THE CHEMICAL AND RELATED LITERATURE or BELGIUM1 KURT GINGOLD American Cyanamid Company, Stamford, Comecticut
one of the smallest countries in Europe (slightly larger than Maryland) hut is very densely populated, with a population of almost nine million. Its colonial empire consists of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi, a U. N. trust-territory united administratively with the Belgian Congo. For its size, Belgium has a tremendous number of publications. In 1950, around 2000 periodicals were being published, many of them of scientific interest,. The number of Belgian journals abstracted by Chemical Abstracts has almost tripled since 1936. In 1957 C.A. covered about 130 pnblications, of which about two thirds were periodicals. Chemisches Zentralblatt presently covers about 45 periodicals and about a dozen other serials. World Medical Periodicals, published in 1953, lists over 60 current Belgian medical periodicals. Many of these are covered by C.A. or C.Z.; others by one or mole of the medical abstracting services. In
PUBLICATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
on countries of origin of abstracts published in C.A., Belgium generally ranks somewhere hetween tenth and fifteenth. In 1957, it contributed about 0.74% of the abstracts, and about 1.77, of the journals abstracted. Belgium is a bilingual country. Both French and Flemish (which is almost identical with Dutch) are used in scientific publications. At present, French is by far the more important, accounting for about 70% of the total, with Flemish contributing about 15%. Several international journals are published in Belgium, and these include contributions in English, German, and occasionally, Italian and Spanish, which account for the remainder. In the limited space available, I shall discuss only a few of the many periodicals being published a t present. Many papers and even hooks have been written in an attempt to rate the "importance" of periodicals in various branches of chemistry and other sciences. Unfortunately, the results vary-and quite widelywith the method of rating used, and not too much significance can be attached to these numerical ratings. However, I have tried to include most of the journals rated highly on one or more of these lists. In the case of journals with both French and Flemish titles, I have generally used the French name. Many name changes have taken place; in general, journals are referred to by their current names.
carries original papers in cytology, histology and general biology. In a recent volume, the 15 papers came from eight countries, and were mostly in French or English. Another large group of publications is sponsored by the man" associations of former students of various colleges &nd universities. These include L11ng6nieur Chimiste, published by the Association des Anciens Etudiants de 1'Institut Meurice-Chimie and the Bulletin Scientifique A.I.M. of the Association des Ingenieurs Electriciens Sortis de I'Institnt Electrotechnique Montefiore. The Cercle Scientifique des Anciens E k e s de 1'Institut de Pharmacie A. Gilkinet, (which is attached to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Liege), publishes annual volumes containing reports of conferences and other papers in the field of pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry. This institute also publishes a biennial volume of Travaux P?.bliespar l'lnstitut de Pharmacie A. Gillcinet ds l'Univcrsit4 de Liege, containing reprints of papers published by its staff in various journals. Both pnblications are in French. The Association des Inghieurs Sortis de 1'Ecole de Liege publishes the monthly Revue Uniuerselle des Mines, de la Mbtallurgie, de la Mdcaniqu?, des Trauaux Publics, dzs Sn'encss et des Arts Appliqub d l'lndustrie (1857). This is in French and includes an abstract section.
B E L G ~ Mis
Belgium has four universities: The Catholic University of Louvain (1425),2 the State Universities of Ghent and Liege (both 1817), and the Universiti Libre of Bruseels (1834). The language of instruction is French a t Brussels and Liege, Dutch a t Ghent, and Dutch and French at Louvain. The University of Louvain is hy far the largest, with about 10,500students in 1957. In that year, the University of Brussels had about 4500 students, and the Universities of Ghent and Liege each had between 3500 and 4000. Each of the universities has a faculty of science and a faculty of medicine. In addition to these four universities, there are a large number of technical and engineering institutes. Many of the Belgian educational institutions publish scientific neriodicals. such as the Bulletin du Catre de phvsiaue 'NuclBaire 'de l>univerd6~ i de b~ ~~ ~ ~
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Presented before the Division of Chemical Literature a t the 132nd Meeting of the American Chemical Society, New York, September, 1957.
VOLUME 35, NO. 12, DECEMBER, 1958
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a Birth dates of organizations and publications m e given in parentheses, followed, in the latter case, by the current number of issues per year.
