T36 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

THE MONUMENT TO ROBERT BTJNSEN.

BY NICHOLAS KNIGHT,Cornell College^ Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Some four or five years ago an appeal was sent out to themembers of the German Chemical Society asking contributionsfor a suitable monument to the memory of Robert Bunsen. Themonument was to be erected in Heidelberg, where the greatteacher and investigator had labored so successfully for thirty-seven years, from 1852 to 1889. The admirers of Bunsenthroughout the civilized world generously responded, and withsome assistance from the city of Heidelberg 70,000 marks werecontributed 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 distinguishedscientist, representing him as he appeared in 1859, about thetime that he and Kirchhoff invented the spectroscope. In onehand he bears a manuscript, as if about to deliver a lecture. Aflight of a few steps leads from the street to the monument. Oneach corner of the monument plot nearest the street is a colossalfigure of white granite from the Black Forest, one representingthe known sciences, and the other science awaking. The monu-ment is not far from the Heidelberg Chemical Laboratory, apart of which was constructed under Bunsen’s supervision, andwas afterward added to by his illustrious successor, the late Vic-tor -Meyer. The designer of the memorial is Professor H. Volzof Karlsruhe, and from an artistic standpoint it is a meritoriouswork.The exercises connected with the unveiling were simple but

interesting and impressive. Music was furnished by the cityorchestra, 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. ProfessorBernthsen, representing the industrial chemists, spoke at lengthof the great debt applied chemistry owes to the investigationsof him to honor the memory of whom they were assembled. Hespoke of Bunsen’s contributions to industrial chemistry by thespectroscope, by his discovery of important technical analyticalmethods, by his work in volumetric analysis, contributing to thesubject 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 SODIUM T37

aration of various metals by electrolysis. Bernthsen was for-merly a student and colleague of Bunsen, and he could speakwith some authority. The mayor, Dr. Wilckens, accepted themonument in the name of the university city. Representativesof the German Chemical Society and a score of similar organi-zations deposited upon the monument laurel wreaths and otherfloral tributes suitably inscribed, as a mark of esteem for theman 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 dohonor to the occasion which proved a notable day in the historyof the city. The exercises were largely attended, and severalmembers 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 allclasses. He received many honors in his lifetime. The nameof the street on which he lived during the ten years that he wasprofessor emeritus was changed to Bunsen Strasse�rather anunusual 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 workjustified 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, andsought out the grave of the great scientist. The monument isplain and simple and bears a simple inscription. The mound iscovered with rhododendrons. Not far away is the granite block,almost overgrown with ivy, which marks the last resting placeof that other world renowned scientist, Victor Meyer, the worthysuccessor 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 ofgeneral chemistry early in their course is the determination ofthe equivalent weights of some of the -more common metals. Inorder that the results may be used subsequently in introducing