new chapters in the history of chemistry.Dalton and Avogadro certainly knew how to bring the imagination to bear on knotty problems posed by observed facts and it was the fertile imagination of KekulC and Rutherford that led to the exceptionally useful concept of the benzene ring and that outstandingly fruitful analogy between the atom and the solar system. Some scientists by making what their more cautious colleagues might have called presumptuous or unjustifiable surmises have discovered what others have failed to observe although the same basic facts may have been known to them. A discovery may sometimes arise from the sudden grasping of a situation as a whole-the “coup d’oeil” about which Dr Strathdee writes (page 192)-at other times from contemplation or even reverie without the aid of external stimulus.What the public tends not to see or understand is the procedure by which the vague scientific idea may lead to the established truth of the matter or the completed invention by a process of “disciplined attack upon one difficulty after another.” This Whitehead called an “intense period of imaginative design.” If this is not always clear to the keen young student or even to the older man of science who may have been brought up to believe with Karl Pearson that science is mainly the collection and classification of facts how much more difficult it is to acquaint those who are not going to become scientists of the aims and ways of the scientific world.One of the main purposes of including science in the general school curriculum is to make our future citizens to some extent aware of the discipline and methods of science and to help them appreciate the part science plays in any forward looking community. Some maintain with much cogency that for the same reason the education of non-scientists in science should be continued in college and university. As examples of the kind of material used in such courses we may refer to the work of Professor Herbert Butterfield in Cambridge and that of Dr J. B. Conant and earlier of Professor A. N. Whitehead at Harvard. They ‘ have resulted in three well-known books The Origins of Modern Science (1949) Science and Common Sense (1951) and Science and the Modern 181 But there is no one way in which discoveries have been made 182 JOURNAL OF T H E ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL World (1926) which are well worth the reading not only by the non-scientific public but also by students and men engaged in bread-and-butter scientific work.All these authors have turned to the history of science for their material not only because instructive examples can alone be found in the annals of the subject but also presumably because a proper appreciation of the part played by science in human affairs can only be acquired by following its development as part of the activities of mankind through the centuries. Butterfield prefers to survey broad movements in scientific thought Conant the more intimate case histories with their record of trials errors imaginative thought failures and successes and Whitehead the wider philosophical issues, It may be that when non-scientists are equipped with such insight as authors like these are able to give and when scientists evince an equivalent interest in the humanities the artificial barrier between science and general culture may eventually disappear-the barrier that for example, caused the ‘s’ to appear in Unesco originally Uneco.Perhaps the greatest difference between the empirical advances previously made by the agricultural worker or the craftsman on the one hand and the sudden growth of experimental science on the other in the seventeenth century was the use of working hypotheses and the construction of theories based on the new experimental knowledge that had been gained by asking how, rather than why phenomena occurred as they did.In the following century the importance of scientific studies was widely appreciated. We may remember that Samuel Johnson besides giving us our first English Dictionary had his private chemical laboratory and was interested in the work of the Society of Arts now celebrating its bicentenary. Voltaire, as well as the Marquise du Chstelet appeared among the competitors for a prize of the Paris Academy of Science with an experimental treatise dealing with the nature of heat. Goethe apart from his interest in botany had studied works on medicine and chemistry and was intrigued with the phenomena of crystallisation. I t would appear that the divorce of practical science from general culture in our habits of thought came about during the nineteenth century-perhaps in some subtle manner connected with the growth of professionalism on the one hand and the cult of the gentleman on the other.At any rate some of the universities and many devoted amateurs of that period held it to be a disservice to science to use it for industrial ends and this attitude was by no means dead when the Institute came into being. Emerson complained of science a century ago that it lacked the poetical and human touch and that lack of imagination was putting scientists themselves in bottles. The situation is vastly different to-day. Through its manifold developments particularly since Whitehead’s book was written science has brought about a greatly increased ‘plasticity’ of the human environment with its attendant dangers and challenges.These must be faced and accepted not least by those who have been instrumental in producing them. If the great ages have been unstable ages revealing limitations of many kinds then the present age may also become great if our imaginative response is equal to our evident needs 19541 BIOSYNTHESIS AND THE CHEMIST 183 BIOSYNTHESIS AND THE CHEMIST By SIR HARRY JEPHCOTT Presidential Address delivered at the Anniversary Meetings of On all proper occasions it is clearly my duty to express the opinion of our members at large. Nevertheless I think it has become well recognised at least by tacit consent if not by specific permission that in his annual address the President may voice personal opinions upon a subject of his own choice.Whilst I do not think what I have to say will give rise to alarm or despondency I am conscious that there may not be universal agreement with my views. For that reason I wish to make it abundantly clear that my remarks commit no one; they do nothing more than reflect a present personal state of mind. If upon some other occasion certain parts of this address should be the subject of discussion or debate it will have served its purpose. Indeed one of the very useful functions of the Institute is to provide a forum on which various opinions upon matters of general interest may be ventilated. I t was pointed out to me that in this city of the learned it would be appropriate if I delivered an address having some claim to scientific merit but if I may slightly transpose a quotation from Edward Lear, “What little science I once possessed has quite gone out of my head.” Fortunately however we can all draw upon our personal knowledge and after some ten years’ experience of biosynthesis and even longer of chemists I thought I might not inappropriately make a few comments upon that combination of animates.Now biosynthesis is far from new; indeed it is the oldest but one of chemical syntheses; it is as old as life itself. Ignoring those biosynthetic processes that are a necessary part of our very existence I feel sure I am correct in saying that alcohol is the oldest product of biosynthesis on record. The earliest of manuscripts refer to it and you will recall that, immediately on leaving the Ark Noah “began to be a husbandman and he planted a vineyard and he drank of the wine.” I do not however, propose to deal with this delectable form of biosynthesis of which I understand there are some exceedingly interesting examples preserved in certain colleges; I shall confine my attention to those biosyntheses of more recent economic importance.Ancient as is the knowledge of alcohol and acetic acid yet considered from a more strictly scientific point of view they are less than a hundred years old for it was only when Pasteur recognised the true nature of yeast in 1856 that a beginning was made at the study of biosynthesis as we know it to-day. In the thirty years or so following Pasteur’s discovery much was done, especially in Hansen’s laboratory in Copenhagen to develop techniques for isolating strains and maintaining pure cultures.Admittedly this work was directed to the betterment of a particular beverage but Hansen’s techniques are precisely those followed to-day for what is essentially the the Institute at Cambridge on 9 April 195 I84 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL same purpose. Hansen sought better beer but we look for better yields, be they of alcohol or antibiotics. It was the application of Hansen’s work to more mundane purposes that led to the isolation of yeast strains with high alcohol tolerance which, in suitable media would give the maximum of alcohol concentration whilst leaving a minimum of unconverted carbohydrate.This selection of strains resulted in the discovery by Fernback in 1910 of bacteria which could ferment carbohydrate to butyl alcohol and acetone. The urgency of our need for acetone in the 1914-18 war was, at least in part the stimulus that led to the isolation by Weizmann of the B.Y. strain and the production of acetone in vast quantities by fermenta-tion and this completely replaced the earlier method of preparation by the destructive distillation of calcium acetate. I t is interesting to note that Weizmann’s outstanding contribution to the war effort received recognition in a most unusual manner-one that is unlikely ever to be repeated. But the circumstances responsible for the rapid development of this fermentation procedure also disclosed the dependence in 19 14 of both this country and the U.S.A.upon the German chemical industry and so, from 1914 onwards the emphasis was upon synthetic organic chemistry. Outstanding developments in that field led I think to the belief that chemical synthesis was the key to the future and in the twenty years that followed the possibilities of biosynthesis were largely neglected. Save only for the biosynthesis of citric acid which was developed upon a large commercial scale biosynthesis lost ground rather than gained it for the developments of petroleum technology were already pointing the way to production of ethyl alcohol butyl alcohol and acetone from petroleum. It is true that research on certain biosyntheses still continued and the possibility of the utilisation of yeast to carry out a difficult stage in the synthesis of aneurin was proposed but so far as I am aware it was never used commercially.In short the future for biosynthesis seemed far from bright in 1939; the earlier applications appeared likely to be replaced by new chemical processes based upon petroleum. A decline had set in and the products of organic synthesis bade fair to reign supreme. Certainly in the field of medicine chemotherapeutic agents were rapidly ousting the older medicaments of natural origin with the sole exception of immunological substances. However a renaissance dramatic in its speed and magnitude was about to take place. The observation by Fleming in 1929 that a species of mould had the power of preventing the growth of certain pathogenic organisms had received but inadequate attention until Florey and his co-workers took it up and demonstrated that there could be prepared from the medium upon which the mould had grown a concentrate having this property of inhibiting the growth of pathogens.Whilst Florey did not isolate a pure substance from this concentrate he did purify it sufficiently to make its administration to the human subject possible and clearly demonstrated its beneficial effects. One is tempted to speculate upon what might have transpired had these observations not been made at a time when the resources of this country both in manpower and materials had already been full 19541 BIOSYNTHESIS AND THE CHEMIST 185 mobilised for our urgent defence. As it was history repeated itself, and those same circumstances that had caused Weizmann’s discoveries to be developed in Canada and the U.S.A.in 1917 led also to the develop-ment of the large-scale production of penicillin in the U.S.A. and not in the country of its birth. This was followed some years later by the isolation of another antibiotic-streptomycin-an American discovery this time of more limited application but nevertheless of high im-portance since it has made an outstanding contribution to the successful treatment of tuberculosis. Although it is only ten years since penicillin emerged from the labora-tory and its large-scale production first began it is now manufactured on a substantial commercial scale in no less than fourteen countries and the few grams of 1944 appear minute compared with the present annual world output which cannot be less than 400 tons of the pure substance.The production of streptomycin although smaller than that of penicillin, is also large amounting to about 200 tons annually. Of these quantities the United Kingdom accounts for about one-sixth. This great increase in production has not been secured merely by increasing the number of fermenters or the volume of broth treated; in the main it has been attained by higher production efficiencies and principally by securing higher concentrations of the desired substance in the fermented broth. For instance it is now possible to produce one hundred times as much penicillin in a unit of broth as was considered satisfactory ten years ago. Similar developments have taken place and are still taking place with other antibiotics.However with the growth of the industry and considering the very heavy capital cost of a modern plant and the highly competitive market that has developed the production merely of higher potencies of the desired substance in the broth is no longer the simple economic answer. Other factors play their part as for instance the ‘turn round’ time of fermenters and the cost of the media. In short it has become a matter of balancing the rate of accretion against the cost of ingredients. As was to be expected the organic chemists have sought to elucidate the structure of these new products of biosynthesis. Indeed the inter-national co-operation which resulted in the determination of the structure of penicillin was organised on a scale that was unique in the annals of chemistry.Never before had so many and so able organic chemists co-operated for a single purpose. Success attended their efforts in that the structure of penicillin was elucidated but its chemical synthesis remained impracticable. Riboflavin is commercially manu-factured by both chemical synthesis and biosynthesis. The first makers of chloramphenicol actually built and operated simultaneously plants for both the chemical and the biological routes. In this synthesis the chemical process has proved to be the more economic. I t is not surprising that the discovery of penicillin and streptomycin resulted in a search for other antibiotics upon a scale which can only be likened to prospecting for gold in a district where a large nugget has already been discovered.For instance one laboratory alone examined I t is not however always so 186 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL no less than 6,000 samples of soil and isolated 20,000 micro-organisms. This search for new products of mould and bacterial growth has brought to light many such substances of which the vast majority have fallen by the wayside. To be more precise only some six or eight of them have proved to have the desired attributes and at the same time to be suitable for use in human medicine. The two wonders of penicillin still remain-that the implications of Fleming’s observations should have been passed over for ten years and that penicillin-the first antibiotic to be dis-covered-is so effective and yet so beneficent for in its virtual absence of toxicity it is still unique amongst antibiotics.The uses of biosynthesis are not however restricted to the production of substances elaborated during the normal growth of an organism in a medium that in a strictly chemical sense is of uncertain composition bearing no obvious relationship to the end-product. In recent years it has become recognised that microbiological oxidation may well have the advantage over chemical oxidation as regards positional and optical specificity and the absence of side-reactions. The use of such processes for the oxidation of polyhydroxy compounds which chemically have many similar sites of reaction is well demonstrated in the synthesis of ascorbic acid or vitamin C .Ascorbic acid was first synthesised by Haworth and Hirst in 1933 from L-xylose by a purely chemical procedure. From this starting material and by this route ascorbic acid was an expensive product. Bertrand, however had observed in 1896 that Acetobacter xylinurn then termed by him ‘sorbose bacterium’ could convert the sorbitol of mountain-ash berries to sorbose. The application of this biological step to sorbitol produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of glucose resulted in the development of a process whereby ascorbic acid could be produced in large quantities at a greatly reduced cost. The yield at the hydrogenation step is now almost 100 per cent and the biological conversion of sorbitol to sorbose is nearly as complete-above 95 per cent. These factors, together with improvements in the oxidation and ring closure steps have had the very important practical result that a kilo of ascorbic acid which in 1937 cost about L35 can now be bought for a quarter of that price.The use of a biological step in the synthesis of ephedrine-an alkaloid occurring naturally in the Chinese herb Ma Huang and having important uses in medicine-is an interesting example of the particular advantages of biosynthesis. Ephedrine has two asymmetric carbon atoms and, consequently it occurs in four forms. The differences in pharmacological activity of these forms are very great L-ephedrine being no less than 36 times as active as L-pseudoephedrine. Hence there is a very marked advantage in a process giving predominantly L-ephedrine. This condi-tion is fulfilled by a novel process the first step of which involves the fer-mentation of sugar with yeast in the presence of benzaldehyde.The acetaldehyde generated from the sugar is condensed with the benzaldehyde to yield an optically active compound 1 -phenyl- 1 -hydroxypropan-2-one, in which the hydroxyl group has the same configuration as that in L-ephedrine. Reduction of this product in the presence of methylamine gives a high proportion of the desired L-ephedrine 19541 BIOSYNTHESIS AND THE CHEMIST 187 Again and still more recently we have the application of biosynthetic steps to the production of the adrenal hormones cortisone and hydro-cortisone. Knowledge of the microbiological oxidation of steroids dates from the observations of Soehngen in 19 13 upon bacteria capable of utilis-ing paraffinic hydrocarbons.Tak in Holland in 1942 and Turfitt in this country in 1944 independently took up the study of the decomposition of sterols in the soil. The latter observed that in the presence of soil proactinomyces cholesterol could be oxidised to the keto compound A-4-cholestenone. It was however the conversion of cholesterol to 7-hydroxycholesterol by KrAmli and Horvath in 1948 using Praactinomyces roseus that pointed the way to recent developments. The microbiological oxidation of sterols originally largely of academic interest now became of potential practical importance in the synthesis of cortisone. This compound possesses a ketonic group in the C, position. Except for the adrenal hormones the occurrence of sterols substituted in this position is most uncommon in nature the principal source being a rare African species of Strophanthus.Chemical processes to introduce this grouping into the more readily available sterols were uniformly difficult and as an alternative microbiological means were investigated. Organisms capable of bringing about this transformation have now been found. Not only this but the techniques of production have been improved while the surface culture methods of the early experimenters took months to bring about the oxidations of cholesterol the modern submerged fermentation techniques permit such oxidations to be effected in a matter of days. The process is generally carried out by the introduc-tion of the steroid dissolved or suspended in a suitable solvent into a growing agitated culture of the organisms through which a continuous flow of air is maintained.When transformation is complete the steroid fraction is extracted with an appropriate solvent and the product suitably purified usually by simple means. In addition it has been found that different organisms give products with different configurations of the hydroxyl group at the C, position-a matter of considerable importance in the synthesis of Kendall’s com-pound F. For instance Rhi~opus nigricans converts progesterone mainly to 1 1 -a-hydroxyprogesterone while Streptomyces fradiae converts it to 1 1 -p -hydroxyprogesterone. Some processes of this kind particularly the 1 1-or-hydroxy conversion are capable of giving very high yields and hence of competing efficiently with the corresponding chemical processes, which entail a number of steps and usually set the pattern of the synthesis sequence.These are but a few examples of the use of living organisms to carry out conversions which by strictly chemical means would necessitate a chain of reactions difficult to carry out and resulting in poor yields. Biosynthesis here affords a simpler and notably more efficient procedure, and many such operations are now being carried out upon a large scale. Now penicillin production was first undertaken by chemists and as I well recall there was a tendency to ignore the living organism and to treat the problem of production along purely chemical lines. On occasion this has been fortunate for it was the chemists who first isolated phenylethylamine from corn-steep liquor (a by-product in the manu 188 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL facture of starch from maize the use of which in the fermentation medium had been found greatly to increase the yield of penicillin) and it was they who appreciated the structural