ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY ; OR, MAGAZINE OF CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, MECHANICS, NATURAL HISTORY, AGRICULTURE, AND THE ARTS. weeceere ints eee BY THOMAS THOMSON, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E. F.L.S, &c. MEMBER OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, OF THE WERNERIAN SOCIETY, AND OF THE IMPERIAL MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL ACADEMY OF PETERSBURGH, r - VOL. II. JULY TO DECEMBER, 1813. See nee THE SECOND EDITION, Ee ————___ Dondon : Printed by C. Baldwin, New Bridge-street ; yor ROBERT BALDWIN, pateRNosTER-Row. SOLD ALSO BY WwW. BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH; AND J. CUMMING, DUBLIN, - ~e 1814. PREFACE. —2— THE termination of the Second Volume of the Annals of Philosophy will enable our readers still more completely to understand the plan and the object of the work, and in what particulars it differs from other scientific journals. It will be admitted, we conceive, without hesita- tion, that the second volume is considerably more valuable than the first; a sufficient proof that the attention of the Editor has not relaxed, and that more copious sources of information have been con- tinually opening upon him. The great increase of original communications from men of science, sufficiently conspicuous in this volume, has rendered it necessary to deviate occa- sionally from the original plan, as far as regards the regular insertion of the analysis of a scientific book in each number. Such deviations cannot always be avoided ; and when we have to balance between deferring an original paper and the review of a book, we conceive it but reasonable that the latter should yield to the former. We may now confidently anticipate an unrestrained communication between Great Britain and all the other countries in Europe where science is cultivated. The Editor fully expects to derive much yaluable _ information from the labours of the philosophers in Germany and the North of Europe: and proper means will be taken, as soon as the channels of com- munication are open, to secure a regular correspond- ence in these countries. TABLE OF CONTENTS. NUMBER VII.—JULY. Biographical Account of M. de Lagrange. ........0...-s00. Observations and Experiments on the Combinations of Oxy- Page L muriatic Acid with Lime. By Mr. Dalton...... nee om te Of a resinous Substance found at Highgate. By Dr. Thomson 9 A new Variety of Ulmin. By the same...........-..0-.- 11 On Sir H. Davy’s Theory of Chlorine and its Compounds. By Mr. W: Henderson, ....: «52... -2o dE a ee ee 13 On the Composition of Animal Bodies. By Dr. Berzelius.... 19 On the Heat evolved during Inflammation of the Human Body. By Dr. Thomson..... oon: Saar ih aig a ee 26 Mineralogical Observations in the Highlands of Scotland. By Dr. Grierson .. 3... ... +s .od¥ach qeeeik ae uae 28 On the Daltonian Theory of Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. By Dr. Thomson ..............---200% 32 Astronomical and Magnetical Observations. By Col. Beaufoy 52. Critical Analysis of the Memoirs of the ‘Daman Society.. 54 Analysis ofa Concretion on the Elm.......... slate holds soa 59 Calculus from the Urethra of a Dog... ea at aA al eres Thenard’s Observations on the Hydro-sulphurets Secale od oe 00 Of Antimonial Acids,........... 22... Be Jor dhs SRL ibid. Ava Of Tan | sos c5 oss 5 ees Sines Se ees eseses 61 semua =. 9 0. 2... ean eee Satie =. wee ibid. Sulphite of Copper ..........2.46 aid oa prep wBig te «2 .... ibid. On the freezing of Alcohol .. -...-..Jecae lease ee niin eee 63 Miers on the Composition of Azote .......-..2.....02 2.0 ibid. Proceedings of the Royal Society, May m1, June3,17,and 24 64 Linnzan Society, June Land 15........ 66 Geological Society, Nov. 6, 1812, to March 19, 1815 ..i. 2): eae a easisiicae Se 67 — French Institute : Botany and Vegetable Physiology. .............eeee0-0- 70 ee ct ee eben fo ye 76 Saentific Beoks m hand’. ....6) sg 42. 0)h ASN 78 Meteorological Journal, May 23 to June 20 ....... Re es 72 ——<—— NUMBER VIIL—AUSGUST. Biographical Account of M. Lavoisier..............00.++ 81 On the Absolute Magnetic Variation, and on the Horary Va- riation of Needles in the same Time and Place. By Dr. Schitbler ..,.c.sseses-eees dEWERS owes was eton 2a + soe TABLE OF CONTENTS, iw Page Description of a Compass for Observations of the Magnetic i Variation. By Col. Beaufoy.......--. Peete ue Je hs Method of procuring an intense Heat. By Dr. Marcet...... 99 Observations on Radiant Heat. By Dr. Delaroche ........ 100 Instruments necessary for a travelling Astronomer. By .Col. Beaufoy .....-see+2e eee -* whee tate COUN Mie se -teh Peey 102 On Transition Rocks. By Dr. Grierson....-.+++-++:+++-+ 103 Qn the Daltonian Theory of Definite Proportions, continued,. 109 On the Measurement of Minute Particles. By Dr. Young .. 115 On Sir H. Davy’s Theory of Chlorine and its Compounds, coz- Bei hs Seis thi balpea edie. caine amass s Ph ee . 122 On the Specific Heat of the different Gases. By MM. Dela- roche and Berard. ...- «csscc sees ener sesseses secs 134 Astronomical and Magnetical Observations. By Col. Beaufoy 138 Critical Analysis of Tableau Methodique des Espéces Mine- rales, par I. A. H. Lucas ...+- +--+ +sereses ress Bais Se 141 Mr. Children’s Experiments with his Galvanic Battery ...... 147 Of the Volatility of Cerium ......---- Be et PER ER SEE .. ibid. Action of the Agate on Light ....-.2.-++++++++> Birdies han 148 Transition Rocks in Yorkshire .....-+++++++ ++ gia ahd aiiib ibid. On the Structure of the Cube ....--.-++: aig dyap4itye PER RIG | Proceedings of the Royal Society, July 1 and 8......-.0++ - 150 need —— Geological Society, April 2 to June 18.. 153 New Patents ......-+-->- Bese ais}stt data eos soi mi dinip S35 lacey shea Scientific Books in hand....-....+++-+++9%: fe Ati 5 Sap senianichie 158 Meteorological Journal, June 21 to July 19 ....+++++s bis dg LOS ——= - NUMBER IX.—SEPTEMBER. On the Physical and Chemical Properties of the different Rays which compose Solar Light. By M. Berard ........+--- 162 On the Daltonian Theory of Definite Proportions, &c. con- Pefited orc dn Ped ade ce dd ee cnsadoae ma dennhsnieye wea cle? Contributions towards a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. By Dr. John 1... .eee eee sere sees eeetes as eee Ae 172 Sketch of the Agriculture of Berwickshire. By the Rev. J. Thomson, concluded ......+.0e0e+-ereeeres Lpbes. ts « .- 184 On the Admeasurement of Minute Particles. By Dr. Young, omclcded <> «\a/sre'e'v'o's d'stalora'e wlohe nye ereiow win sie'elé wie oleve s' viele 2° 190 On the Composition of Animal Fluids. By Dr. Berzelius, con- binued oo ciiivccicccecaee delew a mbalnn SOU dele ad bgealeiai REO Analysis of the Chinese Gong. By Dr. Thomson ......-... 208 On the Specific Heat of the Gases. By MM. Delaroche and Berard, continued ....-eee ce cceeerrreereseeenses oe el Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. By M. Vauquelin .... 220 Astronomical and Magnetical Observations. By Col. Beaufoy 225 Critical Analysis of the Philosophical Transactions for 1813, Part lips. HONG ave sists Prete -. 227 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Public Lectures Site dh Rte Aes caries \etais) aiane stake olateaalaretie al wivcchiva deohaa lee 235 Waepar front Wo0d) .466ccccs ce veciowne sta.cd Heled e deameeee Matrix of, the: Diamonl scc:<.o.tcinele eons epitaseisiogs AOS ibid @arbonste of Irontiawiey Ls -feyeieiae op aaee Se PET Poe eh Peroxideiof Lead: ojsisc.0.0 sie, eteres.cie susie, de etic sekeueies ajo aia oe Subéulphate of Alumina, oo. 5:02.50 -0h tienes pnaee « snlslneallte Scientific Books in hand. . .cc:cisie wields isis crib w wich ipemiateeer a nO Us Meteorological Journal, July 20 to Aug. 18 ...........+44 239 =a NUMBER X.—OCTOBER. Biographical Account of Sir Isaac Newton ............0.00 24% Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. By Dr. Thomson.. 247 On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. By Dr. Berzelius ...... +. 254 Account of the Biddery Ware in India. By Dr. Heyné .... 260 On a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. By Dr. John, con- FIMEE: 5 cc Lek iSi anes Seed cane eae ea eae e a ek eee 263 Experiments on the Nature of Azote; of ‘Hydrogen, and of Ammonia, and on the Degrees of Oxidation of which Azote is susceptible. By Dr. Berzelius ...........000.0cec00: 276 Account of the Explosion i in the Collingwood Main Colliery,. 284 Manner of separating the Oxide of Iron from the Oxide of Manganese. » By M. Bachola, ois... st ee eee 287 On the Specific Heat of the Gases. By MM. Delaroche and Berard,, continwed 5 wciciea's' poe Matlale a 3 bios eolaaNeltre et nome 289 On the Daltonian Theory of Definite Proportions i in Chemical Combinations. By Dr. Thomson, continued .......- aan eee Magnetical Observations. By Col. Beaufoy ............-. 301 Proceedings of the French Institute : + Botany, Zoology, and Animal Physiology .......... Gb wii GOS Public. Lectures, .... swwascyh bias ot Oa ete vee cine GL New Example of Combustion during Combination... ..+..... 312 Ghinphoric Acid 5, ja3600...ssk brasil eee ena o Namek Accident to the Church Steeple at Greenwich ..... Me On Ulmin. By Dr. Berzelius .......... siaiee sais eitobte cose S14 On the Oxides of Gold. By the same..........-- sie mSeed ADI Alcohol of Sulphur, prepared by Mr. Allen ...... weveevee! OID Chingse:Gongs. 1... chine ude bo bade ee DeOee +. +» ibid, Letter from Dr. Wollaston...... \easoweece sie ee see aie 316 New-Patents.: o7...d 0. dees cc ex Sc slasctlsiae od cee ME eaaeen . ibid. Scientific Books in hand............c0ececeeues vevsul eae S18 Meteorological Journal, Aug. 19 to Sept. 16 ..........+- -. 319 Ie NUMBER XI.—NOVEMBER. Biographical Account of Sir Isaac Newton, continued .ees+e 32% TABLE OF CONTENTS. Wil Page Experiments on the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas emitted "fo om the Lungs during Respiration. By Dr. Prout ...... 328 On the Method of separating Iron from Manganese. By Charles PBatchett, Esq. oie ase seis ie'c onaewinie nie vie sis lal \ele werere'ae we ve ~- 343 Mineralogical Observations. By Professor Jameson ........ 345 a on Cornwall, By Dr: eget ie CITT. ow civic wie Bh dwn vn ea in vp tie NaibaDe als e aieiel 346 Account of an Explosion in the Hall Pit at Fatfield ....... - B53 Experiments on the Stability of Vessels containing a Well on Board. By Col. Beaufoy ........60-...02 eb ee ee eevee 355 Experiments on Azote, Hydrogen, and Ammonia. By Dr. Merzclius, continued. Jsic0'ss Vet iha pw bs edd Wied oceuas 357 On the Specific Heat of the Gases, By MM, Delaroche and Berard, continued .......s0ccccecccensccscscececenss 369 On the Composition of Animal Fluids. By Dr. Berzelius, con- WILE «5 «aig oo \s mi cinn'bid aio’ Jobe Sb d eldtlak We swinlglanie Ke 377 Magnetical Observations. By Col. Beaufoy:....... 22000058 387 Mineralogical Remarks on Greenland. By T. Allan, Esq.... 389 Proceedings of the French Institute : 1. Medicine and Surgery ........ sate ck digdnpicenaa Sey oon 2. Agriculture and Technology .....-. Oe Sai ere Further Experiments on Ulmin ........ Bee Wt leo ais sevese SOD Ulmin from the Horse Chesnut..,...... caesadres ceeecece S00 Swedish Agriculture ............ ($4.0eedli eevee Wise odigdwe BRT Sulphate of Godla...\5. se edie Pedy eve wie er owes. 398 Electrical Oxides. By Mr. Singer pis ered ate wesseve.., ibid. Dr. Thomson's Course of Practical Chemistry, ee St Soe ibid. Scientific Books in hand...............- es ei ek: ibid. Meteorological Journal, Sept. 17 to Oct. 15 ..... eesccvece SOD 3 ’ NUMBER XII.—DECEMBER. Biographical Account of Sir Isaac Newton, concluded ...... 401 Graphical Representation of the Daily Rate of the Barometer during a Year, in London, Paris, and Geneva, By M. Pictet 408 On the Composition of Oxide of Zinc. By Dr. Thomson..,. 410 A New Hydraulic Machine. By M.Mannoury Dectot...... 412 On the Composition of Animal Fluids. By Dr. Berzelius, con- Es Wid ators 9 545% ean nam baalaine Hoey erea es ole 415 On the Specific Heat of the Gases, "By MM. Delaroche and BEEN g nck ciwatninpecacins ph aerneenedassipasettne 426 On the Cause of Chemical Proportions, ‘and on some Circum- stances relating to them, with a short and easy Method of expressing them. By Dr. Berzelius,........... cclccccwe 443 Magnetical Observations. By Col, Beaufoy..........--+++- 454 Account of a luminous Meteor seen at Sunderland. By Mr, ONT Ss div cle ness cee cne vescecssesisiepacecssccreans 456 Critical Analysis of a short Account of Experiments and Instru- 1 vill LIST OF PLATES. : Page. ments depending on the Relation of Air to Heat and Moisture. 3 By Mr. Leslie!s 00. 13... 00. eas nee eo seOabT Proceedings of the Royal Society, Nov. 4, 11, and 18...... 463 Linnean Society, Nov. 2 and 16........ 465 Geological Society, Nov. 5 and 19..,... 466 ——— Description of Pyrodmalite ........ 2 see ode pes soe ee ve 467 Properties of Polychroite.....-.-ss00--seescecreecees -. 468 Picrotoxine ...... voli ole PU Sebel cle UC ——~- Boletic *Acid ese7. 35,4 DIE at 3 ¢ stereos On the Freezing of Alcohol ..... Seotein ae Cath seb og heaeeee 471 Situation of Cryolite in Greenland,....... Tialvle's « bivte SateegRIOMLnE. Mr. Howard’s Meteorological Apparatus..............;... ibid. Biddery; Wares, oth 3.8 Pa ete nes eee e+ eee ibid, Srene Ss 6. sip gy siete a bogie oft Ok anantars e os tre oba venltue ale New- Patents <5 05. eieew of Ol eas TE ge re | .. ibid. Meteorological Journal, Oct. 16 to Nov, 14..........-2-205 473 Index ea ee ee a ee eeoereesesr ee eoreve re oe AT5 —=—_—— PLATES IN VOL. II. Plate , Page VIII. Symbols of Chemical Bodies ........ wie ibid site ste ste tig Ae IX. Col. Beaufoy’s Compass for observing the Magnetic Va- riation...... ppb le ip eGR » Wile Wasa! « ale 0 sis'e'o wade X. Apparatus for measuring the Specific Heat of the Gases 212 XI, Structure of St. Michael’s Mount ................ 252 XIL Scale of the Emission of Carbonic Acid Gas from the Lungs during Respiration .. ..,.....vseeeee+ eyes 332 XIII. Instrument used in Dr. Prout’s Experiments gn the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas emitted from the TUNES 7 5 2:5. dntnnig Sue 3 4 no nibsd > dnate' pia had ete ee Tae XIV. Scale of the Rate of the Barometer during a Year, at London, Paris, and Geneva ...csesessssoerscere 408 eo ANNALS , OF PHILOSOPHY. JULY, 1813. ArTicLe [. Biographical Account of M. de Lagrange. M. DE LAGRANGE, the greatest mathematician of the present age, having died about two months ago at Paris, the British public will no doubt be eager to get some information respecting the life and labours of so celebrated a philosopher. This has induced me to translate the following short sketch from the Moniteur of the 4th of May. It contains a general outline,. which seems to be drawn with considerable accuracy and some discrimination. As soon as a more complete biography of this illustrious man is published, I shall not fail to make it known to my readers. M. de Lagrange was born at Turin, on the 25th of January, 1736. He began his studies in that city, at a very early age; and though he made a distinguished figure, he did not at first display that strong predilection for mathematics which animated him during the greatest part of his life. The elements of that science were at that time taught in what was called the Class of Philosophy. M. de Lagrange attended it the first year without pleasure, and without advantage. Literary pursuits were more to his taste; but finding himself under the necessity of attending the Class a second year with more application, his mathematical genius awoke, and he made the most rapid progress. At the age of 16 he was mathematical professor to the School of Artil- lery. His first researches were directed to the determination of the propagation of sound. ‘They were published in the Memoirs of the Turin Academy for 1759 and 1760, Already he had Vou. Hi. N°I. ; A 2 Biographical Account of (Jory, engaged in a correspondence with the great Euler, though it must be acknowledged that the letters of Euler were those of a master to his scholar; but all inequality between them speedily disappeared. At the age of twenty-four Lagrange published his Calculus of Variations, which had been some time in his possession. It was the greatest degree of generalization and extension that could be given to the important discovery of Descartes on the analysis of indeterminate quantities. It was received with admi- ration. Euler especially, who had written on the same subject one of his best works, and who had reason to regret that an idea so simple and so fruitfal had escaped him, was the first person to point out and celebrate the method of his young rival. He wrote several papers by way of commenting on it; and it was he that gave it the name of the Calculus of Variations. Lagrange him- self was satisfied with giving it the name of an essay. Lagrange did justice to this great honour, by acquiring new titles to glory. In 1764 he gained the prize proposed by the Academy of Sciences on the libration of the moon. Not only did his analysis embrace the whole of the question proposed, but he likewise pointed out to mathematicians the extent and fecundity of the principle of virtual velocities in the solution of mecha- nical problems. This idea contains the germ of one of his finest works, which he called Mecanique Analytique, because he reduced under a single analytical formula all imaginable mechanical questions, supposing the direction and the mode of action of the forces known. M. de Lagrange gained four other great prizes proposed by the Academy of Sciences. We would not properly appreciate the importance of this circumstance unless we attend to the nature of the questions proposed in such cases. They consisted of the most important points of science, of the most difficult and profound theories towards which the efforts of mathematicians were drawn. We may almost reckon the steps made by science by the number of such questions pro- posed and resolved. M. de Lagrange quitted his country in 1766. Euler, who had been director of the Berlin Academy, went at that time to Petersburgh. Frederick the Great proposed to d’Alembert to succeed him, D’Alembert returned his thanks to the King, and pointed out Lagrange as a proper person to fill the place. La- grange, accordingly, was chosen. His arrival in Berlin was marked by a fine work on numerical equations, which constitutes the foundation of the treatise that he afterwards published on that subject. Soon afterwards he communicated his researches on algebraic equations; and during the 22 years that he conti- nued Director of the Berlin Academy he published about 60 dissertations on all parts of mathematics, on partial differences, finite differences, probabilities, the theory of numbers, and the 1813.}- M. de Lagrange. 8 most difficult questions of general astronomy. This did not prevent him from sending likewise papers to the Turin Academy, which had been honoured by his first successful efforts. No man possessed of less extent of genius, and less fecundity of inven- tion, could have ventured to succeed such a philosopher as Euler; but every person must acknowledge that Euler had a worthy successor. During his residence in Berlin, M. de Lagrange married, not so much from any inclination for the state, as because it was cus- tomary for the academicians to be married. ‘This union was followed by several misfortunes. M. de Lagrange hada child, who died, we are informed, while young. His wife died, likewise, after a tedious and painful disease. M. de Lagrange took care of her during her illness with the most inviolable attachment, hardly ever leaving her, and contriving new methods for her cure. This second loss rendered his abode in Berlin disagree- able: besides, he was afraid that the tranquillity of Prussia would be interrupted. These motives caused him to listen to the offers which were made to induce him to go to France, where he hoped to enjoy greater tranquillity. He reached that country in 1787, and was soon after surprised by the Revolution. He passed through it without experiencing any personal misfortune. About this period his Mecanique Analytique appeared. M. de Lagrange had sent the manuscript from Berlin, and had en- trusted the publication of it to one of the most celebrated French mathematicians. It had been printed for two years before Lagrange even thought of opening it; and when a gentleman to whom he communicated the circumstance ex- pressed his astonishment at so much Jndifference, “ J was dis- gusted,” said he, ‘‘ with these kinds of combinations, and I set myself to learn chemistry, which I now find easy, for it may be learned in the same manner as algebra.” It is necessary to be a Lagrange to seek in algebra a model of facility. It is remarkable that the taste for mathematics may be thus destroyed, and revive again. D’Alembert seems to have undergone the same kind of change. In 1792 M. de Lagrange married, a second time, a young and beautiful lady, daughter of M. Lemonnier, one of his fellow members of the Academy. She rendered his life very happy. He observed in his last moments that he found death easy, and that his regret in leaving an excellent wife could alone make it painful. Wheti, after the events of Thermidor, public instruction was again re-established, M. de Lagrange was named Professor in the Normal School. The lectures which he there delivered have been printed. When the Polytechnic School was formed, he was likewise one of its first Professors ; and those who had the happiness to hear him know with what respect he was Az 4 Biographical Account of (Jury, listened to. It was then that he published his Calcul des Fonetions Analytiques, his Traité des Fonctions, and his Resolution des Equations Numeriques. ‘These works, composed for the Poly- technic School, were not one of the least causes of its celebrity. When the Institute was formed M. de Lagrange was necessarily named the first member in the section of Geometry. When the Board of Longitude was established he was appointed one of its members; and till the very last period of his life, nobody was more exact than he in his attendance at the meetings of both these learned bodies. At the epoch of the 18th Brumaire he was named Senator, and successively Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, and Grand Cross of the Order of Reunion. The eclat of rank and fortune did not seduce him for a moment. He retained always the same mode of life, the same habit of study, the same sim- plicity. This wise conduct was the more necessary for him, because he had always been of a feeble constitution ; and it was to this extreme moderation, in every thing but study, that we must ascribe the length of his life, and his old age free from infirmity. He had likewise the rare good fortune to preserve his genius to the end of his life. Indeed, if we examine the whole of his works, we shall find in them marks of the progress of the science, but no indication of old age. He had undertaken at the latter period of his life to give a new edition of the Meca- nique Analytique considerably augmented. He published the first volume, 10 which, among other remarkable additions, we admire his fine investigations of the most general questions of astronomy and mechanics. He laboured with the most inde- fatigable industry at the two remaining volumes, in which he intended, it is said, to treat of the great phenomena of the system of the world ; but this labour hastened the period of his death. It is said that the manuscript of the second volume exists, written entirely with his own hand. It is to be wished, for the good of the sciences, that the publication of this precious . monument be committed to persons who will acquit themselves with promptitude and fidelity. The character of the genius of Lagrange has been exactly appreciated by a philosopher whose name in the sciences has been long associated with his own, If we durst add any thing to that judginent, it would be to confirm it, by recalling to memory the impression made upon the mind by the perusal of the works of Lagrange. It is not only the pleasure that results from a clear and accurate arrangement, it is a ray of light which darts upon the mind, removes the obscurity from the most compli- cated objects, and discovers to your astonished eyes the certain and direct road which leads to the object that you. ‘wish to obtain. When we have once read and understood a memoir of Lagrange, 1813.] M. de Lagrange. 5 we have never any occasion to recur to it again ; we have learned the whole, and never can forget it. In this generality of his views he rises above Euler. Euler, indeed, possesses other advantages: in the immense variety of his works he lays open a multitude of extraordinary means, and a fertility of invention, which nothing can stop. Mathematicians, by reading him, learn all the secrets of the science of mathematics; but M. de Lagrange alone can offer them the model of that perfection, almost ideal, which we ought to endeavour to attain. Notwithstanding what we have said, we should leave a very imperfect character of Lagrange, if we did not notice his wit. He possessed it in such perfection that it alone would have raised the reputation of any other person but M. de Lagrange. What a turn of thinking must he have had, who, by way of relaxation from the most abstract studies, made choice of the history of religion and of medicine! It is true that in consequence of this investigation he lost all confidence in medicine ; but ‘this scep- ticism was so simple and tolerant, that if it was an error it was impossible not to forgive it. This philosopher, who knew so many things, was exceedingly ready to acknowledge his igno-. rance. These simple words, I do not know’, were his favourite expression. He generally began and finished in this manner the statement of his doubts. He was not apt to be satisfied with words, nor to stop at the surface of things. He deprived opinions and things of the envelope with which they are usually covered ; and when he had thus exposed them naked, he gave his thoughts respecting them, usually in an original and lively manner, as remarkable for depth of sense as for fineness of expression. Many of his sayings are well known. One of his friends was speaking to him of av opinion which, alternately adopted and rejected, admitted and modified, by philosophers, had become at last a popular prejudice. ‘¢ What!” said M. de Lagrange, “are you astonished at that? It is the very thing which always happens. Prejudices are nothing else than the cast clothes of philosophers, in which the rabble dress themselves.” We state this anecdote because it points out well the nature of his observa- tions. j Though his figure was good, he would never permit his por- trait to be drawn. He thought that the productions of the mind were alone entitled to survive. If his face remains unknown, the remembrance of his gevius will last as long as civilization conti- nues to dwell upon earth. 6 On the Combinations of {Juxy, Arricie II. Farther Ovservations and Experiments on the Combinations of Oxymuriatic Acid with Lime. By John Dalton. In my essay on the oxymuriate of lime (inserted in Vol. I. No. I. of the Annals,) 1 gave my opinion that the muriate of dime found in the oxymuriate of commerce was accidental, and not essential to the salt. I have lately been favoured with a specimen of oxymuriate of lime, immediately after its forma- tion, by Dr. Henry. Oxymuriatic acid gas was passed through a vessel containing a portion of water into another vessel con- taining hydrate of lime, in the proportion of three parts lime to one of water nearly: this was continued till the hydrate was saturated. On the oxymuriate thus prepared I made a few experiments, which afforded me additional and satisfactory infor- mation on the subject ; particularly as they confirm the opinion that thuriate of lime is not essential to the constitution of the oxymuriate. Exper. 1.—To 100 grains of the salt were added 1000 grains of water; after due agitation and filtration, a liquid was ob- tained of the sp. gr. 1°04! 3 a residuum of 2] grains, dried in 100, was also obtained; this, treated with test nitric acid, indi- cates 16 grains of lime. One-fifth of the former liquid (1°041) was treated with test carbonate of soda, and boiled; it threw down 8 grains of carbonate of lime, equal to 4°5 of lime. Hence the whole solution contained 22 grains of lime, of which 2 grains must have existed in the solution, as in lime-water, and have been borrowed of the precipitated lime. It appears, then, that 20 grains of Hime were held in solution by acid, and 18 precipitated, of which 2 were again taken up by the water of the solution. The total lime, then, in 100 grains of the dry oxymuriate was 38 grains. This was confirmed by treating 20 grains of the dry sali with sulphuric acid, by which 181 grains of sulphate of lime were obtained, which correspond to 381 grains per cent. of lime. ‘Thus, then, it appears, that the above specimen gives nearly the same total of lime as that analysed in my former paper; but it coniains more soluble matter, as is shown by the greater sp. gr. of the solution. a $ Faper. 2.—It was found that 100 measures of the solution, 1041, required 56 of test green sulphate of iron (1°149) to annihilate the oxymuriatie aeid. The calculation from this being made as in my former, gives 23 grains of oxymuriatic acid in 100 of the dry salt. This acid would be in combination with 19 grains of lime ; but from the preceding experiment it seems 1813.] Oxymuriatic Acid with Lime, 7 there were 20 grains of lime in solution. This small difference arises, perhaps, from the errors of the proportions; or, perhaps, from the liquid containing a very small portion of muriate of lime. This last idea was tried by saturating one-fifth of the liquid (1-041) by test muriatic acid, and expelling the oxymu- riatic acid, as related in my former paper; but it was found that the lime required as much acid as was sufficient to saturate it, or so nearly that quantity that the difference was scarcely appre- ciable. Since the former essay was written, I have found another method of determining the quantity of oxymuriatic acid in any specimen of oxymuriate; it is to dissolve a known weight of the oxymuriate in.a small portion of water; then put the liquid into a graduated tube over mercury, and discharge the gas by an acid; it may thus be measured, and the quantity retained by the liquid may be estimated at twice the bulk of the liquid nearly. {See New System of Chemical Philosophy, p. 298.] Three grains of the dry oxymuriate above give, when dissolved in 30 of water, and 20 grains of dilute acid are added, 170 measures of gas over 50 of watery solution, which last may be presumed to retain 90 more. Hence the total gas may be estimated at 260 measures, which, of the sp. gr. 2°34, would give 72 grain for 3, equal to 24 per cent. of acid in the salt. The gas, I find, may be kept in the tube under these circumstances for a week, with- out losing more than 40 or 50 measures of its volume; so that its combination with mercury is slow, if not agitated. Upon the whole, however, I prefer the green sulphate test for precision. As nothing was in the salt but oxymuriatic acid, lime, and water, we have its constitution as under :— 23 oxym. acid 38 lime 39 water 100 But as the hydrate of lime at first had a minimum of water, which is known to be 4 of its weight, it could only be 13 grains: whence, then, were derived the other 26 grains of water? This is an important question ; especially as the specimen in my former paper was found to contain an equal, or greater, quantity of water (42) per cent. ; Exper. 3.—Suspecting that more water was found in the oxymuriate of lime than was essential to its existence, I attempted to distil the surplus water off by a gentle heat. A small portion of the salt was put into one end of a glass tube, and a gentle heat applied ; water soon dropped from the cool’ end; it smelled § Combinations of Oxymuriatic Acid with Lime. (Jury, strongly of the acid. The dry salt was then examined; it proved to be lime and muriate of lime, with scarcely any trace of oxy- muriatic acid. From this experiment it would seem probable that the excess of water is necessary to the constitution of the salt. If so, the manufacturers of the article will find it most conducive to their object not to use dry hydrate of lime with a minimum of water, but lime that contains its own weight of water, or what I should cali a ¢rihydrate, that is, 1 atom of lime combined with 3 of water. Referring now to the atomic system, in order to have a clear view of these compounds of oxymuriatic acid and lime, it ap- pears that the dry oxymuriate of lime, or, as it should be called, hyperoxymuriate, consists of 1 atom of acid, 2 of lime, and 6 of water ; namely— i FoF oxymt atid);\....joe ss 29> on 2B*2 Orofilimety:. .eis a SOR & 2248 38°4 « Gloliwaterse Lie Howe kain, 4S 38°4 25 100 When the salt is dissolved in water, one-half of the lime is precipitated, and the liquid contains a solution of oxymuriate of lime; the proportions of the elements of acid and base being, then, Ly atompof acids aeees sn: 2Ocor, 54:7 Li atom of. lime as. .\si) ck 2 24 45°3 a 53 100 When the liquid solution has a current of oxymuriatic acid gas sent through it till it becomes saturated, then the liquid contains a solution of hyperoxymuriate of lime; the proportions of the elements being, then, 2 atoms/of, acid’)... 05 6.0. 5S yor) 707 1 atom of lime .........4 24 29°3 os 82 100 N.B. The last term is not used here in the same sense as is now ordinarily received; it will probably be found expedient hereafter to designate such compounds as are now called hyper- oxymuriates by a different name. 1813.] Resinous Substance found at Highgate. ah) ArtTicLe III. Description of a Resinous Substance lately dug out of the Earth at Highgate. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. Durine the late attempt to make a tunnel through High- gate-hill, in the neighbourhood of London, a very considerable number of curious fossils were discovered. The beds dug through consisted partly of gravel and partly of clay. The number of shells thrown out, and the round massés of lime- _ Stone, could not escape the most careless observer; but one of the most remarkable substances detected was a resinous body, in shapeless masses of various sizes. Mr. Sowerby had the good- ness to send me some specimens of this curious substance; and as I am not aware that any account of it has hitherto been pub- lished, I conceive that the following observations which | made upon the specimen that I received will prove acceptable to my chemical and mineralogical readers. re i. The colour of Highgate resin is of a dirty yellowish light brown. It is semitransparent. Its lustre is resinous, and_ its surface smooth; though not perfectly so; but having the appear- ance of having been rubbed, as would have happened had it been mixed with gravel upon the margin of the sea-shore, or a lake.— Brittle; not so easily broken as common resin ; but much more so than copal : softer than copal; has a resinous and aromatic smell, especially when heated; this smell is peculiar, though it has some faint resemblance to the smell of camphor. I]. Its specific gravity at the temperature of 60° is 1-046. This agrees almost exactly with the specific gravity of copal as determined by Brisson; but on trying the specific gravity of copal, I found it 1069. Hence either copal diflers considerably in its specific gravity, or the resin called copal by Brisson was not the same to which we give that name in Britain. Ill. When heated it melts, and may be rendered as liquid as water without alteration in its colour. It catches fire at the flame of a candle, and burns with a clear yellow flame, and emitting abundance of smoke, as is the case with other resins. At the same time it emits a strong aromatic odour. IV. When in lumps it is insoluble in all the re-agents I tried, namely, water, alcohol, potash ley, acetic acid; except ether, nitric acid, and sulphuric acid, which act upon it more or less. Ether renders it opake, and white, and quite tender ; so that it has lost its cohesion, and crumbles into powder upon the least pressure between the fingers. The ether at the same time dis- solves a portion of it which it deposites, and becomes milky when agitated with water. 10 Resinous Sulstance found at Highgate. [Jury, Nitric acid acts upon it slowly when assisted by heat, and partly dissolves it, and partly converts it into a red coloured substance. The acid itself becomes red, and when diluted with water lets the resin again fall in white flocks. These focks when dry are in the state of a light yellow coloured powder, having a bitter taste. 1 could not dissolve it in water; but it dissolved in alcohol, at least as easily as the unaltered resin. Sulphuric acid readily chars this resinous body when assisted by heat. VY. When reduced to the state of a fine powder alcohol readily dissolves a small portion of it, and lets it fall again when mixed with water; but alcohol is a bad solvent of this resinous body. The same observations apply to ether. VI. I cannot find that either potash or subcarbonate of potash dissolve this resin, though boiled with it for some time in the state of powder. ‘This is the property which distinguishes High- gate resin from every other with which I am acquainted. Even amber is partially acted upon by alkaline leys, and tinges them yellow very speedily. VII. Nor do I find that acetic acid dissolves any perceptible portion of this resin after a week’s digestion in it, when in the state of a fine powder. I even triturated them together for a considerable time in a mortar, and then boiled them in a glass tube, but no solution was effected. Here, again, another cha- racter which Mr. Hatchett has assigned to the resinous bodies fails when applied to the Highgate resin. VIII. I have not tried the action of oils upon Highgate resin ; but from the properties above described I conceive there is reason to presume that, like copal, it will not dissolve in any of them. IX. It burns all away before the blow-pipe upon a piece of metal without leaving any perceptible ash behind it, when we make choice of pieces quite free from any earthy matter attached to them. Such are the properties of this substance, as far as I have examined them. They are sufficient, I think, to distinguish it from all the vegetable substances hitherto observed. It approaches nearest to copal and amber; but is distinguished irom the first by its solution in alcohol, and its non-solution in potash ley; from the second, by its readily melting when heated, and by its melting without any perceptible change of its properties. ‘Thus the che- mical properties of this singular substance throw no light upon the source from which it was derived; and cannot, therefore, facilitate our inquiries into the revolutions which the southern part of this kingdom has undergone, and the various animal and vegetable remains so thickly scattered in its bowels. 1813.] On a new Variety of Ulmin, ll ArtTIcLeE IV. On anew Variety of Ulmin. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. THE experiments detailed in the first number of these Annals upon the ulmin from the elm show us that it is a peculiar vegetable principle, distinguished by the following properties :— 1. Of a dark brown colour, and little taste. 2. Soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol and ether. 3. Not precipitated by solution of gelatine. 4. Precipitated brown by iron, tin, mercury, and lead, when these metals are in the state of saline solutions. 5. Precipitated by acids. 6. Swells greatly when heated, as is the case with gum, but does not melt. _ These characters do not apply to any other vegetable principle at present known. Hence it is obvious that we must constitute this substance a new vegetable principle. Some chemists are inclined to refer ulmin to extractive; but it is high time to render that very indefinite class of vegetable substances somewhat more precise. Nobody has ever examined extractive in a state of purity. Hence its properties are unknown, and it has been customary to refer to that class all substances which could not be referred to any other. It constitutes a kind of sink, or common sewer, in vegetable chemistry ; but such an indefinite mode of proceeding is highly injurious to the progress of this branch of the science. If we wish to make ourselves accurately acquainted with the vegetable kingdom, we must distinguish every substance which possesses peculiar properties by a peculiar name. No risk of error results from multiplying the number of vegetable prin- ciples : the error into which we are most likely to run is classing the most dissimilar substances under the same name; thus enabling us to satisfy ourselves and others with giving a substance a name without being in the least aware of its distinguishing characters. What, for example, could be more preposterous than to give the same name to vegetable substances, some of which are soluble, and some insoluble, in alechol? Yet this has been proposed by some of the most eminent chemists, both in this country and on the continent. Now that the vegetable principle which constitutes the subject of this article has been distinguished by a name, and that the attention of men of science and observation has been turned to it, we may expect to find different species of it exuding from different species of trees besides the elm. The variety which I am going to describe is an example of this. I got it from Mr, Sowerby, who informed me that he collected it from the oak. ¥2 On a new Variety of Ulmin. [JuLy, It possesses the following properties, which distinguish it from the ulmin of the elm :— 1. Its colour is a very dark brown, almost black, and it leaves a chocolate coloured stain on paper. It readily crumbles to powder between the fingers. Lustre, resinous. ‘Taste, more astringent than the ulmin from the elm, and inclining to bitter. 2. Dissolves readily in water. The colour of the solution is dark brown, and so intense as to be opake. When left to spon- taneous evaporation upon a watch-glass the ulmin remains, divided into a great number of minute portions by sections, which issue in rays from the centre, and the ulmin adheres but weakly to the glass. 3. Insoluble in alcohol and ether. 4. When the aqueous solution is dropped into alcohol of the specific gravity 0-809, brown flocks precipitate, but the alcohol retains a brown colour, and of course a portion of the ulmin remains in solution, 5. The aqueous solution is not precipitated by the solution of gelatine in water. 6. Some of the precipitates which the aqueous solution of this variety of ulmin forms with the metalline salts differ in colour from the precipitates formed by the ulmin from the elm. The following were the metalline salts tried :— (1.) Sulphate of iron is thrown down dark green, and the colour is permanent, though the liquid be left 24 hours in an open glass. (2.) Sulphate of copper is precipitated also green. (3.) Sulphate of zine is precipitated brown, and the colour of the precipitate speedily deepens, and becomes at last a dirty black. (4.) Nitrate of silver is precipitated in brown flocks. (5.) Acetate of lead is precipitated in brown flocks. 7. The aqueous solution is precipitated in brown flocks by a few drops of nitric acid. This solution being evaporated to dryness in a watch-glass, a yellow tasteless powder remained, insoluble in alcohol, but soluble in water. This powder was charred at a very moderate heat ; owing probably to the action of the nitric acid which it still retained. Acetic acid does not precipitate this variety of ulmin from water. 8. Neither potash, carbonate of potash, nor ammonia, precipi- tate it from water. 9. When exposed to heat it swells up like gum, and readily burns away before the blow-pipe, leaving behind it a minute portion of white matter, which did not melt by the continuation of the heat. This matter dissolved with effervescence in nitric” acid, except some hardly perceptible flocks, which had the 1813.) On a new Variety of Ulmin. 13 aspect of silica, but were too minute to be subjected to a che- mical examination. The addition of ammonia to the nitric acid solution occasions the separation of a few flocks, which redissolve by agitation. Carbonate of potash occasions a more copious precipitate. Hence it would appear that the ash consists of carbonate of lime, with some traces of magnesia and silica. This variety of ulmin resembles the bitter principle from coffee described by Chenevix, and the tannin of Kino, in striking a green colour with sulphate of iron. Its effect upon sulphate of zine I consider as its most remarkable property. Zinc is usually precipitated of a white colour trom its solutions; but the ulmin of the oak throws it down almost black. The appearance of the ulmin of the oak, its taste, and the tree from which it was obtained, led me to expect that it would contain tannin ; but if not forming a precipitate with gelatine be characteristic of the absence of that principle, as we consider it at present, we must conclude that the ulminof the oak contains no tannin whatever. Mr. Sowerby likewise collected ulmin from the hornbeam ; but as he unfortunately mixed it with ulmin from the elm, it was not possible to determine its peculiar characters... 1 mention the circumstance to induce such of my readers as are interested in the progress of vegetable chemistry, and have an opportunity of examining the trunks of trees, to look for exudations from them, that we may have information as speedily as possible of the various trees that yield this hitherto neglected vegetable principle. . ARTICLE V. On Sir H. Davy’s Theory of Chlorine, and its Compounds.* By Mr, William Henderson, Member of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. THE reasons which may be alleged in proof of the simple nature of oxymuriatic gas seem easily reducible to four heads, viz, :— Y. It is converted into muriatic acid by union with hydrogen; and this change is unaccompanied by the evolution of any aqueous vapour. if. The products of its action on combustibles, and on metals, differ essentially from those which arise from the action of oxygen on the same bodies. * This essay was honoured with the prize medal of the Medical Society of Edinburgh for 1812, 4 i4 On Sir H. Davy’s Theory of (Jury, IIf. It cannot, when perfectly dry, be made to act on, or unite with, charcoal. IV. In most, if not in all cases of its evolution, a portion of water is formed. Each of these will be the subject of separate examination. I. Of the conversion of Oxymuriatic Gas into Muriatic Acid, ly the action of Hydrogen. It is stated in Dr. Thomson’s System of Chemistry,* that water is an essential ingredient of muriatic acid; and that, hitherto, all attempts to procure it in an insulated elastic form have failed. M. Berthollet remarks, that, after having been exposed to a cold equal to 10° of Fahrenheit’s scale, the propor- tion of real acid was to the water as 26'6 to 34:9. This pro- portion, as Dr. T. observes, is probably excessive; but it must be noted that the means employed by Berthollet were not. adequate to the condensation of water held in the elastic form by an affinity so powerful as that between the muriatic acid and its water appears to be. Dr. Thomson considers the proportion of 25 per cent. given by MM. Gay-Lussac and Thenard, } as being probably near the truth. Mr. Dalton is, however, inclined to believe that muriatic acid gas contains no aqueous vapour; and the reasoning employed by him is to the following effect.§ If oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, or any of the other gases which are not readily, and in considerable quantity, absorbed by water, be brought into contact with that fluid, the vaporific force of the heat to which they may be exposed will raise a portion of it into the interstices of their particles; but if fluoric, muriatic, sul- phuric, or nitric acid, in the state of gas, be placed in similar circumstances, an attraction is exerted between it and the water ; in consequence of which the acid assumes the liquid form. “ Hence,” adds Mr. Dalton, ‘* it should seem that these acid gases, so far from obstinately retaining their vapour, as is commonly imagined, cannot be induced to admit any vapour at all, in ordinary circumstances.” This reasoning is very plausible, and certainly highly ingenious; but it seems to me not unobjectionable. The gas experimented on by Mr. Dalton was of necessity previously saturated with aqueous vapour; and, therefore, could not admit into its constitution an additional quantity. No one would hazard the assertion that muriate of lime contains no water of crystallization, assigning as a reason, that, if a very small portion of water be added to the crystals of this salt they assume the liquid form. Yet it appears to ma * Vol. v. p. 778. : + Troisitme Suite des Recherches sur les Lois de Affinité, p, 103, &c. t Recherches Physico-Chimiques, tome ii. p, 119, 123. § New System of Chemical Philosophy, p. 282, 1813 j Chlorine, and its Compounds. is that this assertion and proof would be exactly analogeus to those offered by Mr. Dalton. Since, then, unless we adopt the recent views of Sir H. Davy, his experiments,* in conjunction with those of Dr. Henry,+ MM. Gay-Lussac and Thenard,t M. Berthollet,§ Mr. Murray, || and Dr. Bostock,** may be looked on as proving satisfactorily the existence of water in muriatic acid gas; let us examine the relation, in regard to quantity, subsisting between it and the oxygen, which oxymuriatic gas used to be supposed to contain. According to the analysis of Chenevix,++ oxymuriatic gas consists of 77°5 of muriatic acid, united to 22°5 of oxygen by weight. If to this compound a quantity of hydrogen be added, and if the mixture be then exposed to the sun’s light, ‘muriatic acid is produced. In Mr. Dalton’s detail of his experiments on this subject (which are by far the most complete set that have fallen under my notice), he mentions that he always employed a quantity of water to condense the residual muriatic acid: he could not, of course, easily ascertain whether or not any water was evolved along with the acid. By calculation, 1 am led to believe there was not : for 22°5 of oxygen are capable of form- ing, by union with 3-76479 of hydrogen, a quantity of water equal to 26:26479, which approaches singularly near to the estimate of MM. Gay-Lussac and Thenard; and which may acquire some additional probability from the circumstance that all others who have experimented on the quantity of water in this gas, have stated it as being greater than that which is assigned by these chemists. tt Let us pursue the subject a little farther. Mr. Dalton, speak- ing of the quantity of hydrogen necessary to decompose oxymu- riatic gas, says, ‘* From the mean of five experiments, | am induced to conclude, that 100 measures of hydrogen require 94 measures of oxymuriatic acid gas. In every one of the experi- ments the acid was less than the hydrogen.” §§ 1 have already stated that 3°76479 of hydrogen are sufficient to unite with the oxygen which 100 of oxymuriatic gas has been thought to contain. Now 3-76479 grs. of hydrogen occupy, according to * Phil. Trans. 1809, p. 92, 458. + Nicholson’s Journal, 4to. vol, iv. p. 247. ft Rech. Phys. Chim. tome ii, p. 94, &c. § Journal de Physique, tome Ixiv, p. 196. || Nicholson’s Journal, yol. xxxi, p. 123, &c. ** Nicholson’s Journal, vol. xxxii, t+ See Thomson’s Syst. vol. ii. p. 257. ft It may not be unworthy of notice that 1 cubic inch of hydrogen, by union with yery nearly 2 inches of oxygen, forms a quantity of water, whose weightis to that of the real muriatic acid contained in 2 inches of the acid gas, as 26 to 100, 55 New System, p. 307, ] 1G On Sir H. Davy’s Theory of [JuLy, the estimate of Kirwan,* nearly 144°04 cubic inches, and 100 grs. of oxymuriatic gas, as appears from Mr, Dalton’s experi- ments,t are equal to 137°9 inches, which, being reduced, give ‘a proportional bulk, as 100 of hydrogen to 95°7 of oxymu- riatic gas. Thus we see that Mr. Dalton’s experiments agree almost exactly with the result of calculation; and if the hydrogen he employed was contaminated by the -slighest admixture of extraneous matter, the quantity of oxymuriatic gas condensed by it must of course have been proportionally lessened. Mr. Dalton, having denied the existence of aqueous vapour in muriatic acid gas, ascribes the appearance of hydrogen during the action of certain bodies on that gas to the decomposition of the acid, which he looks on as a quaternate compound of oxygen and hydrogen. While, however, he admits the fact as stated by Sir H. Davy, { that “ when potassium was heated in muriatic acid gas as dry as it could be obtained by common chemical means, the gas wholly disappeared, and from one-third to one- fourth of its volume of hydrogen was evolved, and muriate of potash was formed.” He questions the accuracy of an experi- ment detailed in the Bakerian lecture for 1809, by which this conclusion was established. In this experiment it was found that 8 grs, of potassium absorbed 22 cubic inches of muriatic acid gas, and gave out 8 inches of hydrogen. Before proceeding to examine Mr. Daltou’s reasoning on this ‘experiment, it may be well to take a view of it, unconnected with his speculations on the nature of muriatic acid. ' According to the analysis of Sir H. Davy.§ 8 grs. of potassium may be converted into potash, by union with about ‘1:29152 gr. of oxygen. In order to furnish this oxygen, if water be its source, 1:495934 gr. of that fluid must suffer decomposition ; and this quantity is sufficient, at the rate of 25 per cent. to give the gaseous form to 5°983736 grs. or in the proportion of 26°26479 to 5°6459 grs. only of muriatic acid gas. At the same time that the oxygen of this water is absorbed by the potassium, its hydrogen, amounting to ‘204414 of a gr. or 7°52297 inches, must be set at liberty. Thus it appears that the hydrogen evolved was almost exactly equal in quantity to what could be afforded by a portion of water sufficient to oxidate the potassium employed. : The experiment appears, however, to be inaccurate, with regard to the absorption of the 22 inches of muriatic acid gas: for 9°29152 grs. of potash are capable of combining with the real acid contained in 5°59055 grs. of muriatic acid gas, which * Essay on Phiogiston, p. 30. + New System, p. 297. | Phil. Trans, 1808, p. 343. § Phil, Trans, 1808, p.°28,, 1813.} Chlorine, and its Compounds. 17 measure 9°641375 cubic inches only. And if we suppose that none of the acid condensed in consequence of the loss of its water entered into union with the potash, and that the acid thus employed carried all its water with it, we have only in addition to this quantity either 5°983736 gers. measuring 10°0062 inches, or 5°6459 gers. measuring 9°42625 inches, making in all a con- densation of either 19°643675 or 19°067625 inches. But it is obviously more natural to suppose that the acid deprived of its elasticity from the loss of its water afterwards entered into union with the potash: in which case the results of the experiment should have heen 13°76396 grs. of muriate of potash, an evolu- tion of 7°82297 inches of hydrogen, a condensation of 1°328152 gr. of an-hydrous muriatic acid, and not less than 11°9977 cubic inches of residual muriatic acid gas. it will be seen by a reference to page 290 of Mr. Dalton’s work, that he infers by calculation that during the oxydation of a quantity of potassium sufficient when in the state of potash to unite with 22 inches of muriatic acid gas, were water the source of the-oxygen, nearly 16 inches of hydrogen would be evolved ; while if the acid gas suffered decomposition $ inches would appear. ‘This, however, is not perfectly accurate: for the quan- tity of real acid contained in 22 inches of the gas is capable of combining with 23°0872 grs. of potash, and, for the formation of this, 2°8175 grs. of oxygen are requisite. Now this quantity of oxygen is, in the state of water, combined with not less than 18°0444 inches of hydrogen. On the other hand, if Mr. Dalton’s view of the nature and constitution of muriatic acid be correct, and if this body were the source of the oxygen, there should have been an evolution of 6-0148 inches only, from the oxyda- tion of 202697 grs. of potassium. If, however, the 22 inches of muriatie acid gas were the sole source of the oxygen, 16°917 grs. only of potassium would have been required ; and the evo ; lution of hydrogen could not have exceeded 4:3739 inches. As, however, the quantity of oxygen required by 8 grs. of potassium is almost exactly sufficient to form water with 8 cubic inches of hydrogen, and as it is certain that 9°29152 grs. of potash cannot form muriate of potash by union with the real acid of 22 cubic inches of muriatic acid gas, is it not better to argue upon a foundation in some degree known, and from phenomena con- sistent among themselves, than to build speculations on a part of an experiment, which is almost demonstrably impossible ? In the only other experiment of this sort detailed by Sir H. Davy, 5 grs. of potassium took nearly 14 inches of muriatic acid gas, and gave about 5 inches of hydrogen: 5 grs. of potassium may unite with ‘8072 of a grain of oxygen; which in the state of water hold in union ‘13505 of a grain, or 5°11 Vou, Il. N°, B 18 On Sir IH, Davy’s Theory of Chlorine, Sc. {Jury inches of hydrogen. Now ‘94225 of a grain of water are capable of giving the gaseous form to either 3°769 grs. (mea suring 6°3027 inches) or 3°55609 grs. (measuring 5°94664 inches) of muriatic acid gas; and 5°8072 grs. of potash can unite with the real acid contained in 2°9045 grs. or 4°857 inches of muriatic acid gas: so that the condensation could at most amount to only either 11°1577, or 10°80364 inches. If the condensations were not independent of each other, the results ought to have been 8:7117 grs. of muriate of potash, 5°115 inches of hydrogen, *€645 of a grain of an-hydrous muriatic acid, and 7'6973 inches of residual muriatic acid gas. Mr. Dalton has, in a subsequent part of his work,* joined with the French chemists in supposing potassium to be a hydruret of potash. He does not, however, look back to the reasoning in page 290, to inquire whether, from the action of potassium on muriatic acid gas, so much hydrogen be evolved, as might, besides the quantity ascribed to the conversion of the potassium into potash, leave a surplus to be accounted for from the decom- position of the acid. It is probable that there is not: and this probability will the better appear, if, for an instant, we admit the truth of Mr. Dalton’s atomic theory. In every binate com- pound, the weights of the combined elements are proportional to those of their atoms. Mir. Dalton has stated the weight of the atom of hydrogen at 1, and that of potash at 42; of course, that of hydruret of potash must be 43. The amount of the hydrogen evolved in Sir H. Davy’s first experiment, should therefore have been -, of 8 grs. or ‘1860465 of a grain; a quantity less than that noted by Sir H. Davy, by ‘0183675 of a grain, or about *702 of a cubic inch; and falling short of the result of calculation on the data of the experiment, by only *52477 of a cubic inch. It is almost superfluous to say that this slight discrepancy is not to be wondered at, in an investigation which is as yet only in its infancy. Mr. Dalton, however, says that water is a binate compound; therefore if 8 grs. of potassium contain as many particles as °204414 of a grain of hydrogen, and if the number of particles in this be equal to that contained in 1:29152 gr. of oxygen, it follows that, in these quantities of oxygen and of potassium, there exists an equal number of par- ticles, and potash may be still an oxide of potassium. The hy- drogen which appeared may of course have come entirely from the water, without any decomposition of the acid. * Pages 484—486. + I would not be understood as having any reference here to Mr. Murray's views of the nature of potassium; but merely as arguing against its heing a bydruret of potash, (To be continued.) 1813] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 19 ArrticLe VI. General Views of the Composition of Animal Fluids. By J. Berzelius, M.D. Professor of Chemistry in the College of Medicine at Stockholm.* Havre related to my friend Dr. Marcet some observations that Ihave made on the subject of animal chemistry, and being invited by him to communicate them to the Medical and Chirur- gical Society, I shall, in compliance with his wish, venture to submit to the Society some of the principal results that I have obtained at different periods, prior to my visit to this country, respecting the fluids of animals. Most of these observations have been published in a more unconnected state in different works in the Swedish language;t but as they have not been translated into any other language, and as they have appeared to those who have seen them, to contain some new views, I am induced to offer them to the Society, in the hope that they will be received with indulgence. I. Of the Blood. In most of the analytical researclies on blood, that of the bullock has been made the subject of experiment. I shall therefore begin with the analysis of the blood of that animal, and afterwards notice the essential points in which I have found it to differ from the human. A. Bullock's Blood. Blood may be regarded as a liquid holding a colouring matter suspended in it, but not dissolved. The first step in the process of accurate analysis should therefore be to separate the suspended matter by filtration. But this method succeeds only to a certain degree, and requires a time so considerable, that the blood undergoes spontaneous changes of composition before the sepa- ration can be completed: for notwithstanding all possible care, the colouring matter will either pass through with the fluid por- tion, or by adhering in masses, prevent all farther percolation. Another mode is that of allowing it to subside by rest: but this also goes on with extreme slowness: the clear supernatant liquor loses its red colour but very gradually; and the colourless portion is not capable of being collected alone. The usual way of obtaining them separate is to take advantage of the coagulation * From the third volume of the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, lately published, + In my Forelasningar i Djurkemien, 2 vol, Stockh. 