power of turning his scientific training to practical account, enabled him to grapple successfully with the various problems involved in the extraction of iodine and other products from sea weed, and the numerous improvements in the manufacturing processes, which he originated, rendered the industry capable of surviving such blows as the introduction of iodine extracted from the iodate of sodium which occurs in the nitrate fields of South America, and the production of bromine and potash salts from the enormous natural deposits at Stassfurt. Naturally, some of his most important investigations were connected with the iodine industry, and one of these may fittingly be recalled on this occasion. In 1883, he communicated to the Chemical Section of the Philosophical Society a paper on "Algin, a new substance extracted from some of the commoner species of marine algæ,” in which he gave a full account of the method of extraction, properties, and possible uses of that interesting body, which constitutes about twenty per cent. of the substance of sea weed. Few practical applications of Algin have hitherto been found, but recently Mr. Stanford succeeded in producing "Alginoid Iron," a compound which has been found of marked therapeutic value, as it is laxative instead of astringent in its effect when administered internally. During all his life he kept up his early connection with pharmaceutical chemistry, and one of his last pieces of work was the perfection of a method for extracting Thyroglandin, the active principle of the thyroid gland. He also had a keen interest in sanitary matters, and in particular he wrote largely upon the sewage problem, and, always practical, introduced the carbon closet system, which has been adopted in many large works. His inventive powers remained undiminished to the end, and less than a year ago, in his last scientific publication, he contributed to the Society of Chemical Industry a description of an apparatus for making infusions, provided with a most ingenious and easily regulated contrivance for automatically drawing off the liquid from the extracted body.

Mr. Stanford's energy and tact made him a valued member of many scientific societies, to all of which he rendered services of the first importance. He was elected a member of the Philosophical Society in 1864, and served for a term as Vice-President; he became President of the Chemical Section in 1873, and of the Sanitary and Social Economy Section in 1881. On the formation of the Scottish Section of the Society of Chemical Industry in

1884, he was unanimously chosen to be the first Chairman, and in 1893 he received the richly deserved honour of being elected to succeed a number of the most distinguished chemists in the country in the post of President of that great society. In 1892 he was President of the British Pharmaceutical Conference at Edinburgh, and he also served on the Councils of the Chemical Society and of the Institute of Chemistry. Many other honours fell to him in recognition of his scientific work, and of his services to chemical industry. He received the Silver Medal of the Society of Arts upon two occasions. The Graham Medal was awarded to him in 1884 by the Philosophical Society for his researches upon sea weed, and his discovery of Algin. On that occasion the late Mr. Coleman, then President of the Chemical Section, addressed the following words to the President of the Society, on intimating that the arbitrator had selected Mr.Stanford's paper for distinction from those submitted to him. "It is for this research that the medal is awarded, but we cannot forget that it is merely the culmination of the work of nearly a quarter of a century, by a chemist whose great ability has long been acknowledged by his fellow chemists, and whose patience and persistency is worthy of the highest admiration." He also obtained medals at many International Exhibitions in London, Dublin, Paris, Havre, and Vienna, for chemical products obtained from sea weed by his patented processes.

Incessant as was his scientific and technical work, yet Mr. Stanford's activity found vent in many other directions. A resident in Dumbartonshire for twenty-seven years, he identified himself with the affairs of the county, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1887. As a politician, he was well-known in the capacity of President of the local Liberal Association; as a volunteer, he attained the rank of Captain in the 1st Dumbartonshire Rifle Volunteers; he was for some years Chairman of the School Board in Clydebank, and he was a Governor of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. He had pronounced views upon scientific and technological education, and he never tired of urging the claims of these branches to national or municipal endowment. A manufacturer himself, he insisted specially upon the necessity of the highest scientific training as a preparation for the pursuit of industrial chemistry, and gave earnest warning against the blind folly of trusting to rule-of-thumb methods. Thus, referring to the attitude still adopted by some manufacturers,

he said, “. . . The manager, in his too exclusive wisdom, may be devoting his whole time to the saving of fuel and labour, little dreaming that some patient researcher in a far off laboratory may be quietly undermining his whole work." And again, "I think it could be easily proved that nothing pays better than original research, but it requires encouragement, for often the absolute necessity of living is against it, and a man may spend a life-time on an important subject, doing great work, of which only those who survive him know the value."