relationship between phenylethylamine and penicillin.This observation led to what might be described as the doctrine of precursors and to the general use of precursors not only to enhance the yield of penicillin but also by careful selection to produce many substituted penicillins one or two of which have novel properties of significance. A development of this technique has resulted in the production of a number of compounds analogous to B, by incubating an E.CoZi mutant with Factor B (of BIZ) and suitable bases such as adenine and 2-methyl-adenine. In addition the chemist has greatly improved the efficiency of extrac-tion procedures and has prepared a number of derivatives having valuable properties. Nevertheless my experience has led me to believe that it was only when the true implications of using a living organism were appreciated that the most rapid progress was made. Certain it is that major improvements have come from the biologist by the selection of mould strains by the development of mutants and by modifications in the fermentation media all with the same objective of higher titres and enhanced yields. Moreover the most serious hazards in all these fermentation pro-cesses are of a biological and not a chemical nature-infection by other organisms the introduction of bacteriophage or the development of a mutant.Indeed in the conduct of a biosynthetic process one must never forget that the causative agent is a living organism an organism of which you may know much but certainly not everything as indeed you are liable sharply to be reminded at any time by some unforeseen disaster. If uncertainties lend enchantment biosynthesis is indeed a fascinating subject. I wish I could feel convinced by the paper read at the International Congress of Biology last summer which described how by concentrating intently upon an agar plate and repeating the formula “no growth no growth no growth you are sterile you are sterile you are dead you are dead you are dead” for thirty minutes bacterial growth was controlled.Development of such a technique would make life upon an antibiotic plant much easier-or perhaps a new hazard a new form of possible fifth-column activity would be introduced. But I must guard against dilating upon the interests and hazards of biosynthesis. My subject is not biosynthesis or even a particular corner of that field but biosynthesis and the chemist and it is upon their inter-relationship that I wish to make some observations. Much research has been carried out by the biologists into the mode of action of micro-organisms the enzymes elaborated by the micro-organisms and the chain of reactions that may take place. There has not however, so far as I am aware been a combined attack by biologists and chemists to investigate the possible r81e of biosynthesis as an instrument of organic chemical synthesis.We have as I have earlier mentioned a number of examples where the application of biosynthesis has proved of practica 19541 BIOSYNTHESIS AND THE CHEMIST 189 utility. What other similar applications might be possible by the appropriate choice of organisms ? Might it not be that microbiological methods as steps in other processes would be of great utility especially in some of the more complex syntheses in which purely chemical reactions give uneconomic perhaps trivial yields ? Such developments will only be possible when much more is known on both the biological and chemical sides. The whole field is admittedly full of difficulties and is certainly not susceptible of the clear-cut resolution that can be attained with a chemical problem.The chemistry of the principal antibiotics demonstrates all too clearly how complex are the issues involved and how difficult it may prove to be to relate the organism and its environment to chemical configuration. Nevertheless there is a mass of material ready to hand for such an attack. More than 300 pro-ducts of biosynthesis have been described as having bactericidal proper-ties. Many of these substances have only been characterised by their biological activity; some have not yet been isolated in a pure state and the chemical structures of the majority remain to be determined. Among the Streptomyces many species are able to produce several unrelated biologically active substances simultaneously.Streptomyces griseus for example produces streptomycin mannosido-streptomycin, cyclohexamide vitamin B, and citrovorum factor all from a single strain. Other products described from the same species include grisein, streptocin and candicidin. Now the proportion of such products pro-duced by a single strain may be greatly affected by the medium and fermentation conditions used. Further mutation of the strain and selection so as to obtain higher yields of one product say streptomycin, may reduce all other products to near vanishing point. So far however, we have no worthwhile information as to the conditions under which these changes are brought about or whether similar but biologically inactive substances are produced. In existing applications of biosynthesis no less than in possible new developments one cannot but be impressed with the constant interplay of chemical and biological problems.Rarely indeed is the solution of a difficulty to be found within the confines of either science considered in isolation. Yet how rare it is to find a person whose training has been soundly based on both. Nor is this the fault of the individual; it is the inevitable outcome of the pattern of our educational system in which the older aristocratic tradition-knowledge for its own sake-is still the dominant motive. With the sciences this implies research and with the vast increase of scientific knowledge research predicates a high degree of specialisation. As a nation we have and we are justly entitled to have a proper pride in British research for it has contributed greatly to the advancement of knowledge.Such research makes a great emotional appeal to the young scientist; it is indeed the aristocratic way of scientific life. But let us guard against the danger of research and the specialisation that goes with it so dominating the pattern of our education as to result in the student growing up in the belief that the perfect chemist is one who is expert within a narrow field. May I recall to you the words of D 190 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. He wrote “In the aristocratic ages science is called upon to furnish gratification for the mind, in democracies for the body.” We are indeed living in a democracy and one in which chemistry and chemists have a major contribution to make to national welfare to the maintenance and enhancement of our standard of living.We need to be watchful that our research and our pride in it does not prove to be so satisfying to the mind that there is little existence for the body. One of our distinguished honorary Fellows Sir Henry Tizard in the Messel Memorial Lecture in 1952 warned against the danger of too much attention being paid to fundamental research and too little to the development of what is already known. This same admonition is repeated in the study of the relationship of Industry and Science issued by the Manchester Joint Research Council during the past month in which the following words occur :-“One of the outstanding things to be observed is that in general scientific enterprise in industry neither does, nor necessarily should mean a seeking after knowledge for its own sake.I t may equally mean a search for the means of applying to the problem of an industry or of a particular industrial undertaking items of existing scientific knowledge whereby a product may be improved without changing its essential character or the same product may be manu-factured more economically. Indeed it might well be argued that it is not really the business of industry to engage in fundamental research for the mere enlargement of the frontiers of knowledge so much as to carry out such research as will conduce to the application to the functions of industry of those stores of knowledge which are already available.” The realisation of this need is reflected in the steps which have been, and are being taken to establish schools of chemical technology-the foundation of a Chair of Chemical Engineering in this University of Cambridge-the planned development of the Imperial College of Science and Technology as a centre of technological training and the establish-ment of Chairs of Chemical Technology elsewhere.All these are admirable and highly desirable always provided they do not merely result in the development of yet another kind of expert. It is of interest to note that in the field of medicine where a high degree of specialisation has developed the need for general practitioners of high calibre is now so well recognised that a College of General Practitioners has been established.Chemistry equally needs its general practitioners of high calibre and in that regard I have observed with particular interest the degree course that the University College of North Stafford-shire provides. I t may well be that a curriculum of that pattern will make a material contribution to the application of scientific knowledge to industry. You may feel and with some justification that the ambit of this address has become a good deal wider than its title warrants. For that I offer no apology. Our Institute has always been concerned with the Profession of Chemistry in all its many aspects from research to plant control from teaching to technical administration. As a professional body we are not responsible for the instruction of the chemist-to-be bu 19541 BIOSYNTHESIS AND THE CHEMIST 191 we are concerned to see that the chemists available to serve the community in a professional capacity shall have the training necessary to enable them adequately to shoulder the many and varied responsibilities that our national needs are thrusting upon them.There is I believe a growing appreciation of the contribution the chemist has to make towards the better conduct of industry and by industry I do not mean merely the chemical industry. Already a large proportion of our members are engaged in industry and I suggest it might be appropriate for us to give such encouragement as lies within our power to broadly-based training designed to aid the application of chemistry to the diverse needs of industry at large.THE SMALLER FIRMS AND THE D.S,I,R. The recently issued Report of the D.S.I.R. for 1952-53 emphasises the crucial problem of the moment which it calls “reducing the lag between the acquisition of scientific knowledge and its use in industry.” This report differs from its predecessors in that it surveys recent achievements not so much as a series of faits accomplis but more as a survey of its fields of work in relation to its projected five-year period of expansion aimed at linking science and industry in a still more effective manner. For this reason it is not to be regarded merely as an official report but rather as a live document that looks at the recent past without com-placency and at the future with some confidence in its ability to fulfil its purpose effectively always provided that the promised increase in the allocation of funds is realised.There can be no doubt of the wisdom of such increases or that any likely allocation of funds will be inadequate for the country in its present economic state to reap the maximum possible benefit from the Department’s activities. The emphasis now if indeed there has been any noteworthy deviation from past attitudes is on the smaller firms and the co-operative research associations that exist to serve them and upon the ever-growing usefulness of scientific intelligence and information services. In this connection the small popular brochure issued by the Department, entitled Research at Your Service which will be sent direct by the D.S.I.R. to any member who requests a copy will help to explain in simple terms what the D.S.I.R.is trying to do and how through its research laboratories its technical information services and the research associations the smaller firms in particular can have their technical needs met and many of their outstanding problems solved by availing themselves of the means already provided for their assistance. Enquiries are still often received by the Institute for technical information of a general or more specific character that can often best be dealt with by these technical information services. The cost need be no more than the price of a telephone call or letter to D.S.I.R. (T.I.D.U.) Cunard Building 12 Regent Street London S.W. 1. (Whitehall 9788) ; D.S.I.R. 20 Walker Street Edinburgh, 3 (Edinburgh 34994); or D.S.I.R.Welsh Board of Health Building Cathays Park Cardiff (Cardiff 5 120) 192 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS* By R. B. STRATHDEE O.B.E. T.D. M.A. Ph.D. F.R.I.C. F.R.S.E. Reader in Chemistry University of Aberdeen In his introduction to the Rommel Papers B. H. Liddell Hart states that when “armies were small and the theatre of war was the general’s arena the quality most prized in a commander was ‘coup d’oeil,’ an expressive term for the combination of acute observation with swift sure intuition.” A little later he attributes much of Rommel’s success to his prolonged self-training in observation to his highly developed eye for spotting what was significant in a scene and to his knack of registering it.How valuable a highly deveIoped ability to appreciate the significant! Chemistry is a branch of science which deals with the material universe and knowledge .about material things is revealed to us through the senses. These organs supply the stimuli for our ideas which in turn, form the basis of all operations of thought. The first stage in the study of a chemical problem is the compilation of facts or data obtained from the examination of phenomena as they occur under experimental con-ditions or in nature. I t is much wider in its scope and suggests rather ‘tending’ or ‘paying attention to’ an operation which involves the use of all organs of sense. The ear the nose the senses of touch and taste must assist in the collection of data; they must be trained to function accurately not merely as individuals but as a team.The chemist is fortunate in this respect for he can handle the materials he is studying and many delicate precision instruments have been devised and perfected to assist him in his researches. The experimenter must seek “the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Too often the young student is required to heat lead nitrate in order to witness the brown fumes of nitrogen dioxide; little or no attention is paid to the other products of the reaction. The lead oxide, full of interest is ignored. The pupil is taught to be satisfied with an uncompleted experiment to observe only part of the truth albeit the most spectacular. How essential is a training in observation to the chemist! Observation is not merely visual.“Still the less they understand The more they admire the sleight-0-hand.” [Hudibras] It is all too easy to miss what may be inconspicuous but important; one is so apt to see what one expects or hopes to see that truth may be distorted by imagination; the observer may be led astray by mental bias or preconceived ideas. Often the pupil is told what he has to see; the record of the experiment may even be dictated by the science master. If Rommel could train his sensory organs to a high degree of efficiency, then surely young scientists can undergo a similar training. A beginning *The subject-matter of this article formed the basis of the two Christmas Lectures to Secondary School pupils given by the author under the auspices of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Section on 29 and 30 December 1953 19541 A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS 193 should be made with simple exercises in observation and in the description of chemical material and phenomena without any chemical explanation.Impressions should be carefully and accurately recorded. During an experiment an immediate note should be made of everything significant, giving all the relevant details; the ability to write a report or an accurate description of a chemical process is vital whether the student proposes to find a career in the industrial or in the academic world. It was Loeb who wrote “Notebooks have good memories; jottings on loose paper are useful when you can find them. An unrecorded experiment was never begun.” I t is not sufficient in order to be a chemist to develop one’s powers of observation and to be able to write a report; the student must acquire sufficient knowledge to be able to assimilate and use the facts.The correlation of assembled data requires qualities of the mind different from those employed in observation and experiment. Both qualities are not always to be found in the same individual. Some excel in the one not in the other. Priestley was an admirable observer but he did not excel in the work of correlation; Lavoisier on the other hand was not particularly distinguished as an experimenter but he excelled in correlating experimental data. It was he who appreciated the signifi-cance of Priestley’s discovery of oxygen and gave in 1778 the true interpretation of the process of combustion.Scientific knowledge continues to advance ; chemists in academic institutions in technical colleges and in industrial laboratories are pursuing either individually or in teams planned research. But some-times an advance is achieved through accident because someone is sufficiently alert and well trained to appreciate that something unusual has happened. c‘Chance,” as Pasteur once said “only visits the pre-pared mind.” To illustrate the importance of observation it will be of interest to consider a few instances where such an accident was turned to advantage. Pliny in his Natural History tells how some Phoenician sailors coasting along the shores of Palestine with a cargo of soda were forced by stress of weather to shelter under the lee of Mount Carmel; lighting fires on the sandy beach in order to cook their food they set their cooking pots on lumps of soda taken from the hold of their vessel.Under the heat the soda fused with the sand to form a transparent liquid stream which on cooling gave a crude glass. Whether or not glass was first prepared by such “fortuitous liquefaction,” as Dr Samuel Johnson called it all chemists have to their cost experienced the breaking of a flask. Edouard Benedictus ( 1878- 1930) a Frenchman of Dutch origin studied chemical engineering at the Technical School of Darmstadt before he set up a chemical laboratory in Paris. One day in November 1903 he acci-dently knocked a flask off a shelf and was amazed to find that the glass fragments instead of scattering were held in position.He recalled that in the flask there had been an acetone solution of some celluloid material for use as a varnish; the solvent had evaporated leaving a tough film of celluloid on the inside of the flask and it was this film which The origin of glass is like most origins lost in antiquity 194 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL had retained the glass fragments in position. Benedictus made a care-ful record of the details on a label on the flask but they were also registered in his memory. In his own words ‘3’embrassai cette situation d’un coup d’oeil en ne m’effoqant de ne rien oublier de cette si curieuse observation; puis aprks avoir encore longuement considtrt le flacon sur toutes ses faces je h i mis 1’6tiquette suivante : ‘Novembre 1903 ce flacon est tomb6 de 3.50 de haut et a Ct6 releve par moi dans 1’Ctat ou il est actuellement’; (il portait encore sa vieille Ctiquette de la solution celluloidique) .” He had grasped the situation and deemed it sufficiently important to make an accurate note of it.* A few years later when motor cars became more numerous and accidents through glass splinters more frequent Benedictus recalled the incident in the laboratory.He realised that he held the secret of “safety” glass or glass whose splinters would not scatter; he conceived the idea of laminated or triplex glass. The Triplex Safety Glass Company was formed in 1909 and the English company three years later. Celluloid was the only suitable inter-layer available to Benedictus but to-day paper-thin sheets of tough vinyl plastic are used.At first sale was poor-open cars were then the vogue-but soon the protection provided by such glass was appreciated and to-day the Road Traffic Act requires that windscreens and all forward facing windows of road vehicles should be fitted with some form of “safety” glass. Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-96) the Swedish founder of the Nobel prizes experienced a similar accident which his “prepared mind” enabled him to turn to advantage. Among the discoveries of his fellow countryman Scheele that struggling apothecary “tormented by material wants,” was the substance glycerine known for some time as “Scheele’s sweet principle.” Professor Sobrero of Turin nitrated this compound to give nitroglycerine an explosive compound which interested Nobel.In 1863 he began to manufacture the oil-“Nobel’s blasting oil’’-n a large scale in a factory near Stockholm. The compound was dangerous to handle on account of its extremely explosive nature and during the next few years many accidents attended its manufacture transport and use. In many countries including Britain it was prohibited. Nobel actually thought of abandoning its manufacture until one day some jars of the liquid packed in sand got broken and the nitroglycerine was absorbed by the sand. In clearing up the mess Nobel was surprised to find that the mixture although it retained all the explosive properties of the nitroglycerine was perfectly safe to handle and to transport. He was quick to appreciate the importance of his discovery.Using Kieselguhr an absorbent diatomaceous earth to replace the sand, Nobel produced the product named by him dynamite and patented in 1867. Kieselguhr is able to absorb three or four times its weight of nitroglycerine. Originally he intended merely to transport the explosive oil in this safe form leaving it to be extracted and used as a liquid on the site. He was however surprised to find that dynamite could be *It is interesting to note again the use of the phrase “coup d’oei1”-the combination of observation and intuition the realisation of what had taken place 1 9541 A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS 195 detonated more readily than the raw oil and hence it came into use as a convenient explosive. But apparatus other than flasks may be broken in the laboratory.The oldest known recorded use of a vegetable organic dye is that of indigo. Egyptian mummy cloths estimated to be over 4000 years old were dyed in it. Last century the chief source of the dye was the plant Indigofera tinctoria and in India alone some 250,000 acres were devoted to its cultivation. The plant contains a glucoside indican which on acid or enzyme hydrolysis yields glucose and indoxyl. Air oxidation of the latter compound gives the water insoluble indigo. Adolph von Baeyer ( 1835-19 1 7) began his investigations on the constitution of indigo in 1865 and soon elucidated the problem. The first synthesis of indigo from a product not derived from it was reported by von Baeyer in 1880 but it was not until 1897 that a commercial synthesis was achieved.In that year the Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik placed synthetic indigo on the market. The process used by Badische involved the use of phthalic anhydride as starting material but unfortunately a cheap supply of this compound was not available. About that time a German chemist Sapper was heating ’ naphthalene with fuming sulphuric acid and in reading the temperature of the mixture he accidently broke the thermometer the mercury falling into the reaction vessel. Sapper immediately noted that something unusual was taking place; the reaction was not following its normal course; and on investi-gation he found that the mercury (or mercuric sulphate) had catalysed the oxidation of the naphthalene and that phthalic acid and its anhydride distilled over. By this fortunate accident a plentiful supply of phthalic anhydride was made available for the synthesis of indigo.In the early years of this century Germany flooded the market with her product; the price fell from 8s. to 3s. 6d. per lb. and India’s annual export from almost 20,000 tons to 1000 tons. Chance may visit the prepared mind in other ways. In 1896 the French physicist Henri Becquerel ( 1852- 1908) was investigating the rays (X-rays) which Riintgen had discovered the year before. Thinking that the rays might have their origin in the fluorescence induced in the glass by the cathode rays Becquerel pIaced a salt of uranium which was known to fluoresce when exposed to light on a photographic plate protected from the action of ordinary light. After some time he found, on developing the photographic plate that the uranium salt had produced a dark patch on the plate a result which appeared to confirm his theory namely that the fluorescence of the uranium had produced rays which had penetrated the wrapping of the plate and so affected the photographic emulsion.Becquerel decided to repeat the experiment but before he could expose the uranium salt to light he was interrupted; he placed the wrapped plate with the salt in a dark cupboard where it remained forgotten for some days. When he recalled his experiment, out of curiosity he developed the plate and found to his amazement that it also was fogged although the salt which had not been exposed to the light could not have fluoresced. By this happy interruption Becquerel discovered the fact that compounds of uranium spontaneously an 196 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL continuously emit rays which are extremely penetrating.The investi-gations which followed this discovery opened up the whole field of radio-activity and atomic structure. It is not merely in the laboratory that the observant scientist is rewarded. Industry requires chemists who can tend a plant and detect when something unusual is taking place. The most exciting and important event in the lives of those engaged on research work in the field of colour chemistry is the discovery of a new chromogen (a compound containing a colour group). New chromogens have proved the stepping stones in the colour chemist’s progress from Perkin’s discovery of Mauve in 1856 to the present time.Their importance lies in the fact that each new chromogen through its derivatives etc. makes possible a large number of new dyestuffs. From the earliest time the colour blue has been a source of trouble to the artist and the industrialist. The dyes in use e.g. ultramarine or prussian blue were unsatisfactory being susceptible to light and alkali. In the spring of 1924 Mr A. G. Dandridge a chemist of Scottish Dyes Ltd. (Grangemouth) was operating a plant for the production of phthalimide by the interaction of phthalo-nitrile with ammonia in an‘ iron reaction vessel when he noticed dull bluish crystals on the side and cover of the pan. He removed and examined some of the crystals; despite a dull and unattractive colour, he was attracted by their general stability and novelty.Some of the compound was passed to Mr S. W. Dunworth the works analyst and preliminary analysis showed that an entirely new type of compound, now known as the phthalocyanines had been discovered. I t is highly probable considering the ease with which phthalonitrile is converted to phthalocyanine that many workers who had handled the intermediate must have at least seen the latter product but none showed the powers of observation the intuition of Mr Dandridge. Like Benedictus he could say “J’embrassai cette situation d’un coup d’oeil.’’ His prepared mind realised that something was happening in the reaction vessel other than the formation of phthalimide. The problem of the constitu-tion of the new dye was solved by Professor R.P. Linstead at Imperial College London who proved it to be iron phthalocyanine. The high tinctorial strength and brightness of these new colouring matters in conjunction with their stability make them valuable as pigments. Even the scrap heap may yield valuable material to the trained and prepared mind. Just before the first world war a metallurgist Mr Harry Brearley was studying the wear of rifle barrels. Among other experi-mental alloys he prepared one of steel containing a higher proportion of the metal chromium than had been us d before. Like many other of his sample steels it was put through a routine series of mechanical tests and found to be unsatisfactory. Along with the other pieces of metal it was discarded after examination and thrown on the scrap heap.A fortnight later one of Mr Brearley’s assistants happened to observe that while rust had attacked the majority of the steel specimens in the dump the alloy containing the higher chromium content had resisted its action. Immediately a knife was forged and tested by leaving it exposed in Mr Brearley’s garden for a fortnight. No rusting took place and thus was discovered stainless steel 19541 MEMBERSHIP AND POLICY 197 Many further examples could be quoted to illustrate the importance, to the chemist of observation all of which would emphasise the same moral. Schools colleges and universities must offer pupils every opportunity to develop their powers of observation and to practice the art of writing reports. I t is on observed facts that the whole structure of scientific knowledge rests.Faraday at the close of his life said: “I was never able to make a fact my own without seeing it.” MEMBERSHIP AND POLICY A LOCAL SECTION OFFICER’S VIEW By E. M. JOINER B.Sc. A.C.I.S. F.R.I.C. Vice-Chairman and past Hon. Secretary Birmingham and Midlands Section There are now about 13,000 corporate members of the Institute, an increase of some 30 per cent since the end of the war and the indica-tions are that this expansion will continue for several years though probably at a slower rate at the present time there are also some 3,000 students about double the number at the end of the war. Stimulating and interesting figures! I t is the purpose of this article to examine the factors which have been responsible for these increased numbers to speculate on what inherent obligations arise thereby and to suggest possible solutions of attendant problems.I t will probably be agreed that there has been a general quickening of professional awareness among chemists since the war. Much of this has arisen from the prominence gained by the scientist for his contribution to the war effort. Natural reserve and diffidence were broken down by the urgent necessity for the exchange of information and chemists began to know one another better as a result. This stirring of the conscience needs to take place regularly among chemists young and old and the Institute would be wise to accept some responsibility for seeing that it is done. I t is not difficult to imagine how this could be achieved.Periodic stimuli help to remind us of that pride in our profession which often lies buried at the bottom of our hearts. In this connexion the work of the Local Sections is particularly useful for its activities are a measure of the chemists’ communal conscience in the area. It is important too that students of chemistry should sense a professional atmosphere developing around them so that it may be the natural as it is the proper thing for them to identify themselves with the profession of their choice. Do our University teachers in chemistry help their students to develop professional qualities ? Some undoubtedly do. Not all of them set that example which is reckoned to be better than precept. Another factor that has influenced membership arises from the natural desire of a young man to improve his qualifications and status and the increased opportunities happily made available since the war for him to do so.The effect of this trend has been to enable the publi 198 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL to be rather more aware of the Institute to let them know something of what it stands for and for them to be rather more conscious of its prestige. This is something gained for the profession but it is also something to be lived up to. It is to be noted here that many students nowadays take the National Certificate in Pure or Applied Chemistry en route to the Associateship. This hitherto little used gateway to the Institute is rapidly gaining favour and it is a method of entrance which should receive sympathetic consideration despite its recognised limita-tions.It is a hard approach but it is a good and realistic approach and it should not be made unreasonably hard. External examinations have generally been regarded as more difficult than internal ones and the widening horizons of chemistry have produced additional difficulties for the examinee. The older generation must take cognisance of these points so that in a laudable desire to maintain standards unjust pressure is not put on the embryo chemist. The very useful remuneration statistics provided at intervals by the Institute indicate quite clearly the better financial rewards now available for chemists and relatively the improvement has been perhaps more marked in the case of the younger chemists. In bygone days many who felt an urge to join their professional body were unable to do so because of financial stringency to-day there is less restriction in this respect although the present generation is by no means free from eco-nomic pressure-a point to be taken up later.Perhaps the greatest factor affecting membership is the increasing attractiveness of the Institute itself. Undoubtedly the services provided for members have increased considerably during the last decade and there is plenty of evidence that these facilities are widely appreciated. The effort which has been made in recent years to improve the Journal is another example of the vitality of the Institute and the desire of successive Councils to render the members better service. Mention might also be made of the very informative and much improved series, Lectures Monographs and Reports now published at regular intervals.The increased activity of Local Sections is a very healthy sign which cannot but help to increase the attractiveness of the Institute since it brings atmosphere service arid sociability to the individual in his own area. In recent years the Institute has placed increasing emphasis on the personal service which it is able to render its members. This is a most important development perhaps among the greatest attractions a professional body can offer. Pertinent advice whether it be official or from the lips of a senior member given to those members with their careers ahead is inestimable. So too is the comfort that may be gained by the knowledge that the Benevolent Fund is wisely and kindly administered to those in need.At the present level of membership every member has 13,000 potential friends scattered the world over-a conception not to be overlooked or lightly regarded. The friendships gained and the broadened outlook obtained are notable gifts by the Institute to all its members who will receive them. It is surely right to place increasing emphasis on personal relationships as a factor of great importance to members and potential members 19543 MEMBERSHIP AND POLICY 199 Large numbers in a society such as ours inevitably represent a wide range of interests in chemistry wide differences in personality and, consequently differences in attitude often inspired by outlook vocation and geography.These differing points of view can be a substantial source of strength if properly collated but they may be a potential weakness if the common purpose is blurred or lost sight of altogether or if an attempt is made to cast everyone in the same mould. There must therefore be differences of ideas and methods of expressing them, diversity in programmes and social customs and at the same time a retention of as much unity in essentials as possible. On these grounds alone it would be clearly undesirable to pursue any policy involving coercion in an attempt to increase numbers. Indeed the aim should be the enlistment only of members of a quality befitting the standing and prestige of the Institute. This is the policy well proven by past experience on which to place all our hopes for the future.It cannot be over-emphasised that the greatest attraction the Institute can offer is that of an active vigorous society steadily moving forward in unison with the subject it sponsors and readjusting its affairs after mature reflexion to meet new situations as they arise. Let the Institute be made so attrac-tive that na chemist will be able to ignore its claims. Chemistry is essentially a practical subject and the spectacular advances made in the last three decades have been due in no small measure to the large number of enthusiastic young Lvorkers at the bench who have provided the data for chemical theory and industrial practice. Like a wise parent the Institute must foster the needs and claims of its younger members who by their birthright and their endeavour are entitled to the best treatment that any reasonable parent will readily and ungrudgingly give to his own child.These things, which are self-evident enough in the family circle are not always practised by society at large in its relations with the children of some-body else. The Institute will be weakened in years to come if the younger members do not receive help and encouragement in the days of their adventure and zeal. Nowadays many young chemists are faced with heavy financial burdens such as mortgage repayments for house purchase if they contemplate marriage and a high incidence of taxation if they remain single with the result that the claims of the numerous chemical bodies although viewed with sympathy are often rejected.Nor are difficulties confined to the younger members for the older members have their problems too Although the costs of individual societies may be reasonable enough it is the plurality of chemical bodies each creating financial problems of its own and doing nothing to alleviate the financial dilemmas of its members that calls urgently for some immediate action. This is a fundamental problem that chemists must tackle sooner or later and it ought not to be pushed back indefinitely. There are signs that chemical bodies are increasing in number whereas sanity calls for some form of rationalisation at least. The rank and file indicated their general approval of re-organisation more than ten years ago but the lead is not forthcoming. How much longer can we afford to delay 200 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL THE CHEMIST AND HIS WORK-XIV THE CHEMIST IN THE FOOD INDUSTRIES By D.H. F. CLAYSON M.Sc. A.R.C.S. D.I.C. F.R.I.C. In an earlier article in this series Sir William Slater” showed that he was aware of the fascination arising from the dynamic nature of the living things with which the agricultural chemist has to deal. The chemist in the food industries is concerned with the products of agriculture and horticulture products that are living or labile and their utilisation by men women and children of varying needs and idiosyncrasies. If he has time or makes time to ponder over his subject and its implications, he will also be fascinated. With the growth of civilisation the arts of the kitchen have developed in parallel with the arts of the field and, in both scientific observation and action can be used with advantage to reduce the element of chance in the matter of yield and quality.The Food and Agriculture Organisation report on The State of Food and Agriculture 1953 conveys the impression of uncertainty about the adequacy of food supplies in some parts of the world in the immediate future. In North America supply exceeds demand but in north-western Europe agricultural production rose only 2 per cent in 1952-53 and is only just keeping pace with population growth. Industrial development in coun-tries previously backward in this respect is reputed to be causing a diminu-tion in the export of food materials owing to the improved standard of living being coupled with increased consumption of food.Our food imports from North America are restricted by dollar shortages and it is generally agreed that a nearer approach to self-sufficiency in food supplies would greatly strengthen our economic position. This can be achieved both by increased agricultural production and by the reduction of waste on the farm in food factories and shops and in restaurants and homes. Waste may be defined as deficiency in quality and quantity between actual and potential production and may be due to plant or animal diseases to spoilage after harvest or slaughter e.g. by vermin or micro-organisms or to bad catering including extravagance bad food-engineering faulty organisation and bad cooking. Losses of food from all these causes are difficult to assess but they would almost certainly exceed the amount represented by the 2 per cent increased agricultural production on which we are presumably depending to keep the wolf from the door.Viewed against the background of the proverbial prodigality of Nature margins of the order of 2 per cent seem ludicrously small. At the time of the Hot Springs Conference during the war the expression “economy of abundance” came to be used like a kind of verbal mirage, but during the period of post-war disillusionment it seems to have been omitted from our vocabulary. This is unfortunate because the abund-ance of nature is no myth and it is to be hoped that students of the natural sciences will appreciate this fact otherwise when they enter the fields of applied science they will perpetually be subject to a feeling of * “The Chemist in Agriculture,” J.1953 4 19541 THE CHEMIST AND HIS WORK-XIV 20 1 frustration. The discipline of shortage however has certainly been valuable because it appears to have impressed upon the thinking public, and some politicians that the natural and artificial factors causing wastage and destruction of food and other commodities must be studied and controlled. As control measures are to a large extent fundamentally chemical it stands to reason that the chemist has an important part to play in their development and application. Chemistry however is a basic science and only one of the basic sciences. Moreover life does not always allow time for tackling its problems by reference to first principles.Hence the food scientist or food technologist must be more than a chemist, although retaining the disciplined mind of one who has studied the basic sciences. As long ago as 1935 the editor of Food Manufacture wrote a series of articles in his journal on the training of the food technologist and obtained expressions of opinion from various authorities on food science in its fundamental applied and commercial aspects. There is still some uncertainty as to the meaning of the term “food technologist.” By some he is considered to be a factory manager with just enough scientific knowledge to cope with day-to-day problems in a factory or a department. By others he is considered to be one who is in touch with a wide variety of sciences that have contributed knowledge to the arts of food manu-facture and catering.These differences are exemplified by the variations in the duration of the courses considered necessary for his training, which range from two to five years. However a man who considers that his training is complete in either two years or five years will be of little use in the food industry or in any walk of life. The wider his knowledge of the basic sciences the greater will be his potential value, but the conversion of potentiality to reality depends on many factors, including that nebulous quality personality and the ability to work with a team and to assimilate new ideas. Perhaps a survey of some items of a normal diet will give an idea of the scope of food science and also reveal some of its unsolved problems.In early morning one is perhaps sensitive to the quality of tea. This is at present determined by the soil conditions under which the tea-bush is grown the climate the frequency of plucking the so-called ‘fermenta-tion’ treatment and other processing to which it was subjected and the skill of the individual who makes the brew. At present most teas are judged and priced by tea-tasters in the importing country and blended accordingly. Some progress has been made in identifying the various factors that contribute to “body,” flavour and aroma and towards control-ling them by adjustments to the fertiliser programme or to the processing procedures. The prepared black tea must be dried to the appropriate moisture content to