1808, Ad also in Afhaudliogar i Fysik, ‘.emi, och Mineralogie, 3 vol, Stockb, 1810, B2 ‘'* Ww Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Jory, of the blood, during which the fibrin enveloping the colouring substance presses out the serum, This method is indeed but very imperfect, as a large portion of the serum still remains attached io the red globules in the coagulum ; but it is the only ene that we can employ. I shall first consider the crassamentum, and its two consti- tuent parts, fibrin and colouring matter. The Chemical Properties of Fibrin. ‘Fibrin is insoluble in cold water. In boiling water it curls up, and after the ebullition has continued some hours, the water acquires a milky hue, but no gaseous product appears. By this operation fibrin undergoes a species of decomposition ; the water ia which it is boiled affords, by the addition of tannin, a preci- pitate of white and distinct flocculi, which do not cohere toge- ther by the heat, as those produced by gelatin. The evaporated liquid does not gelatinize to whatever degree it may be concen- trated, and leaves a white, dry, hard, and friable residue, which is soluble in cold water, and has an agreeable taste similar to fresh broth, and totally unlike the salt and acrid flavour of the extract from muscles. Fibrin, by long boiling in water, loses its property of softening and dissolving in acetic acid. 2. In alcohol of specific gravity 0°81 fibrin undergoes a species- of decomposition, and forms an adipocirous matter, soluble in alcohol, and precipitated by the addition of water; having often a very strong: and unpleasant odour. The alcoholic solution leaves on evaporation a fat residue, which did not pre-exist in the fibrin, and which, as we shall find, is likewise formed by the action of aleohol on the colouring matter and on the albumen. Fibrin heated in alcohol retains its property of softening and dissolving in acetic acid. 3. By the action of ether fibrin is converted into an adipo- cirous mass similar to the preceding, but in much greater abundance, and having a much stronger and more disagreeable odour. We are on this account precluded from employing generally either alcohol or ether in analytical experiments on animal substances. 4. In concentrated acetic acid fibrin becomes immediately soft, transparent, and with the assistance of heat is converted into a. tremulous jelly. By adding water and warming it, this jelly is completely dissolved, with the evolution of a small quan- tity of azotic gas. The solution is colourless, of 2 mawkish and slightly acid taste. During its evaporation a transparent mem- brane appears on the surface, and after a certain degree of approximation, the gelatinous substance is again re-produced: but this gelatine has no resemblance to that formed by paste. Whea geeleely desiccated it is a transparent mass whick 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids, 21 teddens turnsol paper, but which without a fresh addition of acetic acid is insoluble both in cold and boiling water. The solution of fibrin in acetic acid added to prussiate of potash or of ammonia, gives a white precipitate, without any separation of prussic acid. This solution will also produce a precipitate by alkalies, but it is redissolved by a small excess of the latter. Sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids afford likewise a precipitate with this solution: and the precipitate is composed, as we shall presently see, of fibrin and the acid employed. If the precipi- tate be laid on a filter and washed, a certain quantity of this acid is carried off by the water, and the remaining substance is soluble in pure water. The solution contains a neutral combi- nation of fibrin with the mineral acid employed, which is mucous, somewhat opaline, and of an acidulous taste. An addition of acid will again precipitate it, and it thus often happens that an animal substance, that has been treated with a mineral acid and washed on the filter, gives at length a clear liquor, which becomes turbid on falling into the acid liquor that had first gone through. This phenomenon always indicates the presence of the above-mentioned combination of a mineral acid with fibrin, or with albumen, which appears to possess the same chemical properties as fibrin,* 4. In weak muriatic acid fibrin shrinks and gives out a small quantity of azotic gas; but scarcely any portion is dissolved even by boiling: neither does the acid liquor afford any precipitate with ammonia, or with prussiate of potash, Evaporated to dryness a brownish residue is obtained, from which potash dis- engages a little ammonia. Concentrated muriatic acid decom- poses fibrin by coction, and produces a red or violet coloured solution. The fibrin that has been digested with weak muriatic acid is hard and shrivelled.. By washing repeatedly with water it is at length converted into a gelatinous mass, which is perfectly soluble in tepid water. The solution powerfully reddens litmus paper, and yields a precipitate with acids as well'as with alkalies, Fibrin has therefore the property of combining with muriatic acid in two proportions. ‘The one gives a neutral combination soluble in water; the other a combination with excess of acid which is insoluble, but which is reduced to the state of the soluble compound by the action of pure water. 5. Concentrated sulphuric acid decomposes and carbonises fibrin. The same acid diluted with six times its weight of walter, and digested with fibrin, acquires a red colour, but dissolves scarcely any thing. ‘The fibrin that is not dissolved is a combi- nation of it with an excess of sulphuric acid. By depriving it * It may be observed that the precipitate produced by nitric acid assumes a yellow colour, but has in other respects the same propertiesas the two others, ead By Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Juy, of this excess of acid, by means of pure water, a neutral com- bination is obtained, which is soluble in water, and possesses the same characters as the neutral muriate of fibrin. 6. Nitric acid of the specific gravity 1°25 digested with fibrin, yenders it yellow, and diminishes its cohesion. ‘The fluid becomes yellow, and the surface of the fibrin is covered with a small quantity of fat formed by the action of the acid. During this operation elastic matter is disengaged, which is azotic gas alone, and in which I could not discover the snrallest portion of nitrous gas. When the digestion has been continued 24 hours, the fibrin is converted into a pulverulent mass, of a pale citron colour, which is deposited at the bottom of the liquor. The Jatter being decanted off, and the undissolved matter placed on a filter and washed with a large quantity of water, the colour changes in proportion as the acid which was in excess is carried off, and the mass acquires a deep orange colour. Even when the affusion is continued till the water gives no sign of acidity, the orange mass has not yet lost the property of reddening litmus. This yellow substance was discovered by Messrs. Fourcroy and Vauquelin, who obtained it in treating muscular flesh with nitric acid. They have described it as a new acid formed by the action of nitric acid on the muscular fibre, and to which, from its colour, they have given the name of yellow acid. (Acide jaune.) This substance is dissolved in caustic alkali, to which it imparts an orange colour, and it is partly soluble in acetate of potash and of soda. The French chemists found that, if treated with a fresh quantity of nitric acid, it acquires the property of burning with the same phenomena as a confbustible body mixed with nitre, This fact they considered as remarkable, since they couldnot detect any nitric acid in the yellow acid, But the latter, as will be presently shown, is nothing more than a combination of fibrin with nitric acid, (or in other cases, perhaps, with nitrous acid,) and also with another acid formed by the decomposition of a portion of the fibrin, a species of combination very ana- logous to the one already described. If the yellow substance be boiled with alcohol, a yellow adipocirous matter is taken up; but it is deposited when the liquor cools. This sebaceous matter has a great resemblance to that obtained by the action of alcohol on pure fibrin. Jf the yellow substance, after being thus deprived of its adipocirous portion, be digested with water and carbonate of lime, it slowly decomposes the carbonate, disengages its acid jnéthe form of gas, and produces a yellow solution. Havin separated this fluid from the undissolved portion of the yellow substance, I concentrated it to the consistence of a syrup: and then poured in alcohol, which precipitated one part, retaining the other in solution. The precipitate had all the characters of malate of lime. Dissolved in water, and decomposed by a suffi-~ ‘ . 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 23 < cient quantity of sulphuric acid, it yielded sulphate of lime ; and the acid liquor being filtered and evaporated, gave a brownish and highly acid syrup, possessing all the properties of malice acid. ‘The portion dissolved in the alcohol was evidently a mixture of nitrate and nitrate of lime. The mixture consisting of undecomposed carbonate of lime, and the insoluble part of the yellow substance, being decomposed by diluted muriatic acid, left a yellow mass perfectly similar to the one which I had before decomposed, and possessing, like that substanee, the property of reddening litmus paper. It appeared therefore that I had merely exchanged the nitric and malic, for the muriatic acid. We thus find that fibrin enters into combination as readily with nitric acid, as with the other before-mentioned acids, and that it is capable of forming two combinations, the one containing an excess of acid and having a pale yellow colour, the other neutral and of an orange hue. By digesting fibrin with nitric acid, it undergoes a species of decomposition by which malic acid is formed. This acid in conjunction with the nitric acid combines with the undecomposed fibrin. The fibrin thus united with the two acids is certainly in some degree altered; for its neutral com- bination with nitric acid is msoluble in water, and retains its insolubility and its yellow colour even when the nitric acid has been displaced by muriatic. On the other hand, we have seen that the precipitate thrown down by nitric acid from a solution of fibrin in acetic acid, acquires a yellow tinge; but that water ia depriving it of the excess of acid, renders it gelatinous and again soluble. It follows that the fibrin, which, in the yellow body, performs the office of # saline base to the nitric acid, must be modified in a different manner from what it is in fibrin com- bined with the acids in the soluble combinations. . The nitric acid, in which the yellow substance has been formed, has a bright yellow colour: it holds in solution a portion of the yellow substance with a quantity of malic acid. Mixed with alkali in excess, it assumes a very dark yellowish brown colour. / 7. In caustic alkali fibrin increases in bulk, becomes trans- parent and gelatinous, and at length is completely dissolved. ‘The solution is yellow with a shade of green. Acids occasion in it a precipitate which gradually becomes confluent. The solution of fibrin in caustic alkali is preeipitated by alcohol, which by means of the excess of alkali dissolves a portion of the neutral combination of fibrin with alkali. If the aqueous Alkaline solution be evaporated, a coagulum is formed towards the end of the process, probably in propoftion as the alkali becomes car- bonated. ‘The action of alkali upon fibrin produces some altera- tion in its properties; for the precipitate thrown down by acetic acid does not dissolve by an additional quantity of acid. But 24 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [JuLy, whatever be the nature of this change induced on fibrin by the alkalies, the former is- by no means converted, as M. Fourcroy has alleged, into a fatty substance with which the alkali produces a saponaceous compound, nor has it even the least analogy to any species of soap. As far as I can perceive, this effect of alkalies is confined to the epidermoid textures, and parts which by long and continued boiling are converted into a similar sub- stance. Of the Colouring Matter and its Chemical Properties. In order to separate, as much as possible, the colouring matter from the albumen and the salts of serum, I cut the crassamen- tum into very thin slices, which I placed upon blotting paper, till it had taken up all that it could absorb: after which they were dried. A portion of the crassamentum treated in that manner was triturated with water as long as it appeared capable of acting as a solvent. This water acquired from the matter it had dissolved a brown colour of so deep a shade that it did not exhibit the least transparency when contained in a glass tube of a quarter of an inch in diameter. The fluid had a faint odour of blood, and a mawkish, saline, and highly nauseous taste. I coagulated the solution by means of heat in a pneumatic apparatus. ‘The mass frothed considerably, but no elastic fluid was disengaged. While yet hot, it was placed on a filter: the liquor had a red colour which it lost by cooling, and at the same time deposited a small quantity ef the colouring matter. | shall revert to this hquor in the sequel. The dark brown coagulated nfatter, after being carefully washed, and subjected to a powerful press, was dried at a tem- perature of 70° (158° Fahrenheit), It was but little cons tracted by the exsiccation, but had become black, hard, diffi- cultly pulverisable, and showed a vitreous fracture. Before the desiccation is complete, it is of a dark brown colour, has little cohesion, and forms a granulated mass: circumstances by which it may be distinguished from both fibrin and albumen. 1. The colouring matter is acted upon by lLoiling water in nearly the same way as fibrin, becoming somewhat contracted by coction ; and the solution contains soda, and an animal matter perfectly analogous to that which is obtained from fibrin, but rather less in quantity: for it would appear that a portion of this substance begins to be formed from the commencement of the process of coagulation. It retains its black colour, but loses the property of softening, and dissolving in acetic acid. 2. Alcohol and ether couvert the colouring matter in part into .a fatty adipocirous mass, having a very disagreeable odour. 3. In acetic acid. the colouring matter immediately becomes soft, forming a black and tremulous jelly, which dissolves in 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 25 tepid water with the disengagement of a small quantity of azotic gas. The solution is reddish brown, and only semi-transparent. A small part of the colouring matter remains undissolved, and forms with the acid a compound of very sparing solubility. A solution of the colouring matter mixed with acetic acid does not coagulate ; but when made to boil turns black and deposits a very small quantity of its insoluble compound, without however coagulating. The solution of the colouring matter in acetic acid is precipi- tated both by alkalies and by alkaline prussiates.) Ammonia produces a dark brown precipitate, which, when well washed and weighed, is found to be the colouring matter unaltered, and again soluble in acetic acid. ‘The solution after precipitation by ammonia is yellow, and deposits by evaporation a quantity of white matter, which is readily distinguished to be albumen, of which it is impossible entirely to deprive the crassamentum. Prussiate of ammonia precipitates from the acetic solution a mass of a blackish brown colour, resembling the precipitate by pure ammonia. Both these precipitates, employed as pigments, give the same shade of a dirty brown. The prussie acid, there- fore, appears to exert no action on the colouring matter of the blood; which should take place if the latter owed its colour to a ferruginous salt. The solution of colouring matter in acetic acid is precipitated by the mineral acids, and the precipitates have precisely the same characters, excepting the colour, which is brown, as those proeured by the same methods from fibrin. 4. Concentrated muriatic acid does not dissolve the colouring matter, even when aided by digestion: a small quantity of azotic gas is disengaged, and the acid assumes a yellow tint: alkalies, however, produce in it hardly any precipitate. The undissolved portion is a compound with excess of acid, which becomes soluble in proportion as the superabundant acid is carried off, Themeutral solution of colouring matter is brown, and has the same properties as that formed by acetic acid. The colouring nyatter boiled for a long time with muriatic acid, suffers a com- mencement of deconiposition: some iron is taken up by the acid, and the undissolved portion is no longer soluble even by repeated washing, although in this state it refains a portion of acid, of which the water cannot deprive it. 5. The nilric acid produces the same effects in the colouring matter as on fibrin; the only distinction being in the colour, which in the former is invariably black. 6. Caustic ammonia dissolves, the colouring matter assuming a very deep brown colour. A precipitate is thrown down by acids, but not by the alkaline prussiates. The precipitate formed by acetic acid is again soluble, but only by an excess of acid, 26 On the Heat evolved during [Jocy,. 7. In solution of caustic fixed alkali the colouring matter is softened, forming a brownish jelly, which is dissolved by a suffi- sient quantity of water. During the evaporation it coagulates in proportion as the alkali absorbs carbonic acid. The alkaline solution Is precipitated by alcohol, which, however, acquires a ed tinge by dissolving a small quantity of the compound formed of the colouring matter with the excess of alkali. The alkaline solution of colouring matter seen by day-light has a green colour, but appears red by candle-light. Jt was upon this appearance of green that Fourcroy conceived the idea that bile might be formed by boiling blood with a small quantity of water; but this green fluid, as we shall afterwards see, agrees with bile in no property excepting colour. 8, If a solution of the colouring matter in water be exposed to a heat of 50° (122° Fahrenheit) in a saucer, it blackens ané dries completely without coagulating. In this state it is again entirely soluble in cold water. These experiments prove that the colouring matter has the same chemical properties, and consequently the same chemical com- position as fibrin, but that these two bodies are distinguishable from one another principally by a difference in colour; by the fibrin coagulating spontaneously in all temperatures, while the colouring matter may be dried, without losing its solubility in water, and becomes insoluble only at a certain temperature: and lastly by the peculiar character of the latter when coagulated, such as its not being diminished in volume during the exsicea- tion, as happens with fibrin. (To be continued.) ArticLte VII. Ps On the Heat evolved during Inflammation of the Human Body, By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. Tuar the heat evolved by the human body is very consider~ able, and that in cases of inflammation this heat is very much increased, are facts with which every body is acquainted; but I am ignorant of any attempt hitherto made to estimate the increase of heat that is given off in cases of inflammation. On that account I think it worth while to record an observation which I had an opportunity of making upon myself, during the course of fast winter. It is far from determining the whole heat given off during the inflammation; but as it is at least an approach towards accuracy, and as [ was at as much pains as §313.] Inflammation of the Human Body. 27 possible, considering the situation in which I was at the time, I conceive the statement will add another and a curious fact to animal physiology. During the month of January last, in consequence of walking about in rainy weather in thin shoes for a considerable part of the day, and afterwards sitting for several hours with wet feet, I caught a violent cold, which was attended with fever; and among other inflammatory symptoms, a throbbing pain took place in the right groin, accompanied with swelling of the inguinal glands. ‘To prevent this pain from proceeding to sup- puration, I applied, for four days successively, and 36 times each day, two cotton cloths successively wrung out of cold water to the swelled part. ‘The average temperature of. the cold water employed was 40°. The cloths were removed when they felt hot ; and from several trials this appeared to indicate a tempera- ture of about 90°; so that each cloth, and the water which it contained, was heated at an average 50°. The first cloth dry weighed .... 530 grains . SUNG! SERQUE ig aie. sais, 4) o.aeura ely hee The first when wet weighed ..1459 or 929 water + 530 cloth The second 2. yy. ig. +s: J4ot or 976 + 458 I made several experiments to determine the specific heat of cotton, but found it attended with unexpected difficulty. When cotton wool is employed it is so elastic and bulky that you are obliged to use a much smaller weight of it than of the hot water with which you mix it. This occasions great inaccuracy. When cotton cloth is employed, a considerable time elapses before you can mix it properly with the water, and this occasions uncer- tainty. I state, therefore, the results which I obtained with considerable hesitation. The specific heat of cotton, by my trials, is 0°53, that of water being 1. I shall therefore consider it as half as great as that of water. ° We may, therefore, substitute for the two cotton cloths a quantity of water equal to half the weight of each. We may say, therefore, that 2399 grains of water were heated 50 degrees 18 times a day for four days together, making a total of 30 pounds troy heated 50° in the course of four days by the inflamed part. ‘This is nearly the same quantity of heat that would have been requisite to heat 81 Ibs. of water from the temperature of 40° to that of 212°. This amounts nearly to seven wine pints. So that in the course of four days this small inflamed spot gave out a quantity of heat sufficient to have heated seven wine pints of water from 40° to 212°; yet the temperature was not sensibly less than that of the rest of the body at the end of the 28 Mineralogical Observations {Juxy, experiment. The inflammation, however, was gone, and did not again return. Nor was this quantity of heat, considerable as it was, the whole that was evolved. Same was lost by the evaporation of the moisture from the wet cloth, which must have taken place to a eertain extent, and some must have made its escape during the night, when the wet clothes were applied very irregularly, and at long intervals. ArticLe VII. Mineralogical Observations made in the Highlands of Scotland. By James Grierson, M.D On the 14th of August, 1812, Mr. Jardine, civil engineer, and myself, leit Edinburgh on a round by Loch Catherine and Loch ‘Tay, principally with the view of observing the geognostic appearances of the country. On reaching the bridge of Doune, eight miles from Stirling, we found the old red sandstone, forming nearly horizontal strata in the bottom of the river. Soon after this we observed on the road from Downe to Callander many rolled pieces of very distinct grey wacke, which led me to suspect the approach of a grey wacke country. From Callander we set out to visit the famed and interesting scenery of the pass of Leney, by which the traveller on this route enters the Grampian range. About two miles beyond Callander we found the rock through which the road is cut to be very distinct grey wacke, and traced it till we found it about half a mile farther on towards the north-west, very near the mica slate; but could not see the junction of these two rocks, or whether the clay slate intervened betwixt them. On this road, about a mile and a half from Callander (to the N.W. of it), we observed a greenstone vein, 12 or 15 feet broad, intersecting the conglomerate in a direction nearly N. E, and S.W.: it crosses the high road. A little below this, towards Callander, transition slate appears in pretty highly inclined strata, and the conglomerate resting upon it, and, we thought, alternately with it. Neither of us could observe any instance of the conglomerate coming in contact with the clay slate; and we were both perfectly satisfied that in this district the transition rocks, grey wacke, and grey wacke slate, come in between the floetz and the primitive country. It was my intention to have examined particularly the species of minerals constituting the nodules of the conglomerate about ¥813.] made in the Highlands of Scotland. “23 Callander ; but this, I am sorry to say, was not done in the manner I could have wished, having been deceived by the expec- tation of meeting with enough of conglomerate for that purpose next day on our way to Loch Catherine. In as far, however, as I did examine the nodules, I found them to consist principally of white quartz ; but met also with a few nodules of clay slate and hornstone porphyry. In the evening of the 16th we visited the fine fall at Bracklin bridge, about a mile to the east of Callander, The rock is conglomerate, and broken down by the action of the water into many fine and fantastic forms. We had the conglomerate all along from Callander to this fall; and on tracing the river about two miles up observed no other rock: but Mr. Jardine told me that some time ago Sir James Hall found grey wacke about a mile or two higher up than we were. Night prevented our reaching it. The grey wacke and grey wacke slate appear about two miles after leaving Callander, on the road to Loch Catherine. They continue all along the valley of Loch Venachar and Loch Achray to the Trossacks, and the eastern part of these hills is composed of grey wacke. The western part, next to Loch Catherine, is mica slate; and this is the rock all along the banks of the lake to its top. The Lady’s Isle, rendered now so famous by the poetry of Mr. Scott, is a roundish mass of mica slate, about 100 yards diameter, projecting finely fromthe surface of the water, and covered with wood. On the Isle of Pontenellan, very near the head of the lake, we found a large rolled mass (about two feet diameter) of very beautiful primitive greenstone ; but saw no rock in situ except the mica slate. About half way between Callander and the Trossacks, that is, five miles from each, is a quarry of clay slate. It is on the right hand of the road as we go toward the Trossacks, on the banks of Loch Venachar, and 100 feet at least above the level of the lake. I examined it; but could not see the junction of this slate with the grey wacke or the mica slate. The strata are highly inclined, between 70° and 80°, and dip towards the hilt. Having no compass (as we had unfortunately brought one with us which was good for nothing) I could not ascertain their diree- tion, but it is somewhere between E. and N.E. At Stewart’s House, two miles from the foot of Loch Cathe~ rine, we have the grey wacke; and about 150 yards up the hill, towards the N. in the bed of the rivulet, appears slate which I took to be transition. The hill rises rapidly, and in less than 100 yards more we have the mica slate. ' On leaving Stewart’s we proceeded over the hills to the head of Loch Lubnaig, a walk of nine miles, In this route we crossed Glenfinlass, the mica slate formation accompanying us all the 4 86 M ineralogical Observations [JoL¥s way ; and when we had passed the top of the mountain, imme- diately to the west of Loch Lubnaig, we found a bed of rather dark greyish blue foliated limestone. There is a quarry in it, which has been lately wrought. About half way between Loch Lubnaig and Loch Ern Head I found a considerable large rolled piece of the rock composed of felspar and dialage. On this road I observed many rolled pieces of primitive greenstone. The formation is all along the mica slate. Two miles down from Loch Ern Head, on the north bank of the lake, is at present worked a large quarry of greyish blue foliated limestone. It is a bed in the mica slate, and is about 40 feet thick, and for a considerable way worked completely to the bottom. It belongs to Lord Breadalbane, and is carried down the lake in boats of 15 tons burden. It is carted from the lower end of the lake into the country about Comrie, Crieff, and other places in Strathern where the coals are to be had, and there burned for use. The whole of the route from Loch Ern Head to Killin is the mica slate. We found, however, a bed of greenstone, or a vein, for we could not certainly determine which, seemingly of great thickness, by estimation 40 or 50 yards. It is about five miles from Loch Ern Head, and is seen ina small rivulet, where there isa bridge; and this rivulet (over which the bridge is thrown), about 200 yards to the west, falls into another rivulet, which comes from a small lake in sight of the road. This is about the highest ground over which the high road passes between Loch Ern Head and Killin. The greenstone is best seen near to where the two before-mentioned rivulets join. On arriving at Killin we went to view the falls of the Lochy. They are over the mica slate; and we saw no other rock here- abouts. At Taymouth Lord Breadalbane has built a new house, or castle, in the Gothic style, of a fine greyish green slaty stone, so soft as to be easily wrought by the chisel; and when polished, it has nearly the same appearance as the chlorite slate, of which the castle of Inverary is built. This stone, which I believe is something intermediate between chlorite slate and tale slate, is got from a quarry not far from the Tay, about three miles to the east of Taymouth. I had no opportunity of learning with what rock or rocks it is associated. Leaving Taymouth we proceeded to Aberfeldie, and went to see the falls of Moness. ‘These possess more of the grand and terrific than any waterfall that I have seen in the kingdom, except the fall of Foyers. The rock is mica slate. We observed, however, a bed of greenstone, and also hornblende rock. Here we have wall precipices 200 feet high. From this place southward for 15 miles over the black dreary muir by j $813.3 made in the Highlands of Scotland. 3i Ambleree to Glenalmond we found the same formation. This glen struck us as narrower and more confined than any we had seen, and the rocks on each side are extremely precipitous. Stili mica slate strata nearly vertical; but as soon as we had gota mile, or a mile and a half, down from the bridge, we came upon transition rocks, grey wacke, and grey wacke slate. We saw alse about 60 yards up the hill on our right a smail quarry, in what we deemed to be clay slate. Indeed, we had no doubt of its being so, from some fragments we found on the road. On advancing some miles farther on our way towards Crieff, we again fell in with the conglomerate. On our way from Crieff to Comrie, near the House of Lawers, on the right hand side of the road, I observed in the conglome- Tete a very distinct nodule of mica slate; the only one of the sort J saw in all this district. I nowhere observed any granite or gneiss nodules. The country, looking west from Comrie, is primitive, and . extremely bold. And the view up the Ern towards Duneira, 2 distance of nine miles, is picturesque in a high degree. On a well-chosen eminence to the north of Comrie they are erecting a monument to the memory of the Jate Lord Melville, of a beautiful variety of sienite, in which the felspar is almost snow white. About three miles to the south of Comrie the road is cut through the conglomerate, in some places to the depth of 20 feet. The nodules almost all of the trap kind, amygdaloid, trap- tuff, basalt, greenstone, wacke, grey wacke, hornstone porphyry. From this place to the bridge of Ardoch (nine miles) the rock appeared every where, to be the old red sandstone of a small grain, such as we observed it in the bottom of the river at the bridge of Doune ; and nothing but sandstone presented itself till we came into Glenagles, which enters the Ochil Hills by the north, and there we found the rock to be porphyry slate. On leaving the head of Glenagles, and descending into Glendevon we observed conglomerate lying on grey wacke and transition slate, on the north bank of the river, about three miles above the church. The river Devon struck us as flowing all along with uncommon rapidity. It is altogether, perhaps, one of the most singular rivers in Scotland. The rapidity of its fall from its source down the glen till it arrive at the Crook, where, from an easterly, it changes its course to a westerly direction; and then the surprising and very extraordinary phenomena it exhibits at the Devil’s Mill, the Rum- bling Bridge, and Cauldron Lin, are very striking ebjects. At the mill and the bridge the rock is a hard conglomerate; at the Cauldron Lin it is greenstone. When proceeding from the top of the Cauldron Lin down to the bottom, by the right bank of 32 On the Daltonian Theory of [JuLy, the river, we found some men working a quarry of greenstone. This was not more than 50 or 60 yards from the ,lin, and we easily traced the greenstone to the lin; at first we took it for a vein; but on further examination at the bottom of the lin, finding the rock there greenstone, and seeing large and thick strata of slate clay, with some clay iron stone, alternating, and the strata of these dipping eastward, and running below the green- stone, we were both inclined to think it was a bed. From this point to the shores of the Frith of Forth the country is entirely composed of sandstone, limestone, slate clay, bituminous shale, clay iron stone, coal, and various rocks of the floetz trap series. Immediately on the shores of the Forth, these strata are in some places covered with an alluvial deposite, which contains many organic remains, These remains are in general of shells that belong to species which at present inhabit the rith of Forth. Mr. Bald, in an excellent paper on the local fall of Alloa, inserted in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society, enumerates the following species :— 1. Ostraa edulis. 4. Turbo littoreus. 2. Mytilus edulis. 5. Donax trunculus. 3. Cardium edule. 6. Patella vulgata. Articte IX. On the Daltonian Theory of Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. I PRoMISED in an early number of the Annals of Philosophy some observations on Mr. Dalton’s theory of definite proportions, and | now sit down to fulfil that promise. ‘Too much attention cannot be paid to this important theory, the developement of which I consider as the greatest step which chemistry has yet made as a science. It puts us in the way of establishing principles of rigid accuracy as the foundation of our reasoning, and to call in the assistance of mathematics to promote the progress of a science which has hitherto eluded the aid of that unrivalled instrument of improvement. ‘The idea of definite proportions seems to have struck the mind of Richter, though the methods which he took to determine them were far from successful ; and Mr. Higgins, in his work on phlogiston, maintained the opinion that chemical bodies unite atom to atom. But the generalization of the doctrine, and the striking and irresistible proofs deduced from the combinations of the simple substances, and the acids 1813] Definite Proportions in Chemical Coinbinations. 33 and bases belong entirely to Mr. Dalton; without whose labours the theory would probably have still remained unknown. On the Continent the notions originally established by Dalton have been adopted, and ingeniously extended in certain cases by Gay- Lussac ; and Berzelius has published a most elaborate, extensive, and accurate set of experiments on the same subject, which fully confirm the Daltonian doctrine, while he has deduced several subordinate laws from his analyses, which, though in some measure empyrical, are nevertheless of very considerable importance in determining the constitution of bodies. In this country less attention has hitherto been bestowed upon Dalton’s theory than could have been anticipated from the sagacity and enlightened views of many of our chemists. Dr. Bostock has even written an essay against it; but from the well- known candour and liberality of this able philosopher, I have no doubt that he will embrace it with ardour as soon as his doubts are removed. Sir Humphry Davy has embraced the Daltonian theory with some modifications and alterations of terms; but his notions are not quite so perspicuous as those of Mr. Dalton, and they do not appear to me so agreeable to the principles of sound philosophy. ‘These, as far as [ recollect, are the only chemists. in this country who have written upon the subject (some observa+ tions of Dr. Wollaston, and of myself, excepted); though not the only persons who have embraced the opinions of Mr. Dalton. I shall in this essay state, in the first place, the nature of the theory, and the grounds upon which it has been advanced; in the second place, I shall state the laws, or subordinate canons, which have been deduced from analysis, in consequence of the introduction of this theory ; and in the third place, I shall give a table of the numbers representing the preportions in which substances combine, deduced from the application of the Dalto- nian theory to the most accurate analyses hitherto made. I. Outline of the Daltonian Theory. It may be necessary to mention in the outset that I propose to give the view which I have been accustomed myself to take of the subject, and that 1 would not be understood to make Mr. Dalton answerable for the opinions which I shall state. 1 call it the Daltonian theory because I consider it as belonging to Mr. Dalton ; because he first suggested it to me, and set me to think on the subject; and, of course, every thing here stated origi- nated from him, either directly, or at least indirectly. 1. With respect to the nature of the ultimate elements of bodies, we have no means of obtaining accurate information ; but it is the general opinion that they consist of atoms, or minute solids, incapable of farther division. That these a/oms are mere mathematical points surrounded with spheres of attraction and Vor, I. N° I. C 34 On the Daltonian Theory of {JuLy, repulsion, as Buscovich supposed, appears to me incomprehen- sible. ‘They must, } think, be physical points, as minute as you will, but still possessed of length, breadth, and thickness. This opinion, I say, is generally received by philosophers; and I cannot, for my part, conceive any other. It is taken for granted as the foundation of the Daltonian theory ; and, 1 presume, will be readily admitted by every one without hesitation. 2. In cases of the chemical union of one body with another, the substances combined are dispersed every where through the whole mass. ‘Thus chalk is a compound of lime and carbonic acid. Now how minute « portion soever of chalk we take, we shall find it to contain both lime and carbonic acid. How minute a portion soever of water we take, we shall find it to contain both oxygen and hydrogen. How minute a portion soever of saltpetre we examine, we shall find it to contain both nitric acid and potash. Now this could not be the case unless the atoms of the combining bodies united with each other. This accordingly is the opinion universally entertained respecting chemical combinations. It has been long generally admitted, and does not therefore require any farther illustration. 3. All chemical compounds contain the same constant pro- portion of constituents with the most rigid accuracy, no variation whatever ever taking place. Water is universally composed of 1 part of hydrogen and 7*5 parts of oxygen; sulphuric acid, of 1 part of sulphur and 1°5 part of oxygen; carbonic acid, of 1 part of carbon and 2°7 parts nearly of oxygen, by weight. This permanency of chemical compounds is generally admitted. Indeed, the whole science of chemistry is founded on it, and depends upon it. “Even Berthollet, who contends for indefinite proportions in the abstract, admits the incontrovertible fact that the proportions of chemical combinations in general are perma- nent. 4. This permanency of chemical compounds cannot be owing to any thing else than to the union of a certain determinate number of the atoms of one constituent with a certain determi- nate number of the atoms of the other. Let us suppose water the compound. Let the number of atoms of oxygen which unite be x, and of hydrogen y, then an integrant particle of water will in every case be x + y. 5. Oxygen has the property of uniting with different bases in various proportions, sometimes in two, sometimes in three, four, or even six proportions with the same base. Thus with azote it unites in four proportions, with carbon in two, with mercury in two, and soon. Now if we represent the weight of base with which the oxygen unites by a, and suppose all the different pro- portions of oxygen to unite with this portion of base ; and if we denote the first portion of oxygen by 1; then, in general, the 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. $8 constituents of the different compounds formed by the union of the different doses of oxygen with the base will be as follows :— ist compound, a + J 2d compound, a + 2h 3d compound, a + 34 4th compound, a + 46 Suppose 10 parts of oxygen enter into the first compound, then 20 parts enter into the second compound, 30 parts into the third compound, and 40 parts into the fourth compound. Hence, whatever number of atoms of oxygen enter into the first com- pound, twice that number enters into the second, thrice into the third, and four times that number into the fourth. Hence it is clear that there is a determinate number of atoms of oxygen which always enter into these combinations, If we -Tepresent this number by a, then a + x is the first compound, a + 2x the second, a + 3x the third, and a + 4 the fourth. Now it would be singular if 2, 3,4, &c. atoms of oxygerr were to be always inseparably linked together, so as never to be able to enter into combinations separate. It is much more simple to conceive that x represents only one atom. . Even though the opinion should not be mathematically true, still it would be proper to adopt it: for as far as our calculations are concerned, a number of atoms of oxygen constantly and invariably united constitute a compound atom, about which we may reason as accurately and justly as we could about the simple atoms them- selves. Indeed, I think that a certainly represents che atom ouly ; for oxygen gas being a permanently: elastic fluid, must consist of atoms that repel each other. Hence I conceive that a compound atom of oxygen, or a number of atoms of it united -together, is impossible. And if x consisted of atoms not united together, I can see no reason why the same number should unite in every case (or a multiple of it) with other bodies. This reasoning may be applied to hydrogen as well as oxygen. Hydrogen has the property of uniting in different proportions with various bodies, as with carbon, phosphorus, sulphur, &c. In these different proportions we find the hydrogen always denoted by y, 2.y, &c. Hence we have every reason to con- clude that y, which represents the proportion of hydrogen which unites with the other constituent in these cases is an a/om. The numbers x and y are easily discovered, by making an accurate analysis of the different compounds into which various proportions of oxygen and hydrogen enter, and when reduced to their lowest terms they are very nearly @ = 7°5 and y = 1. Hence these numbers represent the ratios of the Weight of an atorn of oxygen and an atom of hydrogen to each other. Now it deserves attention that these numbers represent the composition of water, ©.2 36 On the Dalionian Theory of (Jury, For it has been ascertained, I think, with precision, that water is composed of 100 measures of oxygen gas, and 200 measures of hydrogen gas. Now the specific gravity of these gases are as follows :— ORV RED a Sat nh ode ee ALG 5 ante Hydrogen ...... RARER TAs oie ee Hence water is composed by weight of Oey Men ruta ke sere ire gp ws-4 06 PUVOMIGED Sen eh dees be os tthake waste Le From this coincidence we are entitled to conclude that water _is formed by the union of an atom of oxygen to an atom of hydrogen. This very important conclusion is supported by other considerations. Oxygen and hydrogen have never been made to combine in any other proportion than that in which they exist in water. Hence this proportion must be that which unites most readily, and with the greatest force. Now as the atoms of hydrogen repel each other, as is the case also with the atoms of oxygen; and as hydrogen is attracted by oxygen ; it is obvious that when they are mixed equably, as is the case when 200 measures of hydrogen gas, and 100 measures of oxygen gas, are ‘put into a tube, and fired by electricity, they will most readily unite atom to atom. ‘This, though not in itself decisive, is a corroborating circumstance. It foilows from it that a given bulk of hydrogen gas contains only one-half the number of atoms that exist in the same bulk of oxygen gas. 6. Knowing the weight of an atom of oxygen and of an atom of hydrogen, we have it in our power to determine the weight of an atom of the other substances which unite with oxygen, or with hydrogen, or with both. For example, 100 parts of sul- phur unite with two proportions of oxygen, the first consisting of 100, the second of 150 parts, both in weight. Here the proportions of oxygen being to each other as the numbers 1, 12, or as 2, 3, it is reasonable to suppose that the first portion repre- sents two atoms of oxygen, and the second three atoms; and that there is another compound, consisting of sulphur united with one atom of oxygen, not yet discovered. If this supposi- tion be reasonable, it follows, that the weight of sulphur which enters into these combinations represents an atom of that sub- stance. Therefore 100 represents an atom of sulphur, and 100 two atoms of oxygen; so that an atom of sulphur, it appears, is just double the weight of an atom of oxygen. We have it in our power to verify this reasoning, by means of the combinations which sulphur makes with hydrogen. It has been ascertained that 100 measures of hydrogen gas, when they unite with sulphur, do not alter their bulk, but merely their 1818.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 37 specific gravity. Hence, in order to determine the constituents of sulphureted hydrogen gas with perfect accuracy, we have only to ascertain correctly the specific gravity of hydrogen gas and of sulphureted hydrogen gas. Now 100 cubic inches of hydrogen gas weigh ..... 2°230 gr. 100 cubic inches of sulphureted hydrogen ...35°890 Hence it follows that sulphureted hydrogen gas is composed of Hydrogen ...¢%....3...+ 2°23, or 1:00 SNE OS re ce ..83°66 15:09 This shows us that if sulphureted hydrogen gas is composed of an atom of hydrogen united to.an atom of sulphur (and hardly any other supposition seems admissible), then if an atom of hydrogen weigh 1, an/atom of sulphur will weigh 15-09. The combination of oxygen and sulphur gave us 15°12 for the weight of an atom of sulphur. Thus the two processes of reasoning lead to the same conclusion, since the difference between 15°09 and 15°12 is only =,3,,- This is as near a coincidence as it is possible to obtain from chemical experiments, where absolute precision, from the nature of our processes, is impossible. By a similar mode of reasoning, we may determine with considerable accuracy the weight of an atom of azote, phospho- rus, carbon, and the metals. It would be tedious to state the methods here at full length ; but some of the most important of them will be given afterwards. It is hardly necessary to observe, how very powerfully a parti- cular conclusion is confirmed when we arrive at it by different processes. This advantage we have in full perfection when we set about determining the weight of the atoms of the simple substances. In most cases we come to the same conclusion by two, three, or four different methods. ‘These coincidences, I think, could not exist, unless the conclusion were well founded. 7. I shall terminate this part of the subject with Mr. Dalton’s canons for the combination of the atoms of bodies with each other. They are very ingeniously contrived, and their truth, I conceive, will be readily admitted by every person who pays due attention to the subject:— Ist. When only one combination of two bodies can be ob- tained, it must be presumed to be a Linary* one, unless some cause appear to the contrary. 2d. When two combinations are observed, they must be pre- sumed to be a binary and a ternary. * By binary, Mr, Dalton meand a compound of one atom of one body with one atom of another; by éernary, a compound of one atom of one body with two atoms of another; and so on, 38 On the Dalionian Theory of (Jury, 3. When three combinations are observed, we may expect one to be binary, and the other two ternary. 4th. When four combinations are observed, we should expect one binary, two ternary, and one quaternary, &c. ' 5th, A dznary compound should always be specifically heavier than the mere mixture of its two ingredients. 6th. A ternary compound should be specifically heavier than the mixture of a binary and a simple, which would, if com- bined, constitute it, &e. 7th, The above rules and observations equally apply, when two bodies, such as C and D, D and E, &c. are combined.* If the observations of Gay-Lussac be correct, nitrous gas constitutes an exception to Mr. Dalton’s 5th rule. It will come under our examination hereafter. Il. Chemical Canons founded an the above Theory, but deduced from Analysis. 1. When gaseous bodies combine they always unite in deter- minate proportions; and if we represent the bulk of the gas that enters into the compound in the smallest quantity in bulk by 1, then the bulk of the other constituent is either 1, 2, or 3. Thus muriate of ammonia is composed of 1 muriatic acid + 1 ammonia in bulk; carbonate of ammonia, of 1 carbonic acid + l ammonia; nitrous gas, of 1 azote + 1 oxygen ; water, of 1 oxygen + 2 hydrogen; gaseous oxide of azote, of 1 oxyge + 2 azote; nitrous acid, of 1 azote + 2 oxygen, or of 1 oxygen + 2 nitrous gas; sulphuric acid, of 1 oxygen + 2 sulphurous acid; carbonic acid, of 1 oxygen + 2 oxide of carbon ; ammonia, of 1 azote + 3 hydrogen; nitrous acid gas, of 1 oxygen + 3 nitrous gas. This canon has been established by Gay-Lussae, I think, in a satisfactory manner.t The only one of his conclusions whichis still doubtful is that nitrous acid is a compound of 2 nitrous gas + 1 oxygen gas, At least I have not been able to make the two gases unite exactly in that proportion. This canon is obviously connected with the Dal- tonian theory. It is simple and beautiful, and of considerable utility in practical chemistry. 2. The quantity of acid requisite to saturate the different metals is directly as the quantity of oxygen which these metals require to convert them into oxides. Thus 100 parts of mercury require 4°16 parts of oxygen, and 100 parts of silver require 79 parts of oxygen, to convert them into oxides. Therefore the quantity of acid necessary to saturate 100 parts of mercury * Dalton's New System of Chemistry, vol. i. p.. 214, + Mem. d’Arcueil, vo). ii, p. 207. . 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 89 is to the quantity necessary to saturate 100 parts of silver as the number 4°16 to 7*9, This law wes first pointed: out by Gay- Lussac.* It may be expressed in the following manner, which adapts it better to the purposes of the chemist. When different metallic oxides saturate the same weight of acid, each contains exactly the same weight of oxygen. According to Berzelius, in order to saturate 100 parts of muriatic acid, a metal must be combined with 42 parts of oxygen ; to saturate 100 of sulphuric acid, it must be combined with 20 parts of oxygen. I believe that this law applies only to those metals which are precipitated by each other; namely, gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, cobalt, and perhaps iron, zinc, and one or two others. The other metals, I conceive, follow a different law ; and it is because they follow a different law that they are not precipitated. This will appear more obviously hereafter, when we come to examine the constitution of the metallic:salts, 3. When sulphur combines with a metal, the proportion remains unchanged, though the sulphur be converted into an acid, and the metal into an oxide. ‘Thus the proportion of metal and sulphur in sulphate of copper is the same as in sul- phuret of copper. Hence sulphuret of lead, when. treated with nitric acid, is converted into neutral sulphate of lead, sulphuret of antimony into sulpbate of antimony, and so on. This law, which is of great importance in practical chemistry, and very much facilitates the analysis of the metalline salts, was first pointed out by Berzelius. 7 4, The oxygen in a metallic protoxide is equal to half the sulphur in the sulphuret of the same metal, supposing the weight of the metal in both cases 100. This canon was first specified by Berzelius. It depends obviously upon the fact above established, that an atom of sulphur is twice the weight of an atom of oxygen, and holds only in those cases where the prot- oxide is a compound of one atom of metal and one atom.of oxygen; and the sulphuret, of one atom of metal and one atom of sulphur. It may hold also when the oxide contains two atoms of oxygen, and the sulphuret two atoms of sulphur. This is the case with the black oxide of iron and maguetic pyrites. Hence the canon is of some utility, by enabling us the better to deter- mine the constitution of the sulphurets; which, like the oxides, are susceptible of considerable variation. 5. In combinations of two bodies containing each a quantity of oxygen, the weight of oxygen in each body is either equal, or one contains twice, thrice, four times, &c. as far as eight times, the quantity of oxygen in the other. This law has been laid down by Berzelius;+ but | must acknowledge I entertain considerable * Mem, d’Arcueil, ii, 157, + Ann, de Chim, Ixxxiii, 119, 6 40 On the Dalionian Theory of [JuLy, doubts about its accuracy. It will be better to leave the investi- gation of the subject till we come to examine the composition of the different salts, in all of which the two constituents con- tain oxygen. If it hold it will indicate a certain regularity in the relative weights of the atoms of bodies which J have not yet observed. 6. Water is capable of combining both with acids and bases. When it unites with an acid it acts the part of a base, and con- tains the same quantity of oxygen that the base would contain. Therefore the least quantity of water that can combine with sulphuric acid must contain 20 parts of oxygen. Hence the strongest possible sulphuric acid is a compound of PCAN Se hese a ee oh die BE Sey Pe ee WVALGE #5.) BEAY..\.%; ate siehat lath Mebate 100 When the water combines with a base, it acts the part of an acid, and combines in the same proportion. Hence such com- pounds are called hyérates. This canon has also been laid down by Berzelius. 1 must confess that [ have not hitherto met with sufficient evidence of its accuracy to induce me to put much confidence in it; but we shall be able to judge better when we come to examine the constitution of the hydrates, than we can at present, 7- In combinations composed of more than two bodies con- taining oxygen, the oxygen of that constituent which contains the least of it isa common divisor of all the portions of oxygen found in the other bodies, This law, likewise laid down by Berzelius, evidently depends upon the kind of combination which, these bases make with oxygen. If they are each combi- nations of one atom of base with one atom of axygen, the quantity of oxygen present in all will be the same. If one is a protoxide, and another a deutoxide, then the one will contain double the quantity of oxygen in the other. And since oxygen always unites by atoms, it is obvious that all the quantities of oxygen will be divisible by one atom of oxygen. Hence the Jaw. If we were accurately acquainted with the constitution of the earths, this ‘law would be of great importance to the mineral- ogist. It would enable him to distinguish between chemical combinations and mechanical mixtures. I have no doubt that it will ultimately throw a new light upon the chemical analysis of minerals; even at present it may be applied with some success, taking the imperfect knowledge that we have as a basis. 8. When two combustible bases unite they always combine in such a proportion that, when oxidized, either the quantity of - 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 41 oxygen uniting with each would be the same, or the oxygen in the one would be twice, thrice, &c. that in the other. ‘This is another law Jaid down by Berzelius, and obviously depends upon this fact, that the two bodies must either unite atom to atom, or a certain number of atoms of the one must combine with one atom of the other. This law might be applied successfully to determine which of the metallic alloys are chemical combinations, and which are mechanical mixtures. For example, there can be no doubt that copper and zinc combine chemically. Now from the following table it will appear that the weight of an atom of these metals is as follows :— Copper... cece cece ec ee ee scenes 6 8000 MN Sols a ain sate bw vo, wan Se ee Therefore, if they unite atom to atom, brass ought to be a compound of 100 copper and 53°93 zinc. Now if any person will be at the trouble to analyse brass, he will find that this is very nearly the proportion of the ingredients. In like manner bell-metal seems to be a compound of 5 atoms of copper to 1 atom of tin; and the metal for mirrors, of 4 atoms of copper and | atom of tin. If mercury unites atom to atom with tin, it ought to dissolve somewhat less than half its weight of that metal. And if the same law holds with zine, it ought to dissolve about }th of its weight of that metal. Ill. Relative Weight of the Atoms of different Substances determined from Chemical Analysis. Before we can draw up a table of the relative weights of the atoms. of bodies, we must fix upon some one whose atom shall be represented by unity. Mr. Dalton has made choice of hydrogen for that purpose, because it is the lightest of all known bodies. Sir Humphry Davy has followed his example; but he has doubled the weight of an atom of oxygen, and consequently of all other bodies, by the ‘arbitrary supposition that water is composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Dr. Wollaston and Professor Berzelius have both proposed the atom of oxygen as the most convenient unit: nor can there be any hesitation in embracing their plan. Oxygen is in fact the substance by means of which the weight of the atoms of almost all other bodies is determined. It enters into a much greater number of combinations than any other known body; hence the great advantage attending a convenient number for that body to the practical chemist. It would remove a great deal of confusion, which is at pre- sent very conspicuous in this department of the science, if chemists would agree to represent the weight of the atoms by 42 On the Daltonian Theory of (Jury, the same numbers. The following table is submitted to the chemical world as more convenient than the methods hitherto followed ; and as the means employed in determining the num- bers is every where stated, it were to be wished that they were adopted by chemists in general, as far as they are accurate. If the same numbers were steadily employed by all persons, they would soon be recollected by chemists, who would thus be able to state the composition of every compound without being obliged to refer toa book. ‘The utility of such a recollection to the practical chemist is too obvious to be pointed out. Weight of an atom. De OREN 0.00 vie see wae alelele cvalells utters esa OOM Ds AAVERORED) |. lac iacs, doin ate Midicret ate traci Jee .0°132 Se SCAIOD sia igh ake ip stele alo elerote te eee ater et ey ale Avi vote» 086i eae hb Boeon sae eels 12 BTA S. Phosphorus signi, oe 3 Soncheyerh CREE i 2 This is obtained from earbonic acid, which I conceive, with Dalton, to be a compound of 2 atoms of oxygen and 1 atom of carbon. When charcoal is burned in oxygen gas, the bulk of the gas is not altered, it is merely changed into carbonic acid. Hence if from the weight of 100 cubie inches of carbonic acid gas = 46°313 grains, we subtract the weight of 100 cubic inches of oxygen gas = 33°672 grains, the remainder = 12°641 grains gives us the weight of carbon in 100 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas. This shows us that carbonic acid is composed of 27°29 parts of carbon and 72°71 of oxygen. My analysis of olefiant gas gives 0°748 for the weight of an ‘atom of carbon, which comes very near the preceding. > This number is obtained from nitrous gas, which, I think, Mr. Dalton has successfully shown to be a compound of 1 atom azote and 1 atom oxygen ; and Gay-Lussac has proved it to be a compound of equal measures of azotic gas and oxygen gas. The number adopted by Sir H. Davy to represent an atom of azote when reduced to our proportions would be 0-860, and that of Mr. Dalton 0°714. Ammonia gives us a different ratio if we suppose it, with Dalton, to be a compound of 1 atom of hydrogen and 1 atom of azote. The weight of an atom of azote in that case would be 0°584; but if we consider ammonia as. composed of 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of. azote, then the weight of an atom of azote comes out 0°876. Hence I conceive ammonia to he a ternary compound. © This number is deduced from phosphoric acid. Sir H. Davy has ascertained that the quantity of oxygen in phosphoric acid is double of that in phosphorous acid.. Hence, I think, 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 43 Weight of an atom. 6. Budphiie’ osc sds ohsicss Deh Mble@ once DOO MMOs Wtt id's nhs WieQeins s pie had peWaadine ay Number of Weicht of a atoms, particle, 8. Water, composed of...1 0 + 1 9. Carbonic oxide .......1 0 + 1 10. Carbonic acid ........2 0 + 1 lo-+l h ‘ch Ae ir ay bs Mie c 11. Nitrous gas’.......... a Pietnleyer etl it follows, that phosphoric acid is a compound of 1 atom of phosphorus and 2 atoms of oxygen. Farther, it has been ascer- tained that when phosphorus is burnt in oxygen gas each grain of phosphorus absorbs 41 cubic inches of oxygen. Therefore phosphoric acid is composed of 100 phosphorus and 151°52 of oxygen, and phosphorous acid of 100 phosphorus and 75°76 of oxygen: and an atom of oxygen is to an atom of phosphorus as 75°76 to 100, oras | to 1°320 nearly. “ I conceive water to be a binary compound. The opinion. advanced by Sir H. Davy, that it is a ternary compound of an atom of oxygen united to 2 atoms of hydrogen, cannot, I think, be supported. ; * It has been ascertained by accurate experiments that 100 measures of carbonic oxide for complete combustion require 50 measures of oxygen gas, and that the residue is 100 measures of carbonic acid gas. Hence it follows that the quantity of oxygen in carbonic acid is just double what exists in carbonic oxide, while the quantity of carbon in both is the same. Berthollet’s objections to this conclusion are inadmissible. He seems, indeed, to have given up the point himself. * The determination of the compounds into which azote and oxygen enter is attended with considerable difficulty. The reason for considering nitrous gas as a binary compound, and its ana- lysis, have been stated before. 