New-York tribune., 1901-01-06

thereof his ability 10 extract metals from their
ores, dates from remotest times. The records of
the tombs of Egypt and the East disclose va
rious chemical manufactures. The doctrines of
Aristotle and Paracelsus regarding the so-called
elements were overturned by Boyle. who estab-
lished in the seventeenth century the individ-
uaty of the metals and the non-metals carbon
sulphur and phosphorus. The era of pneumatic
chemistry one prolific of great progress. The
skill attained in the collection and management
of gases led not only to the detection of several
of the most important acknowledgment, hy-
drogen and nitrogen-but also TO the study Of
compounds usually gaseous. The composition
of .he air became known, and its relationship TO
combustion and to both the life of plants and of
animals was clearly defined. The mastery mind
of Lavoisier marshaIled the elements into order
A system of nomenclature was devised. 1t was
seen that the facts collected pertained to a dis
tinct science. From thence on. chemistry has
been ranked as separate branch of natural
philosophy.
Some thirty elements known at the begin
ming of the century. Five important groups
extend the list to about eighty-the metals as
socated with platinum in it's ores: those isolated
from the alkaes and the alkaline earths by the
aid of the electric current: those of the rarer
earths of the cerium group; the metals revealed
by spectrum analysis, and the associates Of
argon as constituents of the air and occuded in
minerals and waters
CHEMISTRY HAS CLOSE RELATIVES.
The strides taken by chemistry from 1900 to
the present time are paralleled in sister sci
ences. Chemistry is closely allied to each
Priestley and Lavoiser in explaining combus-
tion and respiration established the kinship of
chemistry TO biology. Lavoisler taught the de-
pendence of agriculture chemistry. Davy
was the first to lecture In Great Britain on
geology. His remarkable discoveries. together
with those of Gay-Lussac. Ampere and Faraday.
paved the way for a splendid record of research
in topics where chemistry and physics are so
blended that no definite line OF demarcation can
be drawn. The work OF the first quarter Of the
century was largely a specialization of chemistry
to mneralogy. while that of the closing years
has been intimately connected with astronomy
and the higher mathematics. Thus the cross
fertilization OF the sciences presents galaxy OF
discoveries far exceeding in magnitude the COM
bined inheritance Of previous ages.
II was found az a very early day that chemical
union between elements could be expressed by
very simple numerical relations Symbols
adopted to represent the names OF the elements
and Dalton showed that compounds always con-
tained definite proportion Of each element a
simple multiple OF this proportion. Adapting an
ancient hypothesis TO modern uses, the atomic
theory was postulated. The combining
equivalent weights Of the elements. now changed
to the atomic weights TO meet the demands OF
more recent discoveries. are the basis Of all
theoretical and practical calculations regarding
chemical change.
The relationship Of gaseous volumes undergo
ing combination decomposition. and the phys
ical properties Of gases under the influence OF
heat. have become, as formulated by Gay-Lussac
and Avogadro. the basis of our present views of
molecular composition. and are found to accord
with the kinetic theory Of gases. Curiously,
Dalton was LED TO the law of multiple proper
tons through his knowledge Of the composition
by weight Of the then only we'll recognized car
bon and hydrogen compounds marsh gas CHI.
and oefiant gas Ca H.. The recognition of a
progressive relationship between the members
of the series Of the alcohols by schiel and OF
that of the fatty acids by Dumas made the be-
ginnings of the remarkable classification of the
! carbon compounds which has so greatly aided
| research.
| PREDICTING UNKNOWN COMPOUNDS.
While the hypothesis that all elements are but
! aggregations OF particles of single element has
been shown to be fallacious. the study of the
numbers expressing their atomic weights to-
| gether with consideration of their physical and
chemical properties, has led to their being
grouped in system of octaves known as the
periodic law of Newlands and Mendelejen The
influence OF the hoHloloSouS series in predicting
the existence of still unknown compounds has
| been by this last development extended to the
prediction of the elements themselves; and the
verifcation OF the prediction of certain metals
to fill the gaps in the periodic series, by dis
covery of the metals gaum, scandium and
| germanium has been of keen satisfaction TO
| the chemist as the discovery of new planet in
| a precalculated position of the heavens to the
astronomer.
Three era making discoveries have been the
means Of increasing knowledge of the ele-
ments. AS Davy had shown the pres
| ence of a metal in potash the path was open to
! further explorations. When Bunsen determined
! the existence of bright lines i'm the spectrum of
! the saline residue of mineral water and was
| able TO isolate caesium by chemical methods
| other investigators soon made known other ele-
ments. When Rayleigh and Ramsay separated
! argon from air and found that it's presence had
remained undetected because of the absence of
all power of chemical union other elements were
soon discovered, the presence of one of which as
a constituent of the and of some stars as
"helium" was already known to science.
! wOEHLER STARTED AN ERA
An important period In the growth Of chemis-
| try dates from the observation by Wohler, in
| 1S2S that urea could be prepared without the
| iEstrumentality of vital force. From then on
| chemists devoted themselves to the study of
| organic compounds. From the advent of this
specialization dates the erection of schools and
| laboratories OF chemistry. Before that period
| the chemists were associated with the schools
of medicine of pharmacy. The inauguration
/ of the laboratory at Giessen under the glowing
/ enthusiasm of Liebig led to the construc-
tion of others in Germany. Now costly edihces
equipped with all the necessary apparatus for
| research and filled with jealous students under
| the guidance Of trained instructors are to be
| found in all parts of the world. Since about
amends for her former lack of recognition of
chemistry. While great advances have been