prevent mould growth on the correlation of which experimental work is still proceeding and transported in containers that do not allow deterioration from external moisture or foreign flavours.In blending the fact has to be borne in mind that the removal of extrac-tives from tea is affected by the salts present in the water used for making the brew; hence chemical data on regional water supplies must be avail-able and much remains to be done in correlating such data with lea 202 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL quality when this can be defined in more objective terms. In fact, tea as a whole is a good example of a subject requiring the skill of the chemist and of the biological engineer. Breakfast cereals constitute an example of proprietary foods with subtle differences of flavour and texture characteristic of the various brands.Having evolved a popular brand a manufacturer needs to continue producing an article of the same properties; to do this he or his chemists must know something of the enzymic reactions occurring during processing and the colloidal properties of the substances produced and be able to make a standard article in spite of variations in the raw materials used. He must also use appropriate wrapping materials to protect the product and retard physical changes adversely affecting its palatability. Bread introduces perhaps a wider range of subjects because the inter-actions of the cereal enzymes with the flour constituents and of the intermediate products with yeast involve a series of intricate chemical and physical changes.Several useful contrivances have been invented for following these changes not out of curiosity but as a necessity for adequate control under modern conditions. Such control is concerned mainly with palatability but in the background is the question of nutritive value bread still being a “staff of life” but not the only one. Palatability and nutritive value are of course compatible-in fact it is obvious that no food can exercise much nutritive value if it is so unpalatable that little is consumed-and information on both these factors can be provided by appropriate analytical techniques such as microbiological or other assay of vitamins. Recently some publicity has been given to the desirability or otherwise of using chemical substances as improvers it is to be hoped that this question will ultimately be solved by reference to chemical and medical evidence and not by prejudice.The protein foods consumed at various meals have probably been prepared under some form of scientific control. Egg preservation is a fascinating subject. Although the hen has been tricked into producing infertile eggs for man’s benefit rather than fertile eggs for the propagation of her own species she still applies protective treatment to the yolk in the form of shell and membrane and antibacterial substances in the egg-white. This protective effect may be disturbed even by thoughtless washing of the shell as the Australians found to their cost in the early days of shipment of chilled eggs and there is a perfectly logical physical explanation for this effect.The moral is that even egg-washing is worthy of scientific control. Again fish and meat preservation depend for their success on the use of appropriate methods and are not tied to an arbitrary time scale. In the early days of the Torry Research Station fish was graded by buyers according to their estimates from superficial examina-tion of the periods that had elapsed since the fish had been caught and the success of the improved handling methods was judged by the under-estimation of these periods. With modern techniques such as quick-freezing estimates of this type would be worthless; nevertheless deteriora-tion due to physical and enzymic changes can still occur and these techniques offer scope for further study. The art of preserving meat and fish by various combinations of salting 19541 THE CHEMIST AND HIS WORK-XIV 203 drying and smoking has been known to man for centuries but within the last generation considerable improvements have been effected by scientific study of the reactions involved and by the development of adequate control methods to ensure that preservation is effective and that defects due to excessive salt content and rancidity are avoided.No longer does one get the impression as one did sometimes during the 1914-18 war, that American bacon was cured by being towed across the Atlantic. The problems of curing however are not yet all settled; the mild cures now popular are apt to allow certain types of spoilage and colour changes in the blood pigments. Butter is another commodity that has undergone considerable development during recent years and although one has not much choice of quality the quality is usually of a high order owing to improvements in microbiological control.The introduction of continuous churning pro-cesses in this industry has involved some revision of techniques. Fruit preserves particularly marmalade are a subject on which individuals have marked preferences some even insisting on particular brands. Here is a subject requiring detailed study of annual variations in the characteristics of fruits and the chemistry of pectic substances. We have thus encountered the impact of science even at the breakfast table. Some of the remaining meals of the day will probably be consumed in a restaurant canteen or school dining room.An agricultural labourer may take a factory-made meat pie with him or an Ascot race-goer may collect a factory-packed luncheon hamper. An increase in the habit of eating out occurred during the war period at a time when equipment was short and experienced workers were few and certain statistics show that the incidence of food-borne infections increased. To what extent these statistics can be taken at their face value it is difficult to say because they depend on the uncertainties of diagnosis and notification but the present food-hygiene campaign to which they have given rise is no doubt necessary and justified. To be both effective and economical a food-hygiene programme must have a scientific basis and be conducted in a scientific manner.Food-poisoning outbreaks when they occur need the attention of clinicians and epidemiologists using chemical and microbiological techniques but prevention is better than cure. Most pathogenic bacteria are vulnerable objects and do not survive if there are appropriate obstacles in the paths of infection; hence reasonable cleanliness and avoidance of overcrowding are elementary hygienic precautions and are, to a large extent effective. For more complete protection one must be able to trace the possible paths or modes of infection and make them impassable by deliberate antiseptic measures which may be either chemical or physical but one need not live within a cordon of bacterio-logical sterility. In the food-hygiene campaign the expression “vehicle of infection” is frequently used to describe foods in which bacteria readily multiply although it could more logically be applied to foods materials and utensils on which mere survival or restricted growth occurs.These gradations depend on chemical properties. The cleansing of hands, materials and utensils by appropriate detergents used under suitable conditions and the detailed study of environmental factors affectin 204 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL bacterial growth or destruction are both subjects for the chemist. Of recent years we have seen the development of high-temperature short-time pasteurisation processes for dairy products from batch processes, and for other foods there have been developed continuous cooking pro-cesses in which bactericidal treatment is effected with maximum speed and efficiency and minimum chemical change.Experimental work using radiations other than heat indicates the possibility of still further develop-ments provided that undesirable chemical effects can be avoided. Food should be a subject of enjoyment and not trepidation and it is to be hoped that the subject of food hygiene will in the future be given adequate but not exaggerated attention. Enjoyment is enhanced by suitable environment and the environment provided both by the restaurant and by the kitchen depend largely on the contribution of the chemist. Stainless alloys are attractive hygienic and economical and have deservedly earned an essential place in restaurant equipment. The development of plastics has been watched with interest and suitable products of this type have been used as they became available and passed appropriate durability tests.Many people still prefer ceramic ware, and questions such as durability of glaze and resistance to fracture still need attention. Constructional materials for walls and floors particu-larly of kitchens need special consideration from the standpoint of resist-ance to erosion and other forms of dilapidation and the suitability of such material usually depends on its chemical and physical properties. Air is another important environmental factor in restaurants and its condition-ing is a scientific problem. Even the effect of music on digestion has been studied without however any definite conclusions having been reached. There is therefore scope for chemists of widely varying interests in the food industries.Analytical chemistry is the basis of most control procedures and has an important bearing on many research programmes. Physical and physico-chemical methods of analysis are often particularly attractive because of their speed in some instances their value lies in the fact that the sample is not destroyed and in others such as chromato-graphy that minute amounts can be handled. The applications of organic chemistry arise from the organic origin of food; it is significant that organic chemists do nowadays consider themselves akin to bio-chemists. There is also of course scope for the application of many synthetic products provided that we understand what we are doing. Biochemists with leanings towards plant physiology animal physiology or microbiology have contributions to make in the utilisation of natural products as food and the control of fermentations or other microbiological processes.Inorganic chemists may concentrate on problems connected with the constructional materials used for premises and equipment but they may have more direct interests in food now that the significance of “trace” elements is appreciated-even cobalt is recognised to have a biological function 19541 BOOK REVIEWS 205 BOOK REVIEWS Experimental Inorganic Chemistry. R. E. Dodd and P. L. Robinson. (Amsterdam Elsevier Publishing Company 1954; London Authors of new books dealing with science frequently claim that their contri-butions fill a long-felt want. Such a claim is made by the present authors and is fully justified.Drs Dodd and Robinson are not exaggerating when they state that for the first time they have made available for the beginner in research a small volume that surveys those general experimental methods which have proved particularly useful in the field of inorganic chemistry. The book is divided into seven chapters and the first chapter is devoted appropriately to general basic techniques. Con-sidering the brevity of the various sections in chapter 2 the authors have succeeded in giving extremely useful and readable introductions to a wide range of special topics. Perhaps the short section on manostats could be made to include a reference in later editions to a recent form of Cartesian manostat which gives a much superior performance to the variable mercury-seal manostat.The third chapter is concerned with the preparation and purification of representative gases and volatile compounds. The reviewer doubts whether the method sug-gested by the authors for the purification of commercial thionyl chloride will always yield a product that is entirely satisfactory. In chapter 4 an account is given of water and the commoner acids and alkalis. In dealing with water the authors state that it is clear that ion-exchange resins compete with distillation processes for water treatment whether the quantities are those involved in tech-nical plant or are measured in millilitres. Nevertheless it can be shown that if the water is to be used for research in surface-chemistry the ion-exchange resins have definite drawbacks.The 4th chapter concludes with a brief description of non-aqueous solvents-how they are handled and how they behave. Chapter 5 is devoted to colloids and disperse systems. The formation of colloids is discussed and methods available for the study of the colloidal state are indicated. Colloidal metals and colloidal oxides are considered and lastly some adsorption phenomena are mentioned. The 6th chapter deals with the important subject of physical methods. The treatment here is well balanced and authoritative whilst the references to more detailed accounts are particularly helpful. The last chapter will be read with profit by most research workers especially the postgraduate student. It is concerned with literature searches the presentation of results and safety measures in the laboratory.The book is excellently produced with an adequate index and is extremely good value for the money. The diagrams are a special feature of this volume. This most valuable guide to laboratory practice should be in every chemical laboratory. The authors can be congratulated on writing a book that was worth writing and on writing it very well indeed. Pp. xii + 424. distributors Cleaver-Hume Press 1953.) 42s. net. Then follows an excellent account of the handling of gases. W. WARDLAW Estimation of Organic Compounds. F. Wild. Pp. viii + 239. (Cam-Dr Wild’s book which is a companion volume to his Characterisation of Organic Compounds deals with macro- and micro-methods for the estimation of the follow-ing functional groups :-olefines alcohol enol phenol mercaptan aldehyde and ketone acetyl benzoyl methoxyl ethoxyl propoxyl butoxyl methylimino, ethylimino methyl and ethyl attached to sulphur methyl attached to carbon, amino nitro nitroso cyano isocyano and isothiocyano.The ground covered is wide but presumably a line must be drawn somewhere and specialised methods for the estimation of amino acids sugars and sulphonamides are intentionally omitted. The book is divided into seven convenient sections olefines hydroxyl com-pounds carbonyl compounds etc. each of which is prefaced by a summary of the estimations to be described these are then discussed critically and with the exception of a few less important methods are described in detail. bridge The University Press 1953.) 25s 206 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL The treatment is very thorough and there does not appear to be any serious omission.Thus the section on olefines includes :-macro- and micro-hydro-genation ; bromine numbers by direct and electrometric titration and by bromine absorption ; iodine numbers by Wijs’ Hanus’ and Rosenmund-Kuhnhenn’s methods; thiocyanogen number-with a full discussion of its vagaries ; estimation by peracids and other miscellaneous methods. Other sections are equally thorough and all include modern improvements and newer methods of any significance up to the end of 1951 to which date the literature is fully reviewed. The book should be of value to all students at the Honours chemistry or A.R.I.C.level and particularly to research workers who frequently need a choice of method to meet particular problems. Many will echo the author’s hope that the book will stimulate interest in this branch of chemistry for the modern trend of sending all analyses to professional analysts has resulted in the neglect of a subject that has many disciplinary virtues. No one of course would wish to put the clock back nor can anyone deny the convenience of the modern practice but it rather defeats its object if it results in cutting off at the source the supply of first-class analysts upon which it depends. There is therefore something to be said for a revival of interest and Dr Wild’s book may have appeared at a propitious moment. Its general excellence handy size and moderate price will make it a keen rival in popularity to its companion volume.Antibiotics. F. A. Robinson. Pp. viii + 132. (London Sir Isaac Pitman In spite of the author’s modest disclaimer in his preface to this book it is probably the best general account of a large growing and multifarious group of substances available to-day-at any rate for the chemist. If any criticism could be justly levelled at it perhaps it would be the charge of undue detail in discussing the precise chemical structures of penicillin and streptomycin in particular and of the breakdown products by means of which these structures were established. All the same for the organic chemist it will be no small convenience to have that information condensed by an expert who has not only himself taken part in the attack on the penicillin molecule but has clearly also assiduously devoted his chemical mind to cultivating a similar exact acquain-tance with the antibiotics discovered later.After a general introductory chapter in which Mr Robinson briskly tackles the somewhat polemical issue of defining the term antibiotic he treats in considerable detail with the chemistry and more broadly with the modes of manufacture of penicillin and “Other Mould Antibiotics” in the next two chapters. In them he also summarises what is known of their biological actions, that is to say of their antibacterial “spectra” in vitro and in vivo their pharmacology and their assay. Similar treatment in the subsequent chapters is given to antibiotics derived from the actinomycetes,-“Streptomycin,” “Chloramphenicol,” “Aureomycin and Terramycin” and “Other Antibiotics from Actinomycetes.” This last chapter and the next one on “Bacterial Antibiotics” read as they could hardly help doing like a nightmarish list of weird and wonderful compounds many of them more particularly those of bacterial origin having polypeptide structures and more or less well-defined “spectra,” sometimes against fungi and large viruses as well as against bacteria and most of them too toxic for therapeutic use.The last chapter is called “Conclusion” and in it giving perhaps extra if unintended significance to that word the author suggests that we may be near the end of discovering new useful antibiotics. This view and the author would be the first to admit that it is only an expression of personal opinion would certainly not find acceptance as indeed some of Mr Robinson’s other comments on the present and future of these drugs would not among many of those working in or near the field of antibiotics; nevertheless they are well worth consideration by them and by those less close to it.T. MALKIN & Sons Ltd. 1953.) 15s. net 19541 BOOK REVIEWS 207 Apart from a few trivial misprints to which the author’s attention has been called in a personal communication I have little to say by way of adverse comment. His statement in effect that all the different types of vessel used in the surface culture method of making penicillin were “cooled by passage through a tank of cold water” is only true of the “specially designed flasks” made of resistance glass.Such treatment would have played as they say merry hell with “ordinary milk-bottles” and “Winchester quart-bottles!” One is surprised that the value of penicillin in the treatment of bovine mastitis has been over-looked since far more of it has been used for this purpose than of tyrothricin, gramicidin and diplomycin which are mentioned in this connexion. Nor would Mr Robinson’s statement that of the antibiotics found to have growth-promoting effects on young chicks turkeys and pigs aureomycin showed the highest activity, be accepted without more precise definition and qualification by those with practical experience ; they might also challenge the inclusion of chloramphenicol among the list of those credited with this property. As an ccadjuvant” to strepto-mycin in treating tuberculosis isoniazid should surely have been named.There are but few and trivial comments to make on the generally excellent English of this book but I must once more protest at the increasing replacement of “before” by “prior to,” so rightly condemned by Gowers. Some further minor criticisms are perhaps just bees in my personal bonnet so few of them are buzzing there as to make it safe both for him and for me to doff that bonnet to Mr Robinson for a thoroughly laudable achievement. A. L. BACHARACH Select Methods of Metallurgical Analysis. W. A. Naish J. E. Clennell and Second Edition. Pp. xii + 660. (London Chapman The second edition of this volume follows the same method of presentation as the first (1929). In deference to newer methods of analysis-e.g.instrumental methods and micro-analysis-and to specialised analytical procedures such as the analysis of fuels a small proportion of the book has been written by experts in these subjects but the bulk of the descriptive matter deals with “classical” methods of analysis of the elements and some metallurgical materials. The minor sections are on the whole well written and give the reader a good appreciation of the scope of the techniques discussed. The main part of the book contains an immense amount of information: details from a multitude of sources are compressed conveniently and logically into one volume. Unfortunately however the material is not well presented and often essential details are omitted or loose methods of description are employed or better experimental procedures might have been chosen (e.g.calcium is precipi-tated by addition of ammonium oxalate reagent to an alkaline solution of the calcium ions). The impression is gained that the authors have expanded a laboratory manual on practical metallurgical analysis into a book in so doing they have forgotten that unwritten details applicable to their own teaching laboratory do not apply to all laboratories. Confusion arises over strengths of acids is “50 per cent” HCl supersaturated or is it a mixture of equal volumes of water and the concentrated acid and what is the meaning of “10 per cent acidity” ? More serious omissions fall in the very inadequate sections on gold and silver assay where for example the temperatures of the muffle furnaces for cupellation and scorification are not specified ; in the determination of “available manganese” there is no mention of the inapplicability of the sodium oxalate method to some manganese minerals.Certain contradictory statements such as those dealing with the precipitation of cadmium sulphide (p. 75 allows 4 N sulphuric acid to be present but p. 16 requires a maximum concentration of 1.5 N) cause mistrust of the text and suggest loose editing. A reader and more especially an advanced student is often left requiring further experimental details particularly in the weak chapters on sampling, qualitative examination dissolution and separations where inadequate description is given and yet references to more detailed literature are few. A fair comment on the qualitative tests and dissolution sections is that the details are applicable to V.S. Kingswood. and Hall Ltd. 1953.) 