1 consider it as exactly deter- mined. The reasons assigned by Dalton for considering nitrous oxide as a compound of 2 atoms of azote and | atom of oxygen, seem to me conclusive: and Gay-Lussac. has shown that it contains just twice as much azote as nitrous gas, supposing the oxygen in both the same. Hence its composition must be as stated in the table, The acid analysed’ by Cavendish and Davy, and called nitric acid, I conceive to have been in fact nitrous acid. What Mr. Dalton calls oxy-nitric acid is true colourless nitric acid, which seems only to exist in combination with water orabase, ‘This I infer from the recent experiments of Chevreul 44 On the Daltonian Theory of (Jory, Number of Weight of an atoms, integrant particle, 12, Nitrous oxide......... Lorde Dray ie -7a6 13. Nitrous acid ..003...62% 26 > -Boaneeee 2°878 PA. NTEFIC ACIOs. Sends ss 2 $o0+ 1la.. 3°878 15. Phosphorous acid...... Beh sy S0geoe ten 2°320 16. Phosphoric acid....... 2 Ort Lie vesres 3°320 17. Sulphurous acid ...... 2 0.-Fi Lidieleen 4-000 18. Sulphuric acid...... oD 0-5 Aye Siegert 5-000 19. Olefiant gas.......... 1 h.+ 1.¢. It has been ascertained by very exact experiments that the protoxide of copper is composed of 100 metal + 12°5 oxygen, and the peroxide of 100 metal + 25 oxygen. (nn. de Chim. Ixxviii. 107.) ¢ We know two oxides of iron; the first composed of 100 metal + 30 oxygen, the second of 100 metal + 45 oxygen. Hence the first must be a deutoxide. « We are acquainted with two oxides of nickel; the first, from a mean of the experiments of Taputi, Rolhoff, and Berze- lius, is composed of 100 metal + 27°6 oxygen; the second appears from Rolhoff’s experiments to be composed of 100 metal + 41 oxygen. Hence the first must be a deutoxide, or a compound of 1 atom of metal with 2 atoms of oxygen. This gives us the number in the table. ! * J am acquainted with two oxides of tin; the first composed 1813.) Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 49 Weight of an atom. BFF Zine. oso. os I ee reopen S as 4°315 & 53. Bismuth ......... Vanesa eels qc aeCRe «« 8°994 > PP BDUMONY 5 5 Feed aee nde» +a enim ine eal‘ bhi * of 100 metal + 13°6 oxygen, the second.of 100 metal + 27-2 oxygen. Berzelius describes an intermediate oxide, which he calls the white oxide, and which is composed of 100 metal + 20:4 oxygen. (Larlok 1 Kemien, ii. 253.) Granting the existence of this oxide, it is evident that the first must be composed of 1 atom metal and 2 atoms oxygen, or that it is a deutoxide. * We know three oxides of lead; namely, the yellow, the red, and the brown, composed of 100 metal, united with 7-7, 11°55, and 15°4 oxygen. Now these numbers are to each other as 2, 3, 4. Hence the yellow oxide must be a compound of 1 atom metal and 2 atoms oxygen 5 which gives us the weight of an atom of lead as in the table. § In my System of Chemistry I have stated two oxides of zine on the authority of Clement and Desormes; but from examining the salts of zine 1 have satisfied myself that no such oxide as their protoxide exists. Hence [ consider the white oxide of zinc as a compound of | atom metal and | atom oxygen. Berzelius foand it a compound of 100 metal + 24:4 oxygen; Davy, of 100 metal + 21°95! oxygen: my analysis gave me 100 metal + 23°5 oxygen, whicly is nearly a mean of the other two. I have chosen 23-175 as probably coming nearest the truth. ® Bismuth forms only one kaown oxide, which therefore I conceive to be a compound of | atom of metal and | atom of ° oxygen. By my analysis it is composed of 100 metal + 11°300 oxygen; by Lagerhjelm’s, of 100 metal + 11:275 oxygen (Berzelius, Larbok « Kemien, ii. 175); by Mr. John Davy’s, of 100 metal + 11°111 oxygen. The mean of these gives 11-229 forthe oxygen. Hence the number in the table. ' We know two oxides of antimony. ‘The first, according to Mr. John Davy, is a compound of 100 metal + 17-647 oxygen ; according to Berzelius, of 100 metal + 18:6 oxygen; the second, according to Davy, of 26-471 oxygen + 100 metal; according to Berzelius, of 100 metal + 27:9 oxygen. Berzelius describes a third oxide, which he calls the yellow oxide, and states as a compound of 100 metal + 37-2 oxygen. (Ldrlok i Kemien, ii. 159.) These numbers are to each other as 2, 3, 4. Hence I consider the first as a deutoxide, and that an atom of antimony is to an atom of oxygen as 100 to 9, Hence the number in the table, Vor, I. N° L D 50 On the Dalionian Theory of (Jucy, Weight of an atom. BO, Velanuns isis dis cccvevces re et tls GAS VATSENIC: Sake icieces 6 eax acre ee emeouee 6:000 ! 622 Cobaltiaiy-c.c Hn wie e's 89 aaew bs SN 7326 ™ 63. Manganese ......... Seubne Cee ey Ly a oe, Bel) Orr c)471 0) ey SRN hee RPE MP re eis: sia toh? *O00° 65.) Molybdernuihy je. J. o's side ets os ovcie) 5882 P * According to Berzelius the only oxide of tellurium known is a compound of 100 metal + 24°83 oxygen. Hence the number in the table. ' We know two combinations of arsenic and oxygen; the first contains 100 metal + $3:333 oxygen, the second 100 metal + 50 oxygen. ‘These are to each other as 2 to3; hence the first must contain 2 atoms of oxygen, the second 3. Hence the number in the table. Berzelius speaks of an oxide of arsenic composed of 100 metal + 8°333 oxygen. If it exist, an atom of arsenic will weigh 12-000. (Ann. de Chim. \xxxiii. 118.) ™ We know two oxides of cobalt, the blue and the black. These, from the analysis of Rolhoff, are composed of 100 metal united with 27:3 and 40°95 of oxygen. (Berzelius, Larbok i Kemien, ii. 297.) These numbers are to each other as 2 to 3. Hence the first must be a deutoxide. " Berzelius describes five oxides of manganese: but his first, from the way in which he obtained it, is exceedingly doubtful. I reject it therefore. The first of the other four is green, the second olive, the third brown, and the fourth black. Their composition he states as follows :— 1 of 100 metal + 14°0533 2 100 + 28°107 3 100 + 42°16 4 100 + 56°213 These numbers are to each other as the numbers 1}, 2, 3, 4. Hence the first is a protoxide, and gives the weight of an atom of manganese as in the table. If Berzelius’ first oxide really exist, we must double the weight of an atom of manganese. — ° From Bucholz’ experiments there seem to be two oxides of uranium, the black and the yellow; the first composed of about 100 metal + 8°333 oxygen, the second of 100 metal + 25 oxygen. These two numbers are to each other as | to 3. Hence the number in the table. ® We know two oxides of molybdenum, the blue and the white, composed, according to Bucholz, of 100 metal and 34 and 50 oxygen. Now these numbers are to each other as 2 to 3. 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 5k Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle, 66. Tungsten ......00-2eeseeee as ee ss ese EO 1 Bee Cerlunl...,. vs eee ds aks shes NESE Wh de iP sides hii te te 103. Protoxide of uranium 1 uw + 1 ‘ 104. Peroxide of uranium ..l u + 3 0......15°000 a ee teers 105. 106. Peroxide of pub et a 239 GENUIR get "ps t+ 3 0...... Be 107. Deutoxide ef tungsten 1 ¢ 4+ 2 @,.,.,.10°000 108. Deutoxide of cerium..1] ¢ + 2 0...... 13°494 109. Peroxide of cerium »..1 c + 3 @.0+,.,14°494 as present, and insert the rest of the table in a future number. I presume the method of denoting the number of atoms combined will be intelligible to every reader. It is denoted by figures prefixed to the initial letters of the substanees uniting together. But to preclude ssibility istake a p been raved sentin st 41 su in the Mr. Dalton’s symbols. In it the number of atoms existing in each combination is represented to the eye. The figures in the plate refer to the figures prefixed to the table. The name fol- lowing the figure in the table is the name of the symbol in the plate under.the same figure. Thus after 36 in the table we find” joss soda. bol under. 36.in the plate represents:soda ; sig! ‘o. Owe see = compo’ 1 ator peo diumt _ 2 ato of oxygen, (yAitronomical “andy Rtiasnocamemersctiong 9€ Packs ey ty: ARTICLE X. . Beaufoy. . Hackugy Wick, Greenwich Timp. dune 16, Emersion of Jupiter's 2d satellite....94 46’ 39” 9b 46’ 45°82” Observations are in Megan Time. Jmpiter’s limb not well defined. ATE Vill. 14 db IC iF 4a 20 2i 22 SYMBOLS OF CHEMICAL BODIES Engraved by SF Shury tor D' Thomsons Annales Lublished by Rh Baldwin Paternoster Kow Jaly 4a Le hes. t mae . Ps pina oa fii yt or a 1813.) at Hackiey Pick. 53 Mégnetical Observations. 4 Latitude 61° 32/40” North, Loagitude West in Tifre 6-82", 1813, Motning Obséry. Noon Observ. Evening Observ. Month, eens Hour, | Variation, Hour. | Variatiott. | Hotr. Variation. — May 18 =) —/|—0 —/) "| jh 45/ {24° 19/ 20" 6h 7/1949 44’ 29” Ditto 19 7 37 |24 10 45/1 20 24 21 40/7 33 \94 13 04 Ditto 20,6 55 |24 If 04/1 50 (24 22 16/6 58 (24 15 48 Ditto 21/8 32 j24 11 22}1 40 24 20 37} 6 50 4 16- 58} Ditto 22'8 41 24 18 59/1 30 24 20 48}— ope — Ditto 23/8 50 [24 12 17) 1 25 24 21 2m | Ditto 244— 9 — J I Ditto 25| 8 07 |24 12 10/1 35 24 19 05/6 Ditto 26) A5 24.16 j= eis es HT Ditto 28; 8 25 24 16 10] 1 40 24 92 24/7 Ditto 29) 8 10/24 14 30/1 30 94 21 43/7 1 52 24 19 18/8 8h 28 ... Variation 24° 12’ 02” 1STTae Rie 24 20 54 6 14....Ditto 24 13 AT Morning at 8 81....Ditto 24 09 18 Ditto in April. < Noon at Q 59....Ditto 24 21 12 Evening at 5 46....Ditto 24 15 25 Observations 2 Noon at Mean of Merning at in May. Evening at Magneticat Observations continued. oo - 4H ty... hee ws Morning Observ. Noon Observ, Evening Obsery. Hour. | Variation. |, Hour. |, Variation. Hour, | Variation. — —' —"| Th 45’ /240 y7) gg 2 15 7 45 (24 13 09 F 1 36. 6 47 14 31} . 1 40° 6 50 |24 13 14 8: I 30 7 83194 If $ 8 1 42 6 25 24 18 03 f 8 1 30 6 30/24 17 35 : 1 35 6 20 |\24 16 54 8 Y 42 6 3024 19 19 5 1 36 6 $0 4 14 56 8 1 30 6 35 24 15 ga} 8 Lt 30 — fp oe & 1 4 45 24 16 16 8 27 NS er a eer It may not be improper to remark, that previous to any obser- vation the instrument is examined, and, if necessary, adjusted, 6 54 Analyses of Books. [Juiy, The observations are made with two needles: one of them is a cylinder, terminating at each erd in a cone; the other is of the usual shape, a slender parallelopipedon, and weighs 48 grains ; the weight of the former is 65 grains. These two needles, in general, give the same variation, seldom differing from each other more than one minute, and the mean of both is considered as the true variation. From the observations hitherto made, the least variation is between the hours of eight and nine in the morning; it then increases till a few minutes before two in the evening, and afterwards decreases; but at what hour the varia- tion arrives at the same point it stood at in the morning is uncertain; but, from several observations, it is after eleven at night. It occasionally happens that the needle has a lateral vibratory motion; and, as far as 1 am able to judge, it happens on those days when the air has a peculiar softness ; the degree of this motion does not exceed one minute and a half. It is singular that on the 6th inst. the variation in the evening obseryation was greater than that at noon. Rain between the Ist of May and the Ist of June, 2°118 inches. ArtTicLe XI. ANALYSES oF Books. I. Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. Second series. Vol. II. 1813, pp. 484. (Continued from Vol, I. p. 465.) 9. Cursory Remarks on the Mineral Substance called in Der- byshire Rotten Stone. By William Martin, F.L.S. &c.) This mineral is considered as a variety of tripoli, and is used for the same purposes. It occurs on Bakewell Moor, in Derbyshire, and in some other places; and the pits are only opened every third or fourth year, according to the demand. It lies over a kind of limestone, containing animal remains, which Mr. Martin calls black marble ; and he thinks it has been formed by the decom- position of this marble, and the abstraction of the calcareous particles. Rotten stone consists chiefly of alumina, with a little silica, and bitumen. Carbonate of lime and oxide of iron are occasional, but not constant ingredients. ‘The following are two analyses of it by Mr. Martin :— or 1813.] Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. 5 1. Hard Rotten Stone, of a lrown colour. Alumina .......- ingwbs enim hares. 180 Silica cere’ hubtects 5 as TP. RVR his Ak ee Carbonate of lime ......s.020.--2+. 10 Oxide ofviron 1) Jc eel ienis Sewidewie th Inflammabie matter ..,.......6-5 Batchl Bab Bioss Ye. ett et srolatie der etn sia) abB ‘ * 100 2. Soft Rotten Stone. EL GATE 2. Ya. ctsaba sunicekiSatentsasiaieat chaaiion ELLs ST eR pes See a brag $9 6 sa taban tine taba aee Inflammable-matter .....+-sseeseee¢ 7°9 1 ROW fin he itty ERR. Been) SSL oe 100 10. On National Character. By Thomas Jarrold, M.D.] The object of this ingenious essay seems to be chiefly to refute some of the notions entertained by Mr. Malthus of the effect of an increase of population beyond a certain limit. Dr. Jarrold affirms that the character of a nation neither depends upon their customs, their religion, nor the state of their industry, and that it can only be learned from history alone. His opinion seems to be that it depends upon the original character stamped upon the nation by its founder, and that this character never afterwards changes. Nothing can be more ingenious than the arguments brought forward in support of these opinions ; but my old friend Dr. Jarrold must excuse me for thinking that in: several particulars he has carried his consequences rather too far. Let him consider the character of the Lacedemonians, and see whether it was not entirely modelled by the customs and laws introduced by Lycurgus. Let him consider the manners and religion of the Mexicans and Peruvians, and consider whether these manners were not prodigiously influenced by their religious opinions. Let him read the history of the Dutch, and see whether that extraordinary nation has not possessed at different times three very different characters, brought on by causes that can be explained. Neither can 1 subscribe to the distinction of nations into honest and unwarlike, and dishonest and warlike. No nation under the sun is more dishonest than the Chinese. Consult Anson on the subject, or any person who has visited China. Yet no nation is more unwarlike. ‘Though the specu- lation respecting the natural progress towards civilization is very beautiful, and highly ingenious, it will not stand the test of a 56 Analyses of Books. [Joxy, rigid examination. Read the history of the Pellew Islands, and of the conduct of Lee Boo in England. You have in him an example of a perfect savage becoming civilized, having an en- lightened mind, and forming plans for the improvement of his own nation. Read the history of the Sandwich Islands. at present, for something similar in the king of that country. Peter I. of Russia appears to me another example of the same kind, As to the speculation about the taming of animals, it is equally contradicted by many facts familiar to most people. Read Cowper’s account of his three hares. One was naturally tame, one became tame by kindness, one could not be tamed at all. . How easy is it to make a sparrow perfectly tame, so as to follow its master for miles together upon the wing. But who has suc- ceeded in taming a robin? I could easily make many other remarks upon this ingenious essay ; but I have already gone too far considering the subject, and must therefore apologize to my readers for the length of the observations already thrown out. 11. Observations on the Ebbing and Flowing Well at Giggles- wick, in the West Riding of Yorkshire; with a Theory of reci- _procating Fountains. By Mr. John Gough, in a Letter to Dr. Holme.} Mr. Gough gives an account of no fewer than six wells of this kind; one in Italy, one in Greece, one in West- phalia, and three in England. ‘The one at Giggleswick has been examined with care; and there is a table of the time, and of the rate of its ebbing and flowing. Nothing can be more irre- gular than both. Hence it is obvious that the common theory of the syphon, by which these intermitting fountains are ex- plained, will not apply to this. Indeed, it is probable that it will not apply to most of the intermitting fountains, when pro- perly examined. Mr. Gough gives another theory founded upon an observation made by Mr. Swainston, a manufacturer of Morocco leather at Kendal. It consisted in the irregularity with which water flowed through an inverted syphon. This was occasioned by the air mixed with the water collecting in the syphon, and thus diminishing its eapacity. Mr. Gough con- ceives that in the ease of intermitting fountains the water falls from a height into a reservoir, so as to occasion the formation of foam. From this reservoir there is a narrow winding passage, by which the fountain makes its way out of the earth. The foam enters into this passage along with the water, and the air col- lecting together partially choaks it up, and occasions a diminution in the flow: till at last, this air being expelled, the flow becomes as great as ever, and continues so till it is impeded by the evolution of new air. This explanation appears to me to account, in a satisfactory manner, for all the irregularities of the - intermitting fountains. - 1813.] Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. 57 12. Description of a Eudiometer, and of other Apparatus employed in experiments on the Gases. By William Henry, M.D. F.R.S. &c.] ‘This eudiometer consists of a glass tube, close at one end, and graduated into 100 parts. The open end of the tube is ground into a very short open glass tube, which is fixed, so as to be air-tight, into a small caoutchouc bottle. The gas to be examined is put into the glass tube, and the bottle is filled with the liquid destined to absorb the oxygen in the gas. The tube is then fixed into the bottle; and by inverting it the gas makes its way into the bottle, where it may be agitated with violence till the absorption is completed. It may be them mea- sured with facility,‘and the quantity of absorption ascertained. The other instruments described are, 1. A long narrow glass tube, 0:08 in diameter, which is accurately divided into ten equal parts, by drawing mercury by the mouth up to any deter- minate number of these divisions. By this means an equal bulk of mercury is always obtained, and any tube may be graduated with considerable rapidity. I have long employed a similar method of graduating tubes, and can attest its value and accu- racy. I shall hereafter give an account of my method, as it is very easy, and enables us to graduate tubes with great neatness, as well as rapidity. 2. An apparatus for exposing gases to the long continued action of electricity. It consists of a small glass cylinder, terminating in a globular extremity. In this globe two holes are drilled, through which there pass two small glass tubes, which are hermetically sealed into the globe. Through these tubes pass small platinum wires, which are hermetically sealed by the melting of the tube round them. ‘The ends of these tubes are ground away till the extremity of the wires are exposed. These tubes are so placed within the globe that their extremities. are within the striking distance. 13. A Memoir on the Uric Acid. By William Henry, M.D. F.R.S. &c.) Dr. Henry gives a detailed and accurate history of the previous facts ascertained respecting uric acid. He then describes its properties, the salts which it forms, and its decom- position by heat. It may be obtained pure by dissolving urinary caleulus, composed chiefly of it, in potash ley, and mixing the solution with an excess of muriatic acid. A white powder falls, which, when washed in water, and digested in carbonate of “ammonia is pure uric acid. This acid possesses the following properties :— It has the form of white shining plates. Has no taste nor smell. It dissolves in about 1400 parts of boiling water. It reddens the infusion of litmus. When dissolved in nitric acid, and evaporated to dryness, it leaves a pink sediment. The dry acid is not acted on, nor dissolved by, the alkaline carbonates or 58 Analyses of Books. (Jury, subcarbonates. It decomposes soap when assisted by heat; as it does also the alkaline sulphurets and hydrosulphurets. No acid acts upon it except those which occasion its decomposition. It dissolves in hot solutions of potash and soda, and likewise in ammonia, but less readily. The urates may be formed either by mutually saturating the two constituents, or we may dissolve the acid in an excess of base, and then precipitate by carbonate of ammeunia. - The wrates are all tasteless, and resemble in appearance uric acid itself. They are not altered by exposure to the atmosphere. They ave very sparingly soluble in water. ‘They are decomposed by a red heat, which destroys the acid. ‘The uric acid is preci- pitated from these salts by all the acids except the prussic and carbonic. They are decomposed by the muriates, nitrates, and acetates of barytes, strontian, lime, magnesia, and alumina. They are precipitated by all the metallic solutions except that of gold. When uric acid is exposed to heat the products are carbureted hydrogen and carbonic acid, prussic acid, carbonate of ammonia, a sublimate consisting of ammonia combined with a peculiar acid. 14. A Demonstration of Lawson's Geometrical Theorems, by the laie Rev. Charles Wildbore; communicated by Mr. Mabbott to Mrv Ewart, and by him to the Society.) This is a very curious paper, and well worth the attention of the admirers of the ancient method of geometry. But it is not susceptible of abridgment, nor could we make it intelligible without trans- cribing the whole paper; we must therefore satisfy ourselves with referring our mathematical readers to the essay itself; and we: can promise them both amusement and instruction. Some of the figures are so complicated as to make it somewhat trouble- some to consult them. ‘This results from the method of the author, who has contrived to deduce the properties from each other in a very beautiful manner. 15. Remarks on the Summer Birds of Passage, and on Migration in general, By Mr. John Gough.] In this ingenious essay Mr. Gough shows that the opinion entertained by some that the swallow, and other migrating birds, pass the winter in a torpid state, is inconsistent with itself, and cannot be sup- ported. ‘The migrating birds feed on insects, and are compelled to change their quarters when their food disappears. He shows by direct evidence that the migrations of these birds, both to the north and the south, take place not at once, but slowly and gradually, according as the season advances, and gives facts that show that in some cases a week elapsed before the chimney- swallow moved a distance of six miles. He terminates his essay 1813.] Scientific Intelligence. 59 with a curious table of the days of the month at which the different migrating birds usually make their appearance at Kendal, either on their way to the north or to the south, eee naar ernn es reat} ArTICLE XII. , SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE; AND NOTICES OF SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. I. Concretion on the Elm. I lately received from William Elford Leach, Esq. a concre- tion of a brownish grey colour and stony appearance, which he had found deposited on the bark of an elm tree, I believe in Hyde Park. All the specimens of it were mixed with more or less of the bark of the tree. I subjected it to chemical analysis, and found it composed of the following constituents:— AME Datta t se is atari. teak sda eee eS Carbonate of potash. ...... ERROR IER 0 5 39 Carbonate ol Ime. .cty. 5 csiess oie hecsionne peg De Carbonate of magnesia. .........++..+. 1 Another specimen analysed contained no less than 48 per cent. of bark. The other constituents were nearly in the above proportion. Vauquelin long ago published the analysis of a concretion from the elm containing the very same constituents ; but its appearance was different. He describes the substance which he examined as white, and says that be could distinguish erystals in it. The concretion collected by Mr. Leach was dark grey, and no crystals could be detected in it, by the most careful examination. II. Calculus from the Urethra of a Hog. I received some time ago from Mr. Colville, surgeon in Ayton, Berwickshire, a calculus extracted from the urethra of a hog, which deserves to be described. It is nearly spherical, weighs 44°2 grains, its specific gravity is 1°595, it is white, has a silky lustre, and is composed of a congeries of very small crystals, which, as far as can be judged by the eye, consist of flat four-sided prisms. The calculus is soft, so that the crystals are very easily separated from each otlier, ‘This calculus is composed entirely of phos- phate of lime; at least L have not been able to detect any other matter in it. When heated with potash no smell of ammonia can be perceived, which 1 consider as excluding the presence of 60 Scientific Intelligence. [Juey, the triple phosphate. As the potash dissolves nothing, no urié acid can be present. ‘The crystals dissolve without effervescence in muriatic acid, and are precipitated in the state of a white powder by pure ammonia. These characters I consider as excluding every thing but phosphate of lime. Ill. Hydrosulphureis. Thenard has lately published some observations on the hydro- sulphurets, which deserve the attention of chemists. I shall for that reason give a short account of them in this place :— 1. When a saturated hydrosulphuret is heated along with sulphur, a portion of the sulphur is dissolved, and a quantity of sulphureted hydrogen gas escapes. If there be an excess of alkali, the sulphur is dissolved as usual; but- little or no sul phureted hydrogen escapes. Hence we see that the hydrogureted sulphurets contain less sulphureted hydrogen than the hydrosul- phurets. 2. When the saturated hydrosulphurets are raised to the boil- ing point, a portion of sulphureted hydrogen always makes its escape. By this method the hydrosulphuret of magnesia may be decomposed altogether, and hydrosulphuret of lime nearly so. Hydrosulphuret of potash and soda become very alkaline. 3. Hydrosulphuret of arnmonia may be obiained in crystals by surrounding with ice a flagon containing a mixture of sul- phureted hydrogen and ammoniacal gases. It crystallizes in needles, and is white; but becomes speedily yellow when ex- posed to the air. It is very volatile, rising spontaneously to the top of the phial in which it is kept. By this means it may bé separated from the hydrogureted sulphuret of ammonia. 4. When ammoniacal gas and sulphur are passed together through a red-hot porcelain tube, hydrogen gas and azotie gas are disengaged, and a great quantity of hydrogureted sulphuret of ammonia crystallized. When this substance is put into a phial, pure crystals of hydrosulphuret of ammonia gradually sublime from it. 5. The fuming liquor of Boyle smokes in oxygen gas or common air; but not in azotic gas or hydrogen gas. Hence the smoking must be owing to the presence of oxygen. Thenard supposes that it acts by converting the liquor into hydrogureted sulphuret, or into sulphite. (See Ann. de Chim. Ixxxiii. 132.) lV. Antznonial Acids. No metal has been subjected to a more persevering examina- tion than antimony. But its chemical properties are so diffieult of investigation, that the most accurate and ingenious chemists have contradicted one another in their most recent experiments. Thenard found six oxides of antimony, Poust reduced them te 1813.) Scientific Intelligence. 63 two, and Berzelius makes them four. Theory is certainly in fa- vour of the last opinion. ‘The two oxides of antimony con- taining most oxygen possess, according to Berzelius, the proper- ties of acids. He calls them antimonious and antimonic acids. The antimonious acid is white. The calx antimonii elota of the old pharmacopezias is this acid combined with potash, and con- taining an excess of acid. When boiled in water a neutral antimonite of potash is obtained, from which other antimonites may be formed. The antimonite of barytes crystallizes in white needles, and is not altered by exposure to the air. The antimonic acid has a straw yellow colour. It is formed by heating antimony in nitro-muriatic acid. Berzelius has ex- amined several of the saline combinations which it forms with the different bases. The two acids of antimony have the property of combining to- gether, and of uniting likewise with the other oxides of that metal. This makes it so difficult to examine the oxides of antimony with accuracy. (See Berzelius, Larlok 2 Kemien, ii. 159.) V. Acid of Tin. The peroxide of tin has been repeatedly considered as an acid by chemists. Bergman and Guyton Morveau have each. pub- lished dissertations on the subject. Berzelius has lately examined the matter anew; and though he admits that it possesses some eharacters in common with acids, yet he thinks that they are not sufficient to entitle it to the name. VI. Acid of Tellurium. The oxide of tellurium, according to the observations of Ber- zelius, possesses at once the characters of an acid and a base. Hence it is capable of combining with bases and forming salts, while at the same time it unites with acids, and forms avother kind of saline compound. On that account we may either call it telluric acid or oxide of tellurium. VII. Sulphate of Copper. It is well known to chemists that there are two oxides of copper, the red and the black; the first composed of 1 atom of metal and | atom of oxygen, the second of 1 atom of metal and 2 atoms of oxygen. ‘The red oxide refuses to combine with sulphuric acid. When the two substances are brought in con- taet, the red oxide of copper divides itself into two equal por- s, one of which gives all its oxygen to the other; so that one half of the oxide is reduced to the metallic state, and one half converted into black oxide. This last half unites with the sulphuric acid, and forms common sulphate of copper. The ! 62 Scientific Intelligence. (Juty, black oxide refuses to combine with sulphurous acid. When the two substances come in. contact, the black oxide gives out half its oxygen, and by this means is changed into red oxide, Aan a portion of the sulphurous acid is changed into sulphuric acid. Sulphite of copper is of a red colour, and crystallizes. It may be obtained by mixing sulphite of potash and sulphate of copper together, or by passing a current of sulphurous acid gas through water, in which black oxide of copper is suspended. It is decomposed by heat, and by boiling in water. According to the experiments of Chevreul, it is composed of Ed ORIdE. OF, CQDDEL. sci iise «sauteed 63°84 Sulpharaus Acid. «so sv ene dios erie O LO 100 & But this analysis cannot be accurate. It gives us 100 acid + 176549 oxide. Now the weight of an integrant particle of sulphurous acid is 4, and of red oxide of copper 9. Hence if the two substances unite particle to particle, the compound must consist of 100 acid + 225 oxide. We learn from the experi- ments of Berzelius that sulphuric and sulphurous acids unite with the same weight of base. Now according-to him 100 sulphuric acid unite with 183 of red oxide of copper. (4nn. de Chim. \xxvii. 83.) Hence 80 sulphurous acid would unite with 183 red oxide. This gives us 100 acid + 228-75 red oxide, which agrees very nearly with an atom of acid and an atom of oxide. Hence [ conceive it to be indisputably much nearer the truth than Chevreul’s analysis. The reader will find Chevreul’s experiments in the Ann. de Chim. vol. Ixxxiil. p. 181. Chevreul obtained likewise a triple salt, composed of sul- phurous acid, potash, and red oxide of copper. He procured it by mixing a cold solution of sulphite of potash with nitrate of copper. ‘The triple salt precipitated of a yellow colour. Ac- cording to his analysis, it is composed of REGIOMIGG ce ole ge Lee 0°9360 BOtasiahecces, agli tere eccitsetecet ets oc iekstene ts 071556 FACES tite wcnnls f5 62 bie ates fie, hy Erte ee 0°6270 1°7186 This analysis would stand in need of some animadversions; but they would not be understood till we have-come, in our table of the weight of integrant particles of chemical compounds, to the triple salts. We shall therefore defer the subject at present. 1813.] Scientific Intelligence. 63 VIII, Freezing of Alcohol. We have received a letter on this subject from a Gentleman, who subscribes himself Philo-Chemicus Oxoniensis, who con- ceives that the method employed by Mr. Hutton, of Edinburgh, to freeze alcohol, may have been similar to that already practised by Mr. Walker, of Oxford; namely, employing bodies already frozen as instruments of congealing others. ‘“ This,” he observes, ‘* has often been done in the congelation of mercury, when ice, already reduced to a certain temperature, is mixed with muriate of lime; nor do I see any limit to the intensity of cold which might be produced in this manner, except the point at which the attraction of aggregation equals in activity (in consequence of the subtraction of so much caloric) the strength of affinity which the substance, whatever it may be, has for any other body. ‘Thus sulphate of soda and muriatic acid sink the temperature of water from 50° to 0; this, again, when mixed with muriate of lime, would lower the temperature of any surrounding body from 0 to — 66°; and ice, which had been cooled down to this point, might, by the addition of sulphuric acid in a certain state of dilution, depress the thermometer to — 99°. All these facts are well known; and if this should happen to be Mr. Hutton’s method, it deserves to be considered in the light rather of a more extended application of what had been before ascertained than the discovery of any new fact. The plan I have mentioned, although it might not enable us to congeal any fresh substances, would at least, I should conceive, establish at what point the attraction of aggregation equals that of affinity. The most convenient apparatus, perhaps, would be a series of circular vessels, the one contained within the other, in the innermost of which should be placed that which was to be last operated upon.” IX. Composition of Axote. In consequence of a notification in our last Number respecting the composition of azote by Professor Berzelius, who, by ecalcu- lation, has concluded it to be composed of 44:6 unknown inflammable basis and 55:4 oxygen, | have been informed that Mr. Miers, a young chemist’ of London, has proved, by a number of experiments, the compound nature of this gas, which has hitherto resisted all attempts at decomposition. He finds, however, that the “ inflammable basis” is not unkown,” but that it is hydrogen ; and the proportions in which it is com- posed with oxygen do not, from his experiments, greatly differ from those calculated by Professor Berzelius. The experiments involving this important discovery were made about 15 months since; and although their public annunciation has been delayed 64 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. {Juny, with a view to more delicate and refined results, professional engagements have since prevented their being completed. The further prosecution of these labours will be conveyed through the medium of this Journal, at a period not far distant. ArTIcLeE XIII. Proceedings of Philusophical Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. On Thursday, May the 27th, a paper by Mr. Cater was read, comparing the Cassegrenian and Gregorian telescopes. These telescopes have been hitherto considered as quite similar. Mr. Cater was led to compare them in consequence of telescopes of both kinds being constructed by a self-taught artist at Ipswich, who has acquired the art of constructing both in remarkable perfection. The result of the comparison was, that the Casse- grenian telescope gave a much clearer and better defined image of the object than the Gregorian. Mr. Cater endeavours to account for this difference, by supposing that in the Gregorian telescope the particles of light interfere, and impede one another; while this does not happen in the Cassegrenian, On Thursday, June the 3d, part of a paper by Mr. Brande was read, containing additional facts and observations on the use of magnesia in cases of urinary calculus. The paper was divided into two sections. In the first, Mr. Brande related several cases in which the deposition of uric acid in urine and the accompanying symptoms were removed by the use of mag- nesia. Among others, a Gentleman of fifty-five was afflicted with pain in the kidney; a calculus at last passed into the bladder, and was voided by the urethra; it consisted of uric acid. His urine deposited a considerable quantity of red sand (uric acid). He tried alkalies; but they disagreed with his stomach. He was induced, in order to alleviate the symptoms of indigestion, to take a tea-spoonful of magnesia daily. His symptoms were gradually removed, and the urine ceased to de- posite red sand. Several similar cases were given, in all of which the deposit of uric acid was put an end to by the use of magnesia. But in one case, after a certain time, the symptoms were aggra- vated, and a white sediment was deposited. ‘This turned out, on examination, to be a mixture of phosphate of lime and phosphate of magnesia-and-ammonia. The object of the second section of the paper was to give an account of the treatment in such cases. Acids were administered, and different kinds were tried. Carbonic acid in the form of soda water, citric acid, vinegar, sider, oranges, lemonade, and muriatic acid, were tried in suc- 1813.] Royal Society. 65 cession. The muriatic acid seemed to have answered worst. The other acids, in several cases related, remeved the symptoms without inducing a deposition of uric acid. On Thursday, the 17th June, Mr. Brande’s paper was con- cluded. Another case was related, in which the deposition of the phosphates in the urine was put a stop to by the use of carbonic acid, produced by mixing lemon juice and carbonate of potash, and drinking the mixture while in a state of effer- vescence. From these cases Mr. Brande concludes, 1. That when the alkalies, from any circumstance, cannot be used to put a stop to the deposition of uric acid in the urine, then magnesia may be employed with advantage. 2. That the deposition of the phosphates may be put a stop to by the use of mineral acids. 3. That the vegetable acids produce a similar effect, and that they may be employed in much greater quantity, without injuring the digestive organs. On the same evening a paper was read by Mr. Axlay, of Bristol, on the phenomena of electricity. He began by stating what he considered as his peculiar theory of electricity ; but which does not appear to differ from that of Cavendish, unless the fourth proposition be considered as peculiar. The theory consisted of the following propositions :— 1. A fluid exists called the electric fluid. 2. It is attracted by all matter, with a force inversely as some power of the distance. 3. Its particles repel each other. Hence it is elastic and compressible. 4. Electrics have a stronger affinity for it than non-electrics, From this theory he explains the different phenomena of electricity ; very nearly, as far as I could judge, without seeing ' the figures to which a reference was continually made, in the way already employed by Mr. Cavendish, and other electricians; with this exception, that he does not suppose that matter is repellent of matter, as follows from the theory of AZpinus. On Thursday, June the 24th, a paper by Sir Everard Home, Bart. was read, containing additional observations on the squalus Maximus, or great shark. ‘Two of these fishes were caught at Brighton last December, and one of them was brought to London. It was particularly examined by Sir Everard and Mr. Clift, and this paper stated the result of the new observations, The figure given by SiEverard along with his former paper is correct, except that a fin between the anus and tail is wanting. The liver is very tender, and consists of six lobes. The gall duct is dilated at the extremity which enters the intestines, the object of which seems to be to prevent the bile from returning into the liver. There is no gall bladder. he heart is very powerfully Vor. H. N° I. E 66 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. (Jury, muscular, and there is a particular muscle connected with the valves, which Sir Everard conceives intended to impel the blood more powerfully through the gills when the animal is at a great depth under water; for the pressure of the water will in that case impede the circulation in the gills. It occurred to Sir Everard that this impeded circulation might be compensated by water at great depths containing more oxygen gas in solution than near the surface; but water being taken up from the bottom of a deep well, and examined, was found to contain no more than water at the surface. It may be remarked here, that this trial was scarcely of such a nature as to be decisive. Well water, however deep, is nothing else than rain water which has made its way through the earth to the bottom of the well; and all of it having been equally exposed to the air when falling in the state of rain ought to contain the same portion of air. The water examined ought to have been taken from the bottom of the sea; but it is not likely that any perceptible difference would have been found. Indeed, the experiment has been already made by Biot, who examined sea water taken up at the depth of 437 fathoms, and found the proportion of oxygen gas in it the same as at the surface. (Mem. d Arcueil. 1. 273.) But the swimming bladder being filled with oxygen gas in those fishes that live at great depths, this in all probability is intended to answer some such purpose. Sir Everard compared the heart of the squalus with that of several other animals. The squalus has no cerebrum, but only cerebellum. The cavity in which the semicircular canals of the ear is placed is uncommonly large. The lens of the eye is globular, and half sunk in the vitreous humour, which is very firm, and lodged, as usual, in separate cells. ‘The retina is very thin. The cornea consists of three coats, LINNZAN SOCIETY. The Society met upon Tuesday the Ist, and Tuesday the 15th of June. Both meetings were occupied in hearing read a paper by Col. Hardwicke, on the bats in the British dominions in India. He described and exhibited figures of 11 species, most of which inhabit trees, and live on fruits. ‘The most remarkable of these is a very large species, having the aspect of a wolf, and of such a size that, from tip to tip, the wings extend 3 feet 4 inches. This species the Colonel considers either as the vampyre of Linnzus, or as nearly allied to it. It lives on fruits, and is considered by the Indians as quite harmless. The Colonel found that it would eat raw flesh when hungry ; but that it pre- ferred fruits. The stories of its sucking the blood of living avimals he considers as quite unfounded. The Society adjourucd till the 2d of November. 1813.] Geological Society. 67 GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. This society was established some years ago, for the express purpose of accurately investigating the geognostic structure of Great Britain. The activity of the members, and the great progress which they have already made, is really surprising, and entitles them to a very high place in the catalogue of useful institutions. At the last general election it consisted of 115 ordinary, and 108 honorary members; and, as many elections have been made since that period, the number of ordinary members is at present considerably increased. I shall give a short account of the papers which have been read at their diffe- rent meetings during the present session, which began on Nov. the 6th, 1812. On Friday, Nov. 6, 1812, a letter was read from Ed. La Irton, Esq. on the sand-tubes found at Drigg, in Cumberland. These tubes have been found only in a single.hill of drift sand on the sea-shore, about five acres in extent. ‘They were disco- vered by the drifting of the sand. They are placed . nearly perpendicularly, at unequal distances. One was traced 15 feet deep, but how far they go is unknown. When first dug out they are flexible, but soon become quite rigid. Internally they have a glaze, which is perfectly vitreous. An account, by Dr. Macculloch, of a remarkable vein in a mill-stone of blue limestone. ‘This mill-stone was shipped from Limerick, and is at present at the Royal Powder Mills at Waltham Abbey. The vein is a whitish compact carbonate of lime. This vein, in its present state, consists of angular frag- ments having a certain parallelism, and leaving no doubt that they once constituted a regular contiguous vein. By what mechanism have they been brought into their present state? On Friday, Nov. 20, some observations on a bed of greenstone near Walsall, in Staffordshire, by Arthur Aikin, Esq. were read. This greenstone occurs in the independent coal formation, and Mr. Aikin considers it as a vein branching off a dyke of green- stone that occurs near it. It consists of felspar, mixed with calcareous spar, and minute grains of augite and hornblende. The substances below this greenstone are considerably altered, when compared with their appearances in other parts of the field. ‘These are sandstone, which is indurated; shale, which is deprived of its bitumen; and coal, which is also deprived of its bitumen, and more friable than in other places. These changes, as they do not occur in other parts of the field, Mr. Aikin considers as connected with the presence of the green- stone, On Friday, Dec. 4, part of a paper by William Philips, Esq. on the veins of Cornwall was read. Most of the metalliferous nh 2 68 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. (Juny, veins of Cornwall run east and west. They have frequently been followed for two miles; but in no instance traced to a termination, either in length or depth, being always relinquished when no longer worth working. ‘The deepest mine in Cornwall, Dolcoath, is 228 fathoms below the surface. They vary in thickness, from one foot to three; though there are instances of veins 24 or even 30 feet wide. The veins are distinguished by names, according to the nature of the veinstones. The following are the principal:—1. Gossany, when the veinstone is clay, mixed with silica, and oxide of iron. Its colour varies from light yellow to deep brown. This is the most common vein- stone, and is considered as promising both for copper and tin. 2. Sparry, when quartz predominates. It is rather unpromising. 3. Mundicky, when iron pyrites abounds. It is considered as rather promising. 4. Peachy, when the veinstone is chlorite. It is more promising for tin than for copper. 5. Flookany, when one or both of its sides is lined with bluish white clay. 6. Caply, when the veinstone is a hard substance of a greenish or brownish substance, chiefly a mixture of chlorite and quartz. Tin is found in it; but seldom copper. 7. Pryany, when the ore is found in detached lumps. 8. When a vein abounds in blende it is called a black jack lode; when it contains granite it is called a growan lode. On Friday, Dec. 18, Mr. Philips’s paper on the veins of Cornwall was continued. The contents of a vein are divided ito those which are valuable, and those which are not so. The latter are called deads, and are left as much as possible in the vein. Sometimes large wedge-shaped fragments of rock occur in veins called by the miners horses, partially cutting off the contents of the vein, though seldom entirely obstructing it. Veins of copper ore are liable to total obstructions without any obvious cause. In proportion as the rock becomes harder, the vein always becomes narrower. Copper mines were formerly considered as peculiar to slate ; ‘but of late they have been found to pass freely from slate to granite, and back again, without deterioration. The metalliferous, or east and west veins, are cressed by others, the direction of which is nearly north and south. These are called cross courses, and rarely produce any metallic sub- stance. There is another species of vein, called a contre or counter, the direction of which is for the most part north-east and south-west. They are usually metalliferous, and often very rich. On Jan. 1, 1813, Mr. Philips’s paper on the veins of Corn- wall was concluded. The remainder of this very valuable paper consisted. of accounts of particular Cornish veins, not very susceptible of abridgment. 4 a 1813.] Geological Society. 69 On Jan. 15, a paper by Mr. Conybeare was read, on the origin of a remarkable class of organic impressions occurring in nodules of flint. It consists of small round compressed bodies, not exceeding the eighth of an inch in their longest diameter, and connected by processes of the fineness of a hair. Mr. Conybeare shows clearly that they occur between the bony plates of a bivalve shell, the ostreo pennite of Welsh, and likewise in another shell, probably belonging to the genus ostrea. He conceives them to be casts of the cells of some minute parasitical insect inhabiting the shells in question. On the 19th of Feb. a paper by John Taylor, Esq. was read, on the economy of the mines of Cornwall and Devon. ‘The stannary laws are confined to the tin mines ; the copper mines are left open to the agreement that may be made between the proprietors of the soil and the mining company. In general, the lord of the soil grants a lease for 21 years, subject to certain regulations. The adventurers divide the whole concern into sixty-four shares, which are divided among themselves and their friends. The mines are wrought by the piece, and the working disposed of by a kind of auction. The smelting companies for copper have seldom any share in the mines. The copper is all carried to Swansea, where it is smelted. On the 5th of March, two letters from Mr. Webster, draughtsman, and Keeper of the Museum to the Society, were read, giving an account of a calcareous strata of later formation than chalk, and distinguished by containing fresh water shells, discovered by him or. the north side of the Isle of Wight. He thinks there are two fresh water formations, with a marine for- mation between them. ‘The lowest consists of beds of sand and mar], with numerous fragments of the limnea of Lamark, and two species of planorbis. ‘The marine formation lying over it is blue clay, with venuses, oysters, and various turbinated shells, The upper fresh water formation consists of a calcareous rock, inclosing numerous and very fine specimens of the limnea and planorbis. A paper by Dr. Macculloch on the granite tors of Devonshire and Cornwall was read. The granite in these counties is natu- rally split into cubic fragments by perpendicular and horizontal rents, These, by exposure to the weather, oecasion the rock to split into fragments, the edges of which are gradually rounded off Dr. Macculloch supposes that crystallization began in the centre of each of these cubic blocks, and extended on every side till they met, but could not penetrate, By this hypothesis he accounts for the rents, and for the greater hardness in the centre of the blocks than at the circumference, On the 19th of March a paper was read on the rocks at Clo- velly, in Devonshire, by the Rev. J. J. Conybeare, ‘These rocks 70 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [JuLy, lie on the sea-shore on the north coast of Devonshire. They are precipitous, and about 140 feet high. They consist of alternate beds of grey wacke and grey wacke slate, the first of which is called dimstone, the second shillat. This rock only contains organic remains where it alternates with transition limestone. Killas is considered by the author as clay slate. It is traversed by frequent veins of a porphyritic rock, which does not enter into the grey wacke, contains sometimes topaz, and frequently garnet. Its veins are often filled with chlorite, mica, and crystallized felspar, and also contain tinstone, grey cobalt ore, &c. A paper on the Island of Staffa, by Dr. Macculloch, was also read. ‘This island is about two miles in circumference. It forms a kind of table land, bounded on all sides by steep clifls, from 60 to 70 feet above high water mark. The highest eleva- tion of the island is 120 feet. The whole island is a mass of basalt.* The basalt occurs in two states, columnar and amor- phous ; the latter is usually amygdaloidal, and contains zeolites. On the south-western side of the island there appear to be three distinct strata of basalt; the lowest is amorphous ; the second is from 30 to 50 feet thick, and consists of those columns which constitute the conspicuous feature of Staffa. The uppermost stratum consists of small columns. ‘The surface of the island is covered in many places with rounded fragments of granite, gneiss, mica slate, quartz, and red sandstone, together with a few rolled pieces of basalt. ( To be continued. ) IMPERIAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. Account of the Labours of the French Institute for 1812. (Continued frem Vol. I. p. 396.) BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. Mosr physiologists have long admitted in plants an ascending » sap, which mounts from the roots to the branches, and contri- butes to the increase of the branches in length; and a descending sap, which goes from the leaves to the roots, and to which some persons ascribe the chief part of the growth of the wood, and of course the increase of size in the trunk. M. Feburier, a cultivator at Versailles, has endeavoured to collect these two saps separately. For this purpose he bored a deep hole in the trunk of a tree, and fixed a bladder upon the * From specimens of Staffa shown me by Lieut. Col. Fullerton, which he brought himself from the island, I am inclined to consider the rock not as basalt, but as porphyry slate, [Note of the Editor.] 1813.] Imperial Institute of France. 71 inferior surface, so as to prevent any liquid coming from the lower part of the tree from making its escape into this hole. He made another hole in the tree, and placed a bladder in the same way against the upper surface... He considered the sap collected in the lower bladder as the ascending sap, and that collected in the upper bladder as the descending sap. He gives many obser- vations on the relative proportions of each in different cireum- stances. Wishing, in the next place, to determine the route which each of these saps takes in the inside of the tree, he plunged alternately by the two ends branches of trees in coloured infusions. In both cases these infusions appeared to him to follow the woody fibres surrounding the pith. This induces him to ascribe the same route to both saps, in which respect he coin- cides with the result of other experiments made by Mustel. M. Feburier thinks, likewise, that the ascending sap contri- butes principally to the growth of the branches, the descending to that of the roots. But he thinks that the cambium, or that humour which transudes horizontally from the trunk, and which is looked upon as the matter which occasions the increase of the tree in thickness, proceeds, like the peculiar juices, from the mixture of the two saps. The presence of the leaves, necessary for the production of the descending sap, is of consequence also for the increase of the plant in thickness. But the buds, which M. du Petit Thouars conceives to act so important a part in that operation, have nothing to do with it, in the opinion of M. Feburier ; for it takes place, says he, as long as the leaves exist, and it ceases as soon as they are removed, whether the buds be left or not. As far as concerns the flowers and the fruits, M. Feburier assures us that he has observed the ascending sap, when it pre- dominated, tending to determine the production of simple flowers, and the complete developement of the germs ; that the descending sap, on the contrary, when too abundant, occasions the multiplication of flowers and petals, and the growth of the penicarp, and by consequence of the fleshy part of the fruit ; principles from which it would be easy to deduce many useful practices in gardening, and which explain various practices * already pointed out by experience. According to M. Feburier, the alburnum deprived of its bark, but kept from the contact of the air, is capable of reproducing, by means of the cambium, the bark and epidermis necessary to cover it, as the bark produces constantly, even when partly separated from the trunk, liber and alburnum. In this point he has for antagonist our colleague M. Palisot de Beauvois, who has likewise employed himself in the investigation of these difficult questions, respecting the direction of the sap, and the formation of wood. According to this botanist, this escape of a 12 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. (Jury, glossy humour, which some physiologists suppose to proceed from the old alburnum, and to contribute to the formation of the liber, is not founded on convincing experiments. On the contrary, when a portion of bark is removed from a tree, and the wound is well rubbed, so as neither to leave liber nor cam- bium, neither the alburnum nor the wood produce any thing ; but the edges of the bark gradually extend themselves, cover the naked wood, and produce liber and alburnum incontestably proceeding from that bark. M. de Beauvois announces that he will soon elucidate this proposition at full length, which hitherto he has only noticed incidentally in his Dissertation on the Pith of Vegetables. The opinion of physiologists has been hitherto very much divided about the functions of the pith of vegetables. According to some, that organ is necessary to the life of plants during the whole of their existence : according to others, it is only useful during the first years of their life, or all the time that it is green and succulent, and may be easily confounded with the cellular texture. M. de Beauvois has made on this subject observations which tend to prove that the pith performs functions during the whole life of the plant, if not absolutely necessary to its exist- ence, at least very important for its progress, and the growth of its branches, leaves, and especially of the organs necessary for its reproduction. He has remarked that the circular layer, or fibres which immediately surround the pith, has always a form correspond- ing to the arrangement and disposition of the branches, twigs, and leaves: that in plants with verticillated twigs and leaves, for example, the horizontal section of this case of the pith shows as many angles as there are twigs at each stage, and at each verticilla, In like manner, the medullary case of the laurel rose pre- sents an equilateral triangle, if the branch below the verticilla has three twigs and three leaves; but if we cut it under the lower verticilla, where one of the twigs and leaves is usually wanting, it has only two angles, and the vestige of a third. This law is constant, even in herbaceous plants. M. de Beauvois has begun similar observations on plants, with opposite, alternate, dichotomous, spiral, and pinnated leaves. He expects to find in them the same relation between the medullary case, and the disposition of the branches, twigs, and leaves. For example, opposite leaves seem to require a round medullary case, becoming oval, and having its extremities more . and more pointed the nearer it approaches to the insertion of the branches and the leaves. When the leaves are alternate, the circle is less perfect. The extremities become equally narrow, but alternately, and each on the side where the braneh is to 1813.] Imperial Institute of France. 