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There is, unfortunately, no central source of information about Belgian university theses. They are not included in the Bibliographic de Belgique, and the only lists of theses are those published in the yearbooks of the individual universities. The only copies of theses are those in the university libraries, and some are not even available there. Obviously, this is not a desirable state of affairs. Some years ago, a three-man commission appointed by the Classe des Sciences of the AcadQmieRoyale de Belgique studied this problem and recommended that a collection of copies of all university publications be established and kept at the Academie Royale. Apparently, this has not been accomplished as yet. PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED AND PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
The Classe des Sciences of the Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique (1772) publishes a monthly Bulletin (1835,lZ) containing reports of the meetings, communications, and papers. The papers are all in French and deal mostly with physics, with a few on mathematics and chemistry. The Classe des Sciences also publishes two sets of MBmoires, one in quarto and one in octavo, both irregularly, and an irregular series of Publications de la Fondation Agathon de Potter. On the Flemish side, there is the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie Voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van Belgie, whose Klasse der Wetenschappen publishes irregular Mededelingen and Vsrhandelingen. Belgium has two medical academies, the Academie Royale de MMecine de Belgique (1841), and the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Geneeskunde van Belgie (1938). These publish, respectively, a Bulletin (11) and a Verhandelingen (6). The Association des SociQtQsScientifiques MQdicales Belges (A.S.S.M.B.) (1945), through its publishing house, Les Editions "Acta Medica Belgica," publishes a variety of medical books and is also connected with the publication of 17 medical journals. Among these is the official organ of the association, Archiva Medica Belgica (1946). This is in French, and appears from 6 to 10 times a year. It consists mainly of an abstract section, Bibliographica Medica Belgica, which covers all articles published in Belgian medical periodicals, and carries between one and two thousand items a year. The author's abstract or a signed abstract is given for all original work; for other articles only the title is given. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author under 38 subject headings. The Archiva also includes tables of contents of the other 16 journals, and publishers' announcements of new Belgian and foreign medical books. There are many other learned societies in various Belgian cities. I n Antwerp, the SociQtQ Belge de MQdecineTropicale (1906) publishes Annales (1920,6), with papers mostly in French, a few in Dutch and an occasional one in English. All papers have summaries in Dutch and French. The SociQtQScientifique de Bruxelles, in conjunction with the Union Catholique des Scientifiques Franpais, presently publishes two journals: One is SBrie I of the Annales de la SociBtB Sciatifique de Bruxelles (1875,3). This is in French, with occasional papers in English, and consists of
two sections, Sciencss Mathdmatiques et Astronomiques and Sciences Physiques et Chimiques. The other is Reuue des Questions Sciatifigues (1877,4), also in French, with papers in the exact and experimental sciences, reports of meetings, and a section devoted t o book reviews. Turning t o professional societies, we have, first, the SociQt6Chiimique de Belgique. This was founded in 1887, and in that year started publishing the journal that is now called Bulletin des SociBtBs Chimiques Belges. The Vlaamse Chemische Vereniging, whose members used to publish (in Dutch) in the Natuurwetenschappelijk Tijdschrift until 1943, is now the other co-publisher of the Bulletin. This journal accepts papers in French, English, or Dutch, hut in practice the great majority of the papers are in French, with a few in English and hardly any in Dutch. All French articles carry English summaries. Six bimonthly double numbers are published per year. The articles are mainly in the fields of physical and organic chemistry Technisch-Wetenschappelijk Tijdschrift is a monthly journal published by the Koninklijke Vlaamse Ingenieurs Vereniging, and is almost entirely in Dutch. It contains a few signed articles in each issue, with summaries in Dutch, French, English, and German. It also carries book reviews and titles of articles from about 75 journals. Topics covered include architecture, hydraulic engineering, chemistry and the chemical industry, agriculture, physics, and other pure and applied sciences. The Journal de Pharmacie de Belgique (1919,6,), the scientific organ of the Federation des Unions et des Ceuvres Pharrnaceutiques Belges, is in French and contains original papers, abstracts, and hook reviews. The articles carry su-mmaries in English and French. The abstracts are classified under various subject headings, such as general, analytical, pharmaceutical, and biological chemistry, antibiotics and chemotherapy, etc. Various international periodicals are published in Belgium. The Archives Internationales de Pharmacodynamie et de Thkapie (1894,12) publishes original