Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 41.djvu/867

Rh Michigan, showed how inseparable are pure and applied science in the field of chemistry, making a forcible plea for the endowment of original research. No laboratory work worth doing, he argued, can ignore laboratory work already done; study of the latest books, memoirs, and periodicals must go hand in hand with experiment. Nature is best known face to face, but the printed page is usually essential for the introduction.

In Section A, that of Mathematics and Astronomy, Prof. J. E. Eastman, of Washington, as vice-president, delivered an address on Neglected Fields in Fundamental Astronomy—in determining the absolute position of the stars. Interest in this section centered in the spectro-heliographs taken and exhibited by Mr. George E. Hale, of the Kenwood Astrophysical Observatory, Chicago. These pictures mark a notable advance in the application of photography to astronomical research, the solar faculæ for the first time being clearly seized. In acquiring information regarding the earth, Mr. R. S. Woodward described how he had been able to approach accuracy within one part in five millions: in measuring the base-lines for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey he had secured constancy of length in a standard bar by immersing it in melting ice.

In Section B, that of Physics, Prof. B. F. Thomas, of Columbus, Ohio, chose for the subject of his address as vicepresident, Technical Education in Colleges and Universities. He held that their mathematical courses of education are usually too elaborate, are rarely drawn as they should be from practical examples, and ought as much as possible to be adapted to the special career the student means to enter upon. He noted with gratification how Stevens Institute was doing one thing well, and would rejoice to see other technical institutes each devoting itself to thorough education in civil, mining, and other distinct departments of engineering or other science. He commended literary studies and the art of clear and ready speaking. It is not so much what a man knows, he said, as the proportion of it that he can communicate, that makes him useful. Papers of value in this section discussed the sensitiveness of photographic plates, the photographic analysis of vowel-sounds, and a photographic mapping of the magnetic field. Interesting ascertainments of the distribution of energy in the spectra of the glow-lamp and the arc-light were also presented.

In C, the Chemical Section, the vice-president, Prof. Alfred Springer, of Cincinnati, spoke upon Micro-organisms of the Soil, indicating the important part they play in the chemistry of vegetation. Prof. H. C. Bolton, of New York, stated that his bibliography of chemistry, comprising ten thousand titles, is in press. Mr. Alfred Tuckerman, also of New York, read a brief note on a list of mineral waters, with analyses, which he is preparing for publication.

In Section D, that of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Prof. J. B. Johnson, of St. Louis, delivered an address on The Applied Scientist. Much attention in this section was bestowed upon instruments of precision and the difficulties attending their manufacture. Prof. W. A. Rogers, of Waterville, Me., had found the lack of homogeneity in even the highest grades of steel to be a grievous obstacle. Mr. J. A. Brashear, of Allegheny, Pa., stated that he had found a fortnight's labor necessary in bringing a plate two inches square to a satisfactory surface as a plane.

In E, the Geological Section, Prof. H. S. Williams, of Yale, the vice-president, gave a masterly address on The Scope of Paleontology and its Value to Geology. Prof. R. T. Hill, of Washington, read a paper on The Volcanic Craters of the United States, of much interest.