73 appear. When the leaves are spiral, the number of angles of the medullary case is equal to that of the leaves of which the spirals are composed. ‘Thus the medullary case of the lime has four angles ; that of the oak, the chesnut, the bramble, the pear- tree, almost all the fruit-trees, &c. has five angles, more or less regular, because the spirals succeed constantly in fives. Grew and Bonnet alone seem to have been on the way of these observations. The first had observed very various forms in the medullary case, especially in that of the conical roots of culinary plants; but he did not observe the relation between these forms, and the dispositions of the branches and leaves, The second carefully examined vegetables with opposite, verti- cillated, alternate, and spiral leaves; but did not observe the connection of these dispositions with the form of the medullary case. M. de Mirbel bas continued his researches into the structure of the organs of fructification in vegetables, in which he has been seconded with a zeal and intelligence that he takes a pleasure in acknowledging, by M. Schubert, whom the Grand Dachy of Warsovia sent into France to complete his knowledge of botany, which he was afterwards to teach in Poland. These two botanists have examined all the genera of trees with needle- shaped leaves, or the coniferous, one of the most important to be known, on account of the singularity of its organization, of the greatness of the species which it includes, and of the utility of its products. Every body is able to distinguish, at the first glance of the eye, the cedar, the meleza, the spruce fir, the Scotch fir, the thuya, the cypress, the yew, the juniper; but though the botanists have studied with particular attention the organs of reproduction of these vegetables, they are not agreed about the characters of the female flower; or to speak more correctly, the greater number are of opinion that the stigmata of the spruce fir, the Scoich fir, the cedar, and the meleza, have not yet been observed. In this respect, therefore, these trees are in reality cryptogamous. MM. Mirbel and Schubert go farther: they affirm that the female flower of the yew, the juniper, the thuya, the cypress, &c. is not better known; and that all the genera of coniferous plants have a common charac- ter, which has ‘hitherto misled observers, and which consists in the existence of a cup, not similar to that in the flower of the oak, but more deep, concealing entirely the ovarium, and con- tracted like the neck of a bottle at its orifice. The female flower enclosed in this case has escaped observation. In the thuya, yew, juniper, cypress, &c. the cup is strait; and by an error, occasioned by the extreme smallness of the organs, the orifice of this cup has been always mistaken for the stigma. In the cedar, meleza, spruce fir, and Scotch fir, the cup is re- 74 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. (Juty, versed, and its orifice is very difficult to perceive. It is only within these few years that it has been observed in England by Mz. Salisbury, and in France by MM. Poiteau, Mirbel, and Schubert. These botanists have not hesitated to consider it as the stigma; and this was natural, because it had been agreed upon that the stigma of the yew, the thuya, the cypress, &c. was placed at the orifice of the cup: but farther researches have undeceived MM. Mirbel and Schubert. By a delicate dissec- tion, they have ascertained that what is generally taken for the female flower in coniferous plants is only the cup, the form of which resembles that of a pistil, and that it contains in its cavity the true flower, which is provided with a membranous calix, adhering to the ovarium, and with a stigma, sessil in all the genera except the ephedra. It must be obvious that this structure, so different from what had hitherto been imagined, will occasion great changes in the explanation of the characters, of the family, and of the genera. According to Mirbel, the female fiower of the plants of the family of cycas has an organization analogous to that of coni- ferous plants. ‘This supports the opinion of M. Ricard, who places these two families together among dicotyledonous plants ; but M. Mirbel is of opinion, that as long as the characters of vegetation serve for the base of the two great divisions of plants with visible flowers, the cycadee cannot be separated from the palms. The organization of the male flower of mosses has likewise engaged the attention of Mirbel and Schubert. After Hedwig, it would have been difficult to discover any thing new on this subject ; but the bursting of the anthers, and the emission of the pollen, were phenomena doubted of by several botanists. Our two botanists declare that they have seen the most unequi- vocal proofs of the existence of these phenomena. The organs which Hedwig calls male in the Polytrichum commune, placed upon water, split at the summit, and threw out an oleaginous liquid, which extended itself like a thin cloud on the surface of the water. Mirbel and Schubert then subjected to comparative observation the pollen of a great number of phenerogamous plants, and ascertained that they exhibited the same phenomena as the male organs of mosses. This induces them to think that the parts called anthers by Hedwig may be nothing else than simple grains of pollen of a particular shape. M. Mirbel has continued his researches on germination. He has observed, contrary to the generally received opinion, that the radicle does not aiways make its appearance first. In many cyperaceous plants it is always the plumula which appears first. ‘The same botanist has republished, with important modifications and additions, his opinions respecting the organization of stems, M 1813.] Imperial Institute of France. 75 respecting their growth, and respecting the structure, both internal and external, of the organs of fecundation of plants. M. Henri de Cassini, son of one of our associates, a name so celebrated in astronomy, has presented to the Class a memoir, which augurs success in a different science. He has examined with peculiar care the style and stigma in the whole family of plants known by the name of compound, syngenesious, or syman- therous; and these small organs have exhibited a number of curious differences, which have induced him to propose a division of these plants, founded solely on the modifications of these two parts of the pistil. We regret that we cannot follow this skilful observer in the details into which he has gone, and which he has described and drawn with remarkable neatness. It cannot be doubted but they will one day be of great service in perfecting the classification of this family, so numerous and so natural; the subdivision of which, in consequence, ought to be more difficult than of any other. There are few families of vegetables so directly useful to man as the grasses, which comprehend wheat, rye, rice, mais, sorgho, sugar-cane, barley, oats, millet, &c. To name these plants is enough to show the importance of a work which would enable us to distinguish them with certainty. The characters hitherto employed are generally regarded as insufficient. At each step the observer finds himself stopped. It is difficult, indeed, often impossible, to find the true genus of the plant which he examines. Frequently the characters adopted only apply to a few species, and do not occur in the rest of the genus. M. Palisot de Beauvois has undertaken a general examination of this family, which he has published under the name of Essai d@’ Agrostographie. He has endeavoured to put an end to all this confusion, and to givé to each genus constant characters, easy to perceive, so that the observer can never be at a loss. For this purpose he has been obliged to adopt new bases, which he has already announced in his Fora of Oware and Benin. ‘These depend principally on the separation or union of the sexes, on the composition of the flower, and on the number of its envelopes. Twenty-five plates, in which all these cha- racters are represented, facilitate the study of these plants, which interest all the orders of society, even those persons who do not make botany a peculiar study. M. de Beauvois continues his Flora d’Oware et de Benin, the thirteenth number of which is published, and his History of Insects collected in Africa and America, the eighth number of which has appeared. M. de la Billardiere has finished his collection of the rare plants of Syria and Libanus, by the fourth and fifth parts. ‘The w 76 New Patents. [JuLy, same naturalist has communicated to the Class peculiar and interesting observations in natural history, which he made during his voyage in the Levant, the publication of which has been interrupted by the longer and more dangerous voyage which he made in the Entrecasteaux, an account of which was given to the public several years ago. M. Gouan, correspondent of the Class at Montpellier, has published a description of the generic characters of the ginko biloba, a singular tree of Japan, which has been long known in Europe, but which, never having blossomed, could not be pro- perly classified in the system. ; There is a family of plants much less important than the grasses in point of utility, but much more singular in their cha- racters, and which can only be seen vegetating on the sea-shore, namely, the fuci, and marine plants analogous to them. M. Lamouroux, professor of natural history at Caen, placed favour- ‘ably in a city so near the coast, has made these plants a particular object of study. He gives them the common name of thalassio- phytes, and divides them into various tribes, the characters of which he has been obliged to take in all parts of the plant, because he could not find sufficient characters in the organs of fructification, which usually serve as a basis to these divisions ; but which are too little known in most of the fuci, to be able to confine oneself to them. This is another of those laborious and useful undertakings which we have to regret that we cannot analyse in a summary so shortvas ours. Let it suffice to join our voice to that of the Commissioners of the Class, to request the speedy publication of it. (To be continued.) ARTICLE XIV, List of Patents. SamueE. Evans, Denbigh, farmer; for certain improvements in the working, or giving motion to, mill-work and machinery, applicable to raising or drawing water from mines, and other useful purposes. Dated May 1, 1813. Tuomas Watrker, Norwich, machine-maker; for various improvements in the construction of a horizontal windmill, that may be applied to all sorts of machinery that is to work by wind. Dated May 5, 1813. Wixtiam Rep, of -Foot Dee, Aberdeen; for an instrument for calculating, without reference to tables of any kind (except meridional tables), the various problems in navigation, practical ah 1813.] New Patents. 77 mathematics, and trigonometry, heights and distances, and altogether embracing every science depending upon angles. Dated May 5, 1813. Cuarves Broperip, London; for improvements in vessels to be used for heating fluids and other substances. Dated May 5, 1813. Joun Erat, harp-maker, London; for improvements in the construction of a pedal harp. Dated May 8, 1818. Tuomas Daxine, Essex, tanner; for a method of heating liquors for the manufacture of leather, and other manufactures. Dated May 8, 1813. Joun FisHer, Millend, Buckingham, and Layton Cooxz, London, land agent ; for improved gaiters, and modes of fas- tening the same. Dated May 11, 1813. Wiciram Buttock, London, locksmith and founder, and James Boaz, Glasgow, engineer; for certain improved ma- chines, instruments, or contrivances, applicable to doors and window-shutters, for preventing them from being broken open, and such doors from being violently forced in by the wind or otherwise, part of which may be applied to other useful purposes. Dated May 15, 1813. Epwarp Cowrrr, of St. Mary, Newington Butts, Surrey, ironmonger ; for certain improvements in the machines com- monly used for cutting the edges of paper and books. Dated May 20, 1813. WivuiaM Jenxins, of Birmingham, brass founder; for an improvement in the. method of manufacturing socket castors, used with, or affixed to, cabinet and other furniture and things. Dated May 22, 1813. Joun Tuackray, London, cabinet-maker; for a method of enclosing a seat in a portable stool-stick, which seat may be applied to other useful purposes. Dated May 22, 1813. Taomas Wixtcox, Bristol, mason ; fora machine for curing _ smoky chimneys, consisting of a hollow cap, with a funnel and contrivance for voiding the smoke, to be fixed on the top of a chimney-stack with two or more courses of brick-work, and having for its object to prevent the smoke arising from the fire in the grate being driven back into the room, as well by excluding all winds from the orifice of the chimney, as by promoting the draft of the chimney, by means of a continued accumulation of rarified air in the cavity of the cap. Dated May 22, 1813. Witiiam Bronron, Butterley Iron Works, Derby, engi- neer; for the construction and erection of engines, and other mechanical operations. Dated May 22, 1813. Wittam Srocker, gunsmith, of Martock, Somerset ; for a cock made of metal and wood, for drawing liquor from casks, » 78 New Scientific Books. [ Jury, which produces a stop superior to that which is effected by common cocks, and prevents the liquor from coming in contact with the metals, except when the liquor is in the act of being drawn and is running from the cask. Dated May 25, 1813. ARTICLE XV. / Scientific Books in hand, or in the Press. Dr. Marshall Hall, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, is preparing a practical work on the physiognomy and attitude of patients, and on the symptoms and dioguosis of diseases. The whole of the work is intended to bear on diognosis as its principal and ultimate object. Dr. Robert Wall, of Glasgow, has a work in the press on the History, Nature, and Treatment of Chincough, illustrated by a variety of cases and dissections; to which will be subjoined an inquiry into the relative mortality of the principal diseases of children in Glasgow, during the last thirty years; and the number who have died at various periods under ten years of age. Dr. Smith and Mr, Sowerby will complete their work on English Botany by a general Index to the thirty-six volumes, which will be completed on the Ist of January, 1814. It is intended to arrange the names of the English plants contained in that work, which will amount to nearly 2600, in one part alphabetically, and in another part according to the Linnzan system, with such improvements as have been received during its publication. When the English Botany is completed, Mr. Sowerby hopes to be able to publish his Mineral Conchology every month. The British and Exotic Mine- ralogy will, in ali probability, be finished in the course of the next year. Dr. John Mason Cox, of Fish Ponds, near Bristol, is preparing an enlarged edition of his Practical Treatise on Insanity. The second half of Volume VI. ef the Edinburgh Encyclopzdia, by Dr. Brewster, is just ready. Its leading articles are Chronology, Circle, Civil Architecture, Cloth Manufacture, Coining Machinery, Cold, &c. Capt. Flinders’s Account of his Voyage to Terra Australis, in his Majesty’s ship Investigator, is prepafing for publication, by authority of the Board of Admiralty. Mr. John Whitsed, of Peterborough, will shortly publish Prac- tical Remarks on Diseases resembling Syphilis, with cases. —— a *.* Early Communications for this Department of our Journal will be thankfully received. 1813.) Meteorological Table. 73 ARTICLE XVI. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. BAROMETER. Wind. | Max.]| Min. THERMOMETER, Med, |Max.|Min. | Med. {| Evap. | Rain. ee 59 | 49 | 540 Cc 60 | 49 | 54°5 61 | 49 | 55:0 57 | 41 | 49:0 60 | 42 | 51:0 72 | 42 | 57'0 76 | 53 | 64°5 @ 73.| 56 | 645 ‘65 4, 78 1 59 | 685 2) 85 | 50} 67°5 84] 54 } 69:0 72) 51 | 61°5 5 | 51 | 58:0 "75 58 | 48 | 52°0 «d 50 | 47 | 51°5 71 | 43 | 57-0 75 | 48 | 61:5 75 | 54 | 645 “48 75 | 48 | 615 76 | 52 | 64-0 5] 75 | 51 | 63:0 ‘48 5 +4 Var. pondlacnuenss 61 | 43 | 52:0 18} N= |30°15|3@Q9/30°120) 61 | 39 | 50-0 19} N_ |30:16|30'15|30'155] 57 | 37 | 47-0 20\N _ E|30"20/30'16/30°180} Go | 42 | 51°0 "42 | °65 —— 30 20/29:43129'889| 85 | 37 | 57-931 2-78 | 1-06 The observations in each line of the table apply to a period of twenty-four hours, beginning at 9 A.M. on the day indicated in the first columa, A dash denotes, that the result is included in the next following observation, 80. Meteorological Journal, (Jury, 1813. REMARKS, a Fifth Month.—30. A shower, p.m. Thunder to the west- ward. 31. Fine day: some thunder clouds appeared: the evening twilight was brilliant, and tinged with orange ; the new moon was conspicuous, and there fell much dew. Sixth Month.—1. Cumulus, Cumulostratus, and Cirrostratus clouds: the sun-set was cloudy, with an orange tint. 2. At sun-set, Cirrostrati, mixed with haze, in the S. while in the N. there appeared large Cirri, more ele®ated, and finely tinged with red. 4. Windy: cloudy till evening. 5. Clear, a. m.: afternoon cloudy and windy. 8. Windy: at sun-set, Cumult, with the Cirrostratus attached: much orange in the evening twilight. 9. A shower early: cloudy: dripping. 10. p.m. Large elevated Cirri. 11. Cumulostratus, a.m.: in the after- noon Cirri in abundance, lowering and thickening. 12. Cirri tinged red, early in the morning: before eight a, m, it was overcast, and rain fell. 13. a.m. Cloudy: a shower at evening. 14—20. Occasional heavy showers, with wind. : RESULTS. Prevailing Winds, Northerly. Barometer: Greatest observed height . . .30°20 inches; Beast. Ab. j.8¢ oe ees OMS a elery Mean of the period ...... 29°889 inches; Thermometer: Greatest height ..........85° Daeast Jae 2 2 dose six ata tenaier Mean of the period ......57°93° Evaporation, 2°78 inches. Rain, 1:06 inch. TorrENHAM, L. HOWARD. Sixth Month, 23, 1813. *,* For the greater part of the observations in the Barometer and Ther- mometer during this period I am indebted to my friend John Gibson, of Stratford, ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. AUGUST, 1813. ARTICLE I. Biographical Account of M. Lavoisier. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. ) 1 HAVE drawn up the following account, not with any idea that the life and unfortunate fate of Lavoisier are unknown to my readers ; but because | conceived that a particular account of the writings of that eminent philosopher must be acceptable to every person who is interested in the progress of science, and because I suspect that a much greater number of persons are acquainted with the name of Lavoisier than with the different dissertations which he published, or the particular improvements which he introduced into the science of chemistry. My know- ledge of the few facts stated below respecting the life of Lavoi- sier is derived from an eloge of him published by Lalande about the beginning of the present century. This eloge was translated into English; and, unless 1 am mistaken, was inserted in the Philosophical Magazine. M. Lavoisier was born in Paris, in 1743; and his father, who was opulent, spared no expense in his education. He displayed a decided taste for the sciences at a very early age; and the progress which he made in them was very rapid. When only twenty-one years of age, he obtained the prize offered by government for the best essay on the method of lighting the streets of Paris. In the year 1768 he was admitted a member of the Academy of Sciences. He was now become conscious of the power which he possessed, and burnt with an ardent zeal to distinguish himself in some department of science; but he Vox. IL. N° HU, F 82 Biographical Account of [Auc. hesitated for some time to what ‘branch of science he should devote his chief attention. Mathematics first caught his fancy, and were enlisting him under their banners, when the brilliant discoveries of Dr. Black and his followers in the pneumatic career came to his knowledge, and determined him to make choice of chemistry. In 1774 he published a volume of essays, in which he gives an historical detail of the labours of his pre- decessors in this department of the science, and confirms the theory of Dr. Black by his own experiments. His great wealth, his situation, his excellent education, his mathematical precision, his general views, and his persevering industry, all contributed to ensure his success. A comparison of the Stahlian theory with the discoveries in chemistry made by his contemporaries in Britain and Sweden, soon satisfied him of its insufficiency to explain the phenomena of the science. The opinion on the subject which he finally adopted, namely, that pllogiston is a creature of the imagination, and that combustion is occasioned by the union of oxygen with the burning body, must have been brought into a definite form after the year 1774, because it was not till that year that oxygen gas was discovered by Dr. Priestley ; and it is too obvious to require any proof that his opinion respecting the combination of oxygen in cases of combustion could not precede his knowledge of the existence of that principle. This I conceive to be a sufficient answer to the remarks of M. Berthollet, and several other gentlemen, upon an observation of mine in the first volume of my System of Che- mistry, that Bayen’s paper on mercury, published in 1774, first suggested to Lavoisier his theory of combustion. This observation was borrowed from M. Delametherie, whose history of the pro- gress of the antiphlogistic theory published in the Journal de Physique, as far as 1 am able to judge, is accurate. Be this as it may, there can be no doubt that he was in pos- session of the first hint of his theory at least as early as the year 1775. He revolved it in his mind with the utmost perseverance for ten years, repeated all the important chemical experiments of others, and contrived a great many of his own with reference “to his peculiar theory, and at last succeeded in demonstrating by indisputable experiments a theory almost the reverse of that of Stahl; namely, that we have no evidence of the existence of the substance called phlogiston, and that in all cases of combustion oxygen unites with the burning body. If the opinion lately advanced by Sir Humphry Davy, and which, to me at least, appears founded upon very strong, though not perhaps decisive evidence, be adopted; namely, that chlorine or oxymuriatic acid is a simple substance, and muriatic acid a compound of hydrogen and chlorine, we must in that case modify the theory of Lavoisier, and admit combustion to take place during the 1 1813.] M. Lavoisier. 83 combination of chlorine with combustible bodies, as well as oxygen. Indeed, it seems established that combustion takes place in all cases of very rapid combination, whenever one of the combining substances changes its state, and from being gaseous or liquid becomes solid ; so that the Lavoisierian theory of combustion is now, we believe, universally abandoned; but this does not detract from the merit of Lavoisier, nor diminish the value of his discoveries. In the year 1789 M. Lavoisier published an exposition of his theory in a work to which he gave the title of Elements of Che- mistry, a work which cannot be praised too highly, whether we consider the arrangement or the matter. M. Lavoisier under the old French Government was one of the farmers-general of the revenue, a situation usually attended with much unpopularity. Abcut the commencement of the French revolution, he was appointed to superintend the salt- petre works, which exist in considerable numbers in France. As long as the management of affairs continued in the hands of men of respectability and education, neither his income nor his situation in life was injured; but after the destruction of the Brissotin faction, when Robespierre and his vandals assumed the supreme power, all the institutions of education, all literature and science, were immediately proscribed, aud the object of the ruling faction seemed to be to bring back France to a state of absolute barbarism. During this dreadful period Lavoisier became apprehensive that he would be stripped of his property, and he informed Lalande that if such an event took place he would support himself by commencing apothecary ; but his days were cut short by the bloody policy of the ruling faction. He was accused of defrauding the public revenue; and in those dreadful days accusation and condemnation were scarcely ever separated. He was thrown into prison, and suffered on the scaffold on the 8th of May, 1794, in the fifty-first year of his age. He was employed at the time in a set of experiments on respiration, and requested a delay of a few days in order to finish his observations ; but he was answered, that the Republic had no occasion for chemists, and hurried out to immediate execu- tion. Let us now take a view of the numerous writings of Lavoi- sier ; by which he secured to himself so high a reputation, and produced so great a change in the science of chemistry. 1. His first work, as far as [ am acquainted with his writings, was a volume of essays, physical and chemical, published in the year 1774. This volume, which was translated into (nglish by Mr. Henry, of Manchester, and into German by Mr. Weigel, is divided into two parts. In the first part he gives a minute and pretty accurate historical detail of the discoveries made jn ¥ 2 84 Biographical Account of (Ave. pneumatic chemistry before his publication. He states the facts ascertained by Van Helmont, Boyle, Hales, Boerhaave, Stahl, Venel, Black, Saluces, Macbride, Cavendish, and Priestley; and gives us an account of Meyer’s theory of calcination, and the cause of causticity in lime and alkalies, the defence of this theory by Crans and de Smeth, and its refutation by Jacquin. In the second part he relates a number of experiments of his own, chiefly relative to Dr. Black’s theory of the difference between quick-lime and lime-stone, and of the cause of the causticity in alkalies. He demonstrates the existence of carbonic acid in the mild alkalies, and in calcareous spar ; shows that it has the property of combining with the alkaline and earthy bases, and with metallic oxides. He ascertains the effect of this gas upon animals and upon combustion, and shows that water absorbs it. His experiments, though satisfactory as to the truth of Dr. Black’s theory, are not to be compared to the pre- ceding experiments on the same subject made by Mr. Cavendish, which are greatly superior both in point of accuracy and value. He terminates the volume by some experiments.on the combus- tion of phosphorus, im which he shows that phosphorus absorbs a portion of the air, that it will not burn without air, and that it will not become acid without absorbing air. He shows the same thing with respect to sulphur, and he says that gunpowder will not burn in vacuo. How he fell into this mistake it is not easy to say. The contrary had been proved long before by Haukesbee, Robins, &c. He made some experiments on air, in which phosphorus has burnt out, and shows that it is not the same as carbonic acid gas. From these observations we see that he was on the way to his particular theory of combustion ; though the ignorance of oxygen, or of the nature of air, pre- vented his views from being either steady or correct. Though I have mentioned this volume of essays in the first place, because it was published by itself, yet it was not the first of M. Lavoisier’s works. His other dissertations were published in the Memoirs of the French Academy, in the Journal de Physique, and in the Annales de Chimie. I shall notice them as nearly as possible in the order of their dates, thovgh this is attended with considerable difficulty ; because the Memoirs of the Academy were often published, and even contain papers written several years after the date upon the title page, and abstracts of his papers sometimes made their appearance in the Journal de Physique before they were published in the Memoirs of the Academy. I may therefore now and then commit an error with respect to date; but in most cases this is immaterial. 2. His first paper in the Memoirs of the Academy is upon Gypsum. It will be found in the volume for 1768. He gives an account of the properties of gypsum at great length, and 1813.] M. Lavoisier. 85 details his experiments upon its composition. In these he had been anticipated by Margraaf, who in the Berlin Memoirs for 1750 had shown that gypsum is a compound of sulphuric acid, lime, and water. 3. In the Memoirs of the Academy for 1770 are two very elaborate papers by Lavoisier on the Nature of Water, and on the Experiments which were supposed to prove that it might be converted into an Earth. In the first he gives a very full account of the experiments and opinions of preceding chemists on this subject. He states the experiments of Van Helmont, Boyle, Triewald, Miller, Eller, Gleditch, Bonnet, Kraft, Alston, Wallerius, Beecher, Stahl, and Margraaf. There’ is some confusion in this historical detail. The experiments of Boyle, Eller, and Margraaf, lead directly to the conclusion that water by long digestion in glass vessels may be converted into earth ; while the other experimenters endeavoured to prove that it might be converted into all the constituent parts of vegetables, In the second part he vives us the result of his own experiments, from which it appears that warm water has the property of decomposing glass ; and that the earth obtained by Boyle, Eller, and Margraaf, was merely a portion of the silicious earth of the glass vessels in which the experiments had been performed, Scheele came to the same conclusion, and details his experi- ments in his Treatise on Fire, published in 1777. 4. In the Memoirs of the Academy for 1771 we find his Calculations and Observations on the Project of erecting a Steam Engine to supply Paris with Water. This elaborate dissertation being merely of a local nature, we do not consider it necessary to give any details respecting it. ' 5. A Memoir on the Use of Spirit of Wine in the Analysis of Mineral Waters. Mem. Par. 1772. In this paper he details his experiments on the solubility of different salts in alcohol of different strengths. He gives many valuable directions about the method of proceeding in the analysis of water ;-and relates various experiments on the constituents of sea water, and on other particulars connected with this branch of chemistry. Though this paper is not equal in importance to the dissertation published soon after by Bergman on the same subject, it pos- sesses, notwithstanding, considerable value. Hence it is sur- prising that it has been so completely overlooked by succeeding writers on the subject. The greatest fault in it is the not giving the specific gravity of the alcohol employed. 6. Two Memoirs on the Destruction of the Diamond by Fire. Mem. Par. 1772. Published, I believe, in 1776. ‘The first of these memoirs contains, according to the plan adopted by La- voisier, an historical detail of the experiments made by others 8G Biographical Account of (Ave, on the combustibility of the diamond; while in the second memoir he makes us acquainted with his own experiments on the subject. He shows that the diamond is a combustible sub- stance ; and that when it is burnt, a portion of the same gas (carbonic acid) is formed, which makes its appearance after the combustion of charcoal. This paper is interesting, not only for this curious discovery, but because it seems to have led Lavoisier to those experiments which afterwards made him acquainted with the constituents of carbonic acid. 7. Report made to the Academy of Sciences ly MM. Fouge- roux, Cadet, and Lavoisier, of an Observation communicated by M. ? Able Bachelay respecting a Stone supposed to have fallen from the Clouds during a Storm. Jour. de Phys. ii. 251. This paper is curious. The opinion that the stone fell from the skies is treated with contempt. There is an imperfect analysis of it, from which it appears that it contained sulphur, iron, and earth, Hence there is every reason to believe that it was similar to the meteoric stones, with which at present we are so well acquainted. 8. Observations communicated to the Royal Academy of Sciences on a singular Effect of Thunder. Jour. de Phys. i. 310. 9. A Letter to the Author of the Recueil sur 0 Atlas Mine- ralogique de la France. Jour. de Phys. ii. 372. This letter contains a variety of mineralogical remarks on France, but too imperfect to deserve to be transcribed. 10. Experiment on the Freezing of Water. Jour. de Phys. ii. 510. This is a verification of Dr. Black’s theory of latent heat, which had been already made known in France by Des- marets, and in Sweden by Wilke. 11. Observations on some Circumstances respecting the Crys- fallizing of Salis. Jour. de Phys. 1773, p. 10. hese relate to some peculiarities respecting the crystallization of sulphate of soda, supposed by Baumé to be owing to some alkalies lying at the distance of several feet. Lavoisier showed that the inference was inaccurate, 12. Analysis of the White Lead Ore of Poulawen in Lower Britany, ly MM. Bourdelin, Malowin, Macquer, Cadet, Lavoisier, and Baumé. Jour. de Phys. iti, 346. ‘They demon- strated that the opinion entertained by Sage, that this ore was a muriate of lead, is incorrect. From the experiments which they made upon it there can be little doubt that the ore examined was carbonate of lead ; though there is no description sufficient to make us acquainted with the characters which it possessed. 13. First Essay of the great Burning Glass of M. Trudaine estallished in the Garden of the Infanta in October, 17745 by M..Trudaine, de Montigny, Macquer, Cadet, Lavoister, and a 1813.] M. Lavoisier. 87 Brisson. Mem. Par. 1774. Published, I believe, in 1778. This paper is curious, as it details the effect of a violent heat upon a variety of bodies. 14, Memoir on the Calcination of Tin in close Vessels, and cn the Cause of the Increase of Weight which that Metal expe- riences during that Process. Mem. Par. 1774. Published, I believe, in 1778. ‘This isa very important paper. It consists in the repetition of an experiment formerly made by Boyle. Lavoisier demonstrated that a portion of the air combined with the tin during the calcination, and occasioned the increase of its weight. This important fact, combined with some experiments made about the same time. by Bayen on mercury, enabled him to give a new and satisfactory explanation of the calcination of metals. This paper, therefore, may be considered as consti- tuting the basis of the Lavoisierian theory. 15. Memoir on the Nature of the Principle which combines with the Metals during their Calcination, and which increases their Weight. Mem. Par. 1775. Published, I believe, in 1778. In this paper he farther developes the nature of calcina- tion, and explains some of the properties of oxygen gas. As far as I recollect (for I have not the volume of the Academy at hand), Dr. Priestley’s name never occurs in the whole of this paper, nor is any notice taken of the striking peculiarities of oxygen gas already described by Priestley. It is somewhat difficult to reconcile this conduct of Lavoisier with candour ; for Dr. Priestley had published his account long before this paper met the public eve: and he informs us himself that while he was in Paris in 1774 he showed Lavoisier the way of procuring oxygen gas from red precipitate, and exhibited to him its most remarkable property of supporting combustion better than atmos- pheric air. Now this was the very process employed by Lavoisier to procure oxygen gas. 16. Report made to the Academy of Sciences on Rouge. Jour. de Phys. tom. vi. p. 322. This is a kind of historical account of the red paint used for the face. It is known to be extracted from the blossom of the carthamus tinclorius. 17. Memoir on the Existence of Air in Nitrous Acid, and on the Method of Composing and Decomposing that Acid. Mem. Par. 1776. Published, I believe, in 1780. In this paper Lavoisier gives an account of the experiments of Priestley, and he shows experimentally that nitric acid is a compound of nitrous gas and oxygen gas. 18. On the Combustion of the Phosphorus of Kunkel, and on the Naiure of the Acid which resuits from that Combustion. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe. in 1781. This paper may be considered as the basis of Lavoisier’s theory respecting the constitution of acids, He shows that phosphoric acid is a 88 Biographical Account of [Aue. compound of phosphorus and oxygen. He describes the pro- perties of phosphoric acid, and of the salts which it forms with the different bases. ‘Till this paper appeared, phosphoric acid was unknown to the chemical world. 19. Analysis of some Waters brought from Italy ly M. Cas- sini, jun. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe, in 1781. These waters were found to hold in solution a considerable quantity of alum and sulphate of iron, and to contain a great excess of sulphuric acid. 20. Experiments on the Ash employed by the Saltpetre-makers of Paris, and on its Use in the Preparation of Saltpetre. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe, in 1781. Lavoisier found this ash to yield the following salts :— Sulphate of potash. Sulphate of soda. Common salt. A salt in needles, nature unknown. Sulphate of lime. Besides a quantity of combustible and insoluble earthy matter. 21. Experiments on the Respiration of Animals, and on the Changes produced in the Air by being drawn into the Lungs. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe, in 1781. This is one of the most celebrated of all Lavoisier’s papers. He gives a history of the observations formerly made on respiration by Hales, Cigna, and Priestley ; but takes no notice of the disco- very of the evolution of carbonic acid gas by breathing made by Dr. Black. Jn this paper he shows that oxygen disappears, that carbonic acid and a quantity of water appears ; and he endea- vours to assign the proportions of these changes; but he after- wards altered his opinion respecting them. ' 22, Memvir on the Combustion of Candles in Atmospheric Air and in Oxygen Gas. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe, in 1781. He shows that a portion of the oxygen is converted into carbonic acid gas, and that the candle goes out long before the whole of the oxygen of the air is abstracted. 23. Memoir on the Solution of Mercury in Sulphuric Acid, and the Decomposition of that Acid into Sulphurous Acid Gas and Oxygen Gas. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, 1 believe, in 1781. ‘This was the first attempt to ascertain the composition of sulphuric acid, and to point out the real difference between it and su!phurous acid. 24, Experiments on the Crystallization of a Fluid Alkali ly Electricity. Jour. de Phys, tom. x. p. 104. 25. Experiments on the Combination of Alum with Charry Matters, and on the Changes produced in the Air in which Pyro- phorus is burnt. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe, in ee ee 1813.] M. Lavoisier. 89 1781. He shows the formation of carbonic acid gas, and the diminution of the oxygen of the air. 26. Memoir on the Vitriolizxation of Martial Pyrites. Mem. Par. 1777. Published, I believe, in 1781. He shows that during the process the oxygen of the air is absorbed. 27. On the Combination of the Matter of Fire with evaporable Fluids, and on the Formation of the elastic aeriform Fluids. Mem. Par. 1777. ‘In this paper he lays down the doctrine that heat combines with bodies, and changes them into elastic fluids ; a doctrine obviously founded on Dr. Black’s theory of latent heat, though Dr. Black’s name never occurs in the paper. 28. Experiments made by Order of the Academy on the Cold of the Year 1776; by MM. Bexout, Lavoisier, and Vandermonde, Mem. Par. 1777. : 29. Memoir on Combustion in general. Mem. Par. 1777. In this essay, published in 1781, he gives us the first distinct account of his theory of combustion, and combats the Stahlian doctrine of phlogiston. 30. Analysis of the Water of the Dead Sea; ly MM. Mac- quer, Lavorsicr, and Sage. Mem. Par. 1778. Published, 1 believe, in 1782. The result of this analysis will be found in the first number of the Annals of Philosophy. 31. Experiments on a White Steatite, converted ly Fire into an excellent Biscuit of Porcelain; by MM. Guettard and La- voisier. Mem. Par. 1778. 32. Description of two Coal-Mines situated at the Foot of the Mountains of Voyes, the one in Franche Comté, the other in Alsace, with some Experiments on the Coal which they yield; by MM. Guettard and Lavoisier. Mem. Par. 1778. 33. General Considerations on the Nature of Acids, and on the Principles of which they are composed. Mem. Par. 1778. In this paper he lays down his doctrine, that all acids contain oxygen, and that oxygen is the acidifying principle. 34. Report made to the Academy on the Cold which may be extracted from the Ashes of Vegetables; ly MM. Macquer, Cadet, Lavoisier, Baumé, Bouquet, and Cornette. Mem. Par. 1778. ‘This report was read to the Academy on the 2lst of August, 1779. It refuted the opinion advanced by Sage, and some other chemists, that the ashes of vegetables yielded a con- siderable quantity of gold. 35. Memoir on some Fluids which may le obtained in the aeriform State at a Temperature little superior to the mean Tem- perature of the Earth. Mem, Par. 1780. Published in 1784, These fluids are ether, alcohol, and water. The experiments are not satisfactory. $6. Second Memoir on the different Combinations of Phos- phoric Acid, Mem, Par, 1780, Published in 1784, 50 Biographical Account of [Ave. 37. Memoir on a particular Process for converting Phosphorus into Phosphoric Acid without Combustion. Mem. Par. 1780. Published in 1784. ‘This is the method, by the action of nitric acid, at present so well known. 38. Memoir on Heat; by MM. Lavoisier and de la Place. Mem. Par. 1750. ‘This is the well known memoir in which the quantity of heat evolved by different bodies when burnt, &c. was measured by means of the calorimeter. 39. Report made to the Royal Academy of Sciences on the Prisons, the \7th March, 1780; ly MM. du Hamel, de Montigny, le Roy, Tenon, Tillet, and Lavoisier. Mem. Par. 1780. 40. Eaperiments on the Composition of Water. Mem. Par. 1781. Published in 1754. This paper contains the result of. Lavoisier’s experiments on the composition of water. It is particularly valuable, on account of the historical details which it contains. Among other facts, he mentions, that before he began his own experiments he had been informed by Sir Charles Blagden that the experiment had been already performed by Mr. Cavendish, who had ascertained that water is a compound of exygen and hydrogen gas. 41. Experiments on the Decomposition of Water, showing that this Liguid is not a simple Substance, and pointing out a Method of eltaining Hydrogen Gas in abundance; ly MM. Meusnier and Lavoisier. Mem. Par. 1781. Published in 17843; and read to the Academy on the 21st of April, 1784. The method used was to pass water through red-hot iron. The iron was oxidated, and abundance of hydrogen gas was evolved. 42. Eaperiments on the Electricity absorbed by Bodies during their Conversion into Vapour; by MM. Lavoisier and la Place. Mem. Par. 1781. Published in 1784. 43. Experiments on the Heat produced during the burning of different Comlustibles. Mem. Par. 1781. Published in 1784. 44. Remarks on Scheele’s Book on Fire and Air. Mem. Par. 1751. Published in 1784. ‘These remarks are chiefly confined to the phenomena of calcination and combustion. 45. Observations on the Method of Iliuminating Theatres. Mem. Par. 1781, Published in 1784. 46. Experiments on the Composition of the Acid called Fixed Air, or Calcareous Acid, and which I for the future shall call Carbonic Acid. Mem. Par. 1781. Published in 1784. This is another of the most important of Lavoisier’s experimental essays. He determines the composition of carbonic acid with much industry; and the proportions which he assigns, 28 carbon and 72 oxygen, are probably as near the truth as any other results hitherto offered to the public. In this paper he distin- guishes vital air by the term oxygen, which it at present bears, 1813.] ; M. Lavoisier. SL This essay, together with one of Cavendish on the same subject, was the principal weapon employed to overturn the notion of phlogiston advanced by Mr. Kirwan. 47. Description of a Method to increase the Effect of Heat produced by Chemical Operations. Mem. Par. 1782. Published in 1785. This was by means of a steam of oxygen gas, a method now too well known to require any description here. Lavoisier describes the apparatus which he employed for the purpose. 48. Experiments on the Effect produced by a very high Tem- perature on the Precious Stones. ‘This consists in a detail of the experiments made by means of the apparatus described in the preceding paper. 49. On the Union of Nitrous Gas with Common Air. This is a eudiometrical paper, in which Lavoisier endeayours to calcu- late from the mixture of nitrous gas and common air, and the diminution of bulk, the quantity of oxygen gas contained in common air. It is needless to observe that it is far inferior to Mr. Cavendish’s paper on the same subject. 50. General Observations on the Solution of the Metals in Acids. Mem. Par. 1782. Published in 1785. This is another of the important dissertations by which Lavoisier established his theory. He makes use of the decomposition of water with great address and ingenuity. Indeed, I consider this as the most pro- found of all Lavoisier’s essays. He commits occasional mistakes, but his reasoning on the whole is accurate. 51. Experiments on the Precipitation of one Metal by another. Mem. Par. 1782. Published in 1785. This is also a very curious paper. _ He gives the true theory of these precipitations, and endeavours from them to determine the proportion of oxygen which unites with the different metals. Though all his results are wrong, his table is still curious, as it exhibits the first attempt to determine this very important point. 52. On the Affinity of Oxygen for the different Bodies with which it can unite. Mem. Par. 1782. Published in 1785. This may be considered as a kind of treatise on affinity. Consi- derable ingenuity is displayed in determining the affinity of diflerent bodies for oxygen; and though the table given is not accurate, it constituted a valuable groundwork for succeeding experimenters. 53. On the Combination of Oxygen with Iron. Mem. Par. 1782. Published in 1785. These elaborate experiments cannot be considered as very successful. 54. On the Nature of the elastic Fluids disengaged during the Fermentation of Animal Substances. Mem. Par. 1782. Pub- lished in 1785. ‘The chief gas obtained during his experiments was carbonic acid gas, 55. New Qbservations on the Increase of Weight which 92 On the Diurnal Magnetic Declination. [Aue. Sulphur and Phosphorus undergo when burnt. Mem. Par. 1783. Published in 1786. 56. Remarks on Phlogiston. An Exposition of the Theory of Combustion and Calcination made known in 1777. Mem. Par. 3783. Published in 1786. This isa full exposition of his own theory, and a refutation of the Stahlian theory. By this time Lavoisier had been joined by Berthollet and*Fourcroy, and had formed the design of propagating his opinions. 57. Experiments on the Effect of a Fire supported ly Oxygen Gas on the Weight and Fusion of Mineral Bodies. ‘This is a continuation of a subject already begun in a preceding paper. 58. Memoir on the Manufacture of Saltpetre. Ann. de Chim. xv. 225, It is generally believed that Lavoisier was mistaken in his opinion respecting the great quantity of saltpetre volatilized during the boiling of the ley. 59. Result of some Experiments on Agriculture, and Reflec- tions on their Connection with Political Economy. Ann. de Chim. xv. 297. These are all the papers of Lavoisier with which I am ac- quainted. It is probable, considering the dreadful period during which he terminated his career, that he may have published others with which I am unacquainted. His Essay on the Chemi- cal Nomenclature, and his Elements of Chemistry, are too well known to require being particalarized. I do not notice the posthumous volume of his essays published about six years ago in Paris by his widow, because 1 have never had an opportunity of seeing the book. It is chiefly historical, and will be more curious by determining the objects which Lavoisier aimed at, than the dates of his speculations, which are sufficiently deter+ mined from his original publications. Artic_e II. Experiments on the absolute Magnetic Declination, and on the Amount of the Horary Variations of Needles in the same Place and Time, according as the Magnetic Fluid is differently distributed in their Interior. By Dr. Schiibler; of Stuttgardt.* Tue following experiments were made with simple needles, three or four feet in length, suspended by a fine silk thread, in * Translated from the Journal de Physique for September, 1812, vol. Ixxv. p. 173. I have been induced to translate this paper by the singularity of the results which it exhibits. Though far from convinced of their accuracy, I thick they are entitled to a careful repetition, in order to ascertain whether the state of the needle itself has any effect upon the daily variation, -1813.] On the Diurnal Magnetic Declination. 93 an apparatus which screened them from the action of the air. The magnet which communicated to them the magnetic virtue was in the shape of a horse-shoe, and usually weighed about four pounds, Exper. I. I took a new needle, on which no magnetic experiments had been made, and cofiverted it into a magnet in the ordinary way, by the double and single touch. It exhibited the small horary variations of the ordinary needle. I took a second needle, perfectly similar to the first ; but instead of communicating to it magnetism in the usual way, I placed the south pole of the magnet on the middle of the needle, and drew it ten times to one of the ends of the needle without returning back again. 1 then drew it in the same way ten times towards the other end; and then by means of a small sensible needle determined the poles of this long needle, to which magnetism had been commu- nicated in the peculiar way just described. Its two ends were north poles; the middle was a south pole (as might have been foreseen from the manner of communicating the magnetic virtue). A more attentive examination presented the following disposition of its magnetism :— 0 ie Oo Leer ia GATS RT Tae a ees This needle underwent a daily variation of 40 or 50 minutes, and even of 60 minutes, when the sky was serene; while an ordinary needle varied only 10 or 12 minutes per day. In February it moves towards the east at nine in the morning, and in the beginning of April at half past seven in the morning. It moves towards the west between two and three in the afternoon, and with such rapidity as to alter 8 or 10 minutes in an hour. From three to nine it inclines again towards the east, and then returns again towards the west. Hitherto I have observed these variations to be greatest when the sky is serene, and smallest when cloudy or rainy. I have repeated the experiment with various needles treated in the same way, and have always obtained the same declination. Exper. II. I took another needle similar to the former. I placed the south pole of the magnet upon its middle, and drew it ten times to the extremity of the needle inclined towards the north, while the other half of the needle remained untouched. This, of course, was the same kind of operation as the preceding. The needle, as before, exhibited great daily oscillations, An attentive 94 On. the Diurnal Magnetic Declination. [Aue. examination showed me that this needle possessed two north poles, and that of the two which exhibited the most energy turned towards the north. In this respect the needle coincided with that of the preceding experiment. Exper. Il. I took the needle of Experiment If. andsplaced on its middle the north pole of the magnet, and drew it ten times in the direction of the pole turned towards the south. The half turned towards the north remained untouched. ‘The result was, that the pole previously turned towards the south became a south pole ; the other pole became a north pole. The needle thus treated exhibited the common diurnal variation. Jt appeared, however, to be somewhat less regular than usual. Exper. IV. I took a needle of new iron, and communicated to it the magnetic virtue in the ordinary way, by the double touch. It had a north and south pole, and in the midst a point of in- difference. It exhibited the usual diurnal variations of the common needle. In communicating the magnetism by the double touch, the north pole of the magnet was placed towards the pole of the same name of the needle, the south pole of the. magnet towards the south pole of the needle, and the magnet was drawn ten times along the needle. nes +m <—____—————> —m Upon a needle magnetized thus in the ordinary way, I placed a magnet in a position precisely the reverse, as is clearly seen in the following figure :— a= Th) +m +n<= —m I drew it along ten times towards the north pole of the needle, and as often returning to the middle, so that the south half of the needle was not touched at all. The half of the needle 1813.] On the Diurnal Magnetic Declination. 95 which had been touched acquired at its extremity a south pole, instead of the north pole which it formerly had. The needle turned round, and the touched end pointed towards the south. +m —m = >—m This needle presented a remarkable phenomenon. All the other needles that had been magnetized placed themselves in the magnetic meridian (which points 18° or 20° towards the west); but this needle turned its poles precisely to the north and south, its direction coinciding exactly with the meridian line of Stutt- gardt. (Its true position and its exact deviation from the meri- dian line require, in order to be determined with precision, a more numerous set of experiments than I possess.) The oscil- lations of this needle were also extraordinary ; they extended from 2° — 45’ to 3°; but they proceeded, like the others, in the evening and morning to their maximum towards the east, and about two o’clock to their maximum towards the west. I afterwards communicated to this needle magnetism in the ordinary way by the double touch, and observed it in the same circumstances. It then assumed the direction of the magnetic meridian; the extraordinary oscillations disappeared, and the small oscillations of the common needle again made their appearance. Exper. V. To obtain the result of the fourth experiment in a more simple manner, I took another iron needle, placed on its middle the north pole of the magnet, and touched it, as in the first experiment, drawing it ten times towards one pole, and ten times towards the other, without returning. Both the poles (as I expected) were south poles, and in the middle of the needle there was a north pole. ‘This needle took the position of the magnetic meridian, and not the true meridian, as was the case with the needle with two south poles in the fourth experiment. Its daily oscillation amounted to 50 or 60 minutes, being similar in this respect to the needle with two north poles of the first experiment, with this difference, that at ten in the morning it began to oscillate towards the west, while the needle which had two north poles oscillated at that time towards the east, but its maximum west was at two o’clock, ‘Two other needles, magnetized in the same way, exhibited exactly the same phenomena. Exper. VI. I took another new needle, and communicated to it the magnetic virtue exactly inthe manner described in the fourth experiment. 96 - Compass for accurate Observations [Aue. This needle took the direction of the true meridian, and not of the magnetic meridian. Its oscillation from six in the morning till two o’clock (even. in cloudy weather) usually amounted to three degrees. I observed its direction for three weeks. I have not yet succeeded in finding an explanation of a result so extra- ordinary as that of the fourth and sixth experiments. Artic.e III. Description of a Compass for accurate Observations on the Mag- netic Variation. By Col. Mark Beaufoy. blisay =a (With a Plate.) Tne principal part of this instrument, viz. its needle, with the box and divided arch, to measure the angle of variation, is very similar to the instrument in the possession of the Royal Society; but it is greatly improved by the addition of a small transit telescope, which very readily and accurately determines the true meridian, or the zero from which the degree of the variation is to be measured. This addition renders it particularly well adapted for travellers who wish to make accurate observa- tions in different parts of the globe, as it contains every thing necessary for the observation within itself; and as every part admits of adjustment, by reversing, it may be depended upon for accuracy. Plate IX. fig. 1, contains a representation of the whole instru- ment in perspective, explaining all its parts at once. The box con- taining the needle is not fixed, as in many compasses, but turns horizontally on a centre, and has an index fastened to it, point- ing to a divided arch, on the brass frame on which it turns; and the method of observing is to move the box till a line drawn on it points exactly to the end of the needle, which being done the angle of variation is shown by the divisions on the arch. FF is a mahogany board, which is the support of the whole instru- ment; it stands on the points of three screws, G, H, J, by which it ean be levelled. Above this is a flat plate of brass, E E, attached to the board by a centre pin, and resting upon three studs, pro- jecting from the board, to ensure its having a perfect bearing, whilst it admits of a small horizontal motion round the centre by means of the screw W X. The'plaie EE has the divided arch, m, fixed upon one end of it; and a vernier, D, traverses against the divisions; it is divided upon a projecting part of a brass plate, CC, which moves on the common centre pin of the plate E, and also the needle AAB. ‘The plate CC has two segments of brass at each end of the needle, and these have the centre ee OS . wd (ol. Beautovs Cor Lingraved by W Lowry, fF i (Aue. id not of morning unted to I have 30 CXtras e Mag- e, with tion, is > Royal a small ermines of the icularly bserva~ y thing ry part 1 upon instru- ox con- it turns point- is; and wp on ne the FF is instru- which tached pro- Paring, tre by ch, m, igainst Jate, He E, ments centre 00l, Beautoys Compass for observing the MAGNETIC VARIATION. Anyraved by Wkwary. fir DE Thomsons Annals, Dublished by RBaldwin.Luternoster Row August 1183. PLATE I ee a 1813.) on the Magnetic Variation. 97 lines drawn upon them, which are brought to the points of the needle when the observation is made. A light brass box, d d, with a glass cover, is fitted over the plate C C, to preserve the needle from disturbance from the wind ; it also supports a small double microscope, M, intended toassist in examining when the index line points exactly to the end of the needle; the stem of the microscope is fitted in a dovetai! groove, and can be removed to the opposite end of the box at pleasure. The centre pin of the plates E and C terminates in an ex- tremely fine point, on which the needle is suspended, having an agate cap, B, to diminish the friction as much as possible. ‘The needle is of a cylindrical figure, about the five-hundredth of an inch in diameter, and ten inches long, and weighs 65+ grains, and is terminated by two conical points; the circular enlarge- ment of the centre has a hole through it, for the reception of the brass socket, B, which has the agate cap fixed in it; the needle is, of course, provided with the usual apparatus for lifting it off the point when not in use, to avoid wearing the point of suspen- sion. a, a, are two arms, screwed down upon the plate, carrying the vernier, D; they support a brass frame, J, which has the usual clamp screw, L, and tangent screw, R, the former to fasten it to the arch, m, and the latter to give a slow motion, and adjust the box for the observation. { The transit telescope, O P, is supported over the instrument bygtwo pillars, N, N, fixed on the brass plate, E E, and having small frames or boxes, f, at the top, for the reception of the Y’s, in which the pivots of the axis, Q, of the telescope are supported ; this axis is conical, and is fixed exactly at right angles to the tube, O P, in the same manner as other transit instruments. On the extremity of one of the pivots of the axis, a small divided circle, R, is fixed, and has an arm at the opposite side turning about on the centre, and provided with verniers to read the divisions on the circle; to this arm a small level, S, is attached ; the whole forming a flying index to set the telescope at any required altitude, by setting the index at the proper divi- sion, and then moving the telescope till the bubble of the level, 5, shows the index to be horizontal; the eye-piece, h, of the telescope has a small dovetail in it to admit a dark glass for obser- vation of the sun; g, are the screws for adjusting the wires in the eye-piece as usual; the separate figure, TV, is a level to adjust the instrument. Manner of adjusting the instrument previous to observation.— First place the feet, k, /, of the level, upon the brass plate, E E, in different directions, and bring it level by the screws, H, I, K; then apply the level upon the two pivots of the transit, the covers Vox. I. N° I. G 98 Description of a Compass {Auc. of the boxes, f, opening with hinges for this purpose, and the bottom of the feet, 2, /, have notches to rest upon the pivots ; if the axis does not prove level, one of the Y’s must be elevated or depressed, by a screw in the farther pillar, N, until the Jevel stands horizontally, and, reversivg it end for end, proves every thing to be correct. Now set the vernier, D, at zero, and put an additional object glass, over the glass, P, of the telescope ; and in this state the marks near A A, against which the needle reads, can be seen through it when directed to them; this proves the zero of the division to be exactly in the plane of the telescope motion; a small screw near Q will rectify it, if necessary, by moving the Y a small quantity in the box, f; the transit may be reversed in its Y’s to rectify every thing. The telescope is now to be adjusted to the meridian by the transit of the stars in the usual manner, the screws, W, X, being used to turn the whole instrument round when requisite ; but after these observations have been once made in a satisfactory manner, distant marks should be set up, both north and south, and these will give the means of adjusting it at once, -and in the day time. When the instrument is properly placed, the taking of the observation is extremely simple. ‘The needle being suffered to settle, the box is turned about on-its centre till the mark comes very near the point of the needle; the clamp screw, L, is then fastened, and the screw, k, is employed to make the coincidence : exact, in which the microscope, M, greatly assists the eye. The vernier, D, now shows the angle of variation. It is proper, after the needle has been once observed, to attract it with a piece of iron, and cause it to make a slight vibration, When it settles again, it will not in all cases come to the same point, because of the friction of the suspending point ; it is therefore advisable to make this trial three or four times, and take the mean of the whole. The instrument is placed on a pillar, in the open air, free from any iron, and is adjusted before every observation ; the vernier is divided to half minutes, and if the meridian be not at a considerable distance, an advantage will be gained by dimi- nishing the aperture of the object-glass by a pasteboard cap. I have found the needles should not exceed the weight mentioned, 652. grains. € Jt may be worth while to remark, that this instrament will serve as a portable transit instrument for naval officers to examine the rate of their chronometers while on shore. 