READING REFERENCES
The foregoing pages will not have achieved their aim unless their readers have become sufficiently interested in the developments of industrial chemistry to desire to pursue the subject further in some of its branches. Assuming such interest has been aroused, I am giving below a few references to books and articles which may serve to set the reader upon the right track for additional information. To follow the rapid progress of applied science it is necessary to read continuously such periodicals as the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (New York), Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering (New York), Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry (London), Chemical Abstracts (published by the American Chemical Society, Easton, Pa.), and the various journals devoted to special trades. The reader may need to be reminded that the United States Government publishes for free distribution or at low price annual volumes or special reports dealing with science and industry. Among these may be mentioned "Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture"; "Mineral Resources of the United States," published by the United States Geological Survey in two annual volumes, Vol. I on the metals and Vol. II on the non-metals; the "Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution," containing selected articles on pure and applied science; the daily "Commerce Reports" and special bulletins of Department of Commerce. Write for lists of publications of these departments.
The following books on industrial chemistry in general are recommended for reading and reference: "The Chemistry of Commerce" and "Some Chemical Problems of To-Day" by Robert Kennedy Duncan (Harpers, N.Y.), "Modern Chemistry and Its Wonders" by Martin (Van Nostrand), "Chemical Discovery and Invention in the Twentieth Century" by Sir William A. Tilden (Dutton, N.Y.), "Discoveries and Inventions of the Twentieth Century" by Edward Cressy (Dutton), "Industrial Chemistry" by Allen Rogers (Van Nostrand).
"Everyman's Chemistry" by Ellwood Hendrick (Harpers, Modern Science Series) is written in a lively style and assumes no previous knowledge of chemistry from the reader. The chapters on cellulose, gums, sugars and oils are particularly interesting. "Chemistry of Familiar Things" by S.S. Sadtler (Lippincott) is both comprehensive and comprehensible.
The following are intended for young readers but are not to be despised by their elders who may wish to start in on an easy up-grade: "Chemistry of Common Things" (Allyn & Bacon, Boston) is a popular high school text-book but differing from most text-books in being readable and attractive. Its descriptions of industrial processes are brief but clear. The "Achievements of Chemical Science" by James C. Philip (Macmillan) is a handy little book, easy reading for pupils. "Introduction to the Study of Science" by W.P. Smith and E.G. Jewett (Macmillan) touches upon chemical topics in a simple way.
On the history of commerce and the effect of inventions on society the following titles may be suggested: "Outlines of Industrial History" by E. Cressy (Macmillan); "The Origin of Invention," a study of primitive industry, by O.T. Mason (Scribner); "The Romance of Commerce" by Gordon Selbridge (Lane); "Industrial and Commercial Geography" or "Commerce and Industry" by J. Russell Smith (Holt); "Handbook of Commercial Geography" by G.G. Chisholm (Longmans).
The newer theories of chemistry and the constitution of the atom are explained in "The Realities of Modern Science" by John Mills (Macmillan), and "The Electron" by R.A. Millikan (University of Chicago Press), but both require a knowledge of mathematics. The little book on "Matter and Energy" by Frederick Soddy (Holt) is better adapted to the general reader. The most recent text-book is the "Introduction to General Chemistry" by H.N. McCoy and E.M. Terry. (Chicago, 1919.)
CHAPTER II
The reader who may be interested in following up this subject will find references to all the literature in the summary by Helen R. Hosmer, of the Research Laboratory of the General Electric Company, in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, New York, for April, 1917. Bucher's paper may be found in the same journal for March, and the issue for September contains a full report of the action of U.S. Government and a comparison of the various processes. Send fifteen cents to the U.S. Department of Commerce (or to the nearest custom house) for Bulletin No. 52, Special Agents Series on "Utilization of Atmospheric Nitrogen" by T.H. Norton. The Smithsonian Institution of Washington has issued a pamphlet on "Sources of Nitrogen Compounds in the United States." In the 1913 report of the Smithsonian Institution there are two fine articles on this subject: "The Manufacture of Nitrates from the Atmosphere" and "The Distribution of Mankind," which discusses Sir William Crookes' prediction of the exhaustion of wheat land. The D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, publishes a monograph on "Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen" by J. Knox, also "TNT and Other Nitrotoluenes" by G.C. Smith. The American Cyanamid Company, New York, gives out some attractive literature on their process.