experimental papers in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish. I n recent volumes, over half the papers were in English, followed in order, by French and German. All papers carry a summary in the language of the paper. The Archives Internationales de Physiologie et de Biochemie (1904,4) publishes original experimental work in French or English (mostly in French). It includes papers from meetings of the SociBtB Belge de Physiologie and the SociltB Belge de Biochimie. Acta Unio Internationalis Contra Cancrum, (1936,4) is a publicatioil of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), and carries the proceedings of the International Congresses on Cancer. The papers are mostly in English, s h e in French, with occasional ones in Spanish, German, Italian, or Russian. All of them carry English and French summaries, and the table of contents is also in English and French. Another international journal published in Belgium is Osiris (1936), which deals with the history and philosophy of science. This was founded and edited for many years by the late George Sarton, the noted Belgian-born JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
scientific historian. Finally, Belgium has its share of international congresses and conferences, with their resultant publications. For example, six of the 29 Congres Internationaux de Chimie Industrielle have been held in Belgium. INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY
The most important publication in this field is L'lndustrie Chimique Belge, published by the Fd6ration des Industries Chimiques de Belgique. This started life in 1921 as the Bulletin de la F&Gration des Industries Chimiques de Belgipe, and was published under this title until 1929, as part of the Bulletin de la Soeiiti Chimipe de Belgipe. It has been a separate publication since 1930, and appears monthly. It carries scientific articles, scientific and technical news of the Soci6t6 Chimique de Belgique and Vlaamse Chemische Vereniging, chemical market news, book reviews, abstracts, titles of Belgian chemical patents, and a list of foreign-owned Belgian patents available for licensing. The articles are almost all in French, ~vitha very few in Dutch or English. However, all articles carry Dutch, French, English, and German summaries. The rest of the journal is also almost all in French, with a few of the abstracts in Dutch. In the field of fermentation we have Fermentatio (1939,6), and Revue des Fermentations et des Industries A l t mentaires (1946,6). For the sugar industry, there is La Sucrerie Belge (1872,121, which includes an abstract section, and in the field of explosives, Explosifs f1948,4). Paints and varnishes are served by La Chimis des PTintures (1938,12). This is entirely in French and carries signed articles, announcements, book reviews, abstracts, lists of industrial publications, industrial news, and market reports, listing the London, Brussels, and New York prices of various chemicals. Silicates Industriels (1929,10), is sponsored by a number of associations in the glass, ceramics, and enamel industries. It carries articles, book reviews, titles of articles from about 25 journals dealing with glass, enamel, refractories and cement, announcements of meetings, and lists of specifications published in various countries. 'The articles are mostly in French, with a few in German, English, and Italian. In the textile industry, there are Rwue Textilis (1955,12), published in French and Flemish, and Rayonne et Fibres Synthitipes (1945,lZ). The latter has an abstract section. In the field of water and sanitation we have La Technique de l'Eau et de 1'Assainissement (1947,12), in French. This carries articles, announcements, book reviews, titles of papers from about 20 journals, and a question-and-answer column. The table of contents of the journal is printed in French, Dutch, English, German, and Italian. The Centre Belge d'Etude et de Documentation des Eaux (CEBEDEAU) (1940), carries on research on corrosion by water, the use and treatment of water in industrial plants, and the treatment of industrial and urban sewage. It publishes a Bulletin (1948,4) and a Bulletin Mensuel (1950,lO). The articles are generally in French, with a few in Flemish. The center has also published Le Livre de lJEau,a four-volume 1000page work, in French. The Centre Belge dlEtude de la Corrosion (CEBELCOR), works in the fields of corrosion, protection of materials, and related topics. VOLUME 35, NO. 12, DECEMBER, 1958
It has a large number of publications, all irregular. Among them are Recua'ls de Mhoires, containing reports and statements of general interest, Notes d'lnformation, giving summaries of the activities of CEBELCOR, and a series of Rapports Techniques. These technical reports, although not very elegant in appearance (they are mimeographed), contain very valuable experimental data. The language of publication is usually French, occasionally English and German. CEBELCOR, which has many non-Belgian members, also provides a documentation service for its membership, similar to that provided in this country by the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (N.A.C.E.), with whom CEBELCOR exchanges information. Publications of individual companies include Bulletin Mensuel de la Cophaco, puhli~hedby the Compagnie G6nArale de Produits Chimiques et Pharmaceutipes du Congo, and the quarterly Revue des Roulements d Billes, published by the SoeiAti Belge des Ruulements d Billes SKF. The Chemical Works at Boechout publishes Alehimist (1946), "a monthly review devoted to perfumery, cosmetics and soaps." This appears in five editions-in Dutch, German, English, French, and Spanish. PATENTS