1813.) Method of procuring a very intense Heat. 99 ArTicLe IV. On an easy Method of procuring a very intense Heat. By A. Marcet, M.D. F.R.S. Physician to Guy’s Hospital. (To Dr. Thomson.) DEAR SIR, Russel-square, July 8, 1813. Amonesrt the various improvements which have assisted the progress of natural science within the last twenty years, that of carrying on experimental researches upon very small quantities of matter, ought, perhaps, to occupy the first place. ‘The advan- tages which often result from a minute scale of operations are too obvious to require any comment; and indeed the philosophical records of this country have, of late years, afforded innumerable instances of the utility of this mode of investigation. You may, perhaps, think it worth while to point out to the readers of your yaluable Journal an easy and convenient method, which occurred to me about a year ago, for producing, upon a small scale, a degree of heat which has, I believe, never been exceeded in intensity, unless it be by the magnificent voltaic battery lately exhibited by Mr. Children. The process in question simply consists in urging the flame of a lamp of spirit of wine by a current of oxygen gas. The apparatus most convenient for this “purpose is a tin vessel, or gas holder, such as represented in Plate IX. fig. 2, from which a small jet of oxygen gas is forced out, with some degree of violence, by the introduction of water, through a funnel of one or two feet in length. If a diamond be exposed to the flame of a lamp, thus acted upon by the jet of gas, it burns, and disappears in a few minutes. Platina wire of moderate thickness is instantly melted, and globules of this metal, weighing as much as 4 or 5 grains, can thus be obtained in quick succession.* During this process of fusion, a scintillation of the metal is observed, as if it was undergoing combustion; but this appears to be owing to minute particles of melted platina, which are simply dispersed by the intensity of the heat. Iron wire is burnt by this means with a degree of rapidity and brilliancy whieh even exceeds that of Ingenhouz’s striking mode of burning iron wire in oxygen gas ; and small needles of quartz are readily melted and vitrified by the same means. I am not aware of this mode of excitement having been employed before. Intense degrees of heat had long been pro- * It was from globules obtained by this process that Dr. Wollaston suc- ceeded in drawing platina wire of extreme minuteness, as stated in the paper which he has lately given to the Royal Society on the subject, G 2 100 Olservations on Radiant Heat. [Aue. duced from the combustion of hydrogen gas by a jet of oxygen; but the process was attended with some inconvenience and difh- culty, and the effects, I believe, fell short of those just described. I remain, dear Sir, yours, &c. Avex. Marcer, ARTICLE V. Observations on Radiant Heat. By F. Delaroche, M.D.* I propos in this memoir to state several propositions which appear to me capable of throwing some light on the theory of radiant heat ; and which, I think, I have established by decisive experiments. These experiments, indeed, were made with sufficient care to prevent any doubts about their exactness; but I may be deceived in the conclusions that I deduce from them. In that case I shall readily acknowledge my error; nor shall [ think that I have lost my labour if I draw, upon so interesting a subject, the attention of some philosopher more fortunate than myself, or better situated for examining it with accuracy. First Proposition.—Invisille Radiant Heat may in some Circumstances pass directly through Glass. Different philosophers, and particularly Mr. Leslie, conceive that they have proved the falsehood of this proposition ; but the experiments of Professor Prevost, of Geneva, have lately esta- blished its truth in an incontestable manner. He obtained his result by separating the immediate effects of transmitted heat from those produced by the heating of the glass, by a process equally simple and ingenious; namely, ky employing moveable screens of glass, which he renewed continually, and of course did not give them time to become heated. I have myself, since I became acquainted with the memoir of M. Prevost, made a great many experiments, which appear to me to prove the same thing. The nature of these will be stated in support of the second proposition. Second Proposition.—The Quantity of Radiant Heat which passes directly through Glass is so much greater relative to the whole Heat emitted in the same Direction, as the Temperature of the Source of Heat is more elevated. M. Delaroche shows, in the first place, by some ingenious experiments, that a thermometer (of the temperature of the * Abridged from the Jourial de Physique, vol. lxxy, p. 201. 1813.] Observations on Radiant Heat. 2) surrounding atmosphere) exposed to the action of radiant heat rises in a given time, czteris paribus, a quantity proportional to the rays which it receives. If a certain number of rays make it rise 1 degree, double the number will make it rise 2 degrees, triple the number 3 degrees, and so on. ‘This being established, he placed two parabolic metallic mirrors at the distance of rather more than three feet from each other. In the focus of one mirror he placed a thermometer; and in the focus of the other a hot body, gradually increasing in temperature. The thermometer was allowed to rise to its maximum without any screen. . Then a screen of transparent glass was interposed, and the experiment repeated. Lastly, a screen of blackened giass was interposed, and the experiment repeated a third time. By the blackened screen all the radiant heat would be intercepted, and the effect on the thermometer would be owing to the rise in the tempera- ture of the screen. Hence the rise of the thermometer when the blackened sereen was used, subtracted from the same rise when the transparent screen was used, leaves the effect produced by the radiant heat passing through the glass. The following table shows the ratio between the rays passing through the clear glass, and the rays acting on the thermometer, when no screen was interposed, at different temperatures :— ‘Temperature of the Rays transmitted Hot Body in the through the Total Rays. Focus. Glass Screen, 5 ES) ctncrties peered asians weikidik cad ate. «200 PD Sijceistayecote sinysrateachuia aay) UA oie x-a(eye 0 50h OD “pty tliat tana alia dg (yen a Et cadal “<7 ey aioe bgataset ad - Nid ai a Argand’s lamp without its chimney.. 10 ........ 29 Ditto, with glass chimney ........ 10 ....... oat Ue Tuirp Proposirion.—The Calorific Rays which have already passed through a Screen of Glass, experience, in passing through a second Glass Screen of a similar nature, a much smaller Dimi= nution of their Intensity than they did in passing through the Jirst Screen, This proposition was proved by interposing, first one glass screen, and then two, and observing the difference in the effect. The experiments appear conclusive. Fourru Proposrrion.—The rays emitted by a hot Body differ from each other in their faculty to pass through Glass. This proposition is an obvious consequence from the third, which can hardly leave a doubt that the calorific rays (like those of light) are of different kinds. 1062 On the Instruments necessary {Aue. Firtu Proposirion.—A thick Glass, though as much or more permeable to Light than a thin Glass of worse Quality, allows a much smaller Quantily of Radiant Heat to pass. The Difference is so much the less as the Temperature of the radiating Source is more elevated. This proposition is proved by experiments made with glasses of different thickness employed as a screen; and its truth is sufficiently established, if these experiments be accurate. This curious fact, that radiating heat becomes more and more capable of penetrating glass, as the temperature increases, till at a certain temperature the rays become luminous, leads to the notion that heat is nothing else than a modification of light, or that the two substances are capable of passing into each other. Srxru Proposition.—The Quantity of Heat which a hot Body yields in a given Time ly Radiation to a cold Body situated at a Distance, increases, ceeteris paribus, in a greater Ratio than the excess of Temperature of the first Body above the second, This proposition being at variance with the opinion of Mr, Leslie, and of several other philosophers, M. Delaroche thought it necessary to establish it by a great variety of experiments, ‘These experiments leave no doubt of the fact; though they are not sufficient to enable ‘us to deduce the rate at which the increase takes place. I must acknowledge that this proposition appears to me some- what puzzling. One is at first sight disposed to account for it by the inaccuracy of the thermometer as a measuye of ‘heat ; but M. Delaroche, aware of such an objection, has remarked, that if we adopt Mr. Dalton’s opinion with respect to the thermo- meter, so far from removing the apparent anomaly, it would only serve to make it greater. ee ArticLe VI. On the Instruments necessary for a Travelling Astronomer. By Col. Beaufoy. F (To Dr. Thomson.) MY DEAR SIR, Hackney Wick, June 17, 1818. Tur following instruments, I think, a travelling astronomer, or naval man, should take with him. First: a good ‘Hadley’s sextant, of six inches radius, and which I would have divided into half minutes, and not nearer. 1813.] for a Travelling Astronomer. 103 Secondly: an artificial horizon of quicksilver, with a glass roof that folds up, to prevent the wind disturbing the surface of the mercury, when the observation is to be made: there should also be a floating glass, ground truly parallel, to place on the surface of the quicksilver in windy weather, or in those places where the ground is liable to be shaken with carriages. Thirdly : a pocket compass. ‘The whole of these instruments may be readily packed up in a small Jeathern case, furnished with straps, to buckle over the shoulders similar to a knapsack. The next instrument, and without which the others would be comparatively of little use, is a chronometer : a silver one would be the cheapest, the price being about forty guineas; and I would recommend Mr, Pennington, of Camberwell, to be the maker; and it is better to give the order at least twelve mouths before it is wanted, as chrovometers accelerate when first made, and sufficient attention, generally speaking, is not paid to the compensation for cold ; the same remark is frequently applicable to the want of adjustment when the chronometer is placed in different positions. To the instruments already mentioned, may be added a telescope, furnished with a micronometer for observing the eclipses of the sun and moon, occultations of the stars by the moon, and the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites. I am, my dear Sir, sincerely yours, M. Beauroy. ArticLte VII. On Transition Rocks. By James Grierson, M.D. (To Dr. Thomson.) SIR, In the last Number of your Annals, I read, with much interest, a paper entitled “ Remarks on the Transition Rocks of Werner, by Thomas Allan, Esq. F.R.S.E. In this paper, after paying some well-merited and proper compliments to the ingenuity and perseverance of Werner, in having furnished us with “* means by which rocks may be described with some degree of accuracy,’’ Mr. Allan observes, that ‘ we cannot extend our unqualified approbation to the systematic arrangement he has introduced.” Werner, he says, was confined within certain limits by the narrowness of his fortune and the circumstances of his situation, and therefore could not be expected to form a perfect system, and has drawn “ conclusions that are more general than are warranted by the circumscribed field to which he was confined.” 104 On Transition Rocks. © ' [Aue. But does it follow, Sir, that because Werner has never per- sonally visited every quarter of the globe, and seen with his own eyes every rock in situ, and the nature of its composition, he may not from what he has seen and actually did visit, as well as from the accounts and specimens transmitted to him by others, have discovered by his genius and penetration the true principle of arrangement on which the crust of the earth is formed. Certainly not. As well might Mr. Allan object to the botanical arrangement of Linnzeus, because thousands of plants have been discovered in New Holland, and elsewhere, to which that great naturalist was an entire stranger. The arrangement of Werner, then, provided the phenomena of nature be found conformable to his views, is not to be rejected merely because he never tra- velled beyond the bounds of Germany. Lam not sure, Sir, whether Dr. Hutton ever saw more of the crust of the earth than Werner ; and certainly he never saw the central parts of it, about which, notwithstanding, he has told us so many wonderful things. If Werner generalized too libe- rally from a ‘ circumscribed field,” certainly Dr. Hutton was not behind him here. His conclusions are of a far more exten- sive nature than those of Werner, and surely drawn from pre- mises comparatively much less extensive. It is observed, too, that the appearances of the country about Edinburgh (the residence of Dr. Hutton) are greatly more favourable to the theory adopted by that philosopher than those of almost any other part of the world that has been hitherto explored. If Werner, then, formed his theory from the appear- ances of the country around Freyberg, Dr. Hutton seems no less to have taken his from those around Edinburgh. But it is not in this way that the merits or demerits of either theory are to be estimated. Which of the two is most useful ? Which of them teaches us best to distinguish minerals from one another?) Which of them is best confirmed by the observations of succeeding naturalists? These are the important inquiries. With the wish of Mr. A. ‘‘ that arrangements of this nature were less dictated by theory,” we cordially agree; but when he talks about ‘* the pupils of the Wernerian school being pecu- liarly fettered by an ideal necessity of supporting the principles of their master,’ and their “ totally neglecting that minute detail which is alone capable of placing the studeut in a situation to draw conclusions of his own,” we are tempted to exclaim with the poet, Mutato nomine, de te falula narratur ; for if there be a department in which the Wernerian system seems to excel all others, it is, I think, in the minuteness with which its details are conducted, and the happy power which it possesses of discriminating what others almost always, though really distinct, confound. Mr. Allan himself acknowledges (p. 419) that Dr, 1813.] On Transition Rocks. 105 Hutton applied the term alpine schistus in such a way as “ to leave us quite uncertain with respect to the species of rock he meant.” And this is far from being the only instance that might be easily adduced, not only from his writings, but also from those of more recent philosophers of the same school. Mr. A. justly observes, that the geognostic system of Werner is divided into three great classes, the primitive, transition, and floetz rocks,—proposes ‘* to notice particularly the class of rocks named transition,” and to show <‘ that they are of an older date than the granite which maintains the first place in point of priority in the system of Werner.” How far he has been able to succeed in making out this last position will presently appear. After telling us that he takes his ideas of the Wernerian geognosy from the third yolume of Professor Jameson’s Mine- salogy (and we allow that he cannot take them from a better source, it being, as he justly states, “ the most authentic ac- count we have of the system taught at Freyberg ; ”) after, I say, telling us this, giving us the definition of grey-wacke, and the other rocks constituting the transition class, with a sketch of their geographic distribution in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, Mr. Allan proceeds to inform us, that he made a tour last summer through Cornwall and Devonshire, and there found that the Wernerian geognosy would not apply. He knew, he says, that granite abounded in the Stannaries, and that tin and wolfram occurred in it; and as these metals (according to his view) never do occur but in the oldest granite, therefore the granite of Cornwall must be the oldest. Here, « therefore, he expected to find a perfect epitome of the Wer- nerian system, containing the usual series of primitive rocks, descending from granite through gneiss, mica-slate, and clay- slate, with all the et ceeteras of serpentines, traps, and porphy- ries ; but in this he was mistaken.” Certainly he was mistaken, but in a ¥ery different way from that in which he conceived himself to be. Let us see what Professor Jameson, in his Ele- ments of Geognosy (the work which Mr. Allan constantly refers to), says with respect to the occurrence of tin and wolfram. In treating of tin, he tells us that it occurs in very old veins that traverse granite, gneiss, mica-slate, and clay-slate; that it occurs disseminated through granite, and in Leds that alternate with that rock. He adds, that the granite appears to belong to the newest formation. (El. of Geognosy, p. 261.) At p. 309 of the same work, in the tabular view, the Professor gives us again the geognostic situation of tin, and the only grapite mentioned is the newest. Of wolfram, he says, at p- 261, that it occurs in veins both in primitive and transition mountains. And again, at p. 311, in the tabular view, wolfram is stated as occurring pot in the oldest, but only in the newest granite formation, 106 On Transition Rocks. [Aue. What shall we think, then, of Mr. Allan’s accuracy, when he maintains that, according to the Wernerian geognosy, the granite. of Cornwall must be referred to the first or oldest formation, because it contains tin and wolfram? But his inaccuracies, or mistatements, do not stop here. He gives it as a Wernerian principle, that primitive rocks contain no mechanical deposites : yet Professor Jameson, in his Elements, (the work, as I said before, constantly referred to by Mr. Allan), pp. 101 and 351, informs us that conglomerates are found in primitive country. Mr. A. asserts, also, that floetz rocks never occur in a conform- able position in regard to transition strata. But how he was enabled to ascertain this grand point, he has nowhere conde- cended to inform us; and yet it is very much to be desired that he had, for no such statement appears either in Professor Jame- son’s writings, or in any other geognostic work with which I have ever met. The granite of Cornwall is said to have the same characters ‘as the first or oldest granite of Werner; but it would appear from Mr. A.’s description of the Cornish granite that it contains frag~ ments. Now who ever heard of fragments being found in the first granite formation. Professor Jameson, from whose work Mr. Alan assures us he took whatever statements he has made respecting the Wernerian geognosy, distinctly mentions that fragments oceur only in the newer formation of granite, that, namely, which borders on the transition rocks. It thus, then, appears from Mr. Allan’s own account, that the granite of Corn- wall belongs to the newest, not to the oldest granite formation ; and that therefore this granite is not, as he asserts, “‘ the nucleus vound which Werner conceives all other rocks were deposited.” Mr. Allan tells us that granite veins, according to the Wer- nerian geognosy, occur only in such rocks as are composed of the same ingredients, such as gneiss and mica-slate. But in none of the books on Werner’s system, in as far at least as I have had an opportunity of consulting them, does any such assertion appear. Besides, it is to be observed that mica-slate is not composed of the same ingredients with granite; and Pro- fessor Jameson, p. 107, informs us that granite veins traverse elay-slate. Is Mr. A. prepared to contend that this rock is composed of the same ingredients with granite? “ The killas of Gornwall,” we are told, “ belongs to the transition series of Werner ;” and this seems to be inferred from its occurring in a country said to be constructed principally of transition rocks, But the killas, Mr. A. observes, assumes the appearance of gneiss whenever it either approaches, or is in immediate contact with, the granite. ‘ It will be observed,” says he, ‘‘ by the specimens from St. Michael’s Mount, that the killas there assumes ‘the appearance of fine-grained gneiss,” I believe most 1813.] On Transition Rocks. 107 mineralogists will conclude from this statement, that it really is fine-grained gneiss; and that Mr. Allan’s conclusion, that the transition rocks are here connected with granite, is entirely unfounded and fallacious. ‘The granite is probably the second conformable formation of that rock as discovered by Professor Jameson ; and I have little doubt that, on farther examination, it will be found that this famous discovery of the metamorphosis of grey-wacke into gneiss has as little foundation in nature as the metamorphosis of Battus into a touch-stone, or any other of the fine and fanciful changes of bodies into new forms, or if we translate literally, forms into new bodies, to be met with in the writings of Ovid. : Mr. A. infers this change, or passage of grey-wacke into gneiss, from appearances at St. Michael’s Mount, and at the Lauran in Galloway. He tells us that at the latter place he took the killas in the vicinity of the granite for mica-slate, “ although he had observed no line of separation between it and the killas.” Does he mean that the “ alteration’ preduced on grey-wacke, or killas, as he prefers calling it, was actually observed by him to be of “ a gradual nature,” and ‘ imperceptible ” in the neighbourhood of the Lauran, so as to make it small-grained gueiss? or does he only intend to say, that he had no opportunity of seeing the junction of these two rocks? If the former be Mr. Allan’s meaning, I wish very much he had mentioned any particular spot where such gradual alteration is to be seen ; for though I have been at some pains to discover the junction of what I conceive to be fine-grained gneiss with the grey-wacke of that district, I have not been so fortunate as to meet with any place where the rock is sufficiently exposed for this purpose. But if Mr. A. means merely to affirm that this was the case with him too, and that he had no opportunity of observing the junc- tion of the two rocks of which we are speaking, then certainly his conclusion is such as no mineralogist can admit, and of a very different nature from what might have been expected. That dhe did not see the distinction, can never be a good reason why he should conclude that there was none. But admitting, Sir, that Mr. A. did observe a seemingly gradual ‘transition of the grey-wacke into gneiss, is this a proof that these two rocks are one and the same rock? As well might she argue that the colours green and blue in the prismatic spec- trum are the same; because the alteration of the green to the blue is of a gradual nature, and imperceptible ; or as well might 1 argue that gneiss and mica-slate are the same, because they are often seen at their junction apparently passing into one another. Much stress is laid on the miners of Cornwall making no distinction between grey-wacke and the fine-grained gneiss ; but including both under the general name of killas. But, to use 108 On Transition Rocks. [Auc. Mr. Allan’s own words, “ the shades of distinction chronicled by the mineralogist cannot be expected to attract the attention of the miner.” Mr. Allan would surely not contend that grey- wacke and green-stone are the same because they are often con- founded by the vulgar under the name of whin-stone. That a writer, who is at such pains to press (and justly) on geologists the ee una of minute attention” and “ accurate examination,” “the only solid basis of philosophic inquiry,” should thus, whey it seems to suit his own argument, feel so much disposed to pay attention to the mere appellations of the vulgar, is surely rather extraordinary. Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, THEORLE sacra fames! That the rock which lies immediately on the granite of the Lauran is of a very different composition from the grey-wacke in its neighbourhood, is, I think, evident, not only from its quali- ties as they appear to the eye in hard specimens; and from its superior hardness and toughness under the hammer, as Mr. A. expresses it; but very much from the manner in which it under- goes decomposition when exposed to the air. Any person accus- tomed to view these two rocks will at once distinguish in the field a piece of the fine-grained gneiss from the grey-wacke rock with which it is accompanied. The grey-wacke disintegrates sparingly, and always nearly uniformly over the whole surface exposed; whereas the fine-grained gneiss disintegrates very much, and always in an irregular manner, showing deep pits and eminences, or ridges and furrowings on the surface. This, there can be little doubt, arises from the felspar contained in its com- position, which we ‘know undergoes decomposition very strikingly on many occasions. I consider myself as now warranted, from what I have said, to draw the following conclusions directly the reverse of those deduced by Mr. Allan :— « The killas of Cornwall,” that is, the rock which lies imme- diately over the granite of that country, “ belongs not to the transition series of Werner.” ‘© The granite of Cornwall is zo¢ possessed of every character by which the oldest varieties are distinguished.” “¢ That granite, the nucleus round which Werner conceives all other rocks were deposited, is mot proved to be in some cases actually of a later date than the transition series.” * Hence the distinction of transition rocks is not proved to be grounded on false conclusions.” “ And, finally, Werner” need not “ make very material alterations in his present system” in order “ to accommodate it to the phenomena so commonly presented in nature.” Had Mr. A.’s paper been written in a less assuming tone, I 1813.] On Transition Rocks. 109 certainly should .have perused it with more pleasure than I have done. It is painful to have had to point out so many errors and mistatements in an essay which scarcely contains one fact not previously known to mineralogists, either from the writings of Hutton, of Playfair, of Jameson, or of Berger. When the celebrated Von Buch, in 1806, discovered granite in transition country, he did not immediately infer “ that the distinction of transition rocks was thereby proved to be grounded on false con- clusions ; ” he only said, that he had been enabled by this obser- vation to add a new member to the transition series, and thereby increase its importance in the eye of the mincralogist. This was evincing a modesty as well as a sagacity in the great naturalist, which it would have been pleasing to see displayed more conspi- euously in the “ Remarks on Transition Rocks.” I am, Sir, with much esteem and respect, Your most obedient servant, JAMES GRIERSON, Articie VIII. Observations on the Daltonian Theory of Definite Proportions. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. (Continued from p. 52.) Tuouen the table given in the part of this paper already published be pretty long, it contains but a small portion of the numerous chemical compounds known, and analysed with tolerable accuracy, and therefore capable of being referred to the doctrine of definite proportions. I shall, therefore, in this and some subsequent Numbers, continue it, as far as the present state of chemical analysis will enable us to go. I shall preserve the same method which I followed in the first part of the table ; namely, state below, in the form of notes, the documents upon which the numbers adopted in the table are founded. Sulphurets. Number of Weight of aw atoms. integrant particle, 110. Sulphuret of gold ...l g + 3.5...... 30-968 * * Gold cannot be united directly with sulphur; yet both from analogy and from the black precipitate which falls when hydro- sulphuret of potash is dropped into solution of gold, there can be 110 On the Daltonian Theory of (Ave. Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle, 111. Sulphuret of platinum..1 p + 2 5......16°161” 112. Sulphuret of silver ....1:5. + 1 8...... 14°618 © Sigg r2 Nica of mer- 2? L m+ 1 Ses ee 027-0008 3 5) 114, Persulphuret of mer- 2 near wets 29-000 © cury or cinnabar...... 5 115. Sulphuret of copper....] c + 1 s....,,10°000° 116. Magnetic pyrites ...... RI WR 10°666 £ little doubt that a sulphuret of that metal exists. Now, accord- ing to the experiments of Oberkampf, this sulphuret is composed of 100 gold + 24°39 sulphur. Now an atom of gold is 24-968, and 100 : 24°39 :: 24°968 : 6:09. Now 6:09 is almost exactly equal to 3 atoms of sulphur. > According to the experiments of Berzelius, 100 platinum combine with 32°8 of sulphur. (Larbok i Kemien, ii. 424.) Now an atom of platinum weighs 12°161; and 100 : 32°8 :: 12°161 : 3-989 ; but 3°989 is very nearly equal to the weight of 2 atoms of sulphur. © According to Berzelius, 160 silver combine with 14°9 sul- phur. Now 100; 14°9 :: 12°618; 1-88; but 1°88 is not much Jess than the weight of an atom of sulphur ; all other analists make the weight exceed 14°9 a little. 4 When the salts of mercury containing the black oxide are dissolved in water, and a current of sulphureted hydrogen passed through the solution, a black powder precipitates, composed, according to Sefstrom’s analysis, of 100 mercury + 8-005 sul- -phur. (Larbok i Kemien, 11. 350.) Now 100 : 8-005 :: 25 : 2°001; but 2°001 is almost exactly equal in weight to an atom ot sulphur. € Cinnabar, according to Sefstrom’s analysis, is composed of 100 mercury + 16°01 sulphur. Now 100 : 16-01 :: 25 : 4:002; but 4°002 is almost exactly equal in weight to 2 atoms of sul- phur. (Larbok i Kemien, ii. 348.) f From the most exact experiments hitherto made, it appears that 100 copper combine with 26 sulphur. Now 100: 26::8: 2-08 ; but 2°08 differs but little from the weight of an atem of sulphur. & According to the analysis of Proust and Hatchet, magnetic pyrites is composed of 100 iron + 60 metal. Now 100: 60 :: 6666 : 3°9996 ; but 3°9996 is almost exactly the weight of 2 atoms of sulphur. Berzelius found it composed of 100 iron + 58°75 sulphur. This gives $°916 for the sulphur, still very near the weight of 2 atoms. 1813.} Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. if Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle, 117. Cubic pyrites.........1 @ + 4 5......14°666 © 118. Sulphuret of nickel ....1 m + 1 See.e-- 5°623 * 119. Prosulphuret of tin ....1 @ + 1 S..0.- .16°705 * 120. Persulphuret of tin or? | , 48 Sc0e 0. 18705 mosaic gold........++ 121. Sulpburet of lead......1 1 + 2 5......29°974' 122. Persulpburet of lead....1 2 + 4 5...... 33°974 ™ 123. Sulphuret of zinc......1 2 + 1 S...... 67315 124, Sulphuret of bismuth ..1 b + 1 s......10°994 ° » From Berzelius’ experiments (Ann. de Chim. Ixxviii. 130), it appears that the quantity of sulphur in cubic pyrites, supposing the iron the same, is just double what exists in magnetic pyrites. Hence cubic pyrites must be a compound of 1 atom iron and 4 atoms sulphur. i According to Proust, 100 nickel combine with 48 sulphur. Now 100 : 48 :: 3'623 : 1:739. This, considering the uncer- tainty respecting the weight of an atom of nickel itself, is not a greater deviation from the weight of an atom of sulpbur than might have been expected. If the weight of an atom of nickel given in my table be correct, then 100 nickel ought to combine with 55-2 sulphur. « From the experiments of Mr. John Davy (Phil. Trans. 1812), it appears that the common sulphuret of tin is composed of 55 tin + 15 sulphur. Now 55: 15 :: 14°705 : 4-015; but 4°015 is almost exactly the weight of 2 atoms of sulphur. From Mr. John Davy’s experiments, it appears that mosaic gold con- tains just double the sulphur in common sulphuret. ' From the analysis of Berzelius, we learn that galena is composed of 100 lead + 15-42 sulphur. (Larbok i Kemien, ii. 276.) Now 100 : 15:42 :: 25°974 : 4°005 ; but 4-005 is almost exactly the weight of 2 atoms of sulphur. ‘The analysis of Mr. John Davy differs very little from that of Berzelius. m™ Some years ago I received a specimen of galena from Sit John Sinclair, which contained twice the usual quantity of sul- phur. Hence it is obvious that a persulphuret of lead exists. ® From the experiments of Gueniveau and Kidd, it appears that blende consists of 100 zinc + 49 sulphur. Now 100: 49 =: 4°315 :2°114; but 2:114 does not differ much from the weight of an atom of sulphur, As sulphuret of zinc has not yet been made artificially, and as blende contains iron, we cannot expect our analysis to come nearer the truth. ° According to M. John Davy, 67°5 bismuth unite with 15°08 of sulphur. Now 67:5: 15°08 :; 8994 : 2009. But 112 ‘On the Daltonian Theory of [Avcc. Number of Weight of an atoms, integrant particle. 125. Sulphuret of antimony..] @ + 25...... 15"111 P 126. Sulphuret of tellurium..i ¢ + 2 5...... 8107 4 127. Sulphuret of arsenic F DPMCAUSAP . brie a iana wie i co5 prise ey e000 4- 1262 COMED fr e-a sx oie o's a la + 129, Sulphuret of cobalt ....1 ¢ + + 2 BS? te thiguieieeee: 130. Sulphuret of manganese 1 m+ 1 Sata eal oe 2-009 is almost exactly the weight of an atom of sulphur. Ac- cording to Lagerhjelm, 160 bismuth combine with 22°52 sul- phur. Now 100 : 22°52 :: 8:°994 : 2°030. ‘This comes also very near the weight of an atom of sulphur. P According to Berzelius, sulphuret of antimony is composed of 100 antimony + 37 sulphur. (Larbok i Kemien, ii. 162.) Now 100: 37 :: L1‘111: 4°111. According to Mr. John Davy, 42°5 antimony combine with 14°86 sulphur. Now 42°5 : 14°86 s: Il:L11:3°885. The mean of the.two numbers 4°111 and 3°885 is 3°998, which is almost exactly the weight of 2 atoms of sulphur. 4 According to Davy, tellurium by fusion combines with nearly its own weight of sulphur. Now as an atom of tellurium weighs 4:107, it is clear that the sulphuret must contain 2 atoms of sulphur. * | do not know in what manner Thenard ascertained the composition of the sulphuret of arsenic; but he informs us that realgar is a compound of 3 arsenic + 1 sulphur. Now 3: 1: 6:2. Hence it must be a compound of | atom arsenic and 1 atom sulphur. Orpiment, he says, is composed of 4 arsenic + 3 sulphur. Now 4 : 3::6:4:5. This does not differ very much from the weight of 2 atoms of sulphur. Hence the pro- portions given in the table. (See Ann. de Chim, lix, 284.) Laugier has lately endeavoured to prove that there is only one sulphuret of arsenic, composed of 42 sulphur and 58 arsenic. (Ann. de Chim. Ixxxv. 26.) If he be correct, it is a compound of 1 atom arsenic with 2 atoms sulphur. s We know but imperfectly the composition of sulphuret of cobalt. Proust says that 100 parts of cobalt absorb 40 of sul- phur. (Ann. de Chim. Ix. 272.) But he puts little confidence in the result of his own experiment. Now 100 ; 40:: 7:326 : 2:9304. As 2°9304 approaches nearest to I atom of sulphur, I have supposed the sulphuret a compound of 1 atom cobalt and } atom sulphur; but the estimate is entitled to litile confidence. ‘ We have no good data for determining the composition of sulphuret of manganese. Vauquelin made a combination of 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 113 Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle. 131. Sulphuret of molyb- 1 a QOL 9:882 © GenuM ... ooo eee es 132. Sulphuret of potassium 1 p + 1 5....-, 7°000 * 133. Sulphuret of potash ...1 p + 1 5...... 8-000 ¥ 134. Sulphuret of sodium ..1 s + 2 S..---- 9°882 * We have not the requisite data for determining the composi- tion of the other sulphurets. A slight inspection of the preceding table is sufficient to con- vince any person that a very considerable number of sulpharets remain still unknown. Out of 25 sulphurets enumerated, 12 are compounds of 1 atom metal and | atom sulphur, 10 of 1 atom metal and 2 atoms sulphur, 1 of 1 atom metal and 3 atoms sulphur, and 2 of 1 atom metal and 4 atoms sulphur. It is not unlikely that silver, copper, nickel, zinc, bismuth, cobalt, man- ganese, and potassium, may combine only with 1 proportion of sulphur ; but gold ought to combine with 3 proportions, and form 3 sulphurets ; platinum should form 2, iron 4, lead 4, anti- mony 2, tellurium 2, and molybdenum 2. I shall not continue the table any farther at present; but con- clude this paper with a few obvious deductions from that part of the table which has been already published. 1. There is rio connection between the specific gravity of bodies and the weights of their atoms. 2. There are eight atoms of simple bodies whose weights are denoted by whole numbers ; namely, 74:5 manganese and 25°5 sulphur by heat. (Anh. du Mus. d’Hist. Nat. xvii. 16.) Now 74°5 : 25°5 :: 7:130: 2°345, As 2345 is not very remote from the weight of an atom of sulphur, I have supposed the sulphuret a compound uf 1 atom metal + 1 atom sulphur. * According to Bucholz, sulphuret of molybdenum is com- posed of 60 molybdenum + 40 sulphur. Now 60; 40 :: 5882 :3°921. But 3-921 is almost equal in weight to 2 atoms of sulphur. * This is the composition of sulphuret of. potassium according to Sir H. Davy, the only person who has hitherto analysed this sulphuret. _ ¥ This compound has never been accurately analysed. I state its composition merely from analogy. * According to Davy. Vou. Il. N° Ul. H 114 On the Daltonian Theory of (Aue. BC eee ie ree, bo aciset eral ste aia sa Br MILD UE nic sin /aicislape dials iste tieiele sie Dio age SB, POtsSHUM coils a ae cress ates Se hy MATSOUG Ie era ele hunt et ete ats a'abalsateigate ean Ds MCOnDeD Welt. .e. eee ee SARI Ek rd. 6, PUNE. segs. sles cancels sich eae Ce URI snc cs ete eee es a. Mercury ss. a. “SIA faieveretniaie Cae 3. An atom of phosphorus is ten times as heavy as an atom of hydrogen. None of the other atoms appear to be multiples of 0°132 ; so that if we pitch upon hydrogen for our unit, the weight of all the atoms will be fractional quantities, except that of phosphorus alone. 4. It is quite clear that neither hydrogen nor azote contain any oxygen; for as the weight of an atom of each of these bodies is less than the weight of an atom of oxygen, it is im- possible that oxygen can enter into their composition. Hence the whole doctrine respecting ammonium, and the supposition that hydrogen and azote are oxides of ammonium—a supposition countenanced at first by Davy, and still supported by Berzelius, must be erroneous. For the same reason, Berzelius’ notion that azote is a compound of oxygen and an unknown combustible gas, cannot be admitted. 5. The weight of an atom of the metals being high, when compared with that of oxygen, or the simple combustibles, they may be, and probably are, compounds; though, from their peculiar properties, they may long elude all our methods of decomposi- tion. Their conducting power is too perfect to enable us to hope for any decomposition from the action of the galvanic battery, however powerful. 6. We have it now in our power to compare the law laid down by Berzelius; namely, that the weight of the sulphur in a metallic sulphuret is double that of the oxygen in the oxide of the same metal, with the truth. We shall find it to hold in all the sulphurets hitherto examined, except those of nickel, cobalt, and tellurium. The following table exhibits the particular oxides and sulphurets that have this relation to each other :— _ Oxides. Corresponding Sulphurets. Peroxide of gold ............-Sulphuret of gold. Peroxide of platinum ........Sulphuret of platinum. Oxide of silver ............-Sulphuret of silver. Protoxide of mercury ........Prosulphuret of mercury. Peroxide of mercury ........Persulphuret of mercury. Protoxide of copper..,..,....Sulphuret of copper. 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 115 Oxides. Corresponding Sulphurets. Deutoxide of iron ...........Magnetie pyrites. Deutoxide of tin ............Mosaic gold. Deutoxide of lead ...........Common galena. Peroxide of lead ............ Persulphuret of lead. Oxide of zinc ..............Sulphuret of zine. Oxide of bismuth ...........Sulphuret of bismuth. Deutoxide of antimony ......Sulphuret of antimony. Deutoxide of arsenic .,......Orpiment. Protoxide of manganese ......Sulphuret of manganese. Deutoxide of molybdenum ....Sulphuret of molybdenum. Potash ....................Sulphuret of potassium. Soda..........ee++e0++4...Sulphuret of sodium. (To be continued.) ARTICLE IX. Remarks on the Measurement of Minute Particles, especially those of the Blood and of Pus. From Dr. Young’s Medical Literature, Svo. Lond. 1813, p. 545. I. On the Form and Magnitude of the Particles of the Blood. Tue form and magnitude of the coloured particles of the blood is a subject not only interesting and important in itself, but is also capable of assisting, by means of comparative observa- tions, in the determination of the magnitude of the capillary arteries, and the investigation of the resistance which they ex- hibit; it may also be of advantage to obtain some tests capable of ascertaining, whether these particles undergo any change in diseases of various kinds, and what is their relation to the glo- bules of pus, and of other animal fluids : hitherto the measures of the particles of blood, which have been considered by various authors as the most accurate, have differed no less than in the ratio of 2 to 5; and there is an equal degree of uncertainty respecting their form, some admitting the truth of Mr. Hewson’s opinions, and a greater number rejecting them without any satis- factory evidence. In such examinations, it is only necessary to employ a full and unlimited light, in order to obtain a very dis- tinct outline of what appears: manifestly to be a very simple substance, and we thus seem to have the clear evidence of the senses against Mr. Hewson: but we must remember, that where the substances to be examined are perfectly transparent, it is only in a confined and diversified light that we cun gain a cor- H 2 116 Remarks on the Globules of Blood and Pus. (Ave. rect idea of their structure. The eye is best prepared for the investigation, by beginning with the blood of a skate, of which the particles are so conspicuous, and of so unequivocal a form, as to set aside at once the idea of a simple homogeneous sub- stance. They are oval and depressed, like an almond, but less pointed, and a little flatter; each of them contains a round nu- cleus, which is wholly independent in its appearance of the figure of the whole disc, being sometimes a little irregular in its form; seldom deviating from its central situation, but often remaining distinctly visible while the oval part is scarcely per- ceptible; and as the portion of blood dries away, becoming evidently prominent above the thinner portion. ‘This nucleus is about the size of a whole particle of the human blood, the whole oval being about twice as wide, and not quite three times as long; the nucleus is very transparent, and forms a distinct image of any large object which intercepts a part of the light by which it is seen, but exhibits no inequalities of light and shade, that could lead to any mistake respecting its form. But if we place some particles of human blood under similar circum- stances, near the confine of light and shade, although they are little, if at all, less transparent, we immediately see an annular shade on the disc, which is most marked on the side of the centre on which the marginal part appears the brightest, and conse- quently indicates a depression in the centre, which Delatorre mistook for a perforation. It is most observable when the drop is drying away, so that the particles rest on the glass: and when a smaller particle is viewed, it has merely @ dark central spot, without any lighter central space. Nor have the particles ever appeared to me “ as flat as a guinea,” although their axis is sometimes not more than one-third or one-fourth of their greatest diameter; if they were much thinner than this, their diameter would be more diminished than it is when they become sphe- xi¢al, by the effect of an aqueous fluid: while this form cor- responds to a diminution to about 3 of the original diameter. They may indeed possibly absorb a part of the surrounding moisture in the change: but they do not seem to have their dimensions much affected by the fluid in which they are sus- pended, since they may easily be spread thin on glass, and dried, without much change of their magnitude, at least in the direc- tion of the surface to which they adhere: and they remain dis- tinct as long as the access of moist air is completely excluded. When they have been kept for some time in water, and a little solution of salt is added, their form and structure, as Mr. Hewson has observed, are more easily examined, and appear to resemble those of a soft substance with a denser nucleus, not altogether unlike the crystalline lens together with the vitreous humour, as seen from behind: but with respect to a central. 3813.] Remarks on the Glolules of Blood aid Pus. 117 particle detached within a vesicle, “ like a pea in a bladder,” 1 cannot doubt that Mr. Hewson was completely mistaken. I have never observed a prominence in the outline of the particles of the human blood: and on the other hand I am not perfectly confident that the apparent depression, which is exhibited in some lights, may not depend on some internal variation of the refractive density of the particle. It has commonly been asserted, that these coloured particles are readily soluble in water; but this opinion appears to be completely erroneous, and to depend partly on their passing readily through filtering paper, a circum- stance indeed already observed by Berzelius, (Djurk. ii. p. 3,) and partly on the extraction of a great part of their colouring matter, together with which they !ose much of their specific gravity, so that instead of subsiding, they are generally suspended in the fluid ; their presence may, however, still be detected by a careful examination, and they seem in this state to have recovered in some measure their original form, which they had lost when first immersed in the water. When the water is sufficiently diluted, about three-fourths as much rectified spirits may be added to it without destroying the appearance ; but after a few months it becomes indistinct, although neither in this case nor in that of complete putrefaction do the globules appear to become consti- tuent parts of a homogeneous fluid. ‘The existence of solid particles, in fluids which at first sight appear transparent, is the most easily detected, by looking through them at a small lumi- nous object, either directly or by reflection, as, for example, at the image of a candle seen at the edge of the portion of the fluid, held in a tea-spoon; in this case, wherever there are small par- ticles in suspension, for instance, in milk diluted with water, they will produce a minutely tremulous or sparkling appearance, which is rendered still more distinct by the assisiauce of a lens, and which depends on the diversified interception of the light, while the particles are carried over each other by the internal motion of the fluid. This test is applicable to all cases of minute particles held in suspension ; where however the greater number of the particles are nearly equal in dimensions, the luminous object viewed through them exhibits a much more striking appearance, for it is surrounded by rings of colours, somewhat resembling those of the rainbow, but differently arranged, and often beautifully brilliant. The blood, a little diluted, always exhibits them in great perfection, and they afford a very accu- rate criterion for the distinction between pus and mucus: mucus, containing no globules, affords no colours, while those which are exhibited by pus exactly resemble the appearance produced by the blood, the rings being usually of the same dimensions ; whence it follows that the globules are also of the same size, for the dimensions of the rings vary with those of the particles 1138 Description of an Eriometer. (Aue. which produce them: and there can be little doubt, from this circumstance, that the globules found in pus are the identical globules of the blood, although probably somewhat altered in the process of suppuration. A minute quantity of the fluid to be examined in this manner may be put between two small pieces of plate glass, and if we hold the glass close to the eye, and look through it at a distant candle, with a dark object behind it, the appearance, if the globules are present, will be so con- spicuous as to leave no doubt respecting their existence. II. Description of an Eriometer. The rings of colours, which are here employed to discover the existence of a number of equal particles, may also be em- ployed for measuring the comparative and the real dimensions of these particles, or of any pulverised or fibrous substances, which are sufficiently uniform in their diameters, Immediately about the luminous object, we see a light area, terminating in a reddish dark margin, then a ring of bluish green, and without it a ring of red: and the alternations of green and red are often repeated several times, where the particles or fibres are sufficiently uni- form. I observed some years ago that these rings were the larger as the particles or fibres affording them were smaller, but that they were always of the same magnitude for the same par- . ticles. It is therefore only necessary to measure the angular magnitude of tltese rings, or of any one of them, in order to identify the size of the particles which afford them ; and having once established a scale, from an examination of a sufficient number of substances of known dimensions, we may thus deter- mine the actual magnitude of any other substances which exhibit the colours. The limit between the first green ring, and the red which surrounds it, affords the best standard of comparison, and its angular distance may be identified, by projecting the rings on a dark surface, pierced with a circle of very minute holes, which is made to coincide with the limit, by properly ad- justing the distance of the dark substance, and then this distance, measured in semidiameters of the circle of points, gives the cor- responding number of the comparative scale. Such an instrument I have called an Eriometer, from its utility in measuring the fibres of wool, and { have given directions for making it, to Mr, Fidler, in Foley-street. The luminous point is afforded by a perforation of a brass plate, which is surrounded by the circle of minute holes; the substance to be examined is fixed on some wires, which are carried by a slider, the plate being held before an Argand lamp, or before two or three candles placed in a line; the slider is drawn out to such a distance as to exhibit the required coincidence, and the index then shows the number representing the magnitude of the substance examined, The 1813.} Description of an Eriometer. 119 instrament may be rendered more portable, though somewhat less accurate, by merely making the perforations in a blackened card, furnished with a graduated piece of tape. An eye not short-sighted will generally require the assistance of.a lens, when the instrument is made of the most convenient dimensions, which I have found to be such as to have two circles of points, one at 1 and the other + of an iach in semidiameter, with their cor- responding scales. The central perforations are about =, and 25 of an inch in diameter; the points 8 or 10 only in each’ circle, and as minute as possible. ‘The light of the sun might also be employed, by fixing the circle of points at the end of the tube of a telescope: but it rather adds glare than distinctness to the colours: nor have I been able to gain any thing by looking through coloured glasses, or by using lights of different quali- ties. Where the object consists of fibres which can be arranged in parallel directions, a fine slit in the plate or card affords brighter colours than a simple perforation, and the points must in this case be arranged in lines parallel to the slit; but if care is not taken to stretch the fibres sufficiently, the employ- ment of the slit in this manner will make them appear coarser than they really are. ‘The colours will still appear, even if there be a considerable difference in the dimensions of the fibres or particles, but they will be so much the less distinct as the differ- ence is greater. In this case the measure indicated will be intermediate between the extreme dimensions; although most commonly it will be seen somewhat below the true mean, the colours exhibited by the finer fibres prevailing in some degree over the rest. The latitude, however, which the eriometer affords in the regularity of the substances measured by it, and its collecting into one result the effect of many thousands of particles, or of an endless variety of small differences in the diameters of fibres, give it an unquestionable preference over every kind of micrometer which measures a single interval only at once, with respect to all applications to agriculture or manu- factures; for in reality there is not a single fibre of wool among the millions which constitute a fleece, that preserves an uniform diameter throughout its length, and the difference is still greater between the fibres which grow on different parts of the animal ; so that to take a single measurement, or even any practical number of measurements, by the most accurate micrometer, in the usual acceptation of the term, for a criterion of the quality of a fleece, can tend only to the propagation of error or conjec- ture in the semblance of the minutest accuracy. Even with the eriometer, the difficulty of obtaining a fair average of the qua- lity of a sample of wool is extremely great; it is absolutely necessary to preserve the fibres as much as possible in their natural relative situation, and to examine them near the middle of their 120 Description of an Ertometer. {Aue. length; the ends next the skin are almost always considerably finer, and the outer ends generally coarser, than the rest ; but this difference is greater in some kinds of sheep than in others, and as far as I have observed, it is less in the Merinos and their crosses than in other sheep: there is also far less difference in - the different parts of the same fleece in these breeds than in others ; still however this difference is very observable, although it is probable that some part of the sheep might be found which in all cases might fairly be considered as affording nearly the average of the whole fleece; and I imagine that the part of the back about the loins is the most likely to be possessed of this property; so that the middle of the fibres of this part of the fleece might be assumed, in the finer kinds of wool, as affording a fair measure for the whole. Ill. Scale of the Eriometer. The theory which suggested to me the construction of the eriometer requires some corrections in its immediate applica- tion, which depend on circumstances not completely under- stood: at present, therefore, I shall only employ, for the deter- mination of the true value of the numbers of its scale, an expe- rimental comparison of its indications with some microscopical measurements, which Dr. Wollaston has been so good as to perform for me, with an admirably accurate micrometer of his own invention. The dust or seed of the lycoperdon bovista he finds to be —2,, of an inch in diameter: this substance gives very distinctly 3°5 on the scale of the eriometer; and 3°5 x 8500 = 29750. The globules of the blood measured ,1,,; and immediately after- wards, when examined in the same state by the eriometer, indi- cated about 61; and6°5 x 4900 = 31850. A wire of platina, obtained by a very ingenious method, peculiar to Dr. Wollaston, measured —1_,; and when coiled up, gave n. 9-of the eriometer; and 9 x 3200 = 28800. The mean of a considerable number of comparative observations on fibres of wool, between n, 20 and 30, afforded also 25800 for a product. A mean of these experiments gives very nearly 1. for the unit of the scale of the eriometer. Some former ifvestigations had led me to attribute to this unit a value somewhat smaller; especially for the lowest numbers; and I had obtained a formula, and made a tuble, for ascertaining the true dimensions of any substance measured by the instrument, according to the result of these investigations : but since my later experiments seem to have superseded the mode of calculation which I had adopted, I think it unnecessary to insert the table. Having sufficiently ascertained the true value of the indica- tions of the eriometrical table, I shal! now enumerate the mea- 1813.] Description of an Eriometer. 121 surements of the principal substances which I have examined with the instrument. IV. Substances measured by the Eriometer. Milk, diluted, very indistinct, about ............. eet roe Dust of lycoperdon bovista, very distinct ..........0.0-0. 32 Bullock’s blood, from beef ..........-.6. Rants caters cae 42. Smut of barley, called male ear .......... Sit ales ape chan oat Blood of a mouse .......... er eee eee ie) eet a averces 61 Human blood diluted with water, 5; after standing some a TOe Cie Chat acs hati Adin stee aero BAe ao | Blood recently diluted with serum only ......... ante cre .. 8 OS er ere Be aan Pe og te oe clayt he Silk, very irregular, about ......:.-5.-+ +00. ahepe ge Sey Beaver wool, very even, (jointed) ........... cng By ots MEW OL, QUOUE 3.2. os ss Stee De su ole ahs oo as RSE A apna wool. 6... oS Ener SHIGE Siberian hare’s wool, Scotch hare’s wool, foreign coney wool, yellow rabbit’s wool, about.......... eek cals cttetre 154 Moles fur, about ©. Y....... 22. Gee Che os etn wehertaiehe a ose Skate’s blood, very indistinct, about .......... POO American rabbit's wool, British coney wool, about........162 Buffalo’s wool .............. MUS This is caustic soda exposed to a red heat. Supposing it a compound of an integrant particle ofsoda and ef water, it ought te consist of 100 soda + 14°362 water, or 84128 soda + $2°558 water. I do not know that any accurate experiments bave been made to determine the proportions of this hydrate. © According to this statement, slacked lime (which is the hydrate) is composed of 100 lime + 81°27 water. Now Lavoi- sier found it composed of 100 lime + 28°7 water, and Dalton of 100 lime.+ 33°333 water. The mean of these results gives us 31:016, which very nearly coincides with the pumber in the table. 4 By comparing the experiments of Berthollet (Mem. d*Ar- cueil, li. 42,) with those of Berzelius, (Ann. de Chim. \xxviii. 50,) it appears that crystallized barytes exposed to a red heat (hydrate of barytes) is composed of 100 barytes + 12°121 water. If we suppose it a compound of an atom of barytes and an atom of water, its composition will be 100 barytes + 11°632, which almost coincides with experience. Hence the number in the table. © That a hydrate of strontian exists is certain, but no direct experiments have been made upon its composition; but from analogy, it is probable the number in the table is correct, The crystallized hydrate, according to Dr. Hope’s experiments, is composed of 1 atom strontian and 13: water. f Hydrate of magnesia is obtained by precipitating magnesia from an acid, by means of potash, and drying it in a gentle heat, It is composed, according to Davy, of 00 magnesia + about e 1818.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 169 © Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle. 141. Hydrate of alumina ..l a + 1 w......4°632 8 142. Hydrate of glucina ..1g +1 w..,...4,732" 143, Hydrate of yttria ....ly +3 w..... 11°796 + 144, Hydrate of zirconia..1 z + 1 w,,....6,788 * 145. Hydrate of silica....1 si+ 1 w...,.,5.198! 146. Hydro - vicpeed . ee) acid, or acid of 1°85 1s+ 1 w...,..6192 147, 2d hydrate of sul- phuric acid, or seid Ls t2 w...... 726k? Mint O°780.30 0.4. ts ; 148. $d hydrate of sul- phuric acid, or acid ork 1st+3 w......8°396 PERE fol accent eb,0e 149. Hydro-nitric ies ss he . ° or acid of 1°620.... Weseee 8888 25 water, which agrees nearly with the number in the table. It would not be surprising if a hydrate of magnesia existed con- sisting of an atom of magnesia united with an atom of water, but incapable of being dried without losing one-half of its water. ¢ Wavellite may be considered as a native hydrate of alumina. If it be composed of 74 alumina and 26 water, it must consist of an atom of alumina + an atom of water. Alumina preci= itated from a solution, and dried at 60°, would appear, from aussure’s experiments, to be composed of 1 atom of alumina and 4 atoms of water. bg ite ” Stated merely from analogy, without any direct experiment. ' From the experiments of Klaproth, it appears that yttria precipitated from acids, and dried, is composed 69 yttria + 31 water. Hence the number in the table. * According to Davy, zirconia, when in the state of a hydrate, contains more than ith of its weight of water. Hence the number in the table must represent its composition. ' We have no direct analysigof the hydrate of silica: but the earth is known to absorb about ith of its weight of water. Hence it must be a compound of 1 atom ‘silica and 1 atom water. ” This is the strongest possible sulphuric acid. It is composed of 100 real acid + 22°64 water. _ " This is the acid which freezes at the highest temperature of all, about 42° Fabrenheit. It is that on which Mr. Keir made his experiments. It is composed, as Dalton has shown, of 100 _—" acid + 45°28 water. Hence its composition is as stated in ta ° This and the three following hydrates have been ascertained 170 . On the Daltonian Theory of {Sepr. Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle. 150. 2d hydrate ey Lai btd “ley 8 oie OND acid, or acid of 1°54.. 151. 3d hydrate of nitric acid, or acid of 1°42.. 152. 4th hydrate ofnitric . acid, or acid eeieeot at COUN» eae 15. Hydrophosphorousacid2 p + 1 w......5°772? 154. Hydrate of boracic acid1 b + 3 w......9°106 4 155. Hydrate of peroxide 1 401 ws, \ Ln + Ziwieeee 6142 Ol COPE. « o.cia.e ae%e © 156. Hydrate of black is (iedage Fee sda oxide of iron...... Ni re of red) 4 i 41 wi... 10798! 158. Hydrate of deut- "alate a ho SIDS OF LUE Soh css e I Mates et- ete = by Dalton. ‘The reader may consult his curious table in his New System of Chemical Philosophy, Part U1. p. 355. P This is the result of the experiments of Sir Humphry Davy, who, by combining phosphorous acid with ammonia, and dis- tilling offthe water, found that the hydrate of phosphorous acid is a compound of 2 integrant particles of phosphorous acid and 1 of water. (Davy’s Elements of Chemical Philosophy, p. 289.) 