75s. net 208 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL pure chemicals and probably to most pure minerals but rarely can they be applied directly to the complex materials normally investigated by the metallurgist. Use of symbols and formulae in the narrative portions and the frequent mixing of moods of verbs in the bounds of a single sentence make the book very un-readable. Perhaps the desire to economise in space justifies the use of symbols, but the introduction of meaningless chemical equations that might well be omitted or replaced with simple ionic forms nullifies this aim. The authors have aimed at a high ideal but they have fallen short.The many errors and omissions minor in themselves accumulate to such an extent that the metallurgical analyst could find himself in difficulties if he put his complete trust in this book. Industrial Wastes Their Disposal and Treatment. D. A. PANTONY Edited by Willem Rudolfs. A.C.S. Monograph No. 118. Pp. vii + 497. (New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation; London Chapman and Hall Ltd. 1953.) 96s. net. By the provisions of the 1951 Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act the river boards formed under an Act of 1948 were given authority to impose standards of purity for discharges of sewage and trade effluents to watercourses. These two Acts and one passed in 1937 to facilitate the treatment of trade effluents at municipal treatment plants have forced industry to pay attention to the disposal of liquid waste products.This book written by a team of specialists is therefore likely to have a wide appeal to chemists in industry and local government. A brief but lucid statement of the problem of pollution in relation to industry, contributed by the editor is followed by a comprehensive account by H. Heukelekian of the causes and effects of pollution. The disposal of waste water from groups of industries is then dealt with under the following headings:-milk products canning slaughterhouse wastes fermentation industries corn starch processes tanning,‘ textiles paper acids steel pickling plating coal mining petroleum industry radioactive wastes and a number of miscellaneous wastes. The contributors seem to have been given a pretty free hand in their selection of material.The result is a pleasing lack of uniformity in the treatment of the subjects and a degree of overlapping which makes each section a self-contained summary of a particular type of waste. Some authors have devoted little space to describing the origin of the wastes so as to deal more fully with methods of disposal ; others have taken great pains to explain those processes of manufacture which give rise to effluents and have scoured American literature to obtain information illustrating the composition of the waste waters. The book loses nothing by the neglect of British and Continental sources of information since this has enabled contributors to write authoritatively on American problems, which happen to cover a wider range of industrial activity and climatic conditions than we experience in this country.Fortunately a liberal interpretaion has been placed upon the term “In-dustrial Wastes,” which might best be illustrated by reference to the masterly article by C. S. Boruff on the fermentation industries. First consideration is given to the volume and composition of all the liquid waste products obtained from distilleries breweries and fermentation processes in general then methods for the recovery of useful by-products and the economy of the recovery processes are described and finally an account is given of the methods of disposal of the remain-ing liquid wastes. The chapters are of uneven merit the one by W. W. Hodge on waste disposal problems in the coal mining industry seems to me to contain much irrelevant though nevertheless interesting information on the growth and distribution of the coal mining industry.One general criticism that might be made of an otherwise excellent book is that many of the diagrams are poorly lettered sometimes to the point of being indecipherable and others are lacking in detail through excessive reduction in size. S. H. JENKIN 19541 BOOK REVIEWS 209 Quantitative Pharmaceutical Chemistry. New Fourth Edition. G. L. Jenkins J. E. Christian and G. P. Hager. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc. ; London McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. 1953.) 52s. net. The preface to this book indicates that its object is to furnish students of pharmacy with a systematic course covering methods of analysis official in the United States and to present some non-official methods.It can truly be said that it succeeds in these objects but the approach to the subject and the presenta-tion of material is so typically American as to reduce considerably its value to the British pharmaceutical student. In spite of the statement on the cover that it has been found to be a valuable reference book for analysts it is difficult to conceive any circumstance in which it could be so used in British practice and it is proposed to consider it solely from the angle of its value to students. In general the theoretical considerations underlying the various analytical procedures such as gravimetric volumetric (titrimetric) and gasometric methods can be said to be adequately dealt with if one does not expect anything more than an elementary treatment of the subject.The same applies to the chapters on alkaloidal assays determination of fixed and volatile oil constants specific gravity hydrogen ion concentration colorimetry and such physical determina-tions as of refractive index rotatory power and viscosity. The terminology used throughout the book is modern. Oxidation-reduction reactions are explained in terms of electron transfer and most reactions are given in the ionic form but in practically all cases the conventional molecular equation is also given. Without carefully checking it would appear that explanations are given and exercises provided on every type of quantitative determination in the United States Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary (U.S.).The book will certainly be extremely useful to the American pharma-ceutical student. So much detail is included that a student could well work from it without much other instruction. Strange to British eyes are such things as a fairly large number of simple examples “worked out” in full for calculating the results of ordinary gravimetric and volumetric exercises and two pages are devoted to explaining how to multiply and divide using logarithms These are typical of some other “explanations” in the book. Many appear to be super-fluous because they are so elementary and others not sufficiently detailed to be educative and useful. American students may be wealthier than their British brothers but the latter would certainly object to having to pay for the rather large proportion of the book which is taken up with tables of the official requirements.For example there is a table extending over eight pages giving the moisture limit figures for U.S.P. and N.F. substances four pages of ash limits and many other similar tables. Errors are absent for all practical purposes but it is misleading to state (p. 77), that the “C.C. represents one thousandth part of the liter.” There is an excellent bibliography giving 128 references to various publica-tions some of British origin. This will be very useful to students who may wish to widen their knowledge of the various aspects of quantitative analysis. Pp. x + 534. H. BRINDLE BRITISH STANDARDS RECEIVED 1121B 1953. Recommended Method for the Spectrographic Analysis of Low 1428 1953.Microchemical Apparatus. Alloy Steels. Pp. 2 1. 5s. net. Part B2. Ammonia Distillation Apparatus (Markham). Pp. 6. 2s. net. Part E3. Micro-Centrifuge Accessories. Pp. 6. 2s. net. 2021 1953. Separating Funnels. Pp. 11. 2s. 6d. net. 2058 1953. Weighing Pipettes. Pp. 7. 2s. net. 2068 1953. Acetic anhydride. Pp. 8. 2s. net. (Obtainable from B.S.I. 2 Park Street London W.l. 2 10 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL LOCAL SECTION AFFAIRS Aberdeen and North of Scotland.-A meeting was held jointly with the local members of the Chemical Society and the Society of Chemical Industry on 18 February in Robert Gordon’s Technical College Aberdeen. Before the lecture Dr M. B. Watson Chairman of the Section extended a hearty welcome to Sir William Ogg President of the Society of Chemical Industry who brought greetings from the Society in London and expressed his pleasure at returning to his native city and his old school.The chairman then invited Dr A. E. Werner of the National Gallery London to give his lecture on “The Scientific Examina-tion of Paintings.” The lecture was illustrated by a fascinating seriesof lantern slides and on behalf of the audience Dr A. J. G. Barnett warmly thanked Dr Werner for his magnificent lecture. In conclusion Col. Griffin Secretary of the Society of Chemical Industry who was also present addressed a few remarks to the audience. A further joint meeting was held with the local members of the Chemical Society and the Society of Chemical Industry in Robert Gordon’s Technical College Aberdeen on 5 March when Dr T.W. Goodwin Liverpool gave a lecture entitled “Recent Developments in Carotenoid Chemistry” (see p. 226). Belfast and District.-Professor D. M. Newitt F.R.S. addressed a meeting of the Section on 5 March on the subject “Chemical Engineering and Industrial Productivity.” The Committee had invited all the Honours Chemistry students at Queen’s University and at the Technical College to the meeting and there was a good attendance of visitors and members. Dundee and District.-On 19 February in the Chemistry Lecture Theatre, University College Dundee Dr R. P. Cook delivered a lecture entitled “The Sterols Their Chemistry and Metabolism” before a large audience. Mr Norman B. B. Johnstone was in the Chair.Dr Cook discussed the natural occurrence of cholesterol and related sterols in animals invertebrates plants and fungi and the relationship of sterols to steroids. He next turned to his main interest-the absorption of sterols by animals. Marked species differences in response to the inclusion of excess cholesterol in the diet were emphasised. Rats apparently tolerate large amounts of dietary cholesterol but guinea-pigs and rabbits are adversely affected. In the human only a certain amount of cholesterol is absorbed. Some mechanism prevents the absorption of too much. Dr Cook concluded by discussing the normal functions of cholesterol in the body. A brisk discussion followed. Mr A. J. Pouncy proposed the vote of thanks, which was warmly accorded.Edinburgh and East of Scotland.-Over 300 schoolchildren attended each of two lectures entitled “A Chapter of Accidents in Chemical Discovery,” delivered by Dr R. B. Strathdee O.B.E. during the Christmas Vacation (see p. 192). This is a record attendance. Dr Strathdee is to be congratulated on the way he held the attention of these very large audiences. The lectures were illustrated by many exhibitions on the bench by lantern slides and by a sound film. At the first meeting of the New Year members and their friends had the opportunity of listening to Professor D. H. R. Barton who gave a clear and interesting account of “The Stereochemistry of Cyclohexane Derivatives.” At a joint meeting with the Edinburgh University Chemical Society on 2 February Professor H.W. Melville F.R.S. gave an account of recent work on high polymers in his Department at Birmingham. In his lecture he found time to describe some of the exceedingly ingenious equipment which he and his colleagues have devised including an apparatus for the interruption of polymerka-tion reactions started by intense illumination. Later in the month Dr W. H. J. Vernon O.B.E. of the Corrosion Group of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research spoke on two aspects of the chemistry of corrosion. After listening to Dr Vernon’s very learned account of investigations in these two fields of study it was not difficult to appreciate that corrosion has become a science of its own attracting men trained in many different disciplines. Among the man 19541 LOCAL SECTION AFFAIRS 21 1 interesting exhibits on the lecture table we were able to see the astonishingly thin films stripped from the surface of metals an achievement which one could hardly believe possible.We learned with regret that Dr Vernon’s was a valedictory lecture since he will retire from the D.S.I.R. this year. We hope however that his greater leisure will enable him to visit Edinburgh again to describe some other aspects of corrosion. Leeds Area.-A meeting of the Section was held on 15 March at the Uni-versity of Leeds. Dr W. Cule Davies Chairman of the Section presided and Dr G. Popj Ak of the Experimental Radiopathology Research Unit Hammersmith Hospital lectured on “Chemistry Biochemistry and Isotopic Tracer Technique.” Dr PopjAk paid tribute to the increasingly significant part which isotopic tracers had enabled the organic chemist to play in biochemistry and indicated the methods by which radioactive carbon had been employed to elucidate the biogenesis of fatty acids and cholesterol.His clear exposition and elegant organic chemical methods were greatly appreciated. A vote of thanks was moved by Professor F. C. Happold. On 8 March the Chairman and Mrs Cule Davies entertained the officers and members of the Section Committee at the Central Research Laboratories of M a r s Brotherton and Co. Ltd. in Leeds. The guests spent a very pleasant evening inspecting the equipment and resources of these up-to-date buildings under the guidance of an enthusiastic and tireless staff and were finally over-whelmed by the most wonderful display of home-made delicacies that any of us had been privileged to enjoy.Professor Challenger expressed our indebtedness to our host and hostess and their helpers for a most happy entertainment and the kind thought which inspired it. Liverpool and North-Western.-The annual exhibition of apparatus held by the B.A.C. at the Liverpool College of Technology on 24 February proved a great attraction. It was estimated that the attendance amounted to over 350. There were more exhibits and a wider variety than in previous years. We understood that next year this exhibition may be opened in the afternoon as well as evening. On 4 March at the Grosvenor Hotel Chester the Section held a joint meeting with the Institute of Petroleum Stanlow Branch at which Dr M.L. Meara presided. Dr A. J. Rudge of the Research Laboratories of I.C.I. (General Chemicals Division) Ltd. Widnes spoke on “Fluorine-containing Lubricants.” This proved most interesting; it was ably given and was illustrated with lantern slides and specimens. One of the products of fluorination of hydrocarbons was tetrafluoroethylene CF,-CF, which by controlled polymerisation produced the high molecular weight plastic material polytetrafluoroethylene (CF&F,),, known as Teflon (U.S.) or Fluon (U.K.). Although quite hard and capable of being ‘turned,’ it has a remarkable waxy and lubricated ‘feel’ and can be used for packing glands where resistance to chemical attack is required. The lecturer referred to the high cost of producing these substances which are remarkably stable to acids oxidising agents and heat up to 350” C.The last property is profoundly affected by residual hydrogen in the molecule. The cost can be somewhat reduced by incorporating chlorine instead of some of the more expensive fluorine thus producing the chlorofluorocarbons which have somewhat lower thermal stability higher solubility in solvents and rather better viscosity indices. Greases as well as oils have been made. Following a short discussion Mr V. Biske proposed a vote of thanks to the speaker. Dr M. L. Meara was the Chairman at a crowded Section meeting at the Wigan Mining and Technical College on 9 March. He apologised for the unexpected absence of the speaker Dr R. Belcher who was scheduled to lecture on “Newer Methods and Reagents in Analytical Chemistry.” Instead of this he introduced Mr E.S. Brown and Dr H. K. Dean who had both agreed at a moment’s notice to initiate subjects for discussion The former spoke on “Complexones,” mainly ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid and its uses for analysis. The latter opened the subject of teaching micro and semi-micro analysis in the Technical Colleges 212 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL Animated discussion followed and the Chairman found it difficult to close the meeting because of the number of would-be speakers. Among those taking part in the discussions were Drs F. J. Smith and M. Woodhead with Messrs J. Brown, A. Cooksey A. Ledwith J. F. Forshaw T. Hayes E. Myer M. F. Newman and P. J. Robbins. London.-The meeting on 22 February at the Medway Technical College, Gillingham took the form of a film display in which a good gathering of members and visitors enjoyed the films “Powder Metallurgy,” “Introduction to Radio-chemical Techniques Part 2 Beta and Gamma” and “The Nature of Plastics.” The recent shortage of elemental sulphur has stimulated interest in methods of producing sulphuric acid from indigenous raw materials and Dr W.L. Bedwell’s paper entitled “The Production of Sulphuric Acid from Calcium Sulphate” attracted a very good audience to the meeting at Norwood Technical College on 24 February. Owing to the author’s indisposition the paper (which has been delivered at previous meetings of the Section) was read on this occasion by Dr Bedwell’s colleague Dr J. S. Dunn. The lecture on 25 February entitled “Some Uses of Radioactive Materials in Industry and Medicine’’ given by Dr L.C. Myerscough of the Radiochemical Research Centre Amersham at the S.E. Essex Technical College Dagenham, dealt mainly with the history and present methods of radiotherapy. The opera-tion of nuclear reactors has made ample supplies of suitable radiation sources available. Thus for a-ray therapy e°Co forms a more powerful source than the radium formerly employed and for p-ray therapy 137Cs and QOSr derived from fission products are incorporated in thin silver discs and plaques for direct appli-cation to the skin. This meeting was held jointly with the College Chemical Society. Progress in the technique of ion exchange since the phenomenon was discovered in 1850-52 was reviewed by Dr E.I. Akeroyd in a lecture entitled “A Century of Ion Exchange,” given on 3 March at a joint meeting of the Section and the West Ham College of Technology Scientific Society at West Ham. Modern ion-exchange agents are synthetic resins based on sulphonated and amminated cross-linked polystyrenes. These resins are of high capacity and great chemical stability and they can be produced in a wide range of acidic and basic strengths. Certain quarternary ammonium resins now available have a basic strength equivalent to that of caustic soda. Modern ion-exchange resins are used for the complete de-ionisation of water for the recovery of valuable or obnoxious con-stituents from effluents the isolation of antibiotics amino acids and vitamins from dilute solutions in chemical analysis and in many other ways.At a joint meeting with the Woolwich Polytechnic Scientific Society at Wool-wich on 8 March Mr G. T. Rogers read a paper entitled “Explosions in Solids.” The speaker gave an account of recent work in Dr Bowden’s laboratory at Cam-bridge concerned with the study of the various stages in the explosive decomposi-tion of unstable substances such as lead azide from the initiation process to the development of the shock wave. Over 100 members of the Section and of the Acton Technical College Scientific Society attended the meeting at Acton on 11 March when Professor D. H. Hey of King’s College London spoke on “Developments in the Chemistry of Free Radicals.” Professor Hey traced the history of the subject from Gomberg’s production of triphenyl methyl radicals in 1900 and then dealt in greater detail with substitution reactions involving free radicals in aromatic systems and the work of his own school in this field.Professor H. W. Melville’s lecture entitled “New Kinds of Macromolecules,” which was given at a joint meeting of the Section and the London Section of the Society of Chemical Industry at Hatfield Technical College on 16 March, attracted a large audience from a wide area. The speaker described the three main types of synthetic polymer ‘linear,’ ‘branched’ and ‘cross-linked,’ and the methods used for determining their structures. Very little was known of the structure of branched-chain polymers but progress was being made by the use of radioactive labelled atoms.Considerable current interest was being shown i 19541 LOCAL SECTION AFFAIRS 213 ‘block co-polymers.’ These are linear molecules in which units of two different monomers appear in an ordered arrangement. A ‘branched block co-polymer’ is formed when one linear polymer is grated on to another linear polymer derived from a different monomer. Mid-Southern Counties.