The most notewort,hy feature of the Belgian patent system is its speed. There is no examination. Patents applied for in the first half of a month are automatically granted on the last day of that month. If applied for in the second half, they are granted on the 15th of the following month. However, once the patent has been granted, it remains secret for three months from the date of grant,'and third parties may not obtain or inspect copies during this period. If the applicant so desires, the grant and the period of secrecy may be postponed to a date six months from the filing date. The official Belcian ~ a t e n tiournal is the Recueil des Brevets d'lnuention (1854). This appears irregularly, about 12 times a year, and each issue contains rAsum6s of all patents filed during a period of one month. These generally consist of the main claim and one figure of the drawing, if there is one. The Recueil is bilingual, and each r6sum6 is in the language of the application, generally French. The patents are classified according to both the International System and the Belgian system, which is similar to the French. Unfortunately, the Reeueil appears about two years after the filing date of the patents it contains, and we must look elsewhere for prompt information on Belgian patents. There are a t least three sources for such information: Each monthly issue of L'lndustrie Chjmipe Belge contains a list of patent applications of chemical interest filed during the preceding month. This journal will also supply information about patents, or photocopies of patents, as soon as the period of secrecy has expired. The Belgian patent attorneys J. Gevers & Cie. publish a monthly bulletin, Repertory of Recent Belgian Patents, which is more general, and is a classified listing of all Belgian patents applied for during the preceding month. Finally, the London firm Derwent Information Services publishes the fortnightly Derwent Belgian. Patent ~
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Report, which contains detailed abstracts (in English) of recent patents falling withm the following seven categories: Plastics and Metal Finishing; Textiles, Dyeing and Cellulose; Pharmaceuticals and Photographic; Petrochemicals; General Organic; General Inorganic and Plant; and Metallurgy. Belgian patents have been printed since January, 1950, and printed copies of patents issued since then can be obtained from the Belgian Patent Office between one and two years after the date of grant. Photocopies are available somewhat earlier. For patents issued before 1950, photocopies of the typewritten specification can be obtained. Coverage of Belgian patents by the major abstracting services has been erratic. Chemisches ZentraG blatt has abstracted them regularly since 1953, and has continually increased its coverage, from about 40 in 1953to a total of 867 in the year 1957. (This number includes cross-references to identical patents previously issued in other countries.) C. A , , on the other hand, seems to he decreasing its coveragethere were over 100 abstracts of Belgian patents in 1954 and only 33 in 1957. Coverage of Belgian patents does not extend to the Belgian Congo, which has its own patent system, similar to that of Belgium. There are no printed copies of Belgian Congo patents, but photostatic copies of the typewritten specification can be obtained, after the period of secrecy has expired, from the Ministry of Colonies in Brussels, or from the GovernorGeneral's Office in LBopoldville. RBsum6s of the patents are printed in the Bulletin Oficiel du Congo Belga. This appears quarterly and can be obtained only by subscription.
The Belgian national bibliography, Bibliographie de Belgique (1875,12), is published by the Bihliotheque Royale in Brussels. It lists all books and other printed material published in Belgium and also works published abroad relating to Belgium or by Belgian authors. The entries are arranged by broad subject fields. Complete bibliographic data and a Universal Decimal Classification number are given for each item. Official government publications are entered in the subject classes by title or author, without differentiation from unofficial works. There is no separate catalogue of government publications. New periodicals and former periodicals appearing under new titles are also recorded in the Biblioyraphie. Each monthly issue contains author, title, and subject indexes, and these are cumulated annually. A very useful work on Belgian periodicals is the RBpertoire des PModiqws Paraissant en Belgique. This appeared in 1951 and is a list of all periodicals that were being published in 1950 and were received by the Bibliothique Royale, which, by statute, collects all Belgian publications. It contains over 2400 titles. Many of these are merely cross-references; also all bilingual journals are listed separately under both titles, so that the actual number of periodicals is appreciably smaller, but still very impressive. All available bibliographical information is given for each journal, and the titles are indexed by subject, by publishing organization, and by city of publication.
