on chemical principles; so do our cleaning agents. The development of our modem metallurgical processes, glass, electric bulbs, textiles, leather, sugar, etc., all owe a great debt to chemistry. Chemistry touches everything from the celestial bodies to those of ultramicroscopic size; recently the combing of the great ocean has been undertaken for the gathenhg of its chemical treasures. The development of the seed which gives us a fruit or a vegetable or a beautiful flower, often accompanied by a delicate perfume, is essehtially a chemical process. The ancient rock systems of our planet from which we get our coal, ores, building stone, etc., and which feed all of the multitude of vegetable life are the result of chemical reactions on a vast scale. The human system is the last of the complex and mysterious things chemical, with which the chemist has come to deal, and as he works along with the doctors and other scientists, as they unravel the profound nature of the glands, etc., we may look forward with deepest faith that the mystery of life will yet be solved, as the evolutionary story leads us to believe, and when chemistry has exerted its full power in the struggle, the rise from savage to superman will have become a fact. In other words the science of chemistry is the most fascinating and vital of all the sciences. Everything has a chemical aspect viewed in one light or another. Chemistry stimulates curiosity, imagination, the desire to invent, caution, admiration for truth, in fact it might be called the science of infinite variety in the number of lessons which we might leam from it. Is it not agreed that chemistry should be made a compulsory course in place of one of the five or six language courses now given? It certainly seems to my mind that every high-school student (the majority of whom get no further education) should be the recipient of a good, broad, general course in chemistry, which I believe will give him: a better understanding of his daily work; a foundation on which to increase his knowledge if he so desires; and an optimistic philosophy.
SCIENCE CLUBS I t would be difficult to h d a high school these days where there are no science clubs and this extra-curricular work of the teacher is demanding the attention of educators more and more. I t is furnishing material for some rather comprehensive theses for the Master's and the Ph.D. degrees. It is our opinion that neither the teacher nor the pupil is given sufficient credit for this work which is done voluntarily. In most schools the membership of these clubs is altogether voluntary and there is no difficulty in securing a membership of from twenty-five to fifty. The pupils as a rule are deeply interested and, being interested, undoubtedly derive much
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of educational value, perhaps more of permanent value, than is derived from studies taken under compulsion. The reader should have been present on December 15, 1925, at the Central High School, Philadelphia, when he would have been agreeably surprised a t the very considerable interest manifested by both boy and girl students, teachers of science,beads of departments, and newly appointed director of science, in attending an Inter-High-School Science Association meeting to the number of nearly six hundred. In fact two of the largest lecture rooms were full to over-flowing and the complete program was repeated. Sponsors of the Chemistry, the Natural Science, and the Radio clubs, that is, the teachers of science, furnished the program. The talks as enumerated below required from ten to fifteen minutes each. Some of the talks were illustrated by unusual experiments and rarely seen material. A student, John Bennett, of the graduating class was chosen to preside over the meeting. Throughout the whole program there was undivided attention. Refreshments were served after a business meeting. The program was as follows: Dreams and Musings in Chemistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Philip Maas The Delaware River Bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claude B. Hagy Face to Face through the Ether. . . . . . . . . . . . . . J. Howard Graham How Plants Capture Sunlight.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Elmer B. Ulrich The Smallest Thing in the Universe, and the Newest Rays.. . . . . . . . . . Edward H. Landis Aladdin's Modern Wonderful Lamp.. . . . . . . . . ..Lloyd M. Knoll J. H. G.
ELEMENTS OF COLLEGE CHEMISTRY Last year I made a study of many of the widely used elementary chemistry texts with a view to adopting one to use in my classes this school year. I looked for one that was interestingly written, and teachable, yet thorough and sound and up-to-date. I selected Foster's "Elements of Chemistry" (D. Van Nostrand Co.) and the results thus far have been most gratifying. Since the book is giving me such good service and so much pleasure in the teaching, I was much surprised a t the tone and character of the review in the January JOURNAL.I could not help thinking that had the reviewer actually used the book or even made a careful study of it he would have had a different story to tell. He opposes the unusual order of the earlier chapters, but "the proof of the pudding is in the eating;" my pupils, starting with the more familiar topics of the early chapters, avoided the customary cold plunge into the
