give to these pupils who are to go no farther scholastically, a vocabulary that will be to them an "Open Sesame" to the wonders of modern chemistry as related to radio, to aeronautics and t o modem industry, while behind these aims will lurk the hope that we may ignite some spark of genius which shall light still further these mazes of chemistry. Our curriculum must be as broad as our objectives, as varied as our pupils. For our beginners, it may well contain less that is quantitative and more that is qualitative; less mathematics and more method. It should contain more of the biography and history of chemistry, of the life of Priestley whose pneumatic trough was a much prized gift; of the young Irishman, Boyle; of the splendid life and tragic death of Lavoisier; of the dewtion of the Curies to each other and to their work; and of the most loved chemist, Pasteur. We will more nearly accomplish our objectives by including more of the applications of chemistry to modern industry and to everyday life, accomplishing this in large part by bulletinboard material and by directed reading such as is encouraged by the recent Chemical Essay Contests. The modern tendency to prolong the school life of the individual has brought to us in the senior year of the high school many who are intellectually incapable of accomplishing the work as outlined in the curriculum planned for the seniors of ten or more years ago, and it is our responsibility to so revise the curriculum that it may benefit these, as well as our college-preparatory students. Light and Heat Speed Plant Growth. Spring wheat harvested 35 days after sowing; red clover in flower 38 days after seeding; a large head of lettuce grown in three weeks. These are the remarkable results obtained through the use of artificial light, heat, and atmosphere a t the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research. Three things are responsible for this speeded up plant growth, Dr. John M. Arthur explains in a report t o the Engineering Foundation. One is bright illumination, in some cases for 24 hours a day. Another is high temperature. The third is increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The researches were made in an effort to find out how plant processes may be made more efficient. Photosynthesis, the scientist's name for the method by which light causes substances t o combine, makes plant growth possible. I n nature i t is a very inefficient operation. Only about one per cent of the energy that falls on the plant is utilized. Many plants can use more light than they get from nature. If such plants are kept continually under an arc light, or if artificial light is used t o supplement daylight, their growth is hastened. Wheat and clover will stand full 24 hours of light a day. The tomato, however, needs a rest, and i t grows fastest with 12 hours of daylight and 6 more of artificial lizht. Commercial application of these facts is not yet in sight, Dr. Arthur points out. Every dav 1500 kilowatt hours of electricity were used during the plant tests. The ~. ordinary home seldom uses more than one kilowatt hour a day. But, says Dr. Arthur: "From researches like these may come in time new means for producing some foods and fuels and other supplies for human needs. Economic achievement, however, yet appears remote except in small scale operations."-Science Service