-A Joint Meeting with the Chemical Society and the University of Southampton Chemical Society was held on 12 February in the University of Southampton when Professor R. G. W. Norrish F.R.S. gave a lecture entitled “Photochemical and Spectroscopic Methods of Studying Fast Reactions.” Professor Norrish described in detail the technique of ‘flash photoly-sis,’ whereby gas mixtures are subjected to a radiation pulse of high energy generated electrically (about 10,000 Joules in one millisecond) and almost simul-taneously the absorption spectrum of the mixture is obtained with the aid of a second flash.This technique has proved particularly valuable for the study of explosive reactions and for the detection of transient free radicals such as the C10 radical which occurs in the reaction between hydrogen and chlorine in the presence of oxygen. The lecture was followed by discussion and Professor N. K. Adam F.R.S. proposed a vote of thanks. On 25 February at Bournemouth Municipal College Dr R. C. Tincknell gave a lecture entitled “Soil Conditioners for the Improvement of Soil Structure.” After outlining the desirable characteristics of a good soil with particular reference to particle size and aggregation the lecturer described the use of the synthetic soil conditioners which maintain optimum conditions in the soil and so ensure good aeration and prevent erosion by rain and wind.Polyuronides are natural soil conditioners present in humus but are short-lived and must be continually replaced. Krilium (a generic trade name for a number of compounds) is designed as a very much more stable “imitation polyuronide.” The lecture was followed by a colour film and after considerable discussion Mr H. E. Clarke proposed a vote of thanks. On 9 March at the Cathedral Hotel Salisbury Mr G. Kempson-Jones gave a lecture entitled “Cosmetics from Woad to Chlorophyll.” After a brief historical introduction the lecturer described the composition of all the important types of cosmetics with particular reference to the skin and hair.Particularly interesting points were the use of hormones and Vitamin A in skin preparations; the use of compounds such as p-aminobenzoic acid in sun-tan preparations to absorb all radiation below 3200 A; and the use of chlorophyll antibiotics and anti-enzymes. in tooth-paste to prevent dental decay. After discussion the lecturer was thanked on behalf of the audience by Dr J. M. Wright. Newcastle upon Tyne and North-East Coast.-On 3 February Dr R. A. Raphael of the University of Glasgow lectured on “Recent Advances in Acetylene Chemistry” at King’s College. He gave an introductory account ofthe properties of the acetylene triple bond followed by a very stimulating survey of the more recent synthetic work involving acetylene and its derivatives.A vote of thanks proposed by Professor G. R. Clemo was carried with acclamation. A meeting was held in the Technical College Sunderland on 25 February, when Dr L. Saunders of the School of Pharmacy University of London delivered a lecture entitled “Lecithin Films.” He dealt with the purification structure and synthesis of lecithins and their function as cell membrane constituents. Myelin forms of lecithins were discussed and practical demonstrations given. The surface chemistry of lecithins and their diffusion at the boundary between an aqueous sol and water and film formation at this boundary were described. After some discussion and questions from the audience Mr F. H. Oliver proposed a vote of thanks.North Wales.-The Annual General Meeting was held at the new Denbigh-shire Technical College Wrexham on 22 January. The meeting was preceded by an inspection of the College followed by tea in the College dining-room, by kind invitation of the Principal Mr D. Cecil Morgan. At the subsequent meeting Mr Morgan invited the Section to hold its future Wrexham meetings in the College where excellent facilities for such occasions exist. The Chairman of the Section Mr V. H. Williams accepted Mr Morgan’s offer and thanked hi 214 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL on behalf of the Section. The annual reports of the Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Secretary were read and adopted and Dr E. W. Claydon and Mr N. F. Rapps were re-elected Hon. Treasurer and Hon.Secretary respectively for the coming year. The Chairman and the Vice-chairman Mr. W. E. Hamer continue to serve for a further year and no changes were necessary in the existing Committee. Dr A. M. Spivey and Mr G. Higson were re-elected Hon. Auditors. In concluding the meeting the Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to the Principal of the College for his hospitality. A meeting was held at Imperial Buildings Wrexham on 19 February when Professor H. D. Springall spoke on “The Analytical Chemistry of Proteins and Amino Acids.” The lecture which was profusely illustrated by lantern slides, dealt with the nature of the problem and with the widely diverse analytical techniques which have been and are being applied to its solution. After a good discussion a vote of thanks was proposed by Mr S.Hibbert. Sheffield South Yorkshire and North Midlands.-The Annual Joint Meeting with the Sheffield Section of the Chemical Society and the University of Sheffield Chemical Society was held on 26 November in the University Chemistry Lecture Theatre and a good audience heard Dr H. W. Thompson, F.R.S. give a lecture entitled “Infra-red Spectroscopy and Chemical Problems.” Dr Thompson dealt with the construction of spectrometers mentioning how improvements in detectors and amplifiers had led to increased sensitivity which permitted a finer analysis of a large number of vapours of small molecules con-taining about seven or eight atoms. The lecturer also dealt with some applica-tions to analysis and structural diagnosis. Dr D. H.Peacock was in the Chair and Dr A. S. C. Lawrence proposed the vote of thanks. On 9 December at the Grand Hotel Sheffield Mr G. S. Pound of the British Diesel Oil and Petrol Company gave a lecture entitled “The Chemical Aspects of Low Temperature Carbonisation.” Dr D. H. Peacock was in the Chair. Having described the low temperature carbonisation process Mr Pound then gave details of the methods used for the separation of the materials in the primary distillation products yielding petrol diesel engine fuel and fuel oil a wide range of monohydric and dihydric phenols and a residual pitch used in the production of pitch mastic flooring. The low temperature tar provides a source of very many valuable materials used in a variety of industries throughout the country.The lecture was fairly well attended and a discussion followed. On 14 January at the Royal Victoria Hotel Sheffield the Members’ Evening was devoted to a discussion on “The Education of a Chemist.” The meeting was opened with short contributions from Mr A. W. Doyle Mr G. Mackay, Mr J. Hiles Dr A. S. C. Lawrence and Mr K. C. Barraclough who dealt respec-tively with the viewpoints of The Ministry of Education the Grammar Schools, the Technical Colleges the Universities and the Industrialists. In the short time available the formal contributions were necessarily restricted to very brief men-tion of the problems frustrations and objectives of chemical education. The audience contained a large number of members who had something to contribute and a very lively discussion followed.Most of the remarks were critical of the modern methods of chemical education but as might be expected from the breadth and complication of the topic no very definite conclusions were reached. After more than two and a half hours the meeting was as lively as ever and the Chairman Dr D. H. Peacock intervened to summarise the main points that had emerged from a most enjoyable and entertaining meeting. On 23 February with Dr Peacock in the Chair the Joint Meeting with the Sheffield Metallurgical Association was held at the British Iron and Steel Research Association Laboratories Sheffield when a lecture entitled “Twenty-Five Years of Co-operative Research on Corrosion” was delivered by Dr J. C. Hudson of the British Iron and Steel Research Association.Dr Hudson opened by mentioning the formation of the Corrosion Committee in 1928 with an account of its founder members particularly of Dr W. H. Hatfield and Mr J. H. S. Dickinson. He h e n described the present organisation of the Corrosion Committee mentionin 19541 LOCAL SECTION AFFAIRS 215 the various branches and giving an indication of the scope of the work of each branch. Most of the lecture was devoted to detailing the various factors con-tributing to corrosion such as the sulphur dioxide and water content of the atmosphere the salt content of the atmosphere in coastal areas sea-water cor-rosion and soil corrosion. Among the methods used for reduction of corrosion, he discussed the addition of small quantities of copper chromium and other substances and the application of paint and metal coatings.Mr F. H. Saniter proposed a vote of thanks. South Wales.-On 19 February a meeting was held at University College, Swansea under the Chairmanship of Dr Islwyn Jones when Mr R. C. Gillham (Monsanto Chemicals Ltd. Production Division) gave a lecture on “Krilium.” He described the two polymeric materials that have been developed for soil conditioning namely the calcium salt of hydrolysed polyacrylonitrile (Krilium 9 or CRD189) and a modified vinyl acetate - maleic anhydride copolymer (Krilium 6 or CRD 186) emphasising that they were soil conditioners primarily for clay soils and not fertilisers. The lecture was illustrated by a demonstration on untreated and Krilium-treated soils and by a film in colour. Mr E. Thornton voiced the thanks of the meeting for an extremely interesting and informative lecture.Stirlingshire and District.-The Annual General Meeting of the Section was held at the Lea Park Rooms Falkirk on 11 February under the Chairman-ship of Dr W. B. Peutherer. The Honorary Secretary-Treasurer Dr F. S. Fowkes reviewed the year’s activities. As usual the scientific meetings had been held jointly with the local section of the Society of Chemical Industry. In addition the December meeting had been held jointly with the Scottish Section of the Society for Analytical Chemistry and this had been a pronounced success. It was hoped to have further meetings in the future jointly with other societies. The summer meeting of the Scottish Sections of the chartered chemical bodies held on 15-16 May 1953 was organised jointly with the local section of the Society of Chemical Industry and its success was due largely to the work of Dr S.D. Forrester. In concluding his report Dr Fowkes indicated that as a result of the increased grant from the Council it should be possible to broaden the activities of the Section and this was under consideration. The following Officers and Committee were then elected for the coming year Chairman Mr R. J. Loveluck; Vice-chairman Dr W. B. Peutherer; Hon. Secretary-Treasurer Dr F. S. Fowkes; Members of Committee Mr J. 0. Ogilvie Lieut.-Col. F. M. Potter O.B.E. and Mr J. Primrose in addition to Mr G. C. Bailey Mr J. M. Haig and Mr W. Titterington who continue for another year. The Chairman expressed appreciation of the services rendered by the retiring members of Committee Mr J.Cunningham and Mr D. L. Williamson. The Honorary Auditors Dr J. K. Thomson and Mr J. M. Walker were re-elected and Mr R. J. Loveluck thanked them heartily for their past work. In conclusion there was a very brief discussion on the facilities for technical education leading to the Associateship in Scotland which was raised by Mr A. E. Pink. The Chairman pointed out that the Committee and Dr M. A. Pyke the District Member of Council were actively interested in this. After the Annual General Meeting we were joined by members of the local section of the Society of Chemical Industry and registered students of the Institute whom we were very pleased to see with us to hear Professor Maurice Stacey F.R.S.talk on “Fluorocarbons.” The lecturer reviewed the methods of synthesis of (a) partially fluorinated organic compounds ( b ) fluorocarbons and (c) fluorinated organic compounds with reactive groups. He then discussed the properties reactions and applications of these compounds which are fast becoming very important. The audience’s appreciation of Professor Stacey’s talk was apparent from the lively discussion interspersed with amusing anecdotes by the lecturer. Among those taking part were Dr P. F. Clarke Mr S. W. Dunworth, Mr R. J. Loveluck Mr L. J. Rundle Mr A. J. Shorter Dr G. H. Thomson and Dr W. L. Wood. The thanks of the meeting were expressed by Mr J. 0. Ogilvie 2 16 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL INSTITUTE AFFAIRS Proposed New Local Section.-A petition duly supported by the requisite number of signatures has been received for the formation of a Local Section to serve the Northern part of the County of Lancashire.On the understanding that the application was made with the approval of the existing Local Sections whose areas would be affected the Council has accepted the petition subject to agreement being reached with neighbouring Sections on the precise specification of bound-aries. Henderson Memorial Lecture.-The Third Henderson Memorial Lecture will be delivered in Glasgow by Professor J. Monteath Robertson on 8 October, 1954. The subject of the lecture will be “A Physical Approach to Terpenoid Structures.” Detailed arrangements will be announced later. EXAMINATIONS Examinations will be held in August and September 1954 as follows :-For the Associateship : Theoretical papers in London Birmingham and Glasgow and if required, in other centres on Monday and Tuesday 6 and 7 September.Practical exercises in London on Tuesday to Friday 3 1 August to 3 September inclusive and in London Birmingham and Glasgow on Wednesday to Saturday, 8 to 11 September inclusive. If the number of entries is large some candidates in the London area will be required to do their practical exercises on Tuesday to Friday 14 to 17 September inclusive. Candidates will be asked to state their preference as to the centre for their theoretical papers and the period and centre for their practical exercises but it must be clearly understood that no guarantee is given that their wishes can be met, as laboratory accommodation at each centre is limited.Candidates who have not yet been accepted for examination and who wish to present themselves in September should obtain from the Assistant Registrar without delay the prescribed Application Form so as to allow ample time to secure thereon the necessary signatures certifying that they have complied with the Regulations concerning their courses of training. The completed Applica-tion Form must reach the Institute not later than Monday 31 May, 1954. No Application in respect of the September Examination will be con-sidered if received after that date. Entry Forms will be sent as soon as they are ready to all accepted candidates. The last date for the receipt of Entry Forms will be Monday 28 June, 1954.For the Fellowship : In the week beginning Monday 13 September in London or elsewhere at the discretion of the Council. Last dates for application and for entry will be as for the Associateship except that candidates who desire to present themselves for examination in Branch G Industrial Chemistry with special reference to a particular field of work or in a Special Branch must submit their Entry Forms not later than Monday 31 May. No Entry will be accepted if received after that date. SIR GEORGE BEILBY MEMORIAL AWARDS At a meeting on 9 March 1954 the Administrators of the Sir George Beilby Memorial Fund considered the claims for an award from the Fund of candidates whose merits had been brought to their attention. The Committee was impressed by the promise shown by several of these candidates but concluded that none of them adequately fulfilled the conditions of the award which is made “in recogni-tion of continuous work of exceptional merit bearing evidence of distinct advance-ment in science and practice.” It was decided therefore to make no award for 1953 but to let it be known that this decision should not discourage future applications by or on behalf of th 19541 INSTITUTE AFFAIRS 217 present candidates or other investigators working on subjects relating to the special interests of Sir George Beilby including problems connected with fuel economy chemical engineering and metallurgy.PUBLICATIONS Monograph on Hydrogen Peroxide.-Several modern developments have caused hydrogen peroxide to join the ever-growing list of chemicals that are now manufactured on a large scale.Among these developments may be mentioned its use in Britain’s atomic factories (see page loo) as a propulsion agent in the Navy’s latest submarine “Explorer,” and in rockets and assisted take-off units. The appearance of an authoritative Institute monograph by Mr W. S. Wood dealing with the manufacture chemistry and general uses of hydrogen peroxide is therefore opportune. It is hoped that copies will be available in time for distribution with this issue of the Journal. Statistical Methods in Analytical Chemistry.-The monograph by Mr D. R. Read on “Statistical Methods with Special Reference to Analytical Chemistry” has for some time been out of print. As there continues to be a demand for it the Publications Committee has decided to reprint a limited edition by the photo-litho method and copies will shortly be available price 4s.6d., post free. Those wishing to make sure of receiving a copy should place their orders with the office of the Institute as soon as possible. Journal Binding Service.-As promised in an earlier issue details of the binding service offered by W. Heffer & Sons Ltd. are being circulated with this number. Members’ copies will be bound in green buckram for 8s. 6d. including return postage. Members wishing to avail themselves of this service are advised to make sure that the plates for the April number which were distributed in a separate folder in May are forwarded with the 12 monthly issues for 1953 and the Annual Report for 1952 for inclusion in their bound copies.All enquiries should be addressed to W. Heffer & Sons, Ltd. Hills Road Cambridge. Register of Fellows and Associates Costs.-Copies of the Register are at present distributed without charge to about 1700 corporate members resident overseas who lack other facilities and services available to members in Great Britain and Ireland. About 500 copies are required for free distribution to scientific societies libraries and other organisations. Copies of the 1950 edition of the Register were despatched without charge to all members in the United Kingdom who applied for them; less than 4000 did so. A charge of 5s. was made for the 1952 edition and only 1534 members ordered copies. This means that with a free distribution to members in the U.K.an edition of about 6200 (4000 plus 2200) would be required but if a charge of 5s. is made an edition of 4000 is sufficient. The total cost of printing and posting 4000 copies and upwards is shown in the following table :-Covers only can be supplied at 3s. 6d. Printing Postage Total 6 1849 E 108 E 4000 1741 5000 1898 135 2033 6000 2055 162 2217 7000 2212 189 240 1 10,000 2683 2 70 2953 12,000 2997 324 3321 14,000 331 1 3 78 3689 With free distribution in the U.K. the total cost of printing and postage would be E2253 whereas with a charge of 5s. the actual net cost was E790 less than this (g1463; i.e. El849 less income from sales of E386). In view of these considerations the Council has decided that the practice of making a nominal charge to members in the U.K.should be continued 218 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL EXTERNAL RELATIONS Assodation of Clinical Biochemists.-The Association has asked whether the Joint Sub-committee on Hospital Biochemists is to be regarded as still in existence and if not whether the Institute considered that the duties of the Joint Sub-committee should now be carried out by the new Association. This Joint Sub-Committee of representatives of the Institute? the Biochemical Society and the Association of Clinical Pathologists has been regarded as being in abey-ance and the Council’s view is that it would be appropriate for its functions to be exercised in future by the Association of Clinical Biochemists.It has been agreed to address an enquiry to the Association about means for co-operation with the Institute on matters affecting the professional interests of hospital bio-chemists whether by the establishment of a new Joint Committee or otherwise. Society f o r Analytical Chemistry.-The Council of the Society has decided that it is no longer suitable for them to nominate members of the Joint Committee dealing with professional matters affecting public analysts and that this function would more properly be exercised by the newly formed Association of Public Analysts. The Council of the Institute has therefore agreed to take up the question of reconstituting the Joint Committee with the Association of Public Analysts which has already indicated its desire to co-operate closely with the Institute on matters of common interest.Determination of Alcohol in Blood and Urine.-The paper by Dr D. W. Kent-Jones and Mr G. Taylor O.B.E. presented on behalf of the panel of analysts appointed by the Institute to assist the Committee of the British Medical Associa-tion on Alcohol and Road Accidents was published in the March number of Th Analyst. It was read at a joint meeting of the Society for Analytical Chemistry and the Institute on 20 January (see p. 93). An account of the Chairman’s introduction and the discussion is also included. Hon. Representative f o r Further Education.-On the proposal of the East Midlands Section the Council has agreed to nominate Mr R. Betteridge as a representative of the Institute on the Advisory Panel for the Chemical Industry, the East Midlands Regional Advisory Council for Further Education.Honorary Representatives in Technical Colleges.-Mr R. Q. Anderson has replaced Mr W. K. Wilde as Honorary Representative of the Institute at the Lancaster and Morecambe College of Further Education with effect from 12 March 1954. Mr Wilde was appointed Head of the Chemistry Department at the North Staffordshire Technical College at the beginning of the year. PERSONAL NOTES News of Honorary Fellow The Senate of the University of London has conferred the title of Honorary Fellow on Sir Henry Tizard G.C.B. A.F.C. F.R.S. Honours and Awards The Royal Society.-The following Fellows of the Institute are among the newly elected 25 Fellows of the Royal Society:-Professor D.H. R. Barton, Birkbeck College London Professor E. G. Cox University of Leeds and Dr W. A. Waters University of Oxford. The Royal Society of Edinburgh.-The following Fellows of the Institute have been recently elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh:-Dr B. Raistrick Scottish Agricultural Industries Ltd. and Dr R. B. Strathdee O.B.E., T.D. University of Aberdeen. University College London.