4 We shall see afterwards that the weight of an integrant particle of boracic acid is about 5°710. Now Davy found hydrate of boracic acid composed of about 57 acid + 43 water. This approaches the number in the table; but as it does not quite correspond, little confidence can be put in it. * This is the blue substance obtained by precipitating nitrate er sulphate of copper by an alkali. According to Davy, it is composed of 9 peroxide of copper + 1 water. Now 9: 1:: 10 : 1111; and 1°111 is very nearly the weight of an integrant particle of water. * It appears from my experiments that water combines with black oxide of iron. I state the proportions from analogy merely. The increase of weight in my trial was rather less than equivalent to the proportion of water stated in the table. ‘ This is the orange precipitate obtained from oxysulphate of iron by an alkali. It has been ascertained to be a hydrate, but never analysed. I state the proportions merely from analogy. “ This the white powder obtained by precipitating the recent solution of tin in’ muriatic acid. According to Proust, it is 1813.) Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 171 Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle. 159. HydrateofperoxideY 1 44 w.,,..18-969* BAETEATA Se Cis sha jects, 0" 160. Hydrate of ray Lm + 2 Were ee e'887 ¥ oxide of nickel...... 161. Hydrate of pp ; a oxide of cobalt...... 1 6 1, W..+» 10458 162. Hydrate of prot- oxide of manganese. . 163. Hydrate of oxide of AISODIO Sen ow: steelers \ lm+1 wi.....9°262" i lat w..... 97182 These are the only hydrates (not reckoning the salts and vegetable acids) at present known. It is evident, from the slightest inspection of the table, how little they have been examined, and how uncertain we still are respecting the propor- tions of the constituents of several. They deserve a more careful examination than has hitherto been bestowed upon them ; and, if accurately understood, would greatly facilitate many im- portant processes in practical chemistry. It is particularly worthy of inquiry, whether all metallic oxides be capable of forming hydrates, or only some of them. The former is the more probable opinion ; but it is very far from being determined, composed of 95° black oxide + 5 water. Now this approaches to 1 particle of black oxide and 1 particle of water. * ‘There can be no doubt that this hydrate exists ; but it has not hitherto been analysed. I state its composition in the table merely from analogy. y This is the green coloured substance obtained by dissolving nickel in nitric acid, and precipitating by potash. According to Davy, more than one-fourth of its weight is water. ‘This state- ment approaches most nearly to the supposition that it contains 2 particles of water to 1 of oxide. ' * This is the blue powder obtained by dissolving cobalt in an acid, and precipitating by an alkali. It has not been ‘analysed. The number in the table is given merely from analogy. * This is the white powder precipitated by alkalies fromcolour- . less solutions of manganese. It has never been analysed. Hence the numbers in the table are given only from analogy. » 'This is the opake white powder, or the small white crystals, of oxide of arsenic. ‘The pure oxide is transparent and colour- less, like glass. This hydrate has never been analysed. The numbers in the table are stated merely from analogy. 172 Contributions towards (Serr. Articre III. Contributions towards a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. By Dr. John.* THOUGH manganese was known in the remotest times, and though after Bergman had shown that it contained a pecu- liar metal, several distinguished chemists occupied themselves with experiments upon it, yet it is one of the metals respecting which our knowledge is most defective. Indeed, we may say that it never has been described in a state of purity. This con- sideration has induced me to make choice of it as an object of experiment. My labours on it have of necessity been so various, and my observations on it so numerous, that it would fatigue my readers too much were I to publish the whole at once. J shall therefore lay them before the world at different times, and in separate dissertations. I. Purifying of the Oxide of Manganese. This, which is accomplished with no small difficulty, must occupy us in the first place. That chemists have hitherto attained the means of purifying manganese only imperfectly, is obvious from the many processes proposed, all differing so much from each other. ; ; It is not only to the separation of the iron always contained in the mixture to which we ought to pay attention; copper, also, and not unfrequently lead, together with several earths, are to be found in several of the ores of manganese. In particular, I have found them in the purest grey Saxon manganese. For the separation of the iron from manganese we do not, it is true, want processes; but I have examined them with accu- racy, and have not found any of them singly fully to answer the intended purpose. Gehlen’s weli known, and generally practised, method of separating iron from all metals whieh form a soluble salt with suceinie acid, by precipitating the iron from its solution by means of an alkaline succinate, leaves nothing farther to be desired in respect of accuracy; but if we consider the high price of succinic acid, and the continually diminishing quantity of amber from which it is procured, the matter will appear in another light, and induce us to look out for a more convenient method. i eng from Geklen’s Journal fur die Chemie und Physik Dritter Band. id. ii, 52. 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 173 When I considered the principle on which Gehlen founded his method of separating iron from manganese by means of succinic acid, namely, the insolubility of one of the two result- ing compounds, it occurred to me that oxalic acid, or any of its neutral salts, might be used for the same purpose, more economy. with With this view I mixed a saturated muriatic solution of man- ganese with some nitric acid, evaporated it to the consistence of a thick syrup, diluted it with much water, saturated the excess of acid with some potash, and left in the solution, for 24 hours, a polished plate of iron, in order to separate the copper which it contained as completely as possible. The solution being now filtrated, I dropped intoit alittle morepotash, to occasion a com- mencement of precipitation. The solution, thus rendered a little muddy, was treated with a neutral solution of oxalate of potash as long as any iron continued to pricipitate. The vessel was then kept for 24 hours in a moderate heat, to enable the precipitate the better to separate from the liquid. The solution contained lead (as was before mentioned). This was easily thrown down by means of sulphate of soda, and the resulting sulphate of lead was reduced upon charcoal by means of the blowpipe. When the process described in the last paragraph isattentively observed, we find that the peculiar yellowish red or brownish colour which the solution of manganese containing iron or mu- riatic acid at first has, gradually oN in proportion as the iron is precipitated. When the liquid is concentrated, indeed, it assumes a peach blossom red colour: but when diluted, it becomes as colourless as water. When prussiate of soda is dropped into the solution, the oxide of manganese, when no copper happens to be present, is thrown down of a snow-white colour, which does not change, though left exposed to the air for dave, Infusion of nutgalls occasions no precipitate. When the solution contains copper, the precipi- tate is peach blossom red, or crimson red, according to the pro- portion of that metal present. When the least quantity of any solution containing iron is dropped in, the precipitate has always a shade of Glan To free the oxide of manganese completely from copper, which is not fully shahanallsiie by the preceding treatment with iron, it is not sutticient to precipitate the oxide with carbonate of ammonia, and to digest the precipitate in liquid ammonia. ‘The affinity between the oxides of copper and manganese is so great that they cannot be separated from each other by means of ame monia. Eyen after repeating this process four times successively upon the same oxide, 1 found that it still retained a portion of 6 174 Contributions towards (Sepr., copper ; for prussiate of soda always threw down a reddish pre- cipitate. When the ammonia is evaporated, it soon acquires a blue colour, in consequence of the copper which it contains. By degrees a bluish white powder falls down, which is a triple com- pound of carbonic acid, and the oxides of copper and manga- nese. Carbonate of ammonia dissolves almost nothing of pure carbonate of manganese; but if copper be present, the latter becomes at least partly soluble in theammonia, but yet in such a manner that a portion of the manganese is dissolved at the same time. This separation of carbonate of copper-and-manganeseduring the evaporation of the liquid, though I had previously endea- voured to throw down the whole of the copper by means of an iron plate, gave me considerable trouble. To obtain a complete separation ofthe copper from the oxide of manganese, I threw down the whole oxides from the muriatic solution by means of carbonate of ammonia, washed the preci- pitate well with ammonia and water, and then dissolved it in sulphuric acid. To this solution, previously rendered quite neutral, I added a portion of carbonate of potash, or of ammo- nia, digested the whole for some time, and then separated the resulting precipitate, which consisted of oxides of copper and manganese, by means of the filter. In this manner was the copper completely separated, which at first, as I hadconvinced myself, precipitated in combination with the oxide of manganese. The clear solution freed from the precipitate was completely decomposed by carbonate of ammonia. The precipitate washed and collected was considered as pure carbonate of manganese, proper for chemical experiments; for I had previously ascertained that the ore contained no alumina. This carbonate of manganese, prepared and purified in the manner above described, [ employed in my experiments. II. Reduction of the Oxide of Manganese. : The difficult fusion of this metal, and the property which it has of running into a glass when the oxide is brought in contact with a flux, or. when the oxide employed for reduction comes in contact with the sides of the vessel, for a long time prevented chemists from supplying themselves with it in any quantity, and from accurately determining its relation to other bodies, and the . proportion of oxygen with which it is combined, either in diffe- rent native compounds or artificial products. : » Another.inconveniency which occurs in the reduction of this metal, and which is a consequence of its difficult fusibility, con- 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. L75- sists in the difficulty of uniting into a button the particles of it after they are reduced into the metallic state. Gahn's and Bergman’s method of performing thereduction of the metal in a crucible lined with charcoal, is, as I have satisfied myself, the only one that succeeds, But in order to be free from the inconveniency of either procuring imperfect grains, or of obtaining them exccedingly small, some contrivances are necessary, with which these chemists were unac uainted, and upon which the success of the experiment entirely depends. I repeated this difficult experiment more than ten times before I obtained a result not merely accidentally successful, but which constantly turns outthe same after the same preparation. Whether manganese reduced by means of charcoal be in a state, chemically speaking, pure, is a question that remains to be answered; but before I state my doubts on the subject, I shall ive a description of the method of reducing’ manganese, which found successful. I lined a Hessian crucible somewhat more than six inches high within, with a paste composed of a small quantity of clay mixed with precipitated silica, a great proportion of charcoal, and the requisite quantity of water. The paste was laid on te the thickness ofhalf an inch every where, except at the bottom, where it was thicker. I now with my hands forced in as much charcoal into the wet mass as the crucible would take up, leaving a conical hole in the middle, dried the crucible for some days in a moderate warmth, and then heated it thoroughly red-hot. I heated the carbonated oxide, destined for the experiment, during an hour in a covered crucible, in order to drive off the carbonic acid, and rubbed the light brown oxide obtained with oil to apaste. I then destroyed the oil by the application of a moderate heat. This process, the object of which was to mix the oxide intimately with the charcoal of the oil, I repeated once more. At last I rubbed to a fine powder the oxide thus treated with oil, and reduced it with as little oil as possible in a mortar toa firm mass. ‘This I formed into the shape of the cavity in the crucible, into which I introduced it, and filled up all the interval with charcoal powder. ‘The whole was then exposed to a moderate heat for half an hour. A cover was now put upon the crucible; it was placed among burning coals, in order to be heated equably and gradual! Moseih hen it was suddenly exposed for- an hour and a half to as strong a fire as the crucible could bear without melting. By this process I obtained from 830 grains of carbonated . oxide, 360 grains of the pure metal; so that the loss, as will ap- pear from what follows, was very small; and in experiments of this nature some loss is not to be avoided, 176 Contributions towards (Serr. III. Properties of Metallic Manganese. It has a silver white colour inclining to grey; the colour of brittle cast-iron. In the open air it emits a peculiar smell, not very unlike that of rancid fat. Its lustre is not remarkably great. Its fracture is uneven, and very fine granular. It is not so hard as cast-iron, and easily yields to the file. In point of brittleness it approaches cast-iron. Mr. G. O. B. R. Karsten and myself found its specific ‘gravity 8°013. It is not attracted by the magnet; but a very small quantity of iron renders it magnetic. When the metal is completely free from iron and copper it changes instantly in the air, and therefore cannot be preserved. It becomesimmediately yellowand violet, and speedily crumbles into a light brown powder, which soon becomes darker. Even in alcohol, in which I have attempted to preserve it, the pure metal speedily crumbles down to powder. Thisunpleasant expe-~ riment I have made more than once to my sorrow. It is best preserved in a vessel completely filled with quick- silver, and covered over with another vessel. It appears, how- ever, that the metal, through length of time, amalgamates with the quicksilver, especially when it is only in small quantity; at least the quicksilver acquires a very thick firm skin. I shall ex- amine this subject more accurately hereafter. It seems not improper to say a few words in this place abont native manganese, said to have been found by some mineral-~ ogists. Picot la Peyrouse, in the Memoires de Toulouse, t. i. p: 256, says, that he found it on the mountain Rancie, in the valley of Viederose, not far from the village of Sem, in the cidevant county of Foix. Most mineralogists and chemists have combated his assertion, and have grounded their opinion upon the rapidity with which artificially prepared manganese alters when exposed to the air. I am, however, of opinion, thaf manganese may exist native provided it be in combination with other metals; for I found that when during my experiments a portion of iron (derived from the pitcoal with which 1 sometimes filled up the crucible) had united itself with the reduced manga- nese, in such cases the resulting regulus was not altered by ex- posure to the air, and might be kept in an open vessel without undergoing any farther change. In this state it possessed a small degree of malleability, and was attracted by the magnet. if the pure manganese be left for some days in centact with the charcoal, it attracts the oxygen of the charcoal (?), and falls down in the state of a brown powder. This ready oxydation at 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 177 a low temperature makes it necessary, after the reduction of the metal, to break the crucible while still warm, in order as soon as possible to put an end to the action of the charcoal on the metal. This interesting experiment I made, without expecting it, with the loss ofthe whole of the reeulus which I had reduced. I performed the process in the porcelain furnace at Berlin; and because it was necessary to continue the heat of the furnace, I left my crucible in it for two days after the fire was withdrawn. - The metal takes oxygen from the dark brown oxide, and changes it into light brown. It may be fased with borax without any of it dissolving in the salt. If this experiment is performed in a charcoal crucible, the manganese shows a quite different nature. It requires a much less degree of heat than when the metal and salt are fused alone, and the glass of borax appears to dissolve a very small portion of the metal. Manganese, when fused with borax, acquires quite the exter- nal appearance of tellurium; the colour, the lustre, and the fine granular distinct concretions. These last show a truly regular crystalline structure. Manganese, fused simply with charcoal, leaves behind it, when it is dissolved in acids, a portion of charcoal which had been in combination with the metal, as is the case in cast-iron. If the oxide, before its reduction to the metallic state, con- tained iron, in that case the residuum of charcoal becomes more conspicuous. When the manganese is pure it scarcely amounts to 0°01. Manganese, fused with borax, undergoes an alteration, when exposed to the air, with still greater facility; and when dissolved in acids, it leaves no charcoal behind it. IV. Action of Carbonic Acid on Manganese. (A.) On the metal.—Carbonic acid exhibits very interesting results on the oxidation of manganese. The same thing un- doubtedly would happen with all acids, if their action upon the regenerated oxide could be retarded by means of any me- dium. It is ascertained that all metals before their solution in acids must be converted into oxides, without which they cannot form metallic salts. Now in very few cases does this oxide be- come manifest to our senses. The rapid or instantaneous ac- tion of the acid upon the oxide makes that impossible, and we conclude only from the gases disengaged (which being either hy- drogen or imperfect acids, are Bodies that have lost ozygen,) that an oxidation of the metal has taken place. I will show hereafter that some vegetable acids, which do not act so rapidly upon the regenerated oxide, constitute an excep- Var. II. N° ILI. M 178 Contributions towards (Serr. tion to this observation. This is the case, in an especial man- ner, with carbonic acid. If some metallic manganese in the state of powder be thrown into water impregnated with carbonic acid, and the vessel be left for some days covered up, we shall find the metal, upon examination, changed into a green oxide. If we allow the vessel to continue untouched for some weeks, the oxide (pro- vided the quantity of carbonic aeid be sufficient) is changed into white carbonate of manganese; and remains for the greatest part at the bottom of the vessel in that state. Only a small portion of it is dissolved in the water. Carbonic acid gas acts in the same manner upon the metal. I placed a small porcelain vessel, containing some powdered manganese, in a large receiver, free from water, and filled with carbonic acid gas, and let it remain eight days. The metal was converted into green oxide, and some days after contained white carbonate of manganese mixed with it. This peculiar oxidation of manganese appeared at first truly astonishing. Was the carbonic acid decomposed, and was the oxidation produced by its giving out oxygen to the metal? Not a single: drop of water was perceptible in the receiver, to which we could have ascribed the change. Or was it produced by a por- tion of water mixed with the gas in a state of vapour? ‘The Jast opinion seems most probable, and will have the greatest number of supporters. But is the first opinion quite impro- bable? I shall not venture to adopt it till a decisive method of ascertaining when a gas is free from water shall have convinced me that the last opmion is inconsistent with truth. (B.) On the brown oxide.—Manganese, which from exposure to the air has been changed into a light brown oxide, is also altered by carbonic acid, and partly converted into carbonate _of manganese. I put the oxide into a small glass, and suspended -it for some weeks in a large flask filled with carbonic acid gas. At the end of that time it had assumed a greyish brown colour. Nitric acid disengaged from it carbonic acid gas, dissolved a portion of it, and left another portion in the state of black oxide. From this 1 conclude that, from the action of the carbonic acid, one portion of the brown oxide had given out oxygen to another portion, and had thus converted it into black oxide, while the portion deprived of a part of its oxygen combined with the car- bonic acid. Remarks on the Carbonate of Manganese. All solutions of the salts of manganese are precipitated by the “alkaline carbonates. When the protoxide of manganese is -thrown down in this manner, we obtain a snow-white precipitate, 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 179 which is pure carbonate of manganese, and answers perfectly to that mentioned above. There is only one combination of carbonic acid and manga- nese, that, namely, in which the metal is in the state of prot- oxide. When we endeavour to increase the proportion of oxy- n, as, for example, by the application of heat, a portion of the carbonie acid is disengaged, and the whole peroxide pro- duced remains behind when we attempt to dissolve the éarbo- nate in an acid. Carbonate ofmanganese, which has a reddish yellow or brown colour, and yet contains no other metal mixed with it, must therefore be considered as a mixture of brown oxide and car- bonate of manganese. When oxymuriatic acid is brought in contact with carbonate of manganese, the carbonic acid separates in the same propor- tion in which the oxymuriatic acid is decomposed and manga- nese oxydated. A solution of manganese in muriatic acid, though mixed with abundance of oxymuriatic acid, is precipi- tated, it is true, by the alkaline carbonates; but the brown or black precipitate in that case consists (obviously at the expense of the oxygen in the oxymuriatic acid) of pure oxide, without the smallest portion of carbonic acid. Neither precipitate ren- ders lime-water in the least muddy when it is treated with an acid in a small Woulfe’s bottle, furnished with a bent tube, the extremity of which passes into the lime-water. Pure carbonate of manganese appears in the state of a soft snow-white powder. ‘ It is quite tasteless, and is not altered in the air ata tempera- ’ ture between 55° and 60°. Hence it may be kept with perfect safety in a close vessel. { have found that it may with safety be dried in the tempera- ture of 80°, without either attracting more oxygen, or losing atiy of its carbonic acid. As I very frequently determine the quantity of pute oxide in salts of this nature by the quantity of carbonate, Pehose, in order to avoid all inconvenience arising from the presence of a greater or sinaller quantity of water in such carbonates, to dry them always at the temperature of 80°. The pure alkalies decompose the carbonate of manganese, com- bine with the acid, and the white oxide, by exposure to the air, attracts oxygen, and becomes brown. Carbonate of manganese may be considered as insoluble in water, since eight ounces of that liquid scarcely dissolve half 2 in of it. Even water impregnated with carbonic acid gas ivastines it only in very minute quantity, though recently preci- pitated, and still moist. Eight ounces of water, as strongly impregnated with carbonic acid as possible, dissolved scarcely one grain of carbonate. ‘To choose carbonic acid as a mediunt M 2 180 Contributions towards ~ (Sept. to separate manganese in solution from other substances with which it is in combination, as has been proposed by some che- mists, is therefore in the highest degree improper. When water containing the greatest possible quantity of carbonate of manga- nese in solution is exposed to the air, it can hardly be said to cover itself with a skin. ‘This erroneous opinion has probably originated from confounding manganese with magnesia. When a solution of manganese in an acid (the acid being in excess) is decomposed by a carbonated alkali, and the filtered liquid is diluted with water, if it be left exposed to the air, or placed in an artificial warmth, it is soon covered all over with a thin skin; but it is impossible from this to estimate the qualifies of car- bonate of manganese, or to conclude its great solubility in car- bonic acid water; for when this skin is accurately examined, we find that it is a salt composed of carbonic acid, oxide of man- ganese, the alkali employed in producing the precipitation, and probably of the acid likewise in which the metal was previously dissolved. In order to precipitate manganese completely from a solu- tion, it is necessary that there should be no excess of acid pre- sent. Only the neutral solutions are completely decomposable. The fat oils dissolve carbonate of manganese by the applica- tion of heat, and form with it a compound having the consistence of plaster. This observation was first made by Scheele. Estimate of the Proportion of the Constituents of Carbonate of Manganese. I first estimated, by dissolving a hundred grains of carbonate of manganese, the loss of weight sustained by the escape of carbonic acid. By this method I determined the proportion of acid to amount to 34°25 per cent. To determine the other constituents, I filled a very small good coated retort with carbonate of manganese, of which 120 grains were requisite. The beak of the retort passed into a glass ball, from which proceeded a tube to allow the gas to escape. By the application of a heat, at first gentle, but gradually so high as to make the retort red-hot, the gas and the water were expelled from the salt. After continuing a red heat for two hours, the apparatus was taken to pieces, and the weight of the different products obtained determined. The water in the glass ball weighed 12 grains; and the oxide remaining in the retort, and which had acquired a greenish grey colour, weighed 67 grains. If we subtract the weight of the oxide and water thus obtained from the 120 grains employed in the experiment, there remains a loss of 41 grains. As the gas which made its escape during the distillation was pure carbonic acid, this Joss gives us 41 grains for the amount of that acid in the salt. This agrees very 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 181 nearly with the result of the first experiment, according to which 100 grains of earbonate of manganese contain 34°25 gtains of carbonic acid. One hundred grains of the salt are composed of the follow- ing constituents :— Protoxide of manganese .......... 55°84 Water, . lassadely ievar is vices: -- 10°00 Carboniclacid: iis .i s54% ovis ie es oe 34°16 100°00 The greenish grey oxide thus obtained dissolves in acids with- out the extrication of any gas, and the same compound is ob- tained as would have been got by the solution of the carbonate in the same acid. Hence it is to be looked upon as the real base of the salt; and the white powder, which appears when manganese is precipitated by an alkali, must be'considered as a hydrate, or an oxide still combined with a portion of acid. V. Action of Sulphuric Acid on Manganese. (A.) On the metal_—The action of concentrated sulphuric acid upon manganese in the metallic state is very inconsiderable. It produces some heat, and a small portion of the metal is dis- solved. Several chemists, it is true, are of opinion that the so- lution takes place very readily; but I conclude, upon very good rounds, that the regulus which they employed was not quite in the metallic state, but contained some oxygen combined with it. When the acid is diluted with water, heat is evolved, and hydrogen gas disengaged, which has a very peculiar smell, si- milar to that of asafoetida, This smell is probably owing to a ortion of the metal being carried off in solution in the gas. uring the solution the liquid assumes a green colour, which disappears when the acid ceases to act upon the metal. This appearance probably depends upon the formation of green oxide, as when carbonic acid acts upon the metal. The concentrated solution has a light rose-red colour; and when it is diluted with water, the colour becomes insensible. have never been able to procure colourless crystals from this colourless solution. Indeed, as the metal which is oxydated at the expense of the water gives at first a coloured liquid, it is not reasonable to expect colourless crystals of sulphate of manganese. 190 grains of concentrated sulphuric acid, of the specifie gravity 1°860, required for neutralization 1003 grains of metallic manganese. The filtered solution (which left 3 grains of black, brilliant, niimutely divided charcoal,) gave, when decomposed 182 Contributions towards [Surr. by carbonate of ammonia,* 2053 grains of carbonate of man- ganese dried at the temperature of 80°. From this experiment it follows, that 100 parts of carbonate of manganese consist of Metalico Sot aalccau tas aecies GO, Acid eoeaeeevreeee @vpee@e@eevereteeoeeeeeae Water Ret pee Oxygen...5:. DAAC NAMA EES Tone 100°00 (B.) On the protoxide.—Both the pure protoxide and the carbonate of manganese dissolve completely in sulphuric acid, in whatever state of concentration it be. The solution has the same properties as that mentioned in the last paragraph, and what I now say of it may, to save repetition, be applied to both. When the neutral solution is rapidly evaporated, the sulphate of manganese separates in the state of a granular powder, or embryo crystals ; and no crystals are obtained during the cooling of the liquid. To obtain this salt in the state of regular crystals the saturated solution must be left to spontaneous evaporation. I gained the same object more speedily by means of some crystals of sulphate of manganese, which I introduced into a solution concentrated, as far as possible, by rapid evaporation. I then placed the solution for farther evaporation upon the top of a stove, where the temperature was between 68° and 73°. By this contrivance J reduced the whole salt, without exception, to a regular state. The crystals of sulphate of manganese which first shoot are of a faint rose-red colour. The last crystals have a white ~ colour, and contain a great excess of acid. Properties of crystallized Sulphate.of Manganese. Tt crystallizes, 1. In very broad flat four-sided prisms, either complete or slightly truncated on the alternate edges of the sides. The crystals are usually more or less intermixed with each other, and hence incomplete. 2. In rhombs. The crystals are completely transparent, have a light rose- red colour, and a bitterish metallic taste. At the temperature of 55° they remain unaltered in the air, and do not attract more oxygen even when left in contact with oxygen gas. At the same temperature, 2; parts of water dissolve one part of the salt. They are insoluble in alcohol. * T always took eare to convince myself by repeated experiments that no oxide remained in solution in the liquid,—J, 1813.] a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 183 Their specific gravity amounts to 1°834, that of water being 1°000. : At the temperature of 66° they become opake and white. When the crystals are heated to redness in a coated retort, they lose their water of crystallization, and a white dry mass remains in the retort, which dissolves in water by the assistance of heat. When the fire is raised so high as to melt the retort, an imperfect decomposition of the salt is obtained. Sulphurous acid is disengaged, and some glaceous sulphuric acid is found in the receiver. There remains in the retort a mixture of sulphate of manganese, and of brown oxide. The aqueous solution of sulphate of manganese is neither precipitated by oxalate of potash nor borate of soda. Some chemists, indeed, have obtained a precipitate by means of this last salt, consisting, as they say, of borate of manganese; but this only happens when the borate used contains an excess of alkali, as is the case with the borax of commerce. Pure tarta- ric acid produces no precipitate in this solution. When the liquid into which this acid has been poured is evaporated suffi- ciently, prismatic crystals make their appearance, which have the properties of sulphate of manganese. Infusion of nutgalls, and the alkaline chromates and arseniates, produce no change upon the solution of sulphate of manganese. The solution is precipitated by the alkaline prussiates, car- bonates, and phosphates, and a white powder is obtained, con- sisting of the oxide of manganese united with the acid of the salt employed. If the sulphate of manganese contains the smallest portion of copper, the precipitate formed by the action of an alkaline prussiate has a peach-blossom red colour. Estimate of the Proportion of the Constituents. One hundred and fifty grains of the salt were dissolved in water, and decomposed, while hot, by means of muriate of manganese. The sulphate of barytes which separated was care- fully collected, washed, dried, and heated to redness. It weighed 1481 grains, As it appears from Klaproth’s late experiments that the proportion of acid in dry sulphate of barytes amounts to 34 per cent., it follows that 1484 grains of the salt contain 504. grains of acid. The solution of manganese thus freed from sulphuric acid was precipitated by means of carbonate of potash. The precipi- , tate, collected, washed, and dried at the temperature of 80°, weighed $31 grains, which, from the preceding experiments on the composition of carbonate of manganese, indicate 461 grains of protoxide. , As the 53 grains of loss must be imputed to the water con- 184: Sketch of the present State of (Serr. tained in the salt, it follows that 100 parts of sulphate of man- ganese consist of the following constituents :-— SOUP IVIENS PA oscn a's 55 ols bh wsisuceita em ier a PrOUSIUe oc Gewtss catnis es asm acae 31°00 PV SILEL cteet meres een eituers care ernie aes 35°34 100°00 (Fo be continued.) ArtTicie LV. Sketch of the present State of Agriculture in Berwickshire. By the Rev. J.'Thomson, Minister of Eccles, in that county. (Concluded from Vol. I. p. 265.) Fatitowine.—In Berwickshire the following mode of fallow- ing is usually employed. As soon after harvest as possible the land that is to be tallowed receives its first furrow, or ploughing. Care is taken that in clay lands the ridges be sufficiently high, that the water may run off into the furrows which are opened by the plough and spade, that it may thence discharge itself into the ditches which surround the inclosure. This first plough- ing is considered as of great utility. It buries the stubble, and thus tends to convert it into vegetable soil. It leaves the field in as dry a state as possible; and the winter frosts pulverize the soil. ‘Chis ploughing is generally made as deep as possible, be- cause the plough, on account of the softness of the soil, can then easily penetrate to the proper depth. ‘Thus, also, the future ploughings are rendered easier. The second ploughing is seldom given till the oats be sown, and sometimes also the barley. Ifthe land abound with weeds, such as couch-grass, and the season be dry; then it is well harrowed, and the couch-grass is gathered by the hand, and laid up in heaps. These heaps are afterwards led off the field, and mixed with lime, or lime and stable manure, and thus form an excellent compost. It is of great advantage that couch- grass should be gathered as early in the season as possible be- tore it begins to grow, because it can be done both more easily * and more completely when the soil has been pulverized by the winter frosts than afterwards: but if the season be wet, the land cannot be sufficiently harrowed, nor the couch-grass gathered, till the third ploughing. The third ploughing takes place when it is supposed all the 1813.] Agriculture in Berwickshire. 185 weeds have vegetated, but not attained such growth as to impo- verish the soil. Then the whole is well harrowed, and the couch-grass again gathered. The fourth and fifth ploughings are given after such intervals as may give time for the remaining weeds to show themselves, The harrow again succeeds each ploughing; and the couch- grass, if any remain, is gathered. But if this part of the work has been properly attended to, after the second and third ploughing, few weeds, except annuals, will now remain. More than five ploughings are frequently given if the soil has not been already sufficiently cleaned and pulverized. It is to be observed, that when the field is very full of large clods, it may be necessary to employ the roller, as clods are often full of weeds. The manure intended for the field, whether lime, or compost, or muck, is put on always at least before the last ploughing; but sometimes the muck is put on before the Jast two ploughings. We have said nothing of the particular species of ploughing given each time, whether it is gathering, or cleaving, or crossing, because the practice is not uniform; but we may add, that it is customary to plough across the ridges in at least two of the ploughings. After fallowing in this manner, the wheat is sown. If the season be favourable, that is, not too wet, and the soil very fine, it is thought best to drill the wheat. This is either done with a drill machine, or drill furrows are made with the common plough deprived of ifs coulter. The wheat is then sown broad- cast: it falls chiefly into the drill furrows, and after being har- rowed, comes up in regular drills. Time oF sowinc.— Winter wheat is sown from the begin- ning or middle of September even as late as Martinmas, ac- cording to the season, and the convenience of the farmer. After fallowing, from the middle to the end of September is consi- dered as the properest time, when the season is favourable, and the work can be oyertaken ; after potatoes, as soon as the crop is taken up; afier Swedish turnip, about Martinmas. This season (1812) a good deal of wheat was sown in December. After common turnips, as the ground is gradually cleared, it is sown in January, February, and March, when the weather is favourable. It is then called spring wheat: and it has been found, by the experience of several judicious farmers, that though the spring wheat be the same as the winter wheat, being the triticum hybernum, yet the produce of what has been sown in spring will, when used as seed, ripen a fortnight earlier than the produce of wheat sown in autumn, or before winter. Sketch of the Turnip Husbandry of Berwickshire. The introduction of turnips is one of the most important 186 Sketch of the present State of (Serr. improvements of modern husbandry. No intelligent farmer will deny that the cultivation of turnips was long known and practised in Norfolk before it was adopted in Berwickshire. Some ascribe the first cultivation of turnips in this county to the late Earl of Marchmont; some to Mr. John Hunter, who for some time was steward to the same Nobleman; some to Mr. Pringle, of Lees, near Coldstream; but it is generally agreed that Mr. William Dawson, formerly tenant in Frogden, Rex- burghshire, who is still ‘alive, had the chief merit of introducing the drill turnip husbandry into this neighbourhood, and of bringing it to its present improved state. To allow this, is to ascribe no small honour to Mr. Dawson: for between the first mode of cultivation, the broadcast; and the present, the drill turnip husbandry, there is a wide display of ingenuity. ‘The broadcast turnip husbandry could never be carried to any great extent in clay soil, because it did not admit the most simple, and cheap, and systematic method of clearing the soil of weeds. But the drill husbandry, while it ensures at least as good a crop, fur- nishes an opportunity of cleaning and pulverizing the soil; of introducing the cheapest and most effectual instrument, the plough; and of giving to the hoer a dexterity, a regularity, and a dispatch, truly astonishing. Hence it will be no matter of surprise to any to hear that the broadcast turnip husbandry is universally abandoned, and the drill husbandry firmly establish- ed, not only in this, but in all the neighbouring counties. PREPARATION OF THE FIELD.—The field intended for tur- nips next season is always ploughed, if possible, after harvest, that it may be finely pulverized by the frost of winter. It receives its second ploughing in the spring, or beginning of summer, after the oats and barley are sown, and the potatoes planted. It is then harrowed, and the weeds are gathered. It undergoes a third, fourth, and fifth ploughing, and as man harrowings, during the months of May and June, and the weeds are repeatedly gathered, as often as it is found requisite. It is also occasionally rolled with a heavy wooden roller, in order to reduce it to powder. ‘Thus it is treated exactly in the same way as fallow. Riperes.—The most usual mode of forming the surface of Jand for turnips, is to lay the ridges flat; but in a clay soil, like that of the Merse, raised ridges are preferable. Dritis.—The soil being pulverized, and cleared of weeds, the next thing is to form the whole surface into drills with the plough, at from 26 to 30 inches distance from one another. This distance has been found by experience to be the most con- venient, because it affords sufficient room for the sustenance and growth of the turnip, and allows the plough to pass easily between the drills.) When the surface is flattened, the field is 1813.] Agriculture in Berwickshire. 187 often drilled obliquely; that is, the drills form acute angles with the former ridges. When the ridges are raised, the drills are sometimes drawn at right angles to the ridges; but the most common mode is to make the drills in the same longitudinal direction as the ridges. Manunine.—The drills being formed, the dung is next car- ried to the field, and spread in the furrows. That which is pro- perly rotten is preferred. The drills are then ploughed down ear the dung, and new drills formed immediately above the ung. orth coed are sown with a drill plough, which drops the seed in a straight line on the top of the drill. A small harrow and small roller follow the drill plough, for covering the seed, and pressing it down gently. The seed is sown pretty thick, in order to give the greater certainty of a crop. Some use drill ploughs which sow two, three, four, and even five drills at once: but unless the surface of the drills be perfectly level, such machines do not perform the work so correctly as a single drill plough, Species sown.—The species or varieties of turnips sown are enerally the yellow, and white or globe turnip, the root of carcity or Ruta Baga, commonly called the Swedish turnip, a lant 2 hoe by botanists under a different genus; but as the uta Baga is employed by farmers for the same purpose as tur- nips, they find no occasion for a more scientific classification. Time or sowinc.—The Ruta Baga requiring a greater length of time to bring it to maturity than the turnip, is gene- rally sown before the end of May, when the season is favourable. The yellow turnip is next sown. ‘The best time for sowing the globe turnip is thought to be from the middle of June to the middle of July. The time of sowing must, however, vary, according to the season: and those who require immense fields af turnips must, of course, begin earlier than those who require Ww. First norinc.—If the weather be warm, and the soil neither too dry nor too wet, the seed vegetates in a few days. As soon as the plants have attained sufficient strength and size for weed- ing and singling, the weeding plough is made to pass along each drill, for cutting the weeds, and pulverizing the soil between. the drills. Then the hoers are set to work to single the turnips, to cut the remaining weeds, and pulverize the soil close to the turnips on the narrow space which the plough has not touched. The hoes are made of such length in the iron part as to serve as measures for the interval to be made between every two plants: and by singling is meant leaving the turnips single by them- selves, va cutting and destroying those on each side. The 188 Sketch of the present State of (Serr. hoers are generally women and children, accompanied by a steward, or by the farmer himself, to superintend the work. It is wonderful to observe their dexterity, their correctness, and expedition. They push the hoe from them across the drill, destroying all the unnecessary plants which the hoe touches; pull it back with the same effect, seldom leaving more than one lent at every six or eight inches distance. They go on pushing and drawing alternately with the greatest agility and rapidity; so that you would think, the first time you saw a number of expe- rienced hoers at work, that every plant would be destroyed. But when you look over the ground they have passed, you see the plants left single at measured distances, lying-on their sides connected with the ground only by a single fibre. Even then an unexperienced person would think they could never recover themselves. In a few days, however, they are raised erect, by the power of vegetation, and assume a vigorous appearance. SeconD HoEING.—After the first hoeing the plants make rapid progress. When they have acquired sufficient size for hoeing a second time, the hoers renew their operations. Their business now is to correct any oversights that may have been committed in the first singling: for example, where two or more plants happen to be left together to destroy all but one, and also to cut or kill the weeds thoroughly in the intervals of the drill and on each side. The earth is afterwards drawn up to the roots bya plough. The crop, then left to the influence of heat and moisture, soon spreads its broad leaves over the whole surface of the field, exhibiting the richest verdure to the eye. Crop HOW EMPLOYED.— When the grass begins to fail, after harvest, the farmer has recourse to his first sown turnips. In order to sow wheat before winter, some take up the Ruta Baga, - or Swedish turnips, before Martinmas, cut off the leaves and roots, carry them home, and lay them up under cover, to be kept till the crop of turnips be consumed. Some, also, for the same purpose, take up a part of their common turnips. The common turnip may be preserved for two months, and the Ruta Baga till Whitsuntide. Thus, by means of Ruta Baga and turnips, the farmer is plentifully supplied with green succulent food tor his cattle and horses from Martinmas till Whitsuntide. Growing turnips are often let by the acre to be eaten on the ground by sheep. ‘This may be done without injury to the sheep on a clay soil, immediately after harvest, or in the spring: but in light dry soils may be done through the whole winter. The price per acre is fron: 5/. to 8/. in the country; but higher near towns where the sale of milk is extensive. To those, indeed, who have not been accustomed to the taste of turnip milk, as it is called, the milk of cows fed on turnips is at first extremely 1813,] Agriculture in Berwickshire. ‘ 189 offensive; but after a little use, the disagreeable taste wears off. Those who cannot reconcile themselves to this taste will find an effectual remedy by dissolving a little saltpetre in the milk when taken warm from the cow. DirFicuLTy OF REMOVING THE TURNIYS FROM THE FIELD IN WINTER ON A CLAY so1L.—The grand difficulty is how to carry off the turnips from a clay soil without injuring it; for if carts are made to pass over a clay soil while moistened with rain, the surface is converted into a kind of mortar; and if allowed to remain a given time in this state, it will not produce half a crop of whatever may be sown in it the ensuing season. It is this difficulty which creates the distinction between what is called a turnip soil and a clay soil. From what is called a turnip soil the turnips may be removed throughout the winter without doing any injury. There is, however, no doubt but that turnips raised on a clay soil are superior in quality and in usefulness to those raised on a gravelly soil; for they are less spungy, possess more specific gravity, and are in general of a — size than those raised ona light gravel, which, however, is called a turnip soil. Butchers, too, prefer cattle and sheep fed on a clay soil to those fed on a gravelly soil. The only objection to a clay soil for turnips con- sists in the difficulty of removing them from the field without injuring it by the ruts made by cart-wheels, and the holes made by the horses’ feet. If the difficulty could be surmounted, a clay soil would be more valuable. Several ingenious methods are employed for this purpose. ‘The first and most obvious remed is to make the ridges high. Others not only make the ridges high, but make the drills at right angles to the ridges, that the rain may have an open passage into the furrows between the ridges. Others, when the air is free from frost, pull up as many turnips as upon calculation will suffice them for a few weeks, cut off the leaves, lay the turnips in small heaps, and cover them with the leaves to preserve them from the effects of frost and wet till the frost consolidates the ground to cart them off. Turnips may be preserved two months in this way. It is a rule of great consequence to plough the ground as soon as possible after the turnips are removed, if in a proper state, that is, if not too wet. When the ridges are pretty high the ground will be frequently in this state during the winter. 190 On the Measurement of Minute Particles. [Sepr. ARTICLE V. Remarks on the Measurement of Minute Particles, especially those of the Blood and of Pus. From Dr. Young’s Medical Literature, 8vo. Lond. 1613, p. 545. (Concluded from p. 122.) V. Microscopical Fatlacies. I swat here take the liberty of inserting some remarks, which I cannot attempt at present to render intelligible to any, who have not entered into the minutest refinements of physical op- tics; to such as are unacquainted with the latest investigations, I fear they must appear involved in a degree of obscurity al- most enigmatical. When a small object is viewed in a microscope; especially if the light is admitted by a limited aperture, it will often appear to be surrounded by some lines of light and shade, or of colours, which might be supposed to depend on its magnitude, in the same way that the eriometrical colours are derived from the magnitude of the objects examined. In reality, however, their existence and their dimensions depend on the aperture of the microscope, and not on the magnitude of the particles in its focus. To prove that this aperture may produce such an effect, hold any object, for instance, the finger or the nail, so as to intercept all the light of a candle, except a narrow line, and this line will seem to project other lines parallel to it into the adjoining shade. Now these lines depend on the interposed object on one side, and on the margin of the pupil on the other: for if we take an object a little narrower than the pupil, we may see them on both sides of it; and causing the pupil to contract by throwing more light on the opposite eye, they will expand, as the space, through which they are admitted, is diminished by the contraction. We may also very distinctly observe; if we jook in this manner at a narrow line of light instead of a candle, that the dispersive powers of the eye manifestly convert its image on the retina into a spectrum of red, green, and blue light: sufficiently confuting the conjectural hypothesis of the achro- matic property of its refractive substances. If again we substi- tute a minute hole or slit in a card for the interposed object, the sides of this aperture will now determine the magnitude of the fringes which are seen at the edge of the candle, and their dimensions will be no longer variable, whatever may be the state of the pupil. But the candle must in this case either be placed at a distance, or be partly concealed from the eye, unless one 1813.] On the Measurement of Minute Particles. 191 edge of the aperture project so far beyond the other, as to limit its visible extent: Now the substance, in which the lens of a microscope is contained, presents a small aperture capable of exhibiting effects of this kind, which, however, can only be expected to appear when the light is peculiarly circumstanced. The aperture of the highest magnifier that I have employed is ss of an inch, which answers to about n. 330 of the scale of the eriometer, and would consequently exhibit a bright ring at 1, of the distance of a minute object viewed through it, while the darkest part within this ring would be at about 2 of that dis- tance: and the focal distance of the lens being about =. of an inch, the diameter of the apparent dark circle would be ~~, of an inch, and that of the bright one —4.~; and the dimen- sions would be nearly the same if any other small lens were employed, with an aperture half as great as its focal distance; so that the constancy of such an appearance, notwithstanding a change of magnifiers, might increase the probability of error. It is obvious that a shade of this kind, surrounding the central parts of a globule, if they happened to be much brighter than the rest, might give rise to a mistaken idea of inequalities in its form or structure ; and it is possible that when a particle is darker than the surrounding medium, some parts of its surface may have lines of a similar nature projected on them in an inverse order. The particles of the blood are abeut —+,, of an inch in diameter, varying from +355 to z)553 and it is extremely *. . ov o . . * . . possible that an object of these dimensions may exhibit a light point near its centre, which may be surrounded by a dark and then by a light annular shade within the limits of its dise.. There are also several other sources of error in different lights, and in a focus more or less imperfectly adjusted; it is; however, suffi- ciently evident that no fallacy of this kind can have given rise to all the appearances, which have been already described, as observable in the particles of the human blood, and still less to those which are observable in the blood of some other animals: VI. Changeable Colours. In examining some of the dust of the lycoperdon, I had put it with a drop of water on a glass, when I observed a purple tinge in the water, which I thought at first was a stain extracted from the powder ; but the water viewed separately was perfectly transparent, and the light transmitted aiceatly through the water, when the globules were present, was of a yellowish green, After some consideration, I conjectured that this appearance of colour must be analogous to that of the mixed plates which I had for- merly observed, depending on the difference of refractive density of the water and the dbus, (Nat. Phil, I. 470, Pl. 30, F. 430, IJ. 633.) and by substituting fluids of different densities for 192 On the Measurement of Minute Particles. (Srpr. water, I had the pleasure of finding my conjecture confirmed : for when the water was saturated with salt, the yellow green became nearly blue, and the purple redder or browner; and when olive oil was employed, the light directly transmitted was purple, and the oblique light greenish; in balsam of 'Tolu again, this purple became red, and the indirect light afforded a faint blue. In air too, I found that the powder appeared of a bright blue green by direct light, and of a purplish hue with a light a little oblique; but when the obliquity became a little greater, the tint changed to a brownish yellow green, which continued afterwards unchanged ; this alteration may perhaps be derived from the admixture of a portion of light coming round the particles by a more circuitous route. By comparing the opposite effects of water and olive oil, of the refractive den- sities 1'336 and 1'379, the refractive density: of the particles themselves may be calculated to be 1°62, or somewhat less. Grey beaver wool seems of a purplish hue in direct, and greenish in oblique light, both in air and in olive oil; its grey colour seems to be derived from a mixture of these tints; in olive oil, the rings of colours which it affords are considerably altered in their appearance, the reds becoming every where very faint. Lead precipitated from its acetate, or silver from its nitrate, by common water, affords a reddish direct and a bluish indirect hght, and the same seems to be true of smoke, and of other bodies consisting of very minute particles: but when the indirect light is very powerful, smoke sometimes appears reddish in it, as might be expected from a collection of very small opaque instead of transparent particles. _ Mr. Delaval has observed that an infusion of sap green appears: of a bright red by transmitted light, and the case seems pertectly analogous to that of the dust of the lycoperdon: the green becoming somewhat yellower, when the gum, with which the colouring particles are mixed, is diluted with water. But this is not the universal cause of a difference of colours exhibited by pigments in different lights; the carthamus, or pink dye com- monly sold for domestic use, affords an unequivocal instance of a substance exhibiting colours analogous to those of thin plates, which have been adduced by Newton, in illustration of the colours of natural bodies; the reflected light being undeniably of a yellow green, while the transmitted light is of” a bright pink colour. Here the light regularly reflected from the surface only, especially when dry, gives the colour opposite to that of the transmitted light ; all the light passing through the fluid, even indirectly, giving a pink colour. But the infusion of the lignum nephriticum seems to hold a middle place between this substance and those which have been mentioned before; the dry extract is of a brownish yellow only; an infusion, not too strong, gives 1813.] On the Measurement of Minute Particles, 193 the same colour, verging to orange, by direct transmitted light, and a bright blue by light reflected, or obliquely dispersed within the infusion, or at its surface. The solution of the carthamus affords no green reflection from its surface, and varies in its hue, in different lights, only from crimson to scarlet. The tinging particles of the liznum nephriticum, like those of the precipi- tated lead and silver, are probably extremely minute, siftce the colour is but little changed by changing the density of the fluid. Tt often happens that a blue colour, precisely like that of this infusion, is reflected by green glass bottles, which, whén seen by transmitted light, exinbit only a reddish brown colour. The inner bark of the ash is also said to have a property similar to that of the lignum nephriticum. The particles of the blood do not derive their colour from any of the causes which have been mentioned, since it may be extracted from them in a clear so- lution. ' . When I attempted to explain the colours of mixed plates, which I had produced by partially moistening two lenses very slightly convex, I observed that the reflection of the light from the internal surface of a denser medium, must be supposed to invert its properties with respect to the production of colours by interference, as is naturally to be supposed on the principles of the undulatory theory. But when the obliquity is so consider- able, it is not very easy to assign a reason for this inversion; and the experiments, which I have now mentioned, make it ne- cessary to assume a law, which I cannot explain, that every very oblique reflection inverts the properties of light with respect to interference. This conclusion confirms the assertion of New- ton, that a dark space, bordered by light, will appear in the cen- tre of a portion of light transmitted between the edges of two knives placed very near each other, and the opinicn of Mr. Jor- dan, that the augmentation of a shadow by diffraction is to be considered as the first dark space belonging to the coloured fringes. I had obtained a different result in an’ experiment si- milar to Newton’s, because I was not aware of the necessity of employing very sharp edges; for when the edges are blunt, the light is reflected from the one to the other in such a manner, as wholly to destroy the appearance of a central dark space ; but in any case this source of error may be avoided, by causing one of the edges to advance a very little before the plane of the other, so that half of the fringes may disappear. It is, however, ne- cessary to suppose this inversion confined to cases of extremely oblique reflection, for when the deviation of the light trom a rectilinear path becomes a little more considerable, its effects are no longer perceptible ; the second and third fringes scarcely ever requiring any material corrections of the calculations from which it is excluded, ‘The same inversion must also be attributed to the Vox, I, N° III, N 194 On the Measurement of Minute Particles, [Seprr, light bent by diffraction round the remoter side of a fibre: for this light always co-operates in the first instance with that which is reflected from the nearer side. The extent of the central white light is indeed so great, that all the coloured appearances may almost be considered as beginning at such a distance, that the first dark space is exactly where the simple calculation would lead us to expect the white; since the value of the unit of the eriometer ought to be, according to this calculation, about ertcs of an inch, instead of =,1,,; and indeed this value agrees very accurately with experiment, where the two portions of light concerned are exactly in similar circumstances; as may be observed in some of the parallel lines drawn on glass in Mr. Coventry’s micrometers, probably where they happen to be single, for in general they are double, and exhibit colours cor- responding to an interval much smaller than their regular dis- tance: but in some parts we may observe colours exactly cor- responding to their distance, for instance, to 54, of an inch, according to the simple principle of considering each unit as equal to about the 43000th of an inch. Hence it seems that the necessity of a correction depends on the different state of the lights reflected from one side of a fibre, and diffracted round its opposite side, and that when they proceed in a similar manner from two neighbouring parallel: lines, the necessity no longer exists. What may be the cause of this irregularity, will perhaps be understood when we understand the cause of the singular phenomena of oblique reflection discovered by Mr. Malus, and we have no reason to expect to understand it before. VII. Glories. 