T36 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

THE MONUMENT TO BTJNSEN. BY NICHOLAS KNIGHT, Cornell College^ Mount Vernon, Iowa. Some four or five years ago an appeal was sent out to the members of the German Chemical Society asking contributions for a suitable monument to the memory of Robert Bunsen. The monument was to be erected in , where the great teacher and investigator had labored so successfully for thirty- seven years, from 1852 to 1889. The admirers of Bunsen throughout the civilized world generously responded, and with some assistance from the city of Heidelberg 70,000 marks were contributed for the memorial. The monument was unveiled on August I of the present year. It consists of a life-size figure in bronze of the distinguished scientist, representing him as he appeared in 1859, about the time that he and Kirchhoff invented the spectroscope. In one hand he bears a manuscript, as if about to deliver a lecture. A flight of a few steps leads from the street to the monument. On each corner of the monument plot nearest the street is a colossal figure of white granite from the Black Forest, one representing the known sciences, and the other science awaking. The monu- ment is not far from the Heidelberg Chemical Laboratory, a part of which was constructed under Bunsen's supervision, and was afterward added to by his illustrious successor, the late Vic- tor -Meyer. The designer of the memorial is Professor H. Volz of Karlsruhe, and from an artistic standpoint it is a meritorious work. The exercises connected with the unveiling were simple but interesting and impressive. Music was furnished by the city orchestra, led by Professor Grau. Professor Theodore Curtius, the director of the Heidelberg laboratory, the successor of Bun- sen and Victor Meyer, as a member of the monument committee, gave an interesting detailed history of the enterprise. Professor Bernthsen, representing the industrial , spoke at length of the great debt applied owes to the investigations of him to honor the memory of whom they were assembled. He spoke of Bunsen's contributions to industrial chemistry by the spectroscope, by his discovery of important technical analytical methods, by his work in volumetric analysis, contributing to the subject a new chapter on iodimetry; by his studies in gas analy- sis; by his improved methods of iron production, and by his sep- WEIGHT OF T37 aration of various by . Bernthsen was for- merly a student and colleague of Bunsen, and he could speak with some authority. The mayor, Dr. Wilckens, accepted the monument in the name of the university city. Representatives of the German Chemical Society and a score of similar organi- zations deposited upon the monument laurel wreaths and other floral tributes suitably inscribed, as a mark of esteem for the man who so ably served his day and generation. Besides the sci- entific organizations, many of the German universities and tech- nical schools sent their representatives and floral offerings to do honor to the occasion which proved a notable day in the history of the city. The exercises were largely attended, and several members of Bunsen's family were interested spectators. Bunsen was not only one of the foremost scientists of his day, but he was a good citizen and an amiable man, beloved by all classes. He received many honors in his lifetime. The name of the street on which he lived during the ten years that he was professor emeritus was changed to Bunsen Strasserather an unusual honor, but one richly deserved. Bunsen came to Heidelberg as professor at the age of forty- one. During the thirteen years previous, he had served the uni- versities of Breslau and Marburg, at both of which his work justified the expectations that were realized at Heidelberg. Some of the visitors to the unveiling ceremonies wandered to the cemetery of the old university town on the Neckar, and sought out the grave of the great scientist. The monument is plain and simple and bears a simple inscription. The mound is covered with rhododendrons. Not far away is the granite block, almost overgrown with ivy, which marks the last resting place of that other world renowned scientist, Victor Meyer, the worthy successor of the immortal Bunsen.

A SIMPLE METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE EQUIVALENT WEIGHT OF SODIUM. BY WILLIAM M. BLANCHARD, DePauw University^ Greencastle, Ind. One of the laboratory exercises usually assigned students of general chemistry early in their course is the determination of the equivalent weights of some of the -more common metals. In order that the results may be used subsequently in introducing