Mr. Stanford was a man of wide culture, with a mind richly stored with knowledge. He was an admirable speaker, and whether lucidly explaining some severely technical matter, or giving full play to his genial humour in lighter forms of address, he at once captivated the interest and attention of his hearers. He was a devoted husband and father, a staunch friend, and a wise counsellor, and his upright character, his amiable disposition, and his kindness of heart won for him the respect and affection of all who knew him. By his death, chemical science has suffered a heavy loss, the Philosophical Society has been deprived of a highly esteemed and distinguished member, and in many circles a blank has been left which it will be very difficult to fill.

The following is a list of his published papers :

(1) "Fixing by Chloride of Platinum." Photographic Society, 1856. (2) "Salt Efflorescences." Chemical News, 1860.

(3) "Researches on Atmospheric Ozone." Chemical News, 1860. (4) "The concentration of alcohols in bladders." Chemical News,

1861.

(5) "Reinsch's test for Arsenic." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1861. (6) "The economic applications of Sea Weed." Society of Arts, 1862. (7) "The manufacture of Kelp." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1862. (8) "A chemist's views of the sewage question." Philosophical Society (Chemical Section), 1869.

(9) "A chemical method of treating excreta of towns." Chemical News, 1869.

(10) "Chemical products from house-refuse and sewage." Chemical News, 1869.

(11) "Note on the action of house sewage on lead pipes." Philosophical Society (Chemical Section), 1869.

(12) "The Fulmar and Fulmar Oil." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1870. (13) "Marbles from the Island of Tyree.” British Association, 1870.

(14) "Note on a specimen of shell sand from the Island of Coll." Philosophical Society (Chemical Section), 1870.

(15) "The sewage question." Chemical News, 1871.

(16) "The Carbon Closet System." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1871. (17) Address to the Glasgow Chemists and Druggists' Association. Pharmaceutical Journal, 1871.

(18) "A cheap disinfectant." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1872.

(19) Presidential Address to the Chemical Section. Philosophical Society, 1873.

(20)

(22)

"The action of earth on organic nitrogen." Chemical Society, 1874.

(21) "The manufacture of Iodine." British Association, 1876. “On Algin, a new substance obtained from some of the commoner species of marine Algae." Philosophical Society (Chemical Section), 1883.

(23)

"Iodine in Cod Liver Oil." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1883. (24) Chairman's Inaugural Address. Scottish Section, Society of Chemical Industry, 1884.

(25) "On Algin."

1884.

Scottish Section, Society of Chemical Industry,

(26) "Alginic Acid and its Compounds." Scottish Section, Society of Chemical Industry, 1886.

(27) Presidential Address. British Pharmaceutical Conference, 1892. (28) Presidential Address. Society of Chemical Industry, 1893. (29) "Alginoid Iron and other Alginoids.

1898.

Pharmaceutical Journal,

(30) "Thyroglandin." Pharmaceutical Journal, 1898.

(31) “An automatic apparatus for making infusions." Scottish Section, Society of Chemical Industry, 1899.

Monograph upon the Iodine Industry in Thorpe's Dictionary of Applied Chemistry.

V.-On the Electrical Deposition of Copper.

BY

J. CAMPBELL DICKSON, Associate of Glasgow Technical

College.

[Read before the Society, January 10, 1900.]

Of late years considerable attention has been devoted to the Electrolysis of Copper and Silver in the Physical Laboratory of the University of Glasgow, and a vast number of experiments have been conducted with reference to the application of electrolysis for purposes of standardisation of electrical instruments.

In a paper, communicated to the Philosophical Magazine for November, 1886, by Mr. Thomas Gray, B.Sc., F.R.S.E., "On the Electrolysis of Silver and Copper, and the application of Electrolysis to the Standardisation of Electrical Current and Potential-meters," the author summarizes these University experiments, and discusses the relative merits or otherwise of Copper and Silver Electrolysis for standardising purposes.

On February 22, 1888, Mr. A. W. Meikle read a paper "On the Measurement of Electric Currents by the Electrolytic Deposition of Copper," before the Philosophical Society of Glasgow, dealing with a large number of experiments conducted by him on the above subject in Glasgow University Physical Laboratory. In all his experiments Mr. Meikle used solutions of commercial Sulphate of Copper with a specific gravity of about 1'17, and with 1% of Sulphuric Acid added. He used current densities varying from too of an ampere per sq. cm., or in other words his gain plates were from 20 to 500 sq. cms. per ampere. After describing his working arrangements and methods of manipulation, he went on to prove what great accuracy could be obtained by the employment of the electrolytic deposition of copper for