VOLUME
2 1 , N O . 9, S E P T E M B E R
the analysts
19 A
1949
column
recall t h a t one of the symposia given at the A.C.S. Y oSanu may Francisco meeting last spring dealt with the topic "Analytical Methods in the Food Industry." T h e nine papers all proved t o be well written and critically reviewed subjects of interest to those working in this field. I t has been decided to publish these papers separately with funds provided for such purposes by a recent decision of the Board of Directors, and to sell them at a price estimated to cover the cost of publication and handling. I n this way it is hoped t h a t important symposia and other scientific proceedings, which because of necessary budget limitation cannot be published in regular society journals, can be brought out and become a part of the scientific literature. Along the same theme, those of our readers who have submitted papers for publication during the past few years have been annoyed at the length of time it takes to get their contributions into print. There is no one who is more concerned over this than your editors. The factors which have contributed to this situation are the greater volume of papers submitted, shortage of paper during the war years and some time after, and budget economies. Your journal also has taken extra pages for reporting of meetings, and publication of symposia, annual reviews, etc. We realize t h a t authors as well as readers have suffered inconvenience in not receiving the results of research promptly. We have endeavored to weigh carefully the factors and come out with a compromise for the benefit of our over 30,000 subscribers. This condition is being rapidly corrected by the expansion in the number of pages, evident for each issue beginning with July and made possible by appropriation of an additional $10,000 to the journal budget for the last six months of 1949. We can report that by January 1 most, if not all, of our backlog will have been published, and we should be able to continue on a more current basis. Our system of handling papers, if reviewers are tardy in their assignments or if the authors do not promptly make necessary changes, can cause undue delay, but manuscripts should normally appear 3 to 4 months after they are accepted. In this connection, it should be borne in mind t h a t because of such delays beyond the editors' control the received date which we print can be misleading. The date of acceptance would be a more accurate point from which to measure promptness of publication. Our review system makes our readers become a part of the journal in upholding the standards for papers, and, in spite of its shortcomings with respect to time, the beneficial factors far outweigh the less desirable. We have always felt that our first duty was the publication of contributed papers, but a journal can be more than a repository of papers. The features t h a t have been added have given character to the publication and have made it a powerful force in developing a progressive and research attitude toward analysis. The phenomenal growth in the number of subscribers to the journal has been due, we believe, in some part, to our expanded editorial policy. W H I L E it is early to talk about next year's summer analytical symposium, you will be interested to know t h a t it will be held a t Ohio State University, t h a t H. A. Laitinen of the University of Illinois has consented to be general chairman, and t h a t W. M. MacNevin will be chairman of local arrangements. The general theme of the conferences will be analytical separations. CHAIRMAN Kirkland and his co-workers are to be congratulated on the splendid interim report on the activities of the Division of Analytical and Micro Chemistry, sent to all members in August. This practice, started last year, we believe, is the best way of informing members of the accomplishments and manifold activities of the division.
Associate Editor
when you need multi-purpose heat
it's the
LINDBERG POT CRUCIBLE FURNACE Like our knights of the open r o a d , the modern l a b o r a t o r y has many a n d v a r i e d needs f o r heat. The Lindberg Pot Crucible CR-5 l a b o r a t o r y furnace serves in many ways t o fill these needs. As a pot furnace . . . for salt a n d lead b a t h immersions, t e m p e r i n g , h a r d e n i n g , a n n e a l i n g , c y a n i d i n g , aluminum heat t r e a t i n g , etc. As a crucible furnace . . . f o r thermo-couple c a l i b r a t i n g s , determining critical points of steel a n d melting base metals. It can be a d a p t e d f o r atmosphere t r e a t i n g wherever atmosphere t r e a t i n g is r e q u i r e d . The CR-5 is r u g g e d , compact, a n d efficient. The one piece, low v o l t a g e , heavy nickel-chromium r o d type heating element does not r e q u i r e
