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HE February number of Ethyl News (Ethyl Corporat~on, . 405 Lexington Ave., New York 17, New York) makes good reading, for others as well as chemists. For the latter, "Coal turns on the heat" is recommended, an article describing the way in which coal has strengthened its position as a fuel during the time when oil is in such great demand for other things. "In many ways the coal industry of the postwar era will differ radically from the industry of the past. Spurred by the relative prosperity of the war years, it appears t o have taken out a new lease an life. "A11 signs now indicate that it will be more progressive in its management, better organized, more aggressive in sales promotion, put greater emphasis on modern. automatic equipment, and lay more stress on good public relations-in short, that i t may follow the pattern used so successfully by the fuel oil industry in capturing a large share of the home-heating field."
The vital part now played by the portable pipeline in the supply of our armies a t the front is described in the January number of Shell News (Shell Oil Company, Inc., 50 West 50th St., New York 20, New York). The importance of this method of transporting oil and gasoline is well summed up in the prediction of Brigadier General Sturdivant, that "many thousands of miles of 4- and 6-inch pipelines will be laid before this war is ended."
The Beacon (Ohio Oil Company, Findlay, Ohio) is primarily a periodical for company employees, but nevertheless the February number carries a good general-interest account of "Our future oil supply." widely divergent opinions are quoted. ~h~ most pessimistic is that the 20,000,000,000 barrels known to be in the earth will last us about 13 years; but there Two other make good general reading: m good reasons why this conclusion is erroneous. "Mighty midgets," in which the exploits of the Navy On the other hand, another authority estimates that boats are described graphicauy; and " S ~ ~ t h e t i cat our present rate of consumption the probable ultirealism," devoted to some of the realistic training matereserves meetour needs for 300 years. methods of the Armv a n d N a w,.J
The Humble Lubricetor (Humble O i l and Relining Company, Houston, Texas) is one of our new additions and its excellently illustrated January number is featured by a description of "the finest exhibit of oil industry operations ever assembled." It certainly makes us regret not having seen the original. An insert tells something more about the use of the so-called "fluid" catalyst and the part it is playing in the production of 100-octane gasoline.
"The reason for the di6erences of opinion concerning our future oil supply a a simple one. One estimate is based on known reserves and the other on unknown reserves. Known oil reserves are only those which have already been discovered and which can he produced by present methods of recovery a t present prices for the product. While our known reserves stand a t 20,000,000,000 barrels, actually our known oil in the ground is nearer 100,000,000,000barrels, much of which can he recovered by new methods. Since there never has been a need for oil that already available sources could not supply. there has been no incentive for a thorough and complete exploration of all the world's possibilities."
Esso Oilways (Penola, Inc., 26 Broadway, New York 4, New York) for January, as always, catches the eye-both eyes, in fact. The use of an Esso oil as a suspension fluid is the excuse for a vety good account of the construction and operation of compasses, for airplanes as well as ships; while the use of controlled atmospheres during the surface-finishing of metals is the subject of another good discussion.
Out of the Texaco Star (The Texas Company, 135 East 42nd St., New York 17, New York), Spring number, 1945, we pick for special mention, "Where does all the petroleum go!" and "Supply line." The latter tells the story of the Red Ball Express, the truck convoy system which supplied the front line fuel needs of the Army for some time after the Normandy invasion.
The Natural Gasser (Warren Petroleum Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma) is another recent addition to our list. Two articles of general chemical interest in the January number are: "Science in natural gas" and "Propane and ethane."
In the February number of The Lamp (Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York 20, New York), "Bandbox refinery" describes a particular oil refinery which shines with neatness and (Continued on pogc 200)
HERE AND THERE I N THE TRADE LITERATURE (Continued from page 193) efficiency and which works 24 hours a day for wartime count of "What's war news in plastics," round out the needs. Elsewhere is an account of the use and opera-. number. tion of a powerful new test standard for airplane The Winter number of Research Today (Eli L i y motors in which super-fuels for motors are studied. and Company, Indianapolis 6, Indiana) contains an ingenious and instructive two-page flow sheet showing Looking through the January number of the Mon- the method of preparing and testing the influenza virus santo Magaeine (Monsanto Chemical Company, St. vaccine, as well as a short account of the use of the Louis, Missouri), it is as usual almost impossible to electron microscope, with a few good pictures. pick out one excellent feature among many. The byWe had heard vaguely about the new "plastic foam," line, "There is no room for pessimism in American Edurecently announced by the General Electric Company, cation" accompanies the title, "We need pioneers," but it was not until we looked into the January numwhich should make this article of real interest in the The Diamond (Mid-Continent Petroleum Corber of field of chemical education. Following the quotation 381, Tulsa, Oklahoma) that we found a poration, Box from Secretary Parsons, of the American Chemical good illustrated account of its properties. Society: "There has never been a surplus of chemists While it is not really a trade periodical, we would and chemical engineers in the United States," the question is asked, "Have these men a t last conquered nevertheless like to call attention to the Carnegie the last frontier?" The answer is in the negative, Technical, a publication of the undergraduates of the which is of course the thesis of the whole discussion. Carnegie Institute of Technology (Pittsburgh, PennA short, illustrated article on some of the work of a sylvania). Contributions cover just about all the glass blower; a description of the properties and uses fields of science and engineering, and it is about the of Santocel, the "puffed-up silica"; and a good ac- best periodical of its sort that we have seen.