1 have had an opportunity of ascertaining, that the clouds which exhibit the white and coloured circles, sometimes deno- minated glories, are certainly not composed of icy particles; and I have succeeded in deducing an explanation of these phe- nomena from the same laws, which are capable of being applied. to so many other cases of physical optics. In the theory of su- pernumerary rainbows, (Nat. Phil. 1.471, Pl. 30, Fig. 451, II. 643,) I have observed that the breadth of each bow must be the greater as the drops which afford it are smaller; and by consi- dering the coloured figure, in which their production is analyzed, it will be obvious, that if we suppose the coloured stripes ex- tremely broad, they will coincide in such a manner in one part as to form a white bow: the red, which projects beyond the rest, being always broadest, so that if all the stripes be sup- posed to expand, while they preserve their comparative magni- tude, the middle of the red may coincide with the middle of the blue; and it will appear on calculation that a white bow will be formed, a few degrees within the usual place of the coloured 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 195 bow, when the drops are about 51,5 or +4, of an inch in diameter. It is remarkable that in such cases the original rain- bow is altogether wanting, and probably for a similar reason, we scarcely ever see a rainbow in a cloud which does not con- sist of drops so large as to be actually falling, although I have once seen such a rainbow ending abruptly at the bottom of a cloud: it may be conjectured that the edge of the light is in such cases so much weakened by diffraction, that it is too faint to ex- hibit the effects occasioned by a larger drop. Dr. Smith has made a remark somewhat similar, ( Spt. r. 501,) which, if not completely satisfactory upon the abe which have been mentioned, is certainly altogether unintelligible upon his own. The coloured circles, immediately surrounding the shadows of the observers, may be deduced from the effect of the same minute particles of water, upon the light which has been four, and perhaps five, times reflected within the drops, which may, after transmission, coincide in direction with another portion, passing on the opposite side of the centre; and the drops about soap OF ze'oz Of an inch in diameter would in this manner pro- duce a faint corona, of such magnitude, that the limit of green and red, employed in the use of the eriometer, should be at the distance of about five degrees from the centre of the shadow; which, as nearly as I could estimate it, was its real distance in the appearance that I observed. Articre VI. General Views f the Composition of Animal Fluids. By J. Berzelius, M. D. Professor of Chemistry in the College of Medicine at Stockholm. (Continued from p. 26.) Inquiry into the Influence of the Iron contained in the Colouring Matter, in producing its Colour. Tue greatest chemical difference that is found between fibrin, albumen, and colouring matter, consists in a quantity of oxide of iron being contained in the ashes of the colourin matter, while none, or at least an infinitely small portion, is aforded by the others. Parmentier and Deyeux, to whom we are indebted for an elaborate memoir on the blood, have conjectured that the iron, contained in the blood, was dissolved in a way analogous to the alkaline tincture of Stahl, an opinion which has since been controverted by Fourcroy and Vauquelin, who, on their side, have endeavoured to prove that the colouring matter of the N 2 196 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Sepr. blood was a solution of red subphosphate of iron in albumen. We shall find that neither of these theories can be true, and that the mode in which the iron is combined with the colour- ig matter will probably long remain unknown. The colouring matter dried, and exposed to fire in an open crucible, melts and swells up, and at last burns with flame. It leaves behind a porous coal, which cannot be incinerated with- out the greatest difficulty. For this purpose it must be reduced to a very fine powder, and exposed to the fire in very thin layers. While the charcoal is consuming, it continually exhales a smell of carbonate of ammonia, which proves that the constituents of ammonia are not disengaged from the charcoal by heat alone, but that the influence of oxygen is also required in order to effect the separation. The ashes remaining after the destruction of the carbon are yellow and pulverulent. The disengagement of ammonia from a mass of burning charcoal which has already been exposed for a long time to fire, is undoubtedly a very remarkable phenomenon; but another and a no less singular fact is presented by the same substance. If the charcoal which has already been long burning, and whose surface is covered with yellow ashes, be pulverized and boiled in nitro- muriatic acid, the acid dissolves the ashes already formed, but does not deprive the remainder of the charcoal of the property of affording a fresh quantity of ashes on re-exposure to the fire. These observations seem to prove that the carbonaceous matter of the colouring substance which remains after the flame has ceased to appear, and after the whole mass has been subjected to a strong red heat, cannot be, as was before supposed, a me- chanical mixture of charcoal with the phosphates and carbonates of the earths and of iron. We must therefore consider it as a chemical compound of carbon, phosphorus, sulphur, with cal- cium, ammonium, and iron ; and it appears that it is in a mode analogous to this combination that the iron as well as the cal- cium, phosphorus, &c. are united with the charcoal, and other constituents of the colouring matter ; for it is very evident that the mode in which tombustible bodies combine with one an- other, and with a small portion of oxygen in organic sub- stances, is totally different from that which prevails among the inorganic productions of nature. To return to the ashes of the colouring matter; water extracts from it a very small quantity of soda mixed with muriate of soda. I have great reason to suspect that these two constituents are merely accidental, and that they appear in consequence of the impossibility of freeing the crassamentum entirely from serum. If the alkaline liquor which is obtained from the ashes, be saturated by acetic acid, evaporated to dryness, and again dissolved, a precipitate will appear on the addition of lime- 1813.) Chemical Propertres of, Anumal Fluids. 197 water, which is phosphate of lime, but in so minute a quantity as not to be appreciable. I incinerated 20 grammes (400 grains) of colouring matter, till the charcoal was completély destroyed, and obtained 0°25 grammes (5 grains) of ashes having a yellowish red colour, By an accurate analysis, I found it composed of CPkide OL IGM | TE fs ke 6 bnew basins 9 50°0 Subphosphate of iron....... since a 75 Phosphate of lime with a small 6 quantity of magnesia ........ " Pore lime ..,... Bests per 5 hs Sate iste» 20°0 Carbonic acid, and loss........,..... 16°5 100°0 But this phosphate of iron was not, in all probability, con- tained in the colouring matter, not even in the ashes: it has evidently been a product of the analytic process. It is produced in like manner when oxide of iron and phosphate of lime are dissolved together in an acid, and afterwards precipitated with caustic ammonia. Part of the lime remains in solution, and the iron seizes upon its phosphoric acid. But as one mode of argument will hardly suffice to overturn a theory maintained by erntsts of such eminence as Fourcroy and Vauquelin, and for the support of which they have brought forward many positive facts, 1 have made a number of experi- ments with a view of throwing light on this subject, and have not met with a single one, which did not appear in contradic- tion to the opinion of these celebrated analysts. Some of these experiments I shall now relate. (A.) The prussiates, as we have already seen, produce no effect on the colouring matter of the blood ; and yet they detect, after 24 hours, the least quantity of any ferruginous salt added to it, having the red oxide of iron for its basis—(B.) A watery solution of colouring matter, mixed with gallic acid, acquires a beautiful red colour, but the acid produces no precipitate. By adding to the solution of colouring matter one or two drops of a dilute solution of tannin, the liquor becomes of a beautiful red, without any precipitate appearing. But if, on the contrary, the solution of tannin be concentrated, it precipitates the colouring matter, and gives it a pale red colour. None of these effects seem to prove the presence of a salt with the base of oxide of iron.—(C.) The aqueous solution of colouring matter, mixed with solution of barytes, is not precipitated: at the end of 24 hours a small quantity of phosphate of barytes is found at the bottom of the vessel, and the liquor has assumed a green colour by the action of the alkaline base. Lime-water produces no 198 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Serr. change.—(D.) A solution of sulphuret of potash produces no change in the solution of colouring matter, except that the red colour is slowly converted into green by the action of the alkali. A drop of acetic acid precipitates the sulphur of a white colour. —(E.) It iswell known that none of the mineral acids deprive the colouring matter of its colour, which ought to be the case if that colour had been owing to the presence of the subphosphate of iron. The phosphoric acid mixed with the colouring matter blackens without precipitating it: whereas, if the opinion of the French chemists were correct, it ought to produce a neutral and colourless phosphate.—(F.) A drop of a solution of acetate of lead exalts the colour of the colouring matter, and a larger quantity throws down a fine red precipitate.—(G.) The nitrates of silver, of lead, and of mercury, blacken the colouring matter, and when added in larger quantity precipitate it. These experiments prove that the iron in the colouring mat- ter is not contained in it in such a way as to admit of being de- tected by the best re-agents we possess, until the composition of the colouring matter is totally destroyed. But how can these facts be reconciled with the following, mentioned by Fourcroy in his Systéme des Connoissances Chy- miques? ** Vauquelin and I,” says he, “ have found that the subphosphate of oxide of iron is easily dissolved in albumen by a slight agitation, and without the aid of heat, and that this solution possesses a bright red colour, similar to that of the blood. This colour becomes still more vivid by adding 2 little caustic alkali, which facilitates still more the solution of the subphosphate in albumen.” It was not till after having made and carefully repeated many experiments, that I could venture to pronounce this opinion to be void of foundation. I shall not seek to form any conjecture with regard to the circumstances which may have deceived these distinguished chemists, but shall merely relate my own experi- ments on the subject. The subphosphate in question, newly prepared and still moist, easily mixes with serum, giving it the colour of rust; but it subsides in process of time, and may be entirely separated from it by means of a filter. ‘The ane phosphate of oxide of iron, mixed with serum also, does not dissolve, and the addition of caustic alkali instantly produces the subphosphate; but this last remains undissolved, and communicates to the liquor a colour of rust, which is quite dissimilar to that of the colouring matter of blood. The serum deprived of subphosphate by filtration retains a pale yellowish colour, which is owing to a small quan- tity of oxide of iron held in solution. If serum is mixed with the subphosphate in question, and 7 » 3 phosphoric acid ts added, so as to dissolve the subphosphate, a 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 199 clear rust-coloured liquor is formed, from which a small addi- tion of caustic alkali precipitates a little albumen, which is again dissolved by a slight excess of the alkali; and then the solution loses its red colour, and the subphosphate falls down, and may be collected on the filter. In all these experiments the albumen dissolves the oxide of iron, even in greater quantity than exists in the colouring matter of the blood; but this solution is yellowish, and has but little body of colour; and the oxide of iron is shown by the usual reagents. The albumen of serum will also dissolve many other metallic oxides; for instance, that of copper, as Vauquelin has long since proved; and it is doubtless the albumen which is the menstruum of the oxide of mercury, found dissolved in the blood during a course of this metal for the cure of syphilis. ‘The oxidulum (or black oxide) dissolves easily, and still more co- piously, in serum, forming a perfectly limpid sea-green liquor. The solution is readily obtained by adding to serum some salt of iron, which has the black oxide for its base, ‘and neutralizing its acid by an alkali, When this green solution is exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, deposits red oxide of iron, and be- comes yellow. The compounds of oxide of iron and albumen are decomposed by the mineral acids, which precipitate the al- bumen colourless, and retain the iron in solution. The prus- siates alone do not disturb the solution of iron in albumen, be- cause the metallic oxide is not here dissolved by any acid; but if, after Buxtag them, a little muriatic acid is added, an exqui- sitely beautiful azure blue precipitate appears, consisting of al- bumen and Prussian blue. If the acid phosphate of iron is dissolved in acetic acid, and afterwards serum be added, fol- lowed by a little caustic alkali, the albumen and subphosphate are precipitated together, of a rust-colour, which is not changed by drying, but has no resemblance to the colouring matter of blood. In a word, I have not been able to find any method of combining albumen with subphosphate of iron, or with any other salt of this metal, so as to produce a compound identical with the colouring matter of the blood. But from the result of all these experiments, what appears to be the difference between venous and arterial blood? This question I am unable to answer ; nor can I explain the differ- ence between these substances before and after coagulation. I have already mentioned that the liquid, out of which the colouring matter has been coagulated by heat, has at furst a tint of red, which it loses by cooling ; at which time it further de- posits a small quantity of colouring matter. This liquid, whilst evaporating, becomes green, owing to the action of the un- combined alkali on the small portion of colouring matter that it still retains. ‘This liquid holds also in solution all the salts, 200 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Serr. and the soluble animal substances belonging to that portion of the serum which still adheres to the coagulum, and cannot be entirely separated from it. The coagulum I have found, by one analysis, to consist (exclusive of the saline and uncoagulable ingredients) of 64 parts of colouring matter, and 86 parts of an insoluble mixture of fibrin and albumen. Of the Serum, Allumen, and Salts of the Blood. When serum is heated in a glass vessel, over a water-bath, it solidifies and forms a pearl-coloured jelly, transparent at the edges. If it is stirred the coagulation is more uniform. It has been said to blacken any silver instrument employed to stir it; but this only happens when the serum has begun to putrefy, or when the bottom of the coagulum has been burnt. As this blackening of silver is owing to sulphur, this substance has also been reckoned among the constituent parts of blood. But it would be equally proper to consider carbon and hydrogen as constituent parts, since these enter into the composition of al- bumen, in the same way as sulphur does. Muriatic acid coagulates serum. When heated, a small- quantity of azotic gas is evolved. This coagulum has exactly the same properties as the compound of fibrin and muriatic acid. The sulphuric and nitric acids also produce with the albu- men of serum precisely the same compounds as with fibrin. Phosphoric acid does not coagulate serum. The acetic acid does not coagulate serum, and when this acid is in sufficient quantity, it prevents the coagulation on heating. In short, the albumen of serum produces exactly the same compounds with acids and alkalies as the fibrin does, and there- fore te avoid repetition, I shall refer the reader back to my obser- vations on this latter substance. The action of alcohol also is perfectly similar in both cases. . There appears therefore to be very little difference between fibrin and albumen; and the latter seems to be intermediate between fibrin and the colouring matter. The only character of distinction between fibrin and albumen is, that albumen does not coagulate spontaneously, but requires a higher temperature for that purpose. Coagulated albumen does indeed dissolve more slowly than fibrin or colouring matter in acetic acid and in ammonia, but probably this is owing to the influence of the heat employed for its coagulation. Exper. 1.—1000 parts of serum evaporated to perfect dry- ness, (that is to say, so as easily to be reduced to powder,) left 95 parts of a yellowish, semi-transparent mass, resembling am- ber, that split to pieces in drying, which, in curling up, carried with them thick scales of the porcelain glazing of the evaporat- ing vessel. ‘ 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 201 2. I digested 10 grammes of the dried powder in cold water. The albuminous portion softened, and became gelatinous. I separated by the filter the liquid from the insoluble part, and washed the latter repeatedly with boiling water. ‘The undissolved albumen dried in the filter, weighed 6°47 grammes, and did not give up its earthy phosphate, by subsequent digestion in muriatic acid, as this acid remained clear on saturation with an alkali. 3. The solution which had passed the filter was evaporated to dryness, during which thick membranes formed at the surface, and the solution gelatinized before it was perfectly dry. I digested this residue in alcohol, whilst it was still gelatinous; the spirit assumed a yellow colour, and on evaporation left an alkaline yellowish deliquescent mass, weighing 0°92 grammes. This consisted of soda, holding albumen in solution, of muriate of soda, and muriate of potash, of lactate of soda,* and of an animal matter which always accompanies the lactate. * In mentioning the Jactate of soda in this place, I wish to make some obser- vations on the lactic acid, as one of the constituent parts of all animal fluids, It is well known that this acid was discovered by my illustrious countryman, Scheele. Latterly, the French chemists have examined this acid; and Four- eroy, Vauquelin, Thenard,.and Bouillon La Grange, have sought to prove that Scheele was mistaken in the supposed peculiar nature of this acid, and that it is ouly a combination of acetous acid with some animal matter. These chemists, however, have made no attempts to obtain this animal matter separate from the acid, and have never succeeded in producing the lactic acid by means of the acetic; but this is the proof which they give of Scheele being in an error, Lactic acid is combined with an alkali, the resulting lactate is distilled, with concentrated sulphuric acid, and in the receiver is obtained a mixture of sulphurous, muriatic, and empyreumatic acetic acid, the latter of which is purified; and hence it is, that we are informed that the pretended lactic acid is only the acetous united with some animal matter, But it appears fo me, that the French chemists have only cut the Gordian knot; for one of the properties of the lactic acid is to be incapable of volatilization, and it is a property of the sulphuric acid to change many organic substances with which it is distilled, into the empyreumatic acetous and sulphurous acids. By a parity of reasoning, almost every one of the vegetable acids might be proved to be only acetic acid, combined with some matter which deprives it of its volatility, without destroying its other acid properties; and in fact it is thus, that Bouillon La Grange has inferred that the malic and gallic acids are only varieties of the acetic. In an analysis of muscular flesh, which [ made in the year 1806, L found that the humours of the muscles contained a free acid, which, by many experiments, I discovered to have all the properties which Scheele attributes to the lactic acid. I collected a quantity large enough for examination, and I succeeded by different methods, in obtaining it in greater purity than Scheele had procured his, L examined a great number of its saline combinations, with alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides, the parti- culars of whieh are given at length in the second volume of my Treatise on Animal Chemistry, Stockholm, 1808, p. 4130, & seq. If, therefore, it is allowed, that two acids that produce saline compounds different from each other cannot be. identical in their nature, the distinction between the lactic and the acetic acids cannot be coutroverted, It is since that time that Lhavediscovered the lactic acid, free or combined, in all animal fluids, «terme 5 eee ete wbsctyet, in their apalyvis of animal fluids, that the Solution, when evaporated, leaves a yellow deliquescent extractive muss, Of late, more attention has beeu paid to this extract, and if I mistake 202 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Sepr. The portion not dissolved by alcohol, and digested with water, left a fresh residue of albumen, weighing 1:95 grammes, and possessing the same characters as that of Exper. 2. The watery solution could not be made to gelatinize, and did not hold the smallest quantity of gelatine. Besides the alkali, it contained an animal matter easily precipitable by tannin and by muriate of mercury, and which appeared to me to be extracted from the albumen by the boiling water, during its coagulation, and to be analogous to the substance obtained by boiling fibrin with water. We have been told, that the blood contains much alkaline and earthy phosphates. I coagulated a large quantity of serum, and thus procured a good deal of the eaeeey uncoagulable fluid. This I mixed with barytic water, which after a time gave a slight precipitate, soluble in muriatic acid. Some of the same serum, mixed with lime-water, was not clouded. It follows from this, that the blood contains no sulphuric acid, and only a vestige of the phosphoric. In my Treatise on Animal Chemistry, I have endeavoured to prove, that the phosphates, as well as the lac- tates, are always produced by the spontaneous decomposition of animal substances, and that the small quantity of each which is found in the blood is carried thither by the absorbent system, in its progress to the secretions, through which it is discharged from the body, and hence the secretions contain always a much larger proportion of these acids. Not to be too diffuse, I shall pass over the description of the methods I employed, to ascertain the respective proportions of the contents of the serum, and shall only give the results :— A thousand parts of serum I find to consist of WY Stee at crure tie ci tele nar sis STII) i500 Albumen,... ois pis Sin mgt BLSLE nee ss) plate ‘ous: ee Substances soluble in alcohol, viz. Lactate of soda, and extractive matter 6°175 8°74 Muriate of soda and potash........ .2°565 Soda and animal matter soluble only in water.. 1°52 Loss .. ee ee eres ee ee ose eeerenesee ee ae ee ee 4°75 oeeeee 1000°00 not, it has been considered as a single substance, and has received the name of osmazome. One of the component parts of this extract is lactate of soda, and the other, with which it is intimately combined, is an animal matter that may be separated by means of tannin. To prove the presence of lactic acid, dis- solve the whole in alcohol, and add a mixture of sulphuric acid much diluted with alcohol, as long as there appears any precipitate, which is sulphate of potash or soda. Digest this spirituous solution (which contains muriatic, sul- phuric, lactic, and sometimes phosphoric acid) with carbonate of lead, and all the above acids will unite with the oxide of lead, but of these only the lactate will be soluble in alcohol. Decant the alcoholic solution of lactate of lead, separate the lead by astream of sulphureted hydrogen gas, and by eva- porating the clear liquor, the lactic acid will remain in the state of an acid syrup. 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 203 I washed the albumen well in this experiment, digested it in muriatic acid, and then burnt it to ashes, which were almost exactly equal in quantity to the ashes produced by the combus- tion of the same weight of colouring matter. But the ash of the albumen was white, and did not show a particle of iron. I found a trace of soda, but the greatest part was phosphate and carbonate of lime, with a little magnesia. It is clear, therefore, that the earthy salts found in the ashes of coloured blood had not been dissolved in the blood, nor even existed as salts in the blood, from which they were obtained by means of combustion. Hence we may conceive, how the blood can produce and deposit, in the animal economy, the earthy phosphates, which, however, are not soluble either in pure water or in the blood; and hence too we may infer, that the production of bone cannot be considered as a simple crystallization of a salt, conveyed by the blood in a state of solution, but requires us to suppose the decomposition of the animal matter of the blood, as well as in any other secretion. All the authors who have written on the blood, assert that gelatine is one of its component parts. This, however, is a mistake, and arises from the gelatinous appearance of the albu- men, as I have never been able to detect a particle of gelatine in blood; and, as far as my researches extend, I have found gelatine to be a substance altogether unknown to the economy of the living body, and to be produced by the action of boiling water on cartilage, skin, and cellular membrane, substances which are totally distinct from fibrin and albumen. On Human Blood. The blood of man perfectly resembles in composition that of the ox, but the coagulum of human blood is more easily decom- posed by water, and the fibrin thus obtained is more transparent. When dried, it amounts to no more than 0°75 from 1000 parts. Human fibrin has the same chemical properties with that of the ox, but is more readily incinerated: the white ash consists of the phosphates of lime and magnesia, a little carbonate of lime, and soda. The colouring matter of human blood ‘is also chemically the same with that of ox blood, but is much more easily reducible by fire to the same yellow ash, which seems to show that it con- tains less azote or ammonium. A hundred parts of dried colour- ing matter of human blood gave 15: parts of ash, of which 3 parts dissolved in water, and were alkaline, and when saturated with acetic acid, and mixed with muriate of barytes, it left a copious precipitate of phosphate of barytes, soluble in an excess of muriatic acid. I found in this acetic solution no trace either of muriatic acid or of potash. It appears, therefore, that soda and phosphoric acid, as well as the earthy phosphates, are pro- 6 204 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Serr. ducts of the combustion. As to the portion of the ash of colouring matter, which was insoluble in water, it consisted of the same substances in nature and in proportion, as that of the ash of the colouring matter of ox blood. The serum of human blood is composed (according to my experiments) of WY abe baie th ichats me beisrsin ats DAN ldots che «alee ee Albumon) opine ia ndses Gat 95 eel Be Substances soluble in alcohol, viz. Muriate of potash and soda..............6 : Lactate of soda, united with animal matter . my | Ate Substances soluble only in water, viz. Soda, phosphate of soda, and a little animal : Matter. cece seers cccsececcrsecceveces $4 999°1* Human albumen is more easily incinerated than that of the ox, and contains more soda and phosphate of soda. A hundred parts of the dried albumen give twelve parts of calcined ash. The muriates found in human blood are triple the quantity of those in ox blood, owing doubtless to the salt consumed by man in his food. Human blood also contains a larger proportion of muriate of potash. On the whole, the great agreement in the composition of human and of ox blood is remarkable, and explains to us the possibility of the phenomena observed in the experiments in transfusion. General Results of the Analysis of Blood. 1. Blood is composed of one portion which is liquid and * I cannot refrain here from comparing my analysis with that made in this country by Dr. Marcet, and given in the second volume of the Medico-Chirur- gical Transactions, p. 370. Dr. Marcet finds the following ingredients :— MV tLCK octane ¢ aainteioiee Cate sasiaieion esi teleiete ota 900:0 AIbUMEN os. sate sti SER tes dee eae 86°8 Muriate of potash and soda .,.........-.. 66 Muco-extractive matter..........ceeeeees 40 Sub-carbonate of soda, .........+ceeee.e0s 1°65 Sulphate of potash. .........-.ceeeceeeees 0°35 Earthy phosphates. ........00---.s++eeeee- 0-60 A more perfect agreement cannot be expected in the analysis of substances liable to so many accidental differences, particularly in the quantity of water, which in the blood depends so much on the proportion of liquids taken into the stomach, It is clear that Dr, Marcet’s extractive matter is impure lactate of soda; and I must also ebserve, that the sulphate of potash and the earthy phosphates found by him in the ashes of serum, are probably, for the reasons above-mentioned, formed by the process of combustion. ‘ 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 205 homogenous, and of another which is only suspended and spontaneously separates when at rest. 2. The liquid part is a solution of much albumen and a little fibrin, both combined with soda. It also contains some other saline and animal substances, but in very small quantity. 3. ‘The portion which is suspended is the colouring matter. It differs from the albumen chiefly in its colour, and its insolu- bility in serum. ‘The colour seems to be owing toiron, of which it contains 4 per cent. of its weight, but which cannot be sepa- rated from it as long as it continues to be colouring matter. This separation can only be affected by combustion, or by the con- centrated acids, both of which agents entirely decompose the substance with which the metal was combined. The colouring matter cannot be artificially produced by uniting albumen with red subphosphate of iron. 4, Fibrin, albumen, and colouring matter, resemble each other so closely, that they may be considered as modifications of one and the same substance.* I shall in future call them allu- minous contents of the blood, when speaking of them collec- tively. These three substances produce when decomposed, but do not contain, earthy phosphates and carbonate of lime ; and, indeed, the entire blood contains in solution no earthy phos- phate, except perhaps in too small a quantity to be detected. 5. The albuminous contents of the blood will unite with acids, and produce compounds, that may be termed saline; these, when neutralized, will dissolve in water, but separate on adding an excess of acid. The acetous and phosphoric acids, however, must be excepted, as an excess of either of these forms a com- pound soluble in water. Nitric acid, digested with the albu- minous contents, forms an insoluble compound consisting of the albumen in an altered state, and of the nitric and the malic acids. ‘This property of combining with acids is retained in some instances by the albumen after it has undergone the changes produced in the secretory organs; as for instance in the peculiar matter of the bile, the curd of milk, &c. 6. The blood contains no gelatine. + * One of the most striking points of difference exists in the property which the colouring matter has of absorbing oxygen, and thereby experiencing a very remarkable change of colour. Seruim absorbs very little oxygen, and only in proportion as itis decomposed, Can the iron in the colouring matter give it this property? his is probable; but we shall never arrive at any accurate knowledge of these phenomena, without first analyzing these clements of the animal kingdom with the most scrupulous exactness, It is then, and not till then, that we may form conjectures; at present they are useless, + It gives me great pleasure to find that an English chemist, Dr, Bostock, has arrived at the same conclusion, without any previous knowledge of my work, and (owing to a delay in the publication) prior to its appearance, See Dr, Bostock’s experiments, published in the first volume of the Medico-Chirur- gical Transactions, 206 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Serr. Secreted Fluids. There exists no problem in chemistry more difficult to solve than that of the secretion of animal fluids. The circulating fluid is carried to the organized laboratory which nature employs, no foreign ingredient is added, no chemical reagent is interposed, and yet the fluid which flows from these organs has acquired chemica! properties, which render it peed tt different from the common circulating mass. Not only is the chemical agent which produces these changes unknown to us, but we shall in vain search for any analogous chemical operation. It is doybt- less easy to conjecture, that it is by the influence of the nervous system that this decomposition of blood into the secreted fluids is effected ; but what is this influence? If electric, how can it be brought to accord with our present knowledge of electric agency? But avoiding vain conjectures on a subject which perhaps will ever remain a mystery, let us determine, from the knowledge we already possess, the chemical nature of the ma- terials of their products. In proportion as we acquire light on the nature of the former, the analysis of the latter becomes more and more interesting, and much may be done by a judi- cious comparison of the one with the other. There are two Classes of secreted fluids; namely, the secre- tions, properly so called, or the fluids intended to fulfil some ulterior purpose in the animal economy; and the excretions which are directly discharged from the body. The fluids of the former class are all alkaline; and of the latter, all acid. The excretions are the urine, the perspired fluid, and the milk. All the other fluids appear to belong to the former class. The alkaline secreted fluids may be divided into two very dis- tinct species. The former of these contains the same quantity of water as the blood, so that the change induced by the ner- vous influence seems to be confined to that of altering the che- mical form of the albuminous materials, without affecting their relative proportion to the water and other substances dissolved in the blood. The bile, spermatic fluid, &c. are of this kind. The latter species consists of fluids in which the influence of the nervous system has separated a large portion of the albuminous matter, and left the remaining liquid proportionally more watery. The saliva, the humors of the eye, and the eftused serum of membranes, are of this species; and in these the quantity of salts, and in general also of alkali, is the same as in the blood. The influence of the chemical agent of secretion is therefore chiefly spent upon the albuminous materials of the blood, which seems to be the source of every substance that peculiarly charac- terizes each secretion, each of which is sui generis, and is jts 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 207 principal constituent. All the other parts of the secretion seem to be rather accidental, and to be found there only because they were contained in the blood out of which the secretion was formed. . Therefore in examining the secreted fluids the chief attention should be paid to the peculiar matter of the fluid, which varies in all. This matter sometimes retains some of the properties of albumen; at other times, none: and hence an accurate analysis showing the quantity and nature of this peculiar matter is aboye all to be desired. If the several secretions be supposed to be deprived of their peculiar matter, and the remainders analyzed, the same residue would be found from them all, which also would be identical with the fluid separated from the serum after its coagulation. Thus we should find, first, a portion soluble in alcohol, consist- ing, as has been already shown, of the muriates of potash and soda, of lactate of soda, and of an extractive animal substance precipitable by tannin: and secondly, of a portion soluble only in water, containing soda (which acquires carbonic acid by eva- poration, and is separable by acetic acid and alcohol) and another animal substance, not extract, precipitable from its solution in cold water both by tannin and by muriate of mercury. Some- times a vestige of phosphate of soda will also be detected. The excretions are of a more compound nature. They all contain a free acid, which is the Jactic, and in the urine this is mixed with the uric acid. Urine seems to contain only a single peculiar characteristic matter; but milk has as many as three, namely, butter, curd, and sugar of milk, which, however, seem to be produced by different organs that mingle their fluids in the same receptacle. The perspired fluid appears to have no peculiar matter, but to be a very watery liquid with hardly a vestige of the albumen of the blood, and, in short, is the same as the other excretory fluids would be when deprived of their peculiar matter. If we suppose this matter taken away from those excre- tions that possess it, the remaining fluid would be found to have properties very different from the fluid part of the secretions, when equally freed from their peculiar matter. ‘That of the excretions is acid, contains earthy phosphates, and when evapo- rated leaves a much larger residue than the fluid of the secre- tions. This residue is yellowish brown, of the consistence of syrup, with an unpleasant sharp saline taste of the salts that it contains. It reddens litmus, is mostly soluble in alcohol, and this spirituoussolution contains themuriates of the blood together with a lactic acid, much lactate of soda (ne soda being the free alkali of the blood neutralized by this acid) and the extractive matter which always accompanies this neutral salt. The part 208 Analysis of the Chinese Gong. [Sepr. insoluble in alcohol contains a distinguishable quantity of phos- phate of soda, a little of a similar animal matter to that found in the secretions, and also the earthy phosphates which were held in solution by the lactic acid, and were precipitated by the action of the alcohol. The urine possesses also a number of other substances, which will be specified when describing this excre- tion in particular. Having thus given some general views of the composition of all the secreted fluids, I shall proceed to give a short account of each individually. (To be continued.) . Articte VII. Analysis of the Chinese Gong. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. Tue Chinese gong is an instrument that has been long known in this country, though I am not aware of any account of its constituents haying been hitherto published. My friend Dr. Reid Clanny, of Sunderland, having some time ago sent me a speci- men of this metal, with a request that I would ascertain its composition, I thonght it might gratify my readers if I stated the result of my trials in the Annals of Philosophy. The Chinese gong is a large circular instrument, somewhat similar in shape to a tambourine, excepting that it is entirely of metal, and that the face is not flat, like the face of a tambou- rine, but somewhat convex. ‘The metal of which it is composed has exactly the appearance of bronze. It varies in thickness in different parts, from the ;1,th to the ~>th of an inch in thick- ness. The surface is irregular, and bears evident marks of the hammer; yet the metal is brittle, and very elastic. When broken it has a granular texture, and its colour is rather whiter than any part of the surface exposed by means of a file. This brittleness of the gong, although it had obviously been made under the hammer, naturally suggested the idea that it would be found malleable at some temperature between that of the atmosphee and a red heat; and I was going to undertake a course of trials in order to determine the point: but Dr. Wol- laston informed me that he had already made the experiment, and found the gong quite malleable at a temperature considerably below that of a red heat. He had been induced to undertake his experiments in consequence of a gong belonging to Sir Joseph Banks haying cracked. Dr. Wollaston determined the composition of the metal, made a quantity of similar alloy, 1813.] Analysis of the Chinese Gong. ~ . $809 mended the crack, and restored the tone of the instrument. The crack, however, afterwards extended, as always happens in brittle and very elastic bodies. ] ofs Every body, I presume, knows that the gong is used as a kind of substitute for a bell; that the tone is at first low; but that, by skilful beating, it becomes higher and higher, tillit makes the whole house shake with the loudness of its tones. One of the most remarkable circumstances belonging to the gong is its specific gravity. I found it 8°953. Upon taking the specific gravity of a piece of British bell-metal I found it 8°368. his, however, was a much more complicated alloy than the Chinese gong. I found it composed of copper, tin, lead, and zinc. The proportion of copper was nearly the same as in the ong; but the other constituent, which in the gong is nothing But tin, I found in the British bell-metal composed as follows :— Tin eoeeee eeeoevpeeeveeeweeeaeeee eoenteneeeeee 10 1 ‘ PERGs upc ae te Oe ee, aie “ Rae. BERS ree 5'6 Lead © weSie ©. B.s e*seeeeeverse * eose@e@eewee eer 403 The gong is composed {very nearly) of 80 parts copper and 200f tin. The specific gravity of the purest copper I have ever seen was $°895: but Cronstedt informs us that Japan copper is of the specific gravity 9°000. Now as it is not unlikely that this may have been the copper used in China for manufacturing the gone, we shall suppose the specific gravity of copper to be 9-000. he specific gravity of pure tin is 7°299. Now let the weight of the copper in the alloy be a, and its specific gravity a; let the weight of the tin be 4, and its specific gravity 8. To find the specific gravity of the alloy, supposing no change of density, we have this formula: sp. gr. =e) But in the present case a = #, « = 9:000, ) = 1, and @ = 2°799. Hence the specific gravity of the alloy ought to be 8°37 - but it is, in fact, $°953; very nearly equal to that of Japan copper, and higher than that of any ib i copper I ever met with: so that a very considerable condensation has taken place, a condensation amounting to more than +!;th of the whole. ‘This curious fact of the great increase of density was known before, from the experiments of Mr. Briche ; and, according to him, the specific gravity is a maximum when the alloy is composed of 100 copper and 16tin. When the metals are united in that proportion, the density has been found no less than 5th greater than the mean. The Chinese gong contains amuch greater proportion of tin than 16 to 100 of copper. Hence in it the increase of density is not so great as +!yth. Vox. IL. N° LI. O 210 Analysis of the Chinese Gong. {Sepr. The analysis of bell-metal is so simple, and so well known, that it may seem superfluous to enter into details; but as such details are the only means of detecting the mistakes into which the experimentor may fall, J think they ought never to be neg- lected. 101°85 grains of the gong were put into a giass phial, and two ounces of moderately strong nitric acid poured overit. The acid speedily became green, an effervescence took place, and a white powder appeared. When the action of the acid appeared at ari end, it was decanted off, and two ounces more of the same acid substituted in its place. ‘The whole copper was dissolved by this last portion, and a white powder remained at the bottom of the phial. The acid solution was decanted off, and the white powder carefully washed with distilled water. The acid solution was evaporated to a small quantity, to get rid of the excess of acid. During the evaporation a portion of white powder precipitated. It was separated by the filter, and mixed with the first portion. ‘The white powder thus obtained was dried in the open air. It acquired, when dry, a tinge of green. Conceiving that this might be owing to the presence of copper, I digested it for a week in nitric acid$ but no copper was taken up. It was then dried, and exposed to a red heat. In that state it was yellow, and weighed 25°36 grains. Now this yellow powder was peroxide of tin, which is a compound of | atom tin and 4 atoms oxygen, or of 14°705 tin + 4 oxygen: and 14°705 :4:: 26°36 — ©: x2 = 5°423. Hence the quantity of tin in the oxide was 19°937; but the quantity of gong analysed -was 101°85 grains: 100 grains, therefore, contain 19°573 grains of tin. This approaching so near 20, I have supposed that 1th was the proportion of tin intended to be mixed with the copper. The nitric acid solution wasevaporated todryness, redissolved in water, and tried for silver by nitrate of silver, and for lead by sulphate of soda. No precipitate appeared in either case. Hence I consider myself entitled to regard the gong as free from both silver and lead. To see whether any zinc was present, the nitrate was mixed with as much sulphuric acid as was sufficient to satu- rate the copper. It was then evaporated to dryness, redissolved in water, and set asidefor spontaneous crystallization. Regular crystals of sulphate of copper were obtained to the very last drop. Hence no zine was present. ‘The gong, by my trials, was an alloy of COPPeD ce reece sens ccwesceveses BU4Z7 of NR Ga Ee eer ae sis, 19'S TS —_——~_ 100°000 4 1813.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 21 ArticLe VIII. Memoir on the Determination of the Specific Heat of the different Gases. By MM. F. Delaroche, M.D. and J. E. Berard. (With a Plate.) (Continued from p. 138.) SECTION FIRST. Explanation of the Method followed in our Researches: § I.—Description of the Calorimeter, Tak object which we had in view in the experiments that we are about to describe was the determination of the specific heat of several gases, according to the meaning usually attached to that word; that is to say, to determine how much caloric is necessary to raise them from a given temperature toa higher temperature, likewise given; or, which comes to the same thing, how much heat they give out in passing from the higher tempe- rature to the lower, We have not attempted to determine the effect produced by the change of their specific heat, in conse- _ quence of a change of their temperature ; a change which ought to be more sensible in the gases, in consequence of their great dilatability, than in other bodies, dnd which Gay-Lussac has proyed to exist, though it would have been very difficult for us to determine it by means of our apparatus. The solution of the question, such as we consider it, is not spits so simple as may at first sight appear ; but presents consi- erable difficulties, what process soever we pursue. We hesitated for some time about the plan that we ought*to follow inorder to gain our object. We rejected at once the process of Crawford, and likewise the calorimeter of ice: 1st. Because it did not seem susceptible of precision when such small quantities of heat are employed as those that the gases ive out in cooling some degrees. 2d. Because, when we employ it, there is almost an impossibility of determining the temperature of the gases when they enter the interior chamber. 3d. Because it is necessary to use dry gases, which would make the apparatus too complicated. We conceived the idea of employing a calorimeter, in which, instead of determining the heat disengaged during the cooling of the gases by the ice melted, we should determine it by the quantity of water or ether evaporated ; but we found this process attended with such difficulties as induced us te renounce it. At last we determined to employ another, founded on the following considerations; Suppose we have a constant and uniformsource of heat, the whole of which acts upon a body, A; suspended in the air; this Qo 2 * 212 On the Determination of the [SErt. body will become gradually hotter and hotter, till it reaches a temperature when it loses as much heat as it receives. At this point its temperature will become stationary, if that of the air does not vary. On the ae side, it is a principle generally admitted, and the justice of which cannot be questioned when confined to small differences of temperature, that the quantity of heat lost every instant by a hot body suspended in the air is proportional to the excess of its temperature above that of the surrounding air. It is evident, from these two principles, that if we subject a ‘body, A, to the action of different uniform sources of heat, the ratio of their intensity will be equal to that of the excess of the temperature of the body, A, when it becomes stationary, above that of the ambient air; since the body, A, arrived at this maxi- mum, receives at each instant the heat which it loses. Now let us conceive a thin copper cylinder, A B, (Fig. 1, Plate X.) 6 inches long, and $ in diameter, filled with distilled water, and traversed by a serpentine of about 5 feet in length, forming 8 spiral turnings, the two ends of which open without the vessel, the one at the top, the other at the bottom. If we make a regular current of gas traverse this serpentine, main- tained before its entrance at an elevated and constant tempera= ture, this current may be ,considered as an uniform source of heat, and the cylinder, A B, as the body, A. Of course, if we repeat the same experiment upon each of the gases, each current will raise the temperature of the cylinder, A B, toa fixed point, where it will remain stationary ; and it follows from the principles announced above, that, reckoning from this point, the excess of the temperature of the cylinder, A B, above that of the ambient air, will be proportional to the quantity of heat iven out by the current of gas that passed through the cylinder. ence we shall obtain by this method, with great exactness, the relative specific heats of the gases subjected to this kind of expe- riment. There are likewise, two methods of comparing them with water. The first consists in subjecting the cylinder, A B, which we shall afterwards call the calorimeter, to the action of a current of water, perfectly regular, and so slow that it will hardly produce 2 greater effect then the current of the different gases, The second method consists in determining by calculation the _ real quantity of heat which the calorimeter, come to itsstationary temperature, can lose in a given time; for since after it reaches this point it does not become hotter, though the source of heat continues ‘to be applied to it, it is evident that it loses as much heat as it receives. We shall employ, in the sequel, these two methods in succession. 1t.is obvious that it would have been exceedingly tedious to BOS GROUPES IN A BRN TENET De i Loy oes Poe — yyy aah pi A Zia adda Zz ZZ LZ A A. A A 4 y ; * of ; ~ Nipa (alts for measuung Mer Yrevific heal ef GASES. ~, Pagraved iy I Sawa tor DE Themeons Annals Mdlished by RBakiwin Paternoster Rew Sept iasy. SO aw. a ere a q i 1813.] Speeific Heat of the different Gases. 218 raise the temperature of the calorimeter as high as it could be raised by the sole effect of a current of gas, and that the obser- vation of the rate at which it rose during such a process would have been of no utility. We thought it better to raise it artifi- cially, by means of a lamp of spirit of wine placed under it, to a point which, frem preliminary trials, we knew to be near that 2 the temperature would become stationary. We then made the current of hot gas pass through it, and observed its tempera- ture every ten minutes. Notwithstanding this precaution, it would have been still very tedious to have waited till the cylinder had reached its true maximum, andeven difficult to have deter- mined that point by inspection. We found it more convenient to stop the process when, from the slowness of the heating, we judged that the calorimeter was within 0°5, or 0°7 of a degree of itsmaximum. ‘i‘hen raising the calorimeter till it passed the maximum a little, and making the current of gas to pass, the calorimeter began to cool. We observed the rate of coolin every ten minutes, and stopped the process when we judged that it had come as near the maximum, on the one hand, as we had got by the heating process, on the other. Taking the mean between these two poirts, we obtained exactly the maximum point, at which the calorimeter would have remained stationary if the current of hot gas had been long enough continued. We determined the temperature of the calorimeter by means of a thermometer with a cylindrical bulb, almost equal in length to the height of the calorimeter. An opening, C, made in the cover allowed the stem of the thermometer to pass out. The thermometer had a very fine bore. Every degree* was 0°89 inch in length, which was divided into 10 parts, each of which, by a little practice, we were able to subdivide by the eye into other 10 parts. We were certain of not committing an error equivalent to 2 of these last, or to 0°02 ofa degree. As it was of equal importance to know with accuracy the temperature of the air which surrounded the calorimeter, we suspended, at the distance of 3 inches from it, a very sensible thermometer. Before entering into the details of our experiment, we must describe the methods which we employed in order to obtain an uniform current of gas, to give it a constant temperature, to determine its temperature when it entered and left the calori- meter, and to appreciate the causes which might, independent of that current, raise the temperature of the calorimeter. * The degrees alluded to in the paper are those of the centigrade thermome- ter, each degree of which is toa degree of Fahrenheit, as9 to 5; so that liad the thermometer been divided into Fahrenheit’s degrees, each degree would haye been 0216 inch in length,—T. BlA On ihe Determination of the [Sepr- § I1.— Apparatus employed to make a regular Current of hot Gas pass through the Calorimeter. . We employed, in order to procure an uniform current of gas, a gazometer, which we believe was invented by Dr. Wollaston, and which unites a great deal of simplicity with the greatest pre- cision. A few words will explain the nature of this ingenious _jnstrument. Suppose a globular glass vessel, A, (Fig. 2,) filled with water, and placed above a reservoir of glass or metal, B, filled with any gas insoluble in water. Let these two vessels communicate by a vertical tube, C D, which may be shut by a stop-cock, E. Suppose, likewise, that the upper surface of the water contained in Ais G H. Its evident, that if we open the stop-cock, E, the water will fall into the vessel, B,and drive out the gas, which will make its escape by the 1aouth, L, (the stop- cock, M, being open). It is equally obvious that the force with which the water of the vessel, A, will run down, at first equal to the column of water, H K, will diminish in proportion as the surface of the water, G H, sinks. But then, if we shut exactly the meuth, F, and establish the communication of the yessel, A, with the external air by the tube, N O, open at its two ends, the air, in order to introduce itself into the vessel, A, and fill up the place of the water that has run out, must overcome the pressure of the column of water, HI. Of course the water will only run into the vessel, B, with a force equal to the column H K, minus H I, that is to say, the column I K, which is a constant quantity, as long as the surface of the water conti- nues higher than O I. Now suppose the reservoir B be totally emptied of gas, and filled with water from the vessel, A. Shut the stop-cocks, E M, and introduce by the tube, Q R, which goes to the bottom of the vessel, a constant current of, gas, coming from a similar gazometer. In these circumstances, if weopenthestop-cock, P, to let out the water from the reservoir, B, it is clear that this gas, in order to get into the reservoir, B, is obliged to overcome a resistance represented by the column of water which this reservoir contains. On the other hand, it is attracted by an equal force, namely, the force with which this water tends to run out by the stop-cock, P, and which is repre- sented by the same column. These two forces being equal, and opposite, it follows that the regularity of the gas entering by the tube, Q@ R, will not be disturbed, and that the reservoir, B, will be filled with gas coming from the other gazometer, with- out having any effort to overcome. ‘The stop-cock, I, remaining shut during the whole of this operation, there will be time-to open the mouth, F, and to fill the vessel, A, with water, in order torecommence the operation. It is easy to see that with 1813.) Specific Heat of the different Guses. 215 two similar gazometers we may make a certain quantity of gas pass from the one to the other as often as we please, without in- terruption. ‘ When the gas which fills the reservoir, B, is not atmospherical air, when it is hydrogen gas, for example, if we pass it often from one gazometer to another, it will disengage the air con- tained in the water, and take its place, so that the purity of the gas will be injured. It would have been impossible to have pro- duced a current of carbonic acid gas, nitrous oxide gas, or olefiant gas, in this manner, though they are but imperfectly soluble in water. ‘This difficulty would have obliged us to re- nounce this kind of gazometer, if we had not found a method of obviating it. This method consists in putting only atmospherical air into the reservoir, B, and in introducing the gas which we wish to circulate into a bladder, V, (Fig. 3,) inclosed in a glo- bular vessel, M, communicating by the tube, C, with the reser- voir, B. If inthis state of things we suppose a regular current of atmospherical air proceeding from the reservoir, B, to the vessel, M, through the tube, C, as the vessel, M, is accurately shut, the air will press uniformly on the bladder, and there will issue out through the tube, D, a regular current of the gascon- tained in the bladder. If, on the other hand, we suppose that the constant current issuing from the bladder, V, enters into another bladder, V’, (fig. 4,) which is empty, and placed, in the same manner as the first, in another globular vessel, M’, which is full of air, and communicates with the reservoir, B’, of the other gazometer, by the tube, C’, which reaches down to its bottom. ‘The reser- voir, B’, being full of water, and its stop-cock, P’, open, the bladder, V’, will become gradually filled with gas, and will drive the air of the globular vessel, M’, into the reservoir, B’, in an uniform current. It is now easy to form an idea of the appara- tus which we employed, and of which we have given a vertical projection in fig. 5. Band B’ are the two lower reservoirs of the two gazometers. The reservoir, B, is supposed full of air, and B’ full of water. Vis a bladder filled with gas, whose specific heat is to be determined, hydrogen gas, for example. ‘The corresponding bladder, V’, is empty; @, /, c, d, e, f, g, h, are the stop-cocks. Let us suppose a, c, f, h, alone open, if we make the gazometer, B, act, a regu- lar current of common air will flow out of B, and pass into the globular vessel, M. It will compress the bladder, V, and force out a current of hydrogen gas. ‘This gas will pass through the tube C D E, about 40 inches in length, and which is surrounded bya larger tube, FG. ‘This last tube is kept filled with the steam of boiling water by means of asinall boiler, K, filled with water, and kept constantly boiling, ‘The steam passes through 216 On the Determination of the (Serr. the tube, K F, intothe tube, F G, passesthrough the wholeof it, and makes its escape by the tube, GI, ‘The part, D E, of the tube through which the gas passes, is long enough to enable the pas during its passage to acquire very nearly the temperature of oiling water. ‘The gas, when it leaves this tube, passes into the calorimeter, L, where it gives out its heat, and then issues out by the tube, N OQ, which conducts it to the bladder, V’. It fills this bladder, driving the air of the vessel, M’, into the reservoir, B’, by atube which plunges to the bottom of the reservoir. When all the air has been driven out of the reservoir, B, and water has been substituted in its place, then the bladder, V, is empty, and the vessel, M, full of air from the reservoir B. The bladder, V’, is full of hydrogen, and the reservoir, BY, full of air, from the vessel, M’. If we now shut at once the stop-cocks dy Cy f, h, and.open g, e, d, l, and put the gazometer, B’, into action; then the air issuing from the gazometer by the stop-cock g, will fill the vessel, M’, press upon the bladder, V’, and cause an uniform currentof hydrogen gas to pass through the stop-cock e, into thetube, D E, where it will be heated. It will then pass through the calorimeter, and issuing out by the tube, N QO, it will passthrough the stop-cock, d, into the bladder, V, will fill it, and drive the air ofthe vessel, M, into the reservoir, B. ‘Thus matters will be brought to their primitive state, and we may commence the process as at first. With a bladder filled with hydrogen gas we may pass an uniform current as long as we please through the calorimeter; and we know, from experience, that, notwithstanding the continual agitation given to this gas by making it move so frequently through so long a circuit, it does not contain, after having circulated for six hours, three per cent. of impurities.