A supplement to the Rhpertoire, published in 1955, contains an alphabetical list of over 1800 entries, covering periodicals that started publication between 1951 and the end of 1954, and some earlier publications that were omitted from the first edition. There is also an appendix listing all significant changes relating to periodicals covered in the main work. The Belgian branch of the International Federation for Documentation (F.I.D.), the Association Belge de la Documentation (A.B.D.), provides various bibliographic and documentational services to its members, and publishes Les Cahiers da la Documentation (1947,lO) which contains articles in French and Dutch. It also publishes the monthly Bulletin des Sommaires des Phriodigues de Belgipe. This is an index to articles in Belgian periodicals, arranged according to the Universal Decimal Classification. MISCELLANEOUS
The Fondation Universitaire (1920) was established to encourage higher education and research in Belgium and to provide subsidies for the publication of literary and scientific works. Many Belgian scientific periodicals are receiving financial support from this organization. In 1928, the foundation helped to establish thr Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, which sponsors a large amount of research in many fields of pure and applied science. Its annual reports include lists of work in progress and of publications based on research supported by the fund. A very useful reference work for Belgian science is the Inventaire des Ressources Sn'entifiques Belges. This was published by Universitas Belgica, the Belgian national group of the International Association of University Professors and Lecturers (I.A.U.P.L.), and is divided into three parts. Part 111, published in 1955, as a series of paper-bound booklets, deals with pure and applied sciences, and consists of 10 chapters: educational sciences; mathematics; physics, geophysics, and astronomy; chemistry; geography and mineralogy; biology; physical education and hygiene; applied sciences; agronomy; and research laboratories of private firms. Chapter IV (Chemistry) includes a list of the chemistry courses given in Belgian colleges and universities arranged according to the Universal Decimal Classification: a list of professors of chemistry-giving special fields of interest, courses taught, co-workers, publications, and other information; and a brief list of chemical institutes and periodicals. There is a subject and personnel index. Chapter 10 contains a description of about 60 industrial research laboratories, with a subject index and an index of special apparatus. In the field of industrial chemistrv. " , the FBdBration des Industries Chimiques de Belgique publishes various items of interest, including the annual Annuaire de la F.I.C.B.. (a directory of chemical products with their manufacturers and merchants), and various pamphlets dealing with individual branches of the chemical industry, chemical export trade, and other industrial matters. ~
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Belgium, though small in size, is turning out a goodly amount of scientific literature. As Fr6dBric Lyna JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
says in his preface to the Rdpertoire des Phiodiques Paraissant m Belgique: Nous ne devons pas eraindre la. camparaison avec l'htrangrr. Notre viguem intellectuelle reste entihe: elle est garante de notre avenir.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many persons have contributed information and advice during the preparation of this paper, and I am deeply grateful to them all. I am particularly indebted to Mr. Dale B. Baker of the Chemical Abstracts Service, Prof. Dr. M. Pfliicke of Chemisches Zentralblatt, and Dr. Julien Van Hove of the BihliothBque Royale de Belgique. I also wish to express my thanks to the American Cyanamid Company for granting me time to prepare this paper. BIBLIOGRAPHY Belgian Uniuewities, Learned Societies and Research Institutes: "The World of Lemming," 8th ed., Europs. Publications Ltd., London, 1957, pp. 79-83. "Inventaire des Ressources Soientifiques Belges," Brussels: Universitas Belgiea, 1955. Part 111: Sciences Pures ct Appliquhes.
VOLUME 35, NO. 12, DECEMBER, 1958
Belgian Scientific Publications: BROWN,C. H., "Scientific Serials," Association of College and Reference Librrtries, Chicago, 1956. CRANE, E. J., "C. A. Periodimlls List Climbs," Chem. Eng. News, 35, 94 (1957).
C R ~ N EE., J., A. M. PATTERSON, AND E. B. MARR,"A Guide to the Literature of Chemistry," 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1957. "List of Periodicals Abstracted by Chemical Abstracts," Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, 1956. Supplement (1957). P F L ~ ~ C M., K E ,AND A. HAWELEK, "Periodica Chimica," AkademieVerlsg G.m.b.H., Berlin, 1952. VANHOVE.J.. "RBoertoire das PBriodiaues Peraimant en Beleue, 195:. ique," hiti ions de la Libraire ~ n o y c l i ~ h d i ~Brussels, Supplhent (1955). "World Medical Periodicals," WHO, Pssis, 1953. Belgian Chemical Indaytry: KENYON, R. L., "The European Chemical Industry. Belgium," Chem. Eng. News, 30,2288-Y3 (1952). GUILMOT,A,, ''The Belgian Chemical Industry," Chem. Eng. News, 35, No. 1, 58 (1957). GUILLISGEN, C. J., "Evolution de 1'Industrie Belge Depuis 1945," Ind. C h m . Belge, 19, (Special Number) 67-75 (1954). FBd6ration des Industries Chimiques de Belgique: "Le Comibid., 7687. merce ExtBrieur de 1'Industrie Chimique!' Belgian Dmgs: "Drug Information Souroes: Belgium," Am. J . Pharm., 129, 128-9 (1957).