-The title of Honorary Fellow of University College London has been conferred on Dr C. E. Dent and Professor E. D. Hughes F.R.S. Fellows and Dr Douglas McKie Associate 19541 INSTITUTE AFPAIRS 219 Dr S. K. Bhattacharyya Fellow has been elected to an ordinary Fellowship of the National Institute of Sciences of India. Dr C. S. Whewell Fellow Reader in textile finishing University of Leeds has received the Institute Medal of the Textile Institute in recognition of distinguished service to the textile industry in general and to the Institute in particular.Dr J. D. Kendall Fellow has been awarded the Silver Medal of the Austrian Photographic Society for his outstanding contributions to photographic chemistry. Societies and Institutions Mr J. Barritt Associate assistant director of research at the Wool Industries Research Association has been elected an honorary member of the Society of Dyers and Colourists for outstanding services. He was the Society’s Hon. Secretary from 1946 until last year. Dr R. Belcher Fellow senior lecturer in analytical chemistry the University of Birmingham has been invited by the Oesterreichische Gesellschaft fur Mikro-chemie to give lectures in Vienna Graz Innsbruck and Linz.Mr C. V. Fife Associate has been elected Chairman of the Manawatee Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. Mr K. M. Griffin Fellow has been appointed Vice-president of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry for 1954. He was formerly Secretary of the Auck-land Chemical Society and as such called the meeting at which the New Zealand Institute was founded. National Institute of Sciences of India.-Sir S. S. Bhatnagar O.B.E. and Dr S. Ghosh Fellows past presidents become ex oficio members of the Council. Dr V. Subrahmanyan Fellow has been elected a member of the Council. University and College Appointments Mr C. L. Carter Associate has been appointed acting head of the Chemistry Department University of Otago.Dr T. F. Dixon Fellow has resigned his London appointment to return to the Chair of Biochemistry at the Royal Faculty of Medicine Baghdad which he previously held in 1945-48. Dr A. R. Lowe Fellow has been appointed head of the Department of Chemistry and Biology the Technical College Swansea. Professor F. G. Soper Fellow has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago. He was lecturer in physical chemistry University College of North Wales from 192 1 to 1936 before going to New Zealand. Professor A. R. J. P. Ubbelohde F.R.S. Fellow has been appointed to the London University Chair of Thermodynamics tenable at Imperial College in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Public and Industrial Dr S. G. Burgess Fellow deputy chemist to the L.C.C.and deputy agricultural analyst to the County of London has been appointed chemist-in-chief on Mr C. J. Regan’s retirement. Mr L. V. Cocks Fellow has been appointed deputy manager of the Unilever Research Department Port Sunlight. Mr C. E. M. Goodrick Fellow has been appointed deputy factory manager, Glaxo Laboratories Ltd. Dr G. C. Hampson Fellow has been appointed manager of the Unilever Research Department Port Sunlight. Mr E. A. Harvey Fellow has been appointed production manager for fine chemicals and antibiotics Boots Pure Drug Co. Ltd. and a director of Boots Cash Chemists (Eastern) Ltd. Dr S. R. W. Martin Fellow has been appointed a director of W. A. Mltchell and Smith Ltd. Mr H. J. Palmer Fellow has been appointed a director of Swift & Co.Mr A. G. Peacock Associate Secretary of the Scientific Instrument Manu-facturers’ Association has resigned and joined the Board of Mervyn Instruments, St John’s Woking 220 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL Sir Arthur Smout Fellow has accepted the Chairmanship of British Industries Fair Ltd. a new company which is to take over the B.I.F. after the 1954 fair has been held. Mr B. J. Thomas Associate has been appointed plant manager at the Castner-Kellner Works General Chemicals Division I.C.I. Ltd. Mr E. Vero Associate has been elected a director of the Loughborough Glass Co. Ltd. Mr B. White Fellow has been appointed deputy managing director of A. Boake Roberts and Go. Ltd. He was previously a director of the company.Retirements Mr L. Anderson Fellow director of Boots Pure Drug Co. Ltd. and production manager of fine chemicals and antibiotics retired last month. Professor W. E. Garner C.B.E. F.R.S. Fellow is retiring after 27 years from the Leverhulme Chair of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry in the University of Bris tol. Mr C. J. Regan Fellow chemist-in-chief to the L.C.C. retired last month. Dr H. A. Scarborough Associate has retired from the position of Principal, Dr R. Thomas Fellow has retired from his position as manager of the Unilever Rutherford College of Technology Newcastle upon Tyne. Research Department Port Sunlight. Visitors Dr H. E. Annett O.B.E. Fellow President of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry for 1953 sailed from Wellington on 13 March to visit this country.He proposes to return in October. Dr Annett was recently elected to the Hamil-ton City Council. Mr 0. H. Keys Associate is visiting this country in the near future for a period of two months. Mr Keys who is government analyst for Otago and Southland, has been for several years a member of the committee of the New Zealand Section and a Council member of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. Erratum.-We regret that two further corrections have to be made to the list of Corrigenda and Addenda on page 164 of the March issue :-For Blenfold Don Egan read Blenford Don Egon. For Powers Howard Edward Charles read Powers Harold Edward Charles. PROFESSIONAL NEWS AND NOTES COURSES AND SUMMER SCHOOLS Acton Technical College.-A course of 12 lectures will be held in the Department of Chemistry and Biology on Selected Methods of Modern Analytical Technique in Pure and Applied Chemistry on Fridays at 7.30 p.m., beginning 30 April.There will be four lectures on paper chromatography four on the application of ultraviolet and infra-red absorption spectroscopy two on polarography and its applications and two on the mass spectrometer and its applications. Fee 30s. Further particulars and form of registration can be obtained from the Principal Acton Technical College High Street Acton W.3. Bolton Technical College.-The Science Department has arranged an intensive short course for Administrative and Sales Personnel in the Chemical Industry to enable them to have a better knowledge of the technical aspects of their work to appreciate customers’ problems to be able to discuss them intelli-gently and to pass on reliable information to the experts in their firm who will ultimately handle these problems.The course provides a training in the fundamental principles of chemical and related science but is not designed to lead to academic qualifications. It i 19541 PROFESSIONAL NEWS AND NOTES 22 1 assumed that the students have a wide general knowledge and experience but limited scientific training. There will be lectures demonstrations discussions and a limited amount of individual practical work. The course is of three months’ duration and will begin in September. A further course will start in January 1955. Firms wishing to nominate prospective students for the September course are asked to notify the Principal Bolton Technical College Manchester Road Bolton, as soon as possible and certainly before 9 June.Nominations for the January course should also be made as early as possible; the closing date will be 14 July. The tuition fee for the course will be L25 and a deposit of 61 is payable on apparatus issued. Students attending previous courses have found accommodation at the Y.M.C.A. Hostel Lostock Dene nr. Bolton. Details can be obtained from the Secretary Y.M.C.A. Deansgate Bolton. Borough Polytechnic.-A course of 4 lectures by Dr K. G. A. Pankhurst will be given at 7 p.m. on Mondays from 3 to 24 May on Soaps and Synthetic Detergents. Synopsis History of the soap and synthetic detergent industries ; classification of detergents; methods of analysis; nature and measurement of surface tension ; contact angles and “wetting”; orientation of detergents at interfaces ; emulsifica-tion ; foam formation ; micelle formation and physical properties of detergent solutions.Forms of application should be returned with a fee of 10s. 6d. as soon as possible to The Secretary Borough Polytechnic Borough Road London S.E. 1. Enquiries about future courses should be directed to Dr Francis Aylward, F.R.I.C. at the Polytechnic. Bradford Technical College.-The Department of Chemistry and Dyeing has arranged a post-advanced course of 10 lectures on Physico-Chemical Aspects of Dyeing to be held in the College on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. beginning 5 May. Synopsis Structure and properties of natural and allied fibres and of synthetic fibres ; aggregation diffusion and electrical properties of dyes in solution ; influence of structure on substantivity; aspects of colour ; dyeing with direct cotton colours, vat dyes acid wool dyes; dyeing of synthetic fibres; photochemical aspects of dyeing.Fee 30s. Forms of application should be obtained from the Principal of the College and returned not later than 24 April. Imperial College of Science and Technology.-A Summer School in Mineral Dressing will be held in the Bessemer Laboratory Royal School of Mines Prince Consort Road London S.W.7 from 14 to 17 September. The course includes lectures covering comminution classification grinding control, gravity separation flotation and ancillary processes and is illustrated by films, demonstrations and class work.Fee 10 guineas. Application forms may be obtained from the Registrar Imperial College, Prince Consort Road S.W.7. Students of the College and Inter-Collegiate students will be admitted free to the lectures. Loughborough College of Technology.-Arrangements have been made to hold a Summer Course in Heat Transfer from 19 to 31 July inclusive. Introductory notes on the theory and practice of Heat Transfer will be issued to students before the course begins and these will be discussed in the first few days of the course. After this there will be lectures on special topics followed by experiments on pilot-scale apparatus. Inclusive fee 20 guineas; if not requiring accommodation or mid-day meals, 12 guineas. Only 30 students can be admitted.Application forms should be returned on completion to Dr R. F. Phillips, Department of Chemical Engineering Loughborough College of Technology, Loughborough Leicestershire 222 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL Bradford Technical College.-Applications are invited for three Wool Textile Research Council Scholarships tenable in the Department of Chemistry and Dyeing at the Technical College Bradford. The value of each scholarship will be E300 per annum. Applicants for two of the scholarships should have a university degree (or equivalent qualifications) with chemistry as a principal subject. Applicants for the third scholarship should preferably have qualifica-tions in chemistry and either Biology Physiology or Physics.Full details may be obtained from the Principal Technical College Bradford 7. Huddersfield Technical College.-Several Research Scholarships of valueL60 toE300 per annum are tenable for 2 years or more in the Department of Chemistry Colour Chemistry and Dyeing and/or other Departments of the College. The SchoIarships are open to graduates or candidates with equivalent qualifications of either sex. Further particulars and application forms may be obtained from the Principal The Technical College Queen Street South, Huddersfield. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS The Chemical Society.-The Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize consisting of a Silver Medal and a monetary prize of 150 guineas is given annually to the chemist of either sex and of British nationality who in the judgment of the Council of the Chemical Society has published during the year in question the most meritorious contribution to experimental chemistry and who has not at the date of publication attained the age of 36 years.Copies of the rules governing the Award may be obtained from the General Secretary Burlington House London W. 1. Applications or recommendations in respect of the Award for the year 1953 must be received not later than 31 December 1954. Plastics Industry Training Grants.-The Trustees of the Plastics Industry Education Fund invite applications from young men or women engaged in the Plastics Industry for a limited number of training grants towards the cost of a year’s full-time study at an approved course leading to a degree diploma or other equivalent qualification in science or engineering.The value of the grants in the past has normally been &loo but smaller sums will be awarded by the Training Grants Committee when other resources are available to the candidates. Applica-tions for renewal of grants for a second year will also be considered. Candidates are required to submit a recommendation from their employers together with documentary evidence of scholastic or academic qualifications e.g. School Certificate General Certificate of Education Matriculation or National Certificate. Applications must be submitted in writing to the Secretary to Council The Plastics Institute The Adelphi Adam Street London W.C.2 by 1 June 1954. Technical State Scholarships 1954.-Arrangements for the award of 120 Technical State Scholarships to students from Technical Colleges and other Establishments for Further Education will be continued in 1954 on the same general lines as hitherto.Most of the Scholarships will be offered to students who have obtained an Ordinary National Certificate or other qualification of equivalent standard and will enable them to pursue full-time Honours degree courses or courses of equiv-alent standard at Universities University Colleges or Establishments for Further Education. A limited number of awards may also be made to enable suitable candidates who have obtained an initial qualification of University first degree or Higher National Certificate standard by part-time work to attend approved postgraduate courses of study or research of an applied or technological nature.These awards will be available for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years. Candidates must be recommended by (i) the Further Education Establishment at which they obtained their qualification and (ii) the Establish-ment at which they propose to take a postgraduate course. They must also give full particulars of the study or research which they intend to undertake 19541 PROFESSIONAL NEWS AND NOTES 223 Full particulars are given on Form 1 U.T. which together with forms of application (Form 2 U.T.) may be obtained from Principals of Establishments for Further Education or from the Ministry of Education (F.E.I.(b)) Curzon Street, London W.l. SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS Society for Analytical Chemistry.-The 80th Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on 3 March in the Meeting Room of the Royal Society, after which the Bernard Dyer Memorial Lecture was delivered by Dr E.B. Hughes. He discussed the contribution of Public Analysts and analytical chem-ists in general to the public welfare. Among other matters Dr Hughes suggested that more publicity should be given to what analysts did in science and industry rather than how they did it. He emphasised that industry the trade associations, economists and the Government must be told something of the study and zeal that lay largely hidden from them in the analyst’s contribution to the prosperity of industry and of the nation. World Congress on Surface Active Agents.-This Congress organised by the Chambre Syndicale Tramagras will be held at the Sorbonne with Professor Trefouel Director of the Institut Pasteur as President from 30 August to 3 September.Dr J. H. Schulman has accepted the presidency of the Section on the physico-chemistry of surface active agents. Further information can be obtained from M. ButrC General Secretary 70 Champs-Elyskes Paris VIIIe. World Power Conference.-The Brazilian Sectional Meeting will take place from 25 July to 10 August 1954. Forms for membership application, hotel reservations and the technical tour (2-10 August) can be obtained from the British National Committee at 20 1-2 Grand Buildings Trafalgar Square, London W.C.2. The Fifth (Plenary) World Power Conference is to be held at Vienna during the summer of 1956 and the draft outline of the technical programme will be drawn up by the Austrian National Committee for discussion at the Executive Council meeting in Brazil at the time of the Sectional Meeting.VIth Technical Trade Exhibition.-This Exhibition will be held at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Old Hall Vincent Square London, S.W.1 on the following dates : Wednesday 21 April; 3 to 8.30 p.m. Thursday 22 April; 2 to 8.30 p.m. Friday 23 April; 2 to 7.30 p.m. O.C.C.A. Descriptive brochures can be obtained from the General Secretary Oil & Colour Chemists’ Association Memorial Hall Farringdon Street London, E.C.4 to whom requests for further information should be sent. HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE LIQUIDS Storage and Use Safe8 CircuZur No. 97-“Code for the Storage and Use of Highly Inflammable Liquids” has recently been issued by the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers 166 Piccadilly London W.1. The Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 enforces statutory regulations covering the transport and storage of petroleum spirit. The definition of petroleum” in the Act covers a number of chemicals not derived from natural petroleum and having flash points below 73”F including benzene and naphtha from coal-tar which for purposes of the Act are classified as “petroleum spirit”. However broadly speaking the definition of “other products of petroleum” referred to in this Act does not include many newly developed substances that require extreme precaution in both handling and use. For the majority of c 224 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL these a different approach is required than for petroleum spirit itself.For the latter the regulations deal mainly with storage and transport covering garages, etc. with the primary object of protecting the public. Local Authorities act conveniently as a medium of control. However most of the chemical products covered in the Association's new code are used in factories where the public have no right of entry. Their handling requires specialised knowledge and Local Authorities in general cannot be expected to have the qualified technical officials necessary. The A.B.C.M. therefore suggested to the Home Office (Explosives Department) and the Ministry of Labour and National Service (Factory Depart-ment) that the Association should prepare voluntarily a code for the storage and use of highly inflammable liquids which are not subject to the Petroleum Act.Large and small companies with special experience have co-operated for the past two years in drafting the code and maintaining close contact with the Government Departments and the Institute of Petroleum. The code has been examined by the Chief Inspectors of Explosives and Factories who agree that it is fundamentally sound. It has been based largely on the regulations in the 1928 Act for petroleum spirit but some recommendations go beyond the requirements of the official regulations. It is admitted that due to diversity of conditions and materials strict compliance with the code presents difficulties in some works but as far as the recommendations are practicable they should be observed particularly when the design and building of new installations are under consideration.In drawing up the code it has been assumed that it is the responsibility of the occupier to assess the risk and the required precautions. The statutory regulations apply to liquids with a flash point below 73"F and this definition has been adopted although it is pointed out that it is a wrong assumption that liquids with a higher flash point cannot be dangerous-a point which has been taken into account in drawing up the code. This Safety Circular covers storage in all its aspects transfer and use. Notes are given on building covering space heating ventilation and electrical installa-tion fire fighting and static electricity. Reference is made to smoking unauthorised entry protective clothing and spontaneous combustion.Undoubtedly from the viewpoint of both management and employee this Circular is an important contribution to factory safety. It is available at a price of 2s. post free from the Association at Cecil Chambers 86 Strand London W.C.2. [W. F. C.] TRAINING OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS AND LABORATORY TECHNICIANS IN CANADA In the February issue of Chemistry in Canada W. G. Hines Director of the School of Industrial Chemistry Ryerson Institute of Technology describes Canada's new venture in chemical education. He points out that towards the end of the war the Government of Ontario realised that they could no longer obtain the trained men required in industry without institutions of the poly-technic and technical college type.Thus towards the end of the war and just after it the Government established Institutes of Mining (Haileybury) Textiles (Hamilton) and Forestry and Mining (Fort William-Port Arthur). In Toronto the Ryerson Institute of Technology composed originally of 10 and later of 12 schools for various branches of training opened in 1948 and the School of Industrial Chemistry was established in 1949. The basic admission requirement to any diploma or certificate course at Ryerson is the possession of a secondary school graduation certificate or its equivalent. An increasing per-centage of applicants however are of Grade XIII standing (university matricula-tion standard). All students in the Institute take English for two years at three hours a week economics at two hours a week human relations in industry (industrial management and psychology) two hours a week and physical educa-tion for two years at two hours a week.All students in the School of Industrial Chemistry take a basic first year in common. Principles of chemistry analytical and industrial chemistry physics and electricity are offered at about Grade XI1 19541 PROFESSIONAL NEWS AND NOTES 225 level. In the laboratory attention is directed