* The greatest part of the apparatus which has been described is contained in the same room; but the calorimeter, the ends of the tubes D E, F G, and apart of the tubes G I, N O, are in another room, separated from the first by the door, P Q, which has proper holes in it to allow the tubes to pass. This second room being but seldom opened, the air which it contains, and which surrounds the calorimeter, is seldom agitated, and its temperature scarcely varies, , + The gas continually agitated in moi-t bladders was always saturated with humidity at the temperature of the bladders. Though we took no precautions to dry it, wedo yot think that the vapour produced any sensible effects upon our results; Ist, Because none could be deposited in the calorimeter, which was always a good deal hotter than the bladders, 2d. Because it could oily act asa mixed gas; and although the vapour of water has twice as great a specific heat as the same volume ofair, we made our experiments at a temperature too low (48° Fahrenheit) for it to produceany sensible effect. 1813.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 217 § 11.—Method of determining the Heat given out ly the Gas in passing through the Calorimeter. In the description which we have given of our gazometers we have explained the method hectare to heat the gases. It is obvious, that whether they reached the temperature of boiling water, or remained a little colder, they would always acquire a constant temperature. It was necessary to know this temperature before they entered into the calorimeter. It must have been less than that of boiling water; for it was not certain that it would acquire that temperature in passing through the tube; and even if it had, as it had to pass through a small portion of the tube not surrounded with steam, before getting into the calorimeter, its temperature would necessarily sink somewhat in that place. It seems, at first sight, that it would have been easy to determine this temperature at the entrance of the gas into the calorimeter, by means of a thermometer placed in that spot, in the middle of the current; but we convinced ourselves, by experiments too tedious to describe here, that a thermometer placed in such a situation always stands lower than the true temperature of the current. It will be easyto perceive that this must be the case, if we reflect that bodies placed in an aeriform fluid, being influenced as to their temperature by the surrounding bodies, assume a middle temperature between that of these bodies and the aeri- form fluid with which they are surrounded. In the present case, the tube, in the centre of which the thermometer is placed, being colder than the gas, must act upon the thermometer by means of its radiating quality, and sink its temperature. We ascertained, by experiment, that a thermometer with a gilt bulb stood always higher in such a situation than a common thermo- meter. This difficulty of appreciating the temperature of a current of gas at its entrance into the calorimeter induced us to make the tube between the vapour tube and the calorimeter as short as possible. By this means we succeeded in having the tempera~ ture of the gas very little lower than that of boiling water; and as we were certain that this temperature could neither be lower than that indicated by the thermometer, not higher than that of boiling water, it is obvious that by taking the mean between these two temperatures we could not commit an error of great importance.* e did not experience the same difficulty in determining the temperature of the gases after they came out of the calorimeter, A thermometer placed at the end of the serpentine showed us * The thermometer usually stood between 199° and 204° Fahrenheit, 218 On the Determination of the [Sepr. that it gave out the whole excess of its heat, and that it issued out exactly at the temperature of the water of the calori- meter. Hence we concluded that the heat given out by the gases was equal to the excess of their temperature at their entry into the calorimeter, such as we determined it, above that of the calori- meter. § 1V.—Influence of the Tule which served to hect the Gases upon the Temperature of the Calorimeter. An inconvenience attended the shortening of the intermediate tube between the vapour tube and the calorimeter. The calori- meter was heated directly by communication, independent of the heat which it received from the gas which circulated in its inte- rior. Now, as notwithstanding all the precautions that could be taken to measure the heat received by the calorimeter from that cause, some error might have been committed in the measure- ment, it was necessary to make it as little as possible, that it might be neglected without risk. On this account we employed for that part of the tube a tube of glass, because that substance is a bad conductor of heat. This tube, 0°8 inch in length, and. 0°3 inch in diameter, was fixed to the apparatus in the following manner, a little complicated in appearance, but very easily executed, and having the great advantage of rendering lutes of no use. The sides of our calorimeter are strengthened below by a pretty thick plate of copper, about 0°8 inch high, firmly soldered on, and covering nearly one-half of the circumference, as may be seen in fig. 6, which represents a horizontal section of the calorimeter through its lower part. This plate has fixed to its two extremities two rods, L l, l’ bl’, six inches long, and cut half their length into the threads of a screw, upon which are fixed the nuts, C, C’.. The middle of this plate is pierced with a hole, dd, which coincides with the orifice by whichthe inferior part of the serpentine opens outwards. Round the hole isa flat place, ff, destined to receive apiece of leather. Fig. 7 represents,the extremity of the tube filled with vapour, which serves to heat the gases. This extremity is of copper. The plate, EE, which terminates it, is pretty thick, and pierced in its middle with an opening, I 1, communicating only with the interior tube, which contains the gas. This opening is sur- rounded externally with a flat place, LL, whichreceives a round piece of leather. Immediately in the neighbourhood of the terminal plate is the tube RS, which opening into the inside of the vapour tube, allows the vapour and the condensed water to escape, and carries them to a distance from the calorimeter. It 1813.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 219 is the same tube that is represented by G I in the horizontal section of the apparatus, fig. 5. I, N N, are two oval plates, pierced in their centre by a circular opening, which receives the vapour tube, to which they are firmly fixed. At each of their extremities is a hole, sufli- ciently large to give passage to the rods, UL,’ l’, fixed to the calorimeter, and represented in fig. 6. It is easy to see that when the extremity of the vapour tube is presented to the calcrimeter, and the metallic rods are made to ox through corresponding openings in the wooden disks, M M, N, the opening, I J, of the gas tube will be exactly opposite to the opening, dd, of the serpentine. If we interpose between the two openings a tube of glass of the requisite size, and such that its extremities, eround with care, press against the disks of leather which cover the flat faces, ff, LL; and if, by means of the nuts, C,C’, we force the extremities of the vapour tube toap- proach asnearas possible to the calorimeter, then the tube of glass firmly fixed between the two disks of leather will establish a com- munication between the gas tube and the calorimeter, and will prevent all gas from escaping in any other direction. In describing our apparatus we have said that the calorimeter was in a different room from that of the rest of the apparatus, and that the communication took place by means of a hole made in the door (fig. 5). As a part ofthe vapour tube was in the same room with the calorimeter, it was screened from the effect of radiation by covering the hot tube with a box of tin plate, properly disposed to allow no radiant heat to pass, and that the air which surrounded this tube should have no communication with that which surrounded the calorimeter. Notwithstanding all these precautions we could not prevent the calorimeter from being a little heated by the vapour tube by immediate communication. We endeavoured to determine to how much that cause of heat amounted. We have ascertained that when it acted alone it amounted to 3°1° (51° Fahrenheit); and we think we may, without sensible error, reckon it at 2°5° (41 Vahrenheit) when the calorimeter was heated likewise by the current of hot gas.* The preceding details, perhaps, will be thought rather long; but we considered it improper to omit them, because they will enable the reader to appreciate the accuracy of our results. We hope that the experiments which we shall next describe will merit the confidence of philosophe:s and chemists. (To be continued.) * See note | at the end of this paper, 220 Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. [Sepr. ARTICLE IX. Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. By M. Vauquelin.* M. Verrier, Clinical Professor at the Veterinary School of Alfort, had the goodness to procure me, at my request, the chyle of two horses, which he destroyed by blowing air into the left jugular. These horses, though exhibiting some symptoms of the glanders, were, notwithstanding, in good condition, and had the appearance of good health. One ef them, aged four years, wasa stallion; the other, aged eight years, was a gelding. Both of them had eaten abundantly of hay and oats before their death. They were opened immediately after death, and the thoracic duct was tied near its insertion into the right axillary. The first of these horses furnished, by means of a puncture towards the middle of the thoracic duct, a considerable quantity of chyle, of a red colour, but less intense than that of blood, There was obtained, likewise, by puncturing one of the sub- lumbar branches, a considerable quantity of chyle as white as muk, The second horse, by puncturing the middle of the thoracic duct, yielded a quantity of reddish chyle; but it was not prac- ticable to puncture the sublumbar branches, and procure white chyle, as was done with the first horse. As I examined each of these portions of chyle separately, I shall, in order to be better understood, denote each by numbers, in the order according to which I propose to treat of them. I shall call No. 1 the portion of chyle drawn from the middle of -the thoracic duct of the first horse; No. 2, the white portion of chyle furnished by the sublumbar branches of the same animal; and No, 3, the chyle obtained from the thoracic duct of the second horse. When we examine what anatomists and physiologists have said of chyle, we find very little that can throw light upon its chemicalnature. They haveall described, with more or less exact- ness, its physical characters, and the modifications which it un- dergoes in different circumstances. I shall here give a short ab- stract of their remarks upon this subject. ‘ Lister observed chyle swimming, like a species of oil, on the surface of blood and of serum. Wepfer observed that a kind of cream formed on the surface of chyle. Bourdon, Pecquet, Bartholin, Monro, &c. announced the coagulation of chyle, both in the vessels which contain it, and in the open air. Bohn, Berger, Ash, described butyraceous globules swimming in an “ Translated from the Annales de Chimie, vol. 1xxxi. p. 113, 1813.) Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. 223 aqueous liquid. They conceived that chyle contains a cheesy matter, which they considered as more earthy than the other constituents, and by the precipitation of which they accounted for the calculous concretions found in the reservoir of the chyle by Schars, in the thoracic duct by Ledran, and in the vessels by Goélik. Mart, Musgrave, and Lister, announced that indigo, mixed with the food, and given to animals, tinged the chyle of a blue colour; and this observation was confirmed by Baller, Gould, and Feelix. Mattei says that he communicated a red colour to chyle by giving beet to animals for food. Several observers speak of a green colour in the chyle of herbivorous animals. M. Hallé, to whom we are indebted for several inte- resting experiments on the same subject, never observed in the chyle of dogs to which he had given pastry coloured blue, red, and black, by means of vegetable substances, any trace of these colours. The physical properties which we have observed in the chyle of the horse are very similar to those which M. Hallé observed in the chyle of dogs. Such are the principal facts which are to be found in authors respecting chyle. I now pass to the analysis. Cure, No. 1.—Physical State. This portion of chyle, of a red colour, was coagulated when brought to me. It contained a small quantity of liquid, less coloured than the coagulated portion, which was itself of a much lighter colour than blood. Itwas red, andsemitransparent, like currant jelly badly boiled; yet its consistence was pretty firm. j t Chemical Examination of the Liquid Portion, or the Serum of the Chyle, No. 1. 1. This liquid quickly restored the blue colour to litmus, red- dened by acids; which proves that it contained an uncombined alkali. 2. Heat and acids coagulated it into a greyish white mass, 3. Alcohol likewise occasions an abundant coagulation in it. The coagulum is white, but acquires a reddish tint by desicca- ‘tion. ‘It becomes at the same time transparent, and exhibits a vitreous fracture. When thus dried it decrepitates, and melts on red-hot coals, exhaling an empyreumatic aimmoniacal odour. This coagulum dissolves in caustick potash; but the liquor remains milky, and does not become transparent, as happens to asolution of the albumen of blood in the same circumstances, The alkaline solution is precipitated by acids, and at the same time there exhales from the mixture an odour of sulphur, which has some analogy to the smell perceptible in stables. 232 Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. (Serr. Cuyze, No. 2.—Physical State. This portion of chyle was white and opake, like milk. It contained a coagulum equally white and opake. After having separated the liquid portion from the coagulum, I washed the latter, and set it aside. ‘The reader will find an account of its properties hereafter. The Liquid Portion. This portion, drawn from the sublumbar branches, presented the same properties as the liquid from the red portion of chyle excepting as tocolour. It was coagulated b¥ heat, by acids, by alcohol; the prev'pitates were redissolved by the alkalies, and the solution remained milky, like the solution of the precipitate from the coloured portion of the same chyle The portion of white chyle treated with boiling alcohol was entirely coagulated, as I have mentioned above; but the alcohol retains in solution a small quantity of matter, a part of which it deposits, on cooling, in the form of flocks; but a portion re- mains in solution, as is shown by the addition of water, which renders the alcohol milky. ' Though I have been able to procure only a quantity of this matter insufficient to ascertain its nature exactly, yet I think myself entitled to conclude that it is a species of fat, the insolu- bility of which in the alkalies shows it to be analogous to what I found in the matter of the brain. It is, without doubt, this fatty matter which, by its presence, prevents the albumen, in separating from the coagulum, from becoming transparent, like that of blood. It likewise occasions the albumen precipitated by alcohol to remain opake after desic- cation. It dissolves in boiling alcohol, and is deposited as the alcohol cools, and it gives the alcohol the property of becoming milky when mixed with water. As to the matter coagulable by heat, acids, alcohol, &c. there can be no doubt, I think, that it is aliumen. It forms the greatest part of the chyle. Thus the liquid parts of the two portions of chyle, Nos. I and 2, are of the same nature, if we except the red colour, which does not exist in the chyle of the sublumbar branches, though that chyle contains the materials proper to produce it. Examination of the Coagulum formed spontaneously in the co- loured Portion of Chyle, No.1. To obtain the substance.which had produced the spontaneous coagulation of that portion of chyle, I washed the mass with water, in the same manner as is done with the coagulum of blood when we want to obtain the fibrin. 4 1813.) Analysis of the Chyle of ihe Horse. 298 I obtained a white substance in flakes and ribbons, which had little consistence, were easily torn, and did not exhibit any fibres in their fracture. This matter having presented the same properties as those of the coagulum of the white portion of chyle No. 2, what I have said of the one will apply to the other. Of the Coagulum formed spontaneously in the White Portion of Chyle, No. 2. This coagulum was white and opake, like boiled white of egg. When washed it stretched under the fingers, and assumed the form of a membrane, possessing a slight degree of elasticity, and its texture presented an appearance slightly fibrous. This matter digested in a hot solution of caustic potash com- municated at first a milky aspect to the liquid; but a greasy matter was gradually deposited, and the liquid became clear. This solution had a smell similar to that of the fibrin of blood ‘dissolved in potash. When this solution is decomposed by acids, it exhales a sulphureous odour, which is developed by albumen in similar circumstances. The same matter subjected to the action of acetic acid, assisted by heat, produced a liquor white like an emulsion. The matter which rendered he liquid opake was gradually deposited. It appeared to me to be of the same nature. as the fatty matter which I noticed in the liquid part of the chyle. The matter of the coagulum, when dried, and exposed to heat on burning coals, curls up, and exhales ammoniaco-oily fumes. At last it melts, and leaves a bulky coal behind. From the properties which have been enumerated, it is obvious that the coagulum of chyle has a striking analogy with the fibrin of blood: but I must acknowledge that the resemblance is not perfect; there are some differences, both in the physical and chemical characters of these two substances. The coagulum of chyle has not that fibrous texture, nor the strength and elasticity which belong to the fibrin of blood. It is dissolved more readily and completely by caustic potash, and does not, like fibrin, leave a portion insoluble in that alkali. It seems to be albumen which has begun to assume the characters of fibrin, and hasbeen arrested in its passage: for it unites several properties common to the two substances. If this account be correct, we may con- clude that the food taken by animals is converted in the first place into albumen, and afterwards into fibrin. The increasing roportion of fibrin inthe chyle as it approaches the place where it mixes with the blood is favourable to this hypothesis. Be this as it may, the rapid change which vegetables expevience in the organs of digestion of animals, and their total conversion into avimal substances, are truly astonishing. Some houre are suffi- 224 Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. (Serr. cient to make the characters and nature of vegetable substances disappear entirely. The powers which preside over digestion must be very active and very powerful. From this first analysis, it follows, that the chyle of the horse is composed : 1. Of albumen, which constitutes the greatest part of it, 2. Of fibrin, or at least of a substance which resembles it in several respects. 3. Of a fatty substance, which gives to chyle the appearance of milk. 4. Of different salts, such as potash, muriate of potash, and white phosphate of iron; that is, phosphate at a minimum of oxidation. I ought not to neglect to mention here that M. Emmert was occupied before me with analysing chyle. An extract of his work, by M. Friedlander, is printed in the Annales de Chimie for October, 1811; but as there is some difference between the results which we obtained, I thought it right to publish my ex- periments. After having written thus far, I received from M. Verrier a new quantity of chyle, the analysis of which furnished nearly the same results. However, as this last portion was not coloured like the preceding, it presented some phenomena which were not perceived before, and which I shall relate in a few words. Chyle from the Sublumbar Branches, It was white, like milk. The bulky coagulam which it con- tained was red in some parts. Water deprived the coagulum of the greatest portion of this colour. Then it resembled fibrin, but had much less tenacity. The white liquid which surrounded this coagulum being left at rest for 18 hours was found partly covered with drops of a yellowish oil. The same liquid treated with a considerable portion of boiling alcohol let fall a great quantity of albumen. ‘The alcohol assumed a yellowish green colour, and deposited, on cooling, a white oily concrete matter; and yielded, when evapo- rated, an additional portion of yellowish oi!. These phenomena confirm me more and more in the opinion stated above, that the a of chyle is of the same nature as that which exists in the rain. The chyle deprived of the fatty matter by repeated digestions in boiling alcohol becomes transparent by drying, as happens to the brain. A portion of this chyle coagulated by heat, and then incine- rated, furnished carbonate of potash, muriate and sulphate of potash, iron, and phosphate of lime. Among the last portions of chyle sent me by M. Verrier there a ) . - 1813.] Analysis of the Chyle of the Horse. 225 was one from a horse afflicted with the glanders, which, though taken from the thoracic duct, was colourless, and contained onl a small quantity of fibrous matter. This was, no doubt, the reason why it did not coagulate spontaneously, and why it only showed very small traces of that substance by analysis. It was also much less charged with albumen, as was obvious from its greater fluidity, and from its not coagulating when heated. It contained, however, a notable proportion of fatty matter. This difference seems to announce an exception to the general principle which I pointed out above; namely, that the propor- tion of fibrous matter increases as the chyle approaches more and more to the place where it mixes with ai blood ; but this differ- ence may depend upon the nature of the aliments, or perhaps upon the diseased state of the digestive organs of the animal. I shall finish this paper by remarking, that if the bile, the gastric juice, &c. contribute to the formation of chyle, as phy- siologists think, these substances must undergo a complete de- composition, since not the slightest traces of them can be per- ceived in the animal fluid which constitutes the subject of this paper. I shall observe, likewise, that the comparison which some persons have established between chyle and milk, in conse- quence of the external appearance of the two fluids, has no real foundation; for chyle contains nothing which agrees exactly with the constituents of milk. ARTICLE X. Astronomical and Magnetical Olservations at Hackney Wick. By Col. Beaufoy. Astronomical Observations, August 11, 1813. Beginning of the Lunar Eclipse 13° 41’ 41” Apparent Time. A i 11 09 40 Emersion § of 1 | Aquarius si 53 Ol ; Mean Time, Turse observations were made under very favourable cir- cumstances ; and as no diminution of the star’s light took place, the opinion of some of the French astronomers that the moon is surrounded with an atmosphere, seems extremely impro- bable; or at least, admitting it is so, the air must be exceed- ingly attenuate. ‘The thinness of the moon’s atmosphere (if there be any) is further corroborated by the great sharpness of the lunar horns in solar eclipses. Vox, II. N° III. P r 226 Astronomical and Magnetical Olservations. ([Srpr: Magnetical Observations. Latitude 51° 32’ 40” North. Longitude West in Time 6”5°;75. 1813. Morning Observ. Noon Observ. Evening Obsery. Month, Hour, | Variation. | Hour. | Variation. | Hour. | Variation. —_— ———_—— — July 19) 8 45/]24° 11 37” 1h 49’ [24° 94" 39”) Th 20 l240 17! 51” Ditto 20, 8 38 (24 15 20]1 55 |24 21 40/7 10 |24 18 36 Ditto 21/8 50|24 14 251% 02 \24 93 92/7 02 \24 17 40 Ditto 22/8 12/24 15 00 |\— —|— — —|7 10 [24 19 08 Siesta ag (el AN NO: EE) 98k be bee ae ee I ee Ditto 25, 8°48 24 15 50/2 10 24 93 05 |— —|. — — Ditto 27/8 40 [24 14 20] 1 5S 24 22 45/7 22 24 16 16 Witevee) 8.25 46 4b oc be 1 ive lel ae Ditto 29/8 50 l24 15 00/1 52 24 24 13/6 52/21 13 38 Ditto 30,8 55/24 14 46] 1 55 24 24 43/7 OT 124 18 35 Ditto 3118 45 24 16 40/1 53 24 24 26/7 25 !o4 16 38 Observations Noon at 50,...Ditto 24 23 O04 in July. Evening at 8....Ditto 24 13 56 30... .Ditto 24 12 55 33....Ditto 24 22 iT 04,...Ditto 24 16 04 28 ...Ditto 24 12 02 87.... Ditto 24 20 54 14....Ditto 24 13 AT 31....Ditto 24 09 18 59....Ditto 2421.12 46... .Ditto 24 15 25 Mean of {rion at 8h 31’,.. Variation 24° 14’ 32” Morning at Ditte in June, < Noon at Evening at Morning at Ditto in May. $ Noon at Evening at Morning at Ditto in apeit} Noo at OOO QeH DAKO Evening at Magneticat Observations continued. Morning Observ. Noon Obseryv. Evening Observ. Month. SEES ERE eth oF 2 Hour, | Variation. | Hour. | Variation, | Hour, | Variation. Aug. 1] 8h 40! |24° 97’ 12”) Ih 50’ }24° 24’ 16” Th 15/ |24° 16% 40” Ditto 2} 9 47 24 16 33/-— —|— — 7 25 }24 16 08 Ditto 3} 8 10 |}24 15 36 50 124 2% BT 7 40124 18 18 Ditto 4} 8 40 |24 14 02 55 24 22 21/7 45 [24 16 46 Ditto 5} 9 OO j24' 18 32 57 124 23 25/7 35/24 16 12 Ditto 6| 8 02 |24 16 31 —- — — | — Ditto 7| 8 37 |24 16 04 — j= — =] 7T 20 2416 54 Ditto 8|9 05 \24 15 AT 53 }24 22 30]7 387 24 16 56 Ditto 9} 7 50 \24 14 389. —|—- — —|— —]-— —_- Ditto 10| 8 55 \24 18 20 15 {24 23 30|]T 20/24 14 45 Ditto 11] 8 42 24 17 36 00 |24 23 34/7 OT 24 17 10 Ditto 12] 8 45 |24 15 34 10 24 21 48) 7 15 |24 14 35 - Ditto 13] 8 35 \24 16 44 55 124 24 17|7 35 \24 15 2T . Ditto 14] 8 45 \24 17 55 —i— — —]6 30 j;24 16 OL Ditto 15| 8 45 [24 16 26 02 |24 24 25|7° 18 |24 15 OT Ditto 16} 8 30 |24 14 32 —/f— — —j|6 50 |24 16 32 Ditto 17| 8 35 14°15 55 |24 23 46/7 OO (24 13 QF Ditto 18' 8 30 13 26 —-i—- — —|—- —-ke = nani 1813.] Astronomical and Magnetical Observations. 227 August 1.—The variation is very remarkable. The morning variation of both needles gave within 18 seconds. The noon variation was less than either morning or evening. The weather was calm, no thunder, nor any apparent cause for so singular a circumstance. At noon it was very gloomy, with the appearance of a blight. Greatest height of the thermometer, 68. Between noon of the Ist July 2 9, P Between noon of the Ist Aug. : Rea tgesurciiess Rain 5 Errata IN THE cast Numper, Articce XII. Line 18, read b =25°07. Line 18, read d= 25°67. Page 139, line 3, for Ist, 2d, 3d, and 4th, read Ist, 2d, Ath, and 5th. Page 139, line 12, for Ist, 2d, 3d, and 4th wires, read Ist, 2d, 4th, and 5th wires; and, for Arion’s belt, read Orion’s belt. oe ArticLte XI. ANaALysEs oF Books. Philosophical Transactions for 1818. Part I.] This part contains the following papers ; of all of which some account has been given in the first volume of the Annals of Philosophy; but we consider it as necessary to give an analysis of them here, in order to correct the mistakes, and supply the deficiencies, of our former accounts. I. On a new detonating Compound. By Sir Humphry Davy, LL.D. F.R.S.] This is the substance of which an analysis by Sir H. Davy is given in our seventh number, under the name of axotane. ‘We now know that the original discoverer of it was a M. Dulong, and that he obtained it by passing a mixture of chlorine and azotic gas through a solution of salammoniac. He has lately published a paper on the subject in the Annales de Chimie; but it contains nothing that we did not know before. Azotane has the colour and fluidity of olive oil; its specific pny is above 1°6. It detonates with a bright light when eated in water, and when brought in contact of oil or phos- phorus: it acts slowly on ether and alcohol: with mercury it forms corrosive sublimate: on tin and zinc it has no action: neither does it act on sulphur or resin: it explodes in alcohol and ether, having phosphorus in solution: in muriatic acid it gives off gas rapidly, but does not explode: it has but little action on sulphuric acid. Sir H. Davy conceives it probable, from the properties and formation of this substance, that it is a compound of chlorine and azote; an opinion which he has since verified by a direct analysis. “ey 228 Analyses of Books. (Serr. II. On a remarkable Application of Cotes’s Theorem. By I. F.W. Herschell, Esq.] This paper, being entirely algebraical, and not susceptible of abridgement, could scarcely be made in= telligible to the reader without transcribing the whole of it, On that account I must refer those who are curious to know the application of Mr. Herschell to the paper itself. I may only observe, that the conclusions of the ingenious author apply rather to the algebraic expressions than to the conic sections themselves. III. Observation of the Summer Solstice 1812, at the Royal Observatory. By John Pond, Esq. Astronomer Royal, F R-.S.] From this observation, made with the new mural cirele, with more aceuracy, Mr. Pond informs us, than any former instru- ment was susceptible of, the obliquity of the ecliptic comes out 23° 27’ 52°25”. IV. Observations relative to the Near and Distant Sight of different Persons. By James Ware, Esq. F.R.S.] This curious paper contains a great many cases of near-sighted persons, with remarkable changes prodaced in the sight by different causes. These cases authorize the following conclusions :— 1. Near-sightedness is rarely observed in infants, or_even in children under ten years of age. It affects the higher classes of society more than the lower: and the instances are few, if any, in which, if the use of concave glasses has been adopted, in- creasing years have either removed or lessened this imperfection. 2. Though the usual effect of time on perfect eyes be that of inducing a necessity to make use of convex glasses, in order to see near objects distinctly, yet sometimes, even after the age of fifty, and after convex glasses have been used many years for this purpose, the eyes have not only ceased to derive benefit from them, when looking at near objects, but they have required concave glasses to enable them to distinguish with precisicn objects at a distance. 3. Though the cause of this change be not always known, yet sometimes it has been induced by the use of evacuating reme- dies, particularly of leeches applied to the temples; and some- times. by looking through a microscope, fora continued length of time, for several successive days. 4, Instances are not uncommon in which persons far advanced in life (viz. between eighty and ninety), whose eyes have been accustomed for a long time to the use of deeply convex glasses, when they have read or written, have ceased to derive benefit from these glasses, and they haye become able, without any assistance, to see both near and distant objects almost as well as when they were young. Although it be not easy to ascertain the cause of this amended vision, it seems not improhable that it is occasioned by an absorption of part of the vitreous humour; in, 1813.] Philosophical Transactions for-1813. Part I. 229 consequence of which the sides of the eye collapse, and its axis from the cornea to the retina is lengthened ; by which alteration the length of this axis is brought into the same proportion to the flattened state of the cornea, or crystalline, or both, which it had to these parts before the alteration tock place. V. The Bakerian Lecture. On the Elementary Particles of certain Crystals. By William Hyde Wollaston, M.D. Sec. R.S.] The regular octahedron is well known to crystallographers to constitute the primitive form of a considerable number of mine- rals. Now there is a difficulty with respect to the figure of the integrant molecules of such bodies. ‘The octahedron may be divided into octahedrons and tetrahedrons, and the same obser- vation applies to each of the tetrahedrons thus obtained ; so that two different figures present themselves. If we make choice of the tetrahedron, we must suppose the body full of octahedral spaces; and it we adopt the octahedron, the body must be full of tetrahedral spaces: and the molecules, whether octahedral or tetrahedral, must unite by their edges instead of their faces. These suppositions, it must be obvious, are of such a nature as not to be satisfactory. Dr. Wollaston gets over the difficulty by supposing the integrant molecules in such cases to be spherical: and he shows how spherical molecules are capable of forming tetrahedrons, octahedroris, and rhomboids. He shows, also, that rhomboids would be the result of the union of oblate sphe- roids. Oblong spheroids, on the contrary, would form three and six-sided prisms. He shows how cubes might be the re- sult of the union of two sets of spherical pariicles, each set ferming a tetrahedron. VI. On a Substance from the Elm-tree, called Ulmin. By James Smithson, Esq. F.R.S.] The substance to which I gave the name of ulmin, was examined by Klaproth about a dozen of years ago, and the account of its properties which I gave in my System of Chemistry was taken without alteration from Klap- roth’s paper. More than two years ago, however, I had satisfied myself, by the examination of some ulmin from Plymouth, that Klaproth’s account was in several respects inaccurate, and that it had been the result of a very hasty and imperfect examination of the substance in question, My experiments were published in the first number of the Annals of Philosophy. Mr. Smithson’s experiments, having been made upon a portion of the same Palermo ulmin which Klaproth examined, remove every doubt respecting the properties of this peculiar substance. Palermo ulmin, in lumps, appears black; but in thin pieces it is trans- parent, and of a deep red colour, It dissolves readily in water; the dilute solution is yellow; the concentrated, the colour of blood. This solution appears to be a combination of potash with a peculiar substance, to which the name of ulmin may be given, 230 Analyses of Books. (Serr. The ulmin is precipitated by nitric, sulphuric, muriatic, phos- phoric, oxalic, tartaric, and citric acids; but not by distilled vinegar. Ulmin thus precipitated is glossy, and has a resinous appearance. Its colour is unaltered. It burns with flame, and is reduced to white ashes. Alcohol and water dissolve it, but only in very small quantity. Potash promotes its solution in water; but neither ammonia nor carbonate of soda produce this effect. English ulmin examined by Mr. Smithson exhibited similar properties; but the quantity was too small to enable him to acertain all the properties which I detailed in my paper. VIL. On a Method of Freezing at a Distance. By William Hyde Wollaston, M.D. Sec. R.S.] It is well known that the temperature of liquids is cooled by evaporation; but in close vessels evaporation is limited by the great bulk into which the vapour expands. Dr. Wollaston in this paper describes an ingenious contrivance of his, to which he has given the name of cryophorus, by means of which water may be frozen in close vessels by its evaporation with great facility. This instrument is a glass tube of this shape— Tis internal diameter is about 1th of an inch, each extremity is blown into a ball, and the tube is bent at right angles about half an inch from each ball. One of the balls is filled not quite half full of water. This liquid is boiled for some time to expel the air, and the capillary tube at the extremity of the other ball is then sealed hermetically. If the empty ball of this instrument is plunged into a mixture of snow and salt, the- vapour within it is condensed so fast that the water in the other ball freezes. VIII. A Catalogueof North Polar Distances of some of the principal Fixed Stars. By John Pond, Esq. Astronomer Royal, F.R.S.] This catalogue contains 44 stars, the distances of all of which are determined within rather less than a second of ab- solute precision. IX. A Description of the Solvent Glands and Gizxards of the Ardea Argala, the Casuarius Emu, and the Long-legged Casso- wary, from New South Wales. By Sir Everard Home, Bart. F.R.S.] The ardea argala, a native of Bengal, feeding on carrion, and very voracious, has its solvent glands disposed in two circular masses, one on the anterior, the other on the poste- rior side of the cardiac cavity. Each gland is made up of five or 4 1813.] Philosophical Transactions for 1813, Part I. 253 six cells, and these open into one common excretor duct. In the casuarius emu the solvent glands are oval bags $t of an inch long and ~!;th of an inch wide. They occupy the whole sur- face of the cardiac cavity, which is very large. The gizzard is si- tuated out of the direction of the cardiac cavity, so that the food can pass into the duodenum without entering the gizzard. The structure of these organs in the long-legged cassowary of New South Wales is similar. Sir Everard Home terminates his paper by showing that the length of the intestines in birds in- creases with the scarcity of their food. In the Casuarius Emu the intestines are 7 feet long. Rhea Americana ........-+.. 19 feet 11 inches. Struthio Camelus......-. 5+: 77 feet 9 inches. in 100 measures of Port wine at 22 measures. XI.On a new Variety in the Breeds of Sheep. By Colonel David Humpries, F.R.S.J Seth Wight, who possessed a small farm on the Charles River, about 16 miles from Boston, had a small flock, consisting of 15 ewes and one ram. One of these ewes in 1791 produced a singular shaped lamb. He was advised to kill his former ram, and keep this new one in place of it: the consequence was, the formation of a new breed of sheep, which "apace spread over a considerable part of New England: but the introduction of the merinos has nearly destroyed them again. This new variety was called the otter or ankon breed. They are remarkable for the shortness of their legs, and the crookedness of their fore legs, like an elbow. They are much feebler, and much smaller, than the common sheep, and less able to break over low fences. ‘This was the reason of their being continued and propagated. XI. Experiments to ascertain the coagulating Power of the Secretion of the Gastric Glands. By Sir Everard Home, Bart. F.R.S.] The method of making these experiments was to bring 232 Analyses of Books. (Serr. the different substances examined in contact with milk, and observe whether they coagulated that liquid. The results were as follows :— The mucus of the fourth cavity of a calf’s stomach coagulated milk, but not the mucus of the first, second, and third cavity. After a calf has left off sucking, the inner member of the fourth cavity of the stomach still coagulates milk. Only that part of a hog’s stomach near the pylorus, where the gastric glands are situated, coagulates milk. The crop and gizzard of a cock coagulated milk, the latter more speedily than the former. ‘The contents of a shark’s stomach, and the stomach itself, coagu- lated milk immediately. Rennet from the stomach of the sal- mon and thornback coagulated milk. From other experiments, Sir Everard Home concluded, that the secretion of the gastric glands possesses the power of coagulating milk, and that it gives that power to all the parts by which it is imbibed, whe- ther composed of living parts or not. XIII. On some Properties of Light. By David Brewster, LL.D. F.R.S. Edin.] These properties are divided into four sets: 1. On a new Property of Refracted Light. Thin plates of agate, calcedony, and carnelian, gave a distant image of any luminous object; but on each side of this image was one highly coloured, forming with it an angle of several degrees, and so deeply affected with colour that no prism of agate, with the largest refracting angle, could produce an equivalent dispersion. The light which constituted all these images was polarized. The effect of two plates of agate is similar to what was observed by Biot. There is a faint nebulous light, unconnected with the image, but always accompanying it. This Dr. Brewster con- jectures may be owing to an imperfect double refractive power in the agate. 2. On the double refractive Power of Chromate of Lead. ‘The refractive power of this substance is thrice as great as that of Iceland spar. 3. On Substances with a higher refrac- tive Power than the Diamond. The following is the refractive and dispersive power of different substances, according to Dr. Brewster :— Refractive Powers. Chromate of lead, greatest refraction . .2°926 Ditto, least refraction ........ veer eee Realgar ) fiiws ave sis-siaiele wis eae ale . -2°510 Diamond, according to Newton......2°439 Phosphorus ...... Nafribiay wey aise ee 2°224 Sulphur, native ......... 66 cia isl sateen S Cryolite i dis aia: arias nlnbat cna seeitieaad 1°344 Tce, wince pratt holt ec enasadpheas bakes 1813.] Philosophical Transactions for 1813, Part I. 233 Dispersive Powers. Chromate of lead, greatest .........0°400 Ditto, least refraction ......... oi. O'S62 PRC BNA 5. inp5hn<) eck, sini bl + sysliece, dy spermye ai 0°255 Oil ‘of cassiacss..sees s7:0's ahd rre esha bette 0:139 Ut a ee PT UeE re eae ee .».0°130 Phosphorus. ......... Saabs ed eel Sp Flint glass (highest)...... Sr byline abl RNa Perea is gtd tabi wie bear regia »-..0°038 BBE Pd chika sci ay cacti hy chaddaa eh og oi 0°035 BUOT Spal QUIN W/29'55|29°51/29°530} 68 | 57 | 62°5 2218 W129-55|29°50/29°525| 75 | 58 | 66°5 23'S W1}29:50!29:42/29°460] 75 | 53 | 64:0 24) W }29°53/29:40/29°465) 74 | 55 | 64°5 25\S W1/29:54129:40/29°470] 73 | 53 | 63°0 26} W_ |29:78/29°54/29 660] 69 | 53 | 61:0 27; W_ |30°:07/29°78|29°925| 75 | 51 | 63:0 28| W |30°17|30°07|30°120| 77 | 50 | 63°5 29| E |30:07|29:95/30°010| 78 | 54 | 66°0 30} S }|29:91/29°80|29°855| 82 | 60 | 71-0 31IN W/29 95!29°95/29:930] 78 | 53 | 65°53 [SP1St1eri dd a io) O 5| S$ |29°53|29-42/29-475| 71 | 49 | 60°0 16|N W/}29-82)29°80/29-810) 70 | 50 | 60°0 17| W_ |29-82|29°78|29°800] 76 | 52 | 640 18IN W/30°05/29°82/29°935| 75 | 47 | 61:0 ts co 2 o “I to © © ia) oo fo) So f.>) or “I : : ; : g = > . ) c 4 22 { ; Ye won puny ? Lp C y Y, € Hah a ——— } i i Nh | {vt Mh wh MN \ \HHT | hes AH I H i } U HA) H WAH TENA WANA Dy) a Ah) ( i MA AN | Hs MAT a Wi WANN A a WN th i | i ll | ’ i | | i" , " nt ee f Md ‘TX @LVId 1813.] Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. 253 bed. The whole northern base of the mount consists of clay slate. I could not determine either the direction or amount of its dip ; but it seemed to lie much more horizontally than the clay slate at Merazion. It does not extend to any height up the mount. The upper part of the mount consists of granite. On the south side this granite continues down to the water’s edge, and it continues to constitute the whole of the hill both on the east and west side for about ths of its whole extent. Then we come to the clay slate. On the east side, where the granite terminates, numerous veins of it run into the clay slate in different directions. I traced some of them for a length of 125 feet, and then lost them only because they ran under heaps of loose stones, which I was unable toremove. ‘These veins vary in width from an inch or two to about a foot and a half 3 but their common width is above a foot. Sometimes they contain fragments of clay slate; sometimes they consist of felspar; but most commonly of perfect granite. I consider the descriptions which Mr. Playfair and Mr. Allan have given of them as correct.* No person who will be at the trouble to examine them can doubt that they are, real veins, that they run from the granite — into the clay slate, and therefore that the granite must have been deposited after the clay slate: but if there be any person not satisfied with the appearance of these veins, he has only to go to the west side of the mount, where he will find two beds of granite in the clay slate, and the position of these beds such as to indicate in the clearest manner that the great body of the granite had been deposited after the clay slate. These facts put it beyond dispute that the granite of St. Michael’s Mount is not primitive but transition granite. This is the conclusion that Mr. Allan ought to have drawn from his premises, and the conclusion that he would have drawn if he had given his reasoning powers fair play. He proved that the granite ay over the clay slate, and that it must have been deposited after the clay slate. He proved, likewise, that the clay slate is a transition rock. From all this it follows iresistibly that the granite likewise is a transition rock. This is not the first time that granite has been observed as a transition rock. Won Buch observed it in a similar position in the neighbourhood of Christiana in Norway. In all probability, when transition rocks, which are so common in this country, come to be examined more carefully than they have hitherto been, granite will be frequently found among them. Why should it not, as well as clay slate, greenstone, and porphyry? (To be continued.) * The clay slate in the neighbourhood of the yeins contains so much miea as to lave the aspect of mica slate, 54 On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. [Ocr. Articre IIT. : On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. By Jacob Berzelius, M.D. F.R.S. Professor of Chemistry at Stockholm. {Letter from Dr. Berzelius to Dr. A. Marcet.*) DEAR SIR, You ask of me an explanation of my ideas respecting muriatic acid, and the reasons that prevent me from adopting the new theory of Sir Humphry Davy respecting this substance. I shall in the first place state the difference between the old theory and that of Sir H. Davy, and then give my reasons for considering the old theory as the most accurate. According to the old hypothesis, muriatic acid is composed of a combustible radicle still unknown, and of oxygen. Muriatic, like several other acids, cannot be obtained in a separate state. It does not seem capable of existing except in combination with some oxide or other. When combined with water, it constitutes common muriatic acid gas. In this compound the water consti- tutes a base for the acid, just as I have proved it to do in concen- trated sulphuric and nitric acids, in efHloresced oxalic acid, &c. The muriatic radicle is capable of combining with different doses of oxygen. I have proved that muriatic acid neutralized by a base contains exactly twice as muchoxygen asthe base with which it is saturated ; that is'to say (to employ the expression of Dal- ton), that the acid is composed of one atom of radicle and two atoms of oxygen. ‘The other compounds formed consist of one atom of radicle combined with three, four, and six atoms of oxygen, constituting oxymuriatic gas (superoxidum muri-+ atosum), euchlorine gas of Davy (superoxidum muriaticum), and hyperoxymuriatic acid (acidum oxymuriaticum). Muriatic is one of the most powerful acids, and possesses in a high degree the property of forming with salifiable oxides, both neutral salts and salts with excess of base. According to the new hypothesis, oxymuriatic gas, in the present state of our knowledge, must be considered as an elementary body, though its great specific gravity, and the pro- ' perty which it has of crystallizing with water at a low tempera- ture, leads one to conjecture that it is a compound, and even that it contains oxygen. Theillustrious author of this hypothesis has given it the name of chlorine. Chlorine has the property of combining with an atom of oxygen ; and the oxide thus produced * Dr. Marcet, having been requested by Dr. Berzelius to publish this letter, in order to promote discussion, has complied with the request, 1813.] _ On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. 255 is called euchlorine. Chlorine combines likewise with an atom of hydrogen. ‘The compound formed is muriatic acid. This acid is analogous to sulphureted hydrogen and tellureted hy- drogen, and, like these two acids, it is decomposed by the greatest number of the saline bases, the oxygen of which com- bines with the hydrogen of the acid, and forms water, at the same time that the metallic radicle of the base unites with the chlorine. Muriatic acid parts with its hydrogen still more easily than the two above-mentioned acids, since it is decomposed by oxides which neither alter sulphureted nor tellureted hydrogen ; by potash and soda, for example. On the other hand muriatic acid is neither decomposed by atmospheric air, nor oxygen gas, as happens to the compounds of hydrogen with sulphur and tellurium. What we have hitherto called muriate of potash and muriate of soda, is nothing but a compound of chlorine and the metallic radicles of these oxides. The only bases, which do not decompose muriatic acid, are ammonia, alumina, and in some measure also magnesia. ‘The salts called hyperoxymuriates are combinations of euchlorine with the peroxides of the bases. Chlorine combines with all combustible bodies except carlon, and perhaps also loron, but it combines with the oxide of carbon. Such is an outline of each hypothesis. I shall in the first place examine the circumstances by which the illustrious author of the new hypothesis considered himself as obliged to abandon the old opinion. I shall afterwards state some facts which agree very well with the old hypothesis, but not with the new. It has not escaped the sagacity of Davy that chlorine may contain oxygen; but having exposed salifiable bases to the action of oxymuriatic gas, he found that the quantity of oxygen evolved was exactly equal to that contained in the oxide employed. Hence he concluded that this oxygen could not be furnished by the oxymuriatic acid gas, but was derived from the oxide; the radicle of which, having a stronger affinity for chlorine than for oxygen, parted with its oxygen and united with the chlorine. Before the establishment of the doctrine of definite proportions in chemistry, the experiments just stated might certainly war- rant a new conjecture respecting the nature of oxymuriatic gas; but at present it is established by that doctrine, that the oxymu- riatic acid is composed of one atom of radicle and three atoms of oxygen; that it is capable of neutralizing a quantity of any base whatever, the oxygen in which amounts to half the oxygen in the acid; and that, of consequence, the quantity of oxygen disengaged from the oxymuriatic gas decomposed by a saline base is os to that contained in the base by which it is decomposed. ydrogen gas unites with oxymuriatic gas, and forms a mu- riate of water, without any excess either of water or muriatic acid. This experiment, being conformable to the old hypothesis, 236 On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. [Ocr. proves nothing in favour of the new. Though the muriate of water has the gaseous form, this proves nothing against the old hypothesis ; for the form of aggregation is a physical property which neither hypothesis is capable of explaining. ; The strongest circumstance in favour of the new hypothesis is, that charcoal is neither capable of decomposing oxymuriatic gas nor muriate of silver at any temperature whatever. ‘Lhis cir- cumstance, compared with the extreme facility with which oxymuriatic gas acts upon the metals, appears at first sight per- fectly to justify the conjecture that oxymuriatic gas is an elemen- tary substance ; but the most simpleexplanation is notalways the most accurate. In order to conceive the cause of this os. menon we must attend to its connection with the general theory of chemistry. We must observe, in the first place, that there are several acids which cannot exist without being combined with water or with some other oxide; such as sulphuric, nitric, oxalic, tartaric acids, &c. Now we suppose that the same is the case with muriatic acid; and if so, a combustible body, the oxide of which formed by the quantity of oxygen contained in the oxymu- riatic gas is insufficient to saturate all the quantity of muriatic acid contained in that gas, can never at any temperature what- ever decompose oxymuriatic gas into oxygen and muriatic acid, because the muriatic acid has no base with which it can combine in order to preserve its existence asanacid. Such a combustible substance must either deprive the acid radicle of the whole of its oxygen, or, if its affinity for oxygen be not sufficiently great for that, it will leave the acid without any alteration at all; but we know that the oxide of carbon has not the property of combin- ing with any other oxide. Hence charcoal cannot furnish an oxide capable of uniting with muriatic acid, when deprived of its excess ofoxygen. If we suppose that the radicle of muriatic acid has a stronger affinity for oxygen than charcoal has, there is no difficulty in explaining the want of action of charcoal on oxymuriatic acid ; while such a supposition throws considerable light on the theory of chemistry. You see, then, that the facts which have been considered as most favourable to the new hypothesis are equally explicable on the old opinions. If we attempt to prove by a direct experiment that the new theory is inconsistent with truth, it will be difficult to find any which is not susceptible of explanation, according to either supposition. ‘The cause of this is, that as the muriatic acid cannot be obtained in a separate state, it always retains in com~- bination enough water to oxydate the combustible bodies suffi- ciently to be capable of uniting with the pure acid. Hence we have it not in our power to make potassium act upon pure muriatic acid; because, whether we employ oxymuriatic gas or Ld 181$.] On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. 257 muriatic acid gas, there is always a sufficient quantity of oxygen present to convert the potassium into potash, without decom- posing a single atom of muriatic acid. But there are methods, less direct indeed, but not less sure, of coming to a decisive conclusion on this point. The doctrine of definite proportions affords us the means of calculating what cannot come directly under our hands; just as the astronomers have made the most striking discoveries by means of mathema- tical calculations. You entertain no doubts, I hope, respecting the truth of that doctrine. Now I shall show from it that there are combinations which, if explained according to the hypothesis of Davy, are inconsistent with well ascertained chemical propor- tions. Such are all the submuriates which contain water of combina- tion. Ihave proyed by a set of experiments (which you will find in the Annales de Chimie for May and June 1812) that when a salt contains combined water, that water always exists in such a proportion that its oxygen is always either equal to. that of the base, or it isa multiple or submultiple of it by a whole number. For example, the subsulphate of iron contains a quantity of water whose oxygen is equal to that of the oxygen in the oxide of iron, which constitutes the base of the salt. The subsulphate of copper is so constituted that the water, the acid, and the oxide, contain each the same quantity of oxygen. Hence we may conceive this salt to be composed_of one atom of acid and three atom of hydrate of copper. The new hypothesis admits the existence of a submuriate of cepper. Let us examine the composition of this salt. We obtain the salt by pouring caustic alkali into the muriate of copper, taking care not to precipitate the whole of the oxide from the solution. The pre- cipitate well washed and dried is the submuriate of copper. If we dissolve it in nitric acid, and precipitate the muriatic acid by nitrate of silver, we obtain a quantity of muriate of silver, indicating 12:1 parts of muriatic acid in 100 parts of the sub- muriate of copper. Digest the liquid over uiercury to get rid of the superfluous silver; evaporate to dryness in a platinum crucible, and expose it to a red heat till all the acid and mercury are driven off: the oxide of copper obtained weighs 72 parts. Thus the acid and base in 100 parts of subauriate of coppet amount to 84" parts. ‘The 15:9 parts wanting must have been combined water. We may ascertain the existence of this water by heating the submuriate in a retort previously weighed, and ished with a tube filled with muriate of lime. The subsalt; together with its water, loses a little oxygen gas which passes through the muriate of lime, leaving the water behind it. In this manner we obtain from 15°75 to 16 parts of water, accord- ing as the submuriate has been more or less perfectly dried, If - Vor, II, N° IV. R 258 On the Nature of Muriatic Acid. [Ocr. we calculate this result, we find that 72 parts of oxide of copper contain 14°87 parts of oxygen, and that the quantity of oxygen in 15°9 parts of water is 14°32. Thus it appears that the oxygen in the water, as in the subsulphate, is equal to the oxygen in the oxide.* As we know that 100 parts of muriatic acid are neu- tralized by 147-27 parts of oxide of copper, that is to say, that the atom of acid is to the atom of oxide as 100 : 147:27, it follows that the subsalt is composed of one atom of acid and four atoms of hydrate of copper. ‘Thus you see the admirable har- mony that reigns in these compounds according to the old mode of explaining their composition. Let us now consider the composition of this salt according to the new hypothesis. Muriatic acid, according to this hypothesis, is a compound of one atom of chlorine and one atom of hydro- gen. Hence it follows that the submuriate contains 16°08 parts of muriatic acid for 72 parts of oxide of copper. ‘The water in combination amounts only to 11.92 parts: but as analysis gives us 15°9, we must suppose the 3°98 of surplus formed by the decomposition ofthe acid ; the hydrogen of which forms water with part of the oxygen of the oxide; at thesame time that the metal of the oxide combines with the chlorine evolved. In the 11°92 parts of water admitted by the new hypothesis there are only 10°74 of oxygen, that is to say, 3ths of the quantity con- tained in the oxide of copper. Hence the subsalt contains one atom of oxide and 2ths of an atom of water; that is to say, that the water is to the base in a ratio inconsistent with the doctrine of definite proportions. Hence the explanation given by the new hypothesis cannot be accurate. The submuriate of lead containing water (that is prepared by precipitation) furnishes still a better proof, because the water which it contains is more easily determined by direct experi- ment; but I chose the submuriate of copper in preference, because, if you think proper to examine what I have said, you may do it without any tedious experiment; you have only to compare what I have said respecting the submuriate of copper with the analysis of it published by Mr. John Davy in the Phil. Trans. for 1812. If, on the other hand, we examine a submuriate without water of combination, as the submuriate of lead exposed to a red heat, we shall find that according to the old hypothesis the acid is united to one atom of oxide: while according to the new hypothesis these submuriates constitute a pertectly new class of bodies, composed of chlorine, metal, and a proportion of oxygen * If we calculate by the table given in the Annals of Philosophy, vol. ii, p. 32, we shall find that the oxygen in 72 parts of peroxide of copper amounts to 14-4; and the oxygen in 15°9 parts of water is14°05, But these changes do not destroy the identity observed by Berzelius.—T. 1813.] On the. Nature of Muriatic Acid. 259 insufficient for the oxidation ofthat metal. The new hypothesis represents the composition of the submuriates destitute of water by one atom of chlorine, one atom of metal, and three atoms of oxide. I suppose the defenders of the new opinion. will endeavour toreconcileit withthe doctrine of definite proportions, by pretending that the submuriates with water are composed of one atom of cuprane (for example) and three atoms of hydrate of copper: but if such an allegation is made, we shall have a right to reproach them with seeking rather to defend an hypo- thesis at all hazards than to discover the truth. The want of agreement between the new theory and the doc- trine of definite proportions is such, that lam surprized it could ever gain credit. The muriate, nitrate, and sulphate of am~ monia, possess analogous properties, and are all classed among ammoniacal salts. We find the same analogy among the compounds of potash with the same acids, and of course are disposed to class them all among the salts. But according to the new hypothesis, a muriate of potash cannot exist ; and what was formerly considered as a salt contains, notwithstanding its exact analogy with the salts, neither an acid, nor oxygen, nor. even potash itself. The new hypothesis admits a muriate of ammonia merely because we know no method of obtaining that salt free from water: but the same thing holds with the sulphate and nitrate of ammonia, and with almost all the ammoniacal salts; for boracic acid and arsenious acid, deprived of water, are not capable of absorbing the smallest portion of dry ammopiacal gas. Let us attend to the muriate of iron formed by exposing iron to an excess of oxymuriatic acid. It is red, the colour of the oxide passing, as it were, through that of the acid with which it is in combination ; yet according to the newhypothesis this bod y contains no oxygen. ‘The compound formed by the action of light on a mixture of oxymuriatic acid and oxide of carbon, to which a name has been given of unlucky omen for the science, affords a fine illustration of the doctrine of chemical proportions, according to which bodies possessing the same electro-chemical modifications combine in such proportions that they contain equal quantities of oxygen. ‘The old hypothesis considers it as composed of an atom of muriatic acid and an atom of carbonic acid, and consequently as analogous to the fluoboracic acid: while, according to the