Dec.,
1911
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y .
ately, stating natfvity, citizenship and business connection, b y those who desire t o make this visit, as same must be submitted for approval.) The Proving Grounds comprise plants for contact sulphuric, nitric and mixed acids, the nitration of cellulose and recovery drying; powder presses, mines and heavy artillery. D I N N E R I N N E W W I L L A R D HOTEL,
FRIDAY, DECEMBER
22ND,
7.00.
9.30 A . M .
Installation of officers. Business session. SYMPOSIUM O N T H E U N I T E D STATES P A T E N T SYSTEM.
“The United States Patent Office,” b y E. B. Moore, Commissioner of Patents. “Patent Office Procedure” (Practice of Patent ~Law up t o the issue of the Patent), Edward T. Fenwick, of Mason, Fenwick and Lawrence. “Protection of Inventions___b y Patents: Existing Defects- and Remedies Therefor,” b y W. D. Edmunds, of Edmunds and Peck. “Patent Litigation,” b y R. N. Kenyon, of Kenyon and Kenyon. ~
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2.30
P.M.
Keception a t the White House.
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The President will receive the members of the Institute in the East Room of the White House. 3 . 0 0 P.M.
Visit t o the Patent Office. ~
~
8.00 P.M.
“The Adaptation of the Centrifugal Pump to Chemical Service,” (illustrated with lantern slides), b y F. G. Wheeler. Business session. ~~~
S A T U R D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 3 ~ 9.30 , A.M.
Excursion (alternative): ( a ) Steel Plant a t Sparrows Point, Baltimore. ( b ) Cement Plant of Tidewater Portland Cement Co.
Association of American Portland Cement Manufacturers.
Dec. 1 1 - 1 3 . Annual meeting a t New York City. Secy., Percy H. Wilson, Land Title Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa. American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Dec.
Annual meeting a t St. Paul, Minn. Davidson, Ames, Iowa.
2 7-29. Secy., J . B.
NOTES AND ‘CORRESPONDENCE. MANGANESE IN STEEL.
To the Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: As a suggestion t o those using Walter’s persulfate method for manganese in steel, the writer has found t h a t b y using I O cc. of a 15 per cent. aqueous solution of ammonia persulfate instead of adding the dry salt t o the HNO, solution of the steel in the test tube, the tendency t o foam and the color t o fade is overcome, and a much clearer solution results. Als6 5 cc. of a AgNO, solution containing 4 grams per liter are used instead of the usual 1 5 cc. containing 1.33 grams per liter. This keeps the volume of the solution below 30 cc. This method also gives good results b y titration with sodium arsenite, the only difficulty being a yellowish brown tinge toward the end of the reaction, making the end point rather hard t o distinguish without a great deal of practice. The writer is now a t work trying t o find a way of obviating this difficulty, making the end reaction sharp a n d distinct. GORDONL. VON P L A N C K . PITTSBURG, CALIFORNIA. November 2. 1911.
ELECTROLYTIC “ALTERATIVE.”
T o the Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: Now t h a t so much work has been done to render
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the copper electrolytic process more efficient b y the addition of various substances t o the electrolyte i t seems regrettable t h a t no more appropriate title than t h a t of “addition agents” has come into use. I n this connection the word “alterative” Seems t o be somewhat more suitable, or t o be more explicit, J. L. HACKETT. “electrolytic alterative,” FLUSHING, N. Y., October 27. 1911.
WESTERN PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS.
Until recently it had been generally assumed t h a t the phosphate deposits of South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee afforded a n “inexhaustible” supply, but recent estimates b y the Geological Survey show t h a t a t the present rate of increase in phosphate mining these eastern deposits are likely t o be exhausted within a generation. The discovery of the western phosphate beds, therefore, constituted a most important find, and though the first reconnaissance of these deposits b y the Geological Survey showed their considerable extent, the more detailed study and exploration, with additional discoveries made b y the Survey during the last three years, have shown t h a t the field is probably the greatest in the world. Recent geological study of the phosphate-bearing strata indicate the probably still greater extension of the phosphate
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