primarily to the application of of theory. Biology is included as a “familiarisation” course largely bacteriology and human physiology. Mathematics of Grade XI11 level is offered for four hours a week with decided emphasis on its application to chemical and physical problems. Students may spend either an additional year on a course leading to a certificate in laboratory technology (with either a Chemical or Public Health option) or two additional years leading to a diploma either in research technology (chemistry) or in instrument technology (physics).These technicians are making it possible for laboratory supervisors to be relieved of many of the day-to-day problems and routines which would otherwise take up much of their time. Trouble-shooting in the plant non-routine testing and analysis as well as the more routine specification checking and compiling, together with quality control work have been handed over to a large extent to such men. Some have become analysts for smaller firms while others are carrying on product development research or have entered the field of technical sales. The paper in which these developments were described was presented at the Annual Conference of the Chemical Institute of Canada in June last year.RETIREMENT AGE AT THE UNIVERSITIES In the February number of 7’h University Review Professor A. L. Goodhart, Master of University College Oxford discusses the question whether the almost universal age limit of 65 is still appropriate in view of the changed age structure of the community. In November last Congregation of the University of Oxford approved a statute for submission to H.M. in Council raising the age of retirement from 65 to 67. On the same day the same question was being considered by the Senate of the University of Cambridge when it was decided that it would be premature to call for any increase in the retiring age until proposals for the supplementation of pensions of retired officers and a more liberal employment of officers over the retirement age were decided.Professor Goodhart discusses this question in relation to the first report of the National Advisory Committee on the Employment of Older Men and Women-‘ ‘a highly competent body whose conclusions can be regarded as being of scientific value.” It can be assumed that the majority of university teachers will live beyond any retiring age now in contemplation and that the majority of men and women capable of giving efficient service at 60 can continue to do so up to the age of 70. The most valuable quality in a teacher is enthusiasm and it has been said that though discouragement tends to reach its peak between the ages of 50 and 60, “thereafter the teacher gets his second wind”.However any risk of senescence must be avoided and here we might learn from some of the American universities, where it is provided that the senior professor need not necessarily be the administra-tive head of the laboratory. “It is unusual to find a university teacher who welcomes the idea of retirement at 65. He still enjoys his work and this is the best test of his capacity to accomplish it.” It has been said that an increase in the age of retirement for senior teachers would discourage young men from entering the teaching profession as their promotion might be delayed. On the other hand various factors e.g. military service have tended to increase the average age at which teachers receive their first university appointment and the delay in promotion would be counter-balanced by the addition to their teaching lives.Of far greater importance, however is the fact that universities must compete with other professions and with industry in regard to the general standard of living. If the payment of active teachers falls below a certain necessary minimum there will be a sharp decline both in the number and quality of recruits. Unfortunately the amount of money available for this purpose is at present strictly limited and it is unlikely to be increased in the near future. Pensions must ultimately come from the general teaching fund and active teachers must in the long run pay for those who have retired on pension. In conclusion Professor Goodhart asks why his own office is subject to an age limit of 70.The more obvious explanation he says is not a flattering one 226 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL SHORTAGE OF SCIENCE TEACHERS The February number of the new Journal of the Institute of Biology contains an article entitled “The Shortage of Science Teachers,” in which the adequacy of the Report of the National Advisory Council on the Training and Supply of Teachers on Graduate Teachers ofMathematics and Science is considered in a commen-tary by W. B. Yapp (University of Birmingham). Mr Yapp states that the Report practically ignores the most important aspect of the situation. He claims that the scale for a technician in the Health Service rises higher and that for some experimental officers in the Scientific Civil Service much higher than the 1952 Burnham Scales for graduates although the first of these is for men who need have achieved no school examinations at all and the second demands rather less than the requirements for entry to most universities.While this position remains, suggestions for more laboratory assistance and better equipment in schools, although important as part of a plan for generally raising the status of the teaching profession are likely to have little direct effect. He concludes “The worst feature of the Report is its acceptance of the view that this is a short-term problem. In the numerical sense this is true for the number of pupils in grammar schools is likely to begin to fall in 1960 but in the qualitative sense the problem will last just as long as it remains unsolved.English education is traditionally built on a high standard of scholarship in the schools. That standard is rapidly being lost, and unless something is done soon the standards in the universities will begin to decline. If all able scientists abandon teaching for research there will soon be no one left with the necessary knowledge on which to base research.” In fairness to the National Advisory Council however it should be added that the Report concludes by expressing the conviction “that unless enough men and women with suitable abilities and qualifications come forward to teach in schools, there must be serious long-term effects both on the general quality of education of the nation and on the future supply of scientists and technologists.” MISCELLANEOUS Death of M r Bayes.-We have been informed that Mr Gilbert Bayes the sculptor of the figure of Joseph Priestley over the front door of 30 Russell Square, died on 10 July last year at the age of eighty-one.A well-known sculptor and designer of medals Mr Bayes was awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Society of British Sculptors for his frieze on the Saville Theatre. He designed the Great Seal of George V and the King’s Police Medal. His sculpture includes the Constant Coquelin Memorial ComCdie Franqaise and works in the Tate and other Galleries. Developments in Carotenoid Chemistry.-In his lecture at Aberdeen on 5 March (see p. 210) Dr T. W. Goodwin pointed out that carotenoids do not function directly in photosynthesis but in some organisms they pass on the light energy which they absorb to chlorophyll.Until recently it was thought that carotenoids were the pigments responsible for the phototropic bending of plants but this is now attributed to riboflavin. In the lower animals carotenoids can function in two main ways; (a) by contribution to the general colour pattern and ( b ) by being responsible for the colour differentiation which occurs at sexual maturation in certain animals. In higher animals (mammals) carotenoids function only by being converted into vitamin A as they cross the gut wall and this property is confined to the small number of carotenoids conforming to the structural requisite for vitamin A activity. Genetic studies on tomatoes suggest that lycopene is synthesised by the step-wise dehydrogenation of a fully saturated C4, precursor four hydrogen atoms at a time via a series of polyenes.Using the fungus Phzcomyces blakesbeanus how-ever it has been shown that 6-carotene is synthesised in a different manner and that the amino acids leucine and valine probably supply the C repeating unit (possibly 6-methylcrotanaldehyde) for this synthesis. Streptomycin at low concentrations inhibits carotenogenesis in this fungus by about 70 per cent, and increasing the concentration has no further inhibitory effect. Thus ther 19541 CORRESPONDENCE 227 appear to be two biosynthetic pathways in the same organism one sensitive and the other insensitive to streptomycin. Ministry of Education Estimates.-The estimate of the net expenditure for 1954-55 is almost L244Q millions an increase of about L179 millions over the Vote for the previous year.An increase of k22 millions appears under the sub-head of grants to L.E.As. and a further increase of 616 millions under grants to persons other than L.E.As. and teachers’ pensions. About LQ million will be saved under the subheads of scholarships and maintenance allowances and physical training. Total receipts mainly pension contributions are expected to show an increase ofL3Q millions. It is pointed out that the decrease under scholarships and maintenance allow-ances reflects the running down of the Further Education and Training Scheme for ex-Service students but the decrease is more than offset by the increased provision for State Scholarships L.E.A.awards and increased grants to students in Training Colleges. Not less than 1850 State Scholarships will be offered in 1954. The provision for technological training in the U.S.A. shows a considerable reduction owing to the closing down of the scheme but this is more than offset by a new subhead providing for a Conditional Aid Scheme designed to promote productivity for industry (the cost to be recovered from the Board of Trade). CORRESPONDENCE ROYAL TECHNICAL COLLEGE GLASGOW SIR,-Under the portrait of Frederick Penny (opposite p. 121 of your last issue) the date of his death is given as 1899 instead of 1869. It is curious that such an error should occur in this particular case because already there exists a discrepancy in the literature about it. His obituary notice in the Journal o f t h Chemical Society gives it as 22 December 1869 and in Sexton’s book (referred to on p.1 17) it appears as 22 November 1869. A letter written by Penny’s biographer, James Adams to Sexton dated 20 December 1893 has just been acquired by the College Library. It shows that Sexton got his date from Adams who was a close friend of Penny’s and was with him when he died. My article would have been more accurate had I transposed “in 1870,” and “was filled,” in the first line of p. 124. An interesting statement in the same letter is that “for some years before his death Penny’s professional income exceeded &6,000 a year and it was progres-sing”-quite a substantial sum for that period ! JOHN A. CRANSTON Royal Technical College Glasgow.[Mr John Dalton M.C. a grandson of Frederick Penny has also drawn atten-tion to this error. ED.] TEACHERS’ SALARIES Sm,-There are a number of points in Dr A. G. Lowndes’ letter on this subject which cannot be allowed to pass without comment. (u) I have taught in four Grammar Schools during the past 25 years. In all these schools the time-table was nominally 9 a.m. to 4 or 4.15 p.m. In each case something like 2 hours a day would be an average amount to add to include games school societies marking and all the extraneous duties of a grammar school master. The R.I.C. statistics show that a schoolmaster’s salary is approximately 50 per cent of that of other chemists with equivalent qualifications. ( b ) Admittedly holidays are good but salaries are very low 228 JOURNAL OF THE ~ O Y A L INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL None, one might add except the responsibility to provide for a wife and family which, far too frequently means that spare time must be sacrificed to poorly paid evening-school work.The statement that “When he has secured his job he is there for life” cuts both ways! (d) I have had some experience of research work during my teaching career. Research in chemistry is very difficult unless one has ready access to a good library and to a University. I t is difficult to find time except in holidays and research in chemistry can entail considerable expense. I spent my spare time during three years on research while at a school 75 miles from a library or University. Evening work proved of little value as everything had to be cleared away to prepare the laboratory for its normal purpose next day.In order to complete the work which was making disappointingly slow progress I applied for and was granted a term’s leave of absence-without salary-and completed the work at a University. I gained an advanced degree at a total cost of some hundreds of pounds and then found that my salary was E5 p.a. less than it would have been had I not improved my qualifications and ability; I had forfeited not only a term7s salary but also the normal salary increment for that term. It is interesting to note in view of my claim that salaries provided by the Burnham Scale are very low that the maximum salary for an honours graduate with training is E766 in England. In Scotland the corresponding figure is k875 while in Northern Ireland it is E890.(c) Dr Lowndes states that a teacher has no financial responsibility. J. ROBERT FILES The Royal Grammar School Lancaster. [We are sure Mr Files would not wish his estimate of 50 per cent in paragraph The remuneration statistics in J. 1953 384 do not ( b ) to be taken literally. allow of the calculation of an average figure for chemists as a whole. ED.] THE REGISTER [Bracketed letters indicate Local Sections. For key see page 110.1 NEW FELLOW STILL John Errol B.Sc. (Lond.) ASSOCIATES ELECTED TO THE FELLOWSHIP ANDREWS Geoffrey Robert BARANY Henry Charles BLOUNT Reginald Willis B.Sc. BOUSTEAD William Robert James, BREADEN Thomas William M.Sc. CALDER Allan Balfour B.Sc. (St. FORBES Derek Guthrie B.Sc.(Lond.) GIBSON Joseph M.Sc. Ph.D. (Dun-HARRIS Frederick John. (Lond.) F.I.M. M.A. (Cantab.) (N.U.I.) F.I.C.I. Andrews) elm.) (0) HASTINGS John James Hunter, M.B.E. M.Sc.Tech. (Manc.) (Q) HOLBROOK Allan (P) HOLDSWORTH Eric Spencer Ph.D. (Leeds) (EE) JACKSON Clive (Q) MATHER Eric. (C) PALMER Samuel Wallace A.I.M. (F) PHILBIN Eva Maria M.Sc. Ph.D. (V) PHILLIPS James Ivor (P) SHELTON James Harry (Q) WILKINSON Norman Thomas (R) WOOD Alexander (N.U.I.) NEW ASSOCIATES ADAMS Eric Philip B.Sc. (Lond.) (W) ASQUITH Jack (FF) BLACK William B.Sc. (St. Andrews) BADBY Alan James B.Sc. (Lond.) (P) BRADSHAW James Ronald BAKER Leonard Charles B.Sc. (Q) BROMILOW Geoffrey Taylor B.Sc. BANKS Ronald Eric B.Sc. (Dunelm.) (0) BROWNLOW Stanley BEALL Ivor Donovan B.Sc.(Lond.) (Lond.) A. R. C. S. (Lond. 19541 THE REGISTER 229 BUSH Eric Langley CHADWICK James M.Sc.Tech., Ph.D. (Manc.) CHILVER James Wilfred BSc. (Lond.) CLARKE Dennis Roger CLAUSSEN Brian Harry B.Sc. (Lond.) COLLIER Herbert William Bryan COPELAND Philip Groves B.Sc. COSKERY Peter B.Sc. (Belfast) COTTER Matthew James B.Sc. Cox Philip Duncan Cox Richard CRAMPSEY Edward B.Sc. (Glas.) DENNIS Ernest David DICK James Arthur A.H.-W.C. DOW John B.Sc. (Glas.) A.R.T.C. EDMONDSON Basil Ronald EVANS Keith Brian FAIRCLOTH Reginald Leonard, FIRTH Keith GARNER James Joseph B.Sc. (Manc.) GRIEVESON. Brian Miller. B.Sc. (Lond.) (Lond.) BSc. (Lond.) (Glas.) GRIFFITHS. Cedric William Thomas HADLEY Christopher Frank B.A.HARDY Anthony Herbert HARRISON Donald Edward HEMMENS Walter Frank B.A. HICKS Derek John HODDER Bryan Wilfred HORNBY Bryan HOUGHTON Albert Bryan HOULDERSHAW Harold Kenneth KEAY Leonard BSc. (Lond.) LAMBDEN Alfred Edward B.Sc. LAMBERT Gordon Melvin B.Sc. LANGFORD Colin LEES John Frederick LEVER Brian Granville LEY John Barry B.Sc. (Lond.) LODGE Alan Edward B.Sc. (Lond.) MANZ Wilmar B.Sc. (Lond.) (Cantab.) (T.C.D.) (Lond.) (Lond.) DEATHS Fellows (Q) CROWTHER Edward Mortimer D.Sc. (Leeds). Died 17 March 1954, aged 56. ISHERWOOD Percy Claude Cameron (P) O.B.E. Ph.D. (Wurzburg). Died 3 March 1954 aged 76. F. 1916. (N) JONES Alfred Owen. Died 15 March, 1954 aged 71. A . 1915 F. 1926. MACINTYRE Ernest Gunn B.Sc. (P) (Edin.).Died 28 February 1954, aged 58. A . 1918 F. 1925. A . 1916 F. 1919. MARSH Graham John MARTIN Dennis Frederick B.Sc. MOLE PLlec Michael MOSELEY John Campbell M.Sc. MULLEY Bryan Arthur B.Pharm. NEWITT Edward James B.Sc. PARKINSON Ronald PARSONS Anthony Mesnard B.A. PEACEGOOD John Alan B.Sc. (Lond.) PEASE John Wilfred B.Sc. (Leeds), A.M. I. Chem.E. PETTIT Maurice Raymond BSc. (Lond.) Ph.D. (Birm.) POPPLE Laurence Anthony PRESS Bernard B.Sc. (Lond.) QUARTERMAN John B.Sc. (Sheffield) RAUM Alaric Louis Jeffrey B.Sc. REYNOLDS Geoffrey Ernest John, RIDLINGTON John RILEY Peter Bernard B.Sc. (Birm.) RYDER Charles M.Sc. (Leeds) SACH George Sidney SHEPPARD Wynford Lewis SHOESMITH Roy SIMMONS Robert Henry SIMS Gerald Royston M.A.(Oxon.) SKINNER John McPhail B-Sc. Ph.D. SPINKS Bryan Halford B.A. (T.C.D.) STACKHOUSE Neal TOMS Ronald George B.Sc. (Lond.) TURNER Edward Alfred VIDLER William A.H.-W.C. WARREN Dennis WATSON Hugh Robert B.Sc. (Lond.) WELCH Thomas Ronald B.Sc. (Lond.) WHITAKER Alma Mary Beryl M.A. (Cantab.) Ph.D. (Reading) WHITEAR Brian Ronald David WHITTAKER James Stockwell WILLIAMS Annie Mary WOODWARD Roy (Bris.) (Dunelm.) (Lond.) (Lond.) A.R.C.S. (Cantab.) (Lond.) B.Sc. (Lond.) A.R.C.S. (Glas.) STEVENSON Harold. Died 14 March, 1954 aged 70. A . 1905 F. 1911. Associates FREEBORN Albert. Died 21 March, 1954 aged 68. A . 1918. STILLWELL Dorothy Elsie M.Sc. (Lond.) . Died February 1954, aged 39. A . 1944. BARKER Arthur Neal B.Sc.(Lond.). Died 1 January 1954 aged 55. A . 1922. -Erratum:-In the March issue page 178 the first of the new Associates should read:-(P) ABBAS Syed Mohsin M.Sc. (Delhi) Grad.M.1.Chem.E 230 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY [APRIL LOCAL SECTIONS DIARY Sections are glad to welcome members of other Sections to their meetings and social functions except when numbers are restricted as for works visits. Those wishing to attend meetings outside their own area are advised to write to the Hon. Secretary of the Section concerned as the Institute cannot accept responsi-bility for any alterations or cancellations. All times are p.m. except where otherwise stated. Dublin. 7 May. 7.45. Past Present and Future in Theoretical Chemistry. Prof. C. A. Coulson. Exeter.(Revised arrangements.) 7 May. 5. A.G.M. followed by The Evolution of Glasgow. 4 May. 2.30. Junior Lecture. From Spiders to Nylon. Dr David Traill. Depart-Hull. 22 Apr. 7. A.G.M. followed by The Uses of Water-Retrospect and Prospect. H. W. Ipewich. 24 Apr. 3.30. A.G.M. followed by Some Experiences of Food Legislation During Luton. 22 Apr. 8. A Modem View of Chromatography. Tudor S. G. Jones The Town Hall. Portsmouth. 27 Apr. 7. Textiles and the New Synthetic Fibres. Dr B. P. Ridge. College of Reading. 7 May. 7.45. Symposium on Microchemical Methods in Biochemistry. University Rugby. 19 May. 6.15. Some Aspects of the Chemistry of Portland Cement. Dr P. E. Runcorn. 21 Apr. 2.30. Works Visit. Lobitos Oilfields Ltd. Stanlow. Seascale. 30 Apr. 8. A.G.M. followed by a Programme of Scientific Films. Windscale Club, - 14 May. 7.45. Instrumentation in a Chemical Factory pH Measurement and Control. Southampton. 27 Apr. 7.30. Industrial Applications of Ion Exchange Resins. Dr T. R. E. Swansea. 26 Apr. 6. Some Reactions of Free Radicals. Dr W. A. Noyes. University College, Trinity College. Chemical Kinetics. Sir Cyril N. Hinshelwood. Washington Singer Laboratories. ment of Chemistry The University. Cremer. White House Hotel. the War. Sir Harry Jephcott. The Oriental Cafe Westgate Street. Joint C.S. and Werner Society Meeting. Technology. Zoology Lecture Theatre. Joint S.A.C. Halstead. College of Technology. Joint Portsmouth and District Chemical Society. Gosforth Road. J. W. Broadhunt. County School. Joint S.C.I. Kressman. Joint S.C.I. Singleton Park. Joint C.S. SCOTTISH SECTIONS SYMPOSIUM Recent Advances in the Chemistry and Industrial Applications of Cellulose No=.-Lectures will be held in the Chemistry Department Lecture Theatre the University of St. Andrew. 28 June. 10 a.m. 10.15 a.m. 11.30 a.m. 12 noon. 29 June. 9.30 a.m. 11 a.m. 30 June. 9.30 a.m. 11 a.m. 2.30 p.m. 1 July. 9.30 a.m. 11 a.m. 111. 12 noon. 2 July. 9.30 a.m. 11 a.m. 12 noon. Professor J. Read F.R.S. will open the Symposium. Chairman Professor E. L. Hirst F.R.S. university of Edinburgh. An Introduction to the Chemistry of Cellulose. The Alkaline Degradation of Oxycelluloses. Some Aspects of Organic Chemistry Applied to Cellulose Technology. The Photodegradation of Cellulose. The Activation of Cellulose. I. THE CHEMISTRY OF CELLULOSE Professor E. L. Hint F.R.S. Professor J. Kenner British Rayon Dr D. W. Dr J. L. Bolland Tootal Broadhurst Lee & Dr A. R. Urquhart British Cotton Industries Research Research Association. Hill British Cotton Industries Research Association. Co. Ltd. Association. 11. PAPER AND PULP Chairman Dr H. Ainsworth Harrison Associated Paper Mills Ltd. Recent Trends in Scandinavian Pulp Research and Pulp Industry. Dr I. Jullander, Mo och Domsjo A/B Sweden. Recent Advances in Research Methods of Microscopy of Paper-making Fibres. Mr H. W. Emerton British Paper and Board Research Association. Visits by courtesy of the Directors to (a) Guard Bridge Paper Co. Ltd.; (6) Tullis Russell & Co. Ltd. Markinch; ( c ) British Jute Trade Research Association, Dundee. The Bearing of the Hemicelluloses of Wood Pulp Fibres on their Paper-making Properties. Scotrish Forests as a Source of Cellulose. Mr J. R. Thom H.M. Forestry Com-mission. Mr L. G. Cottrall Albert E. Reed & Co. Ltd. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF CELLULOSE AND ITS DERIVATIVES Chairman Dr D. Traill Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. Nobel Division. Cellulose Ethers and their Applications. Textile Finishing in Relation to Cellulose. Cellulose Materials as Packaging Media. Allied Trades Research Association. Coloured Film. Dr W. A. Caldwell I.C.I. Ltd. Nobel Dr H. A. Thomas Courtaulds Ltd. Mr F. A. Paine Printing Packaging and Division. Dr A. W. Baldwin I.C.I. Ltd. Dyestuffs Division

ISSN:0368-3958    

DOI:10.1039/JI9547800181

出版商:RSC    

年代:1954

数据来源: RSC