The zirconium-precipitating action of mandelic acid is also shown by other glycolic acid derivatives. By use of appropriate derivatives, larger volumes of precipitate per unit weight of zirconium can be obtained than with mandelic acid. p-Chloromandelic acid and p-bromomandelic acid were successfully applied to the determination of zirconium in commercial zirconyl chloride, an iron-zirconium-aluminum alloy, and a silicate ore. Sulfuric acid up to 5% by weight does not prevent quantitative precipitation. The possibility of determining zirconium by direct weighing of the mandelate precipitates was investigated. The preferable reagent for the determination of zirconium by the mandelate method was found to be p-bromomandelic acid, then p-chloromandelic acid, and finally mandelic acid. THE methods available for the gravimetric determination of zirconium are not satisfactory. They employ reagents which are lacking in selectivity or involve difficult and tedious procedures (10).

Volcanoes have a splendor that is grim, And earthquakes only terrify the dolls; But to him who's scientific There's nothing that's terrific In the falling of a flight of thunderbolts,'' -W. S. Gilbert, "The Mikado" THE exceptionally violent volcanic outbreak on Iceland in the summer of 1845 led the well-known traveler and scientist, (Wolfgang) Sartorius von Waltershausen, to propose to the Danish government that a scientific expedition be sent to the island to study the eruption, and also the geysers and hot springs that are due to the same,causes as the volcanoes. The authorities willingly supported the plan and placed all facilities at the disposal of the party, which consisted of von Waltershausen, who acted as director; the French mineralogist, Alfred Descloizeaux (Des Cloizeaux); of the eruptive phenomena of Iceland," a lecture by Tyndall, June 3, 1853, Proc. Roy. Inst., 1,329 (1851). Bunsen's article on palagonite (Ann,, 61, 265 (1847)), together with his work on cacodyl derivatives, won for him the Copley medal, Proc. Roy. Soc. London, 11, 14 (1860).

There is a widespread, though erroneous belief that Justus Liebig founded chemical laboratory instruction when he opened a course of this kind at the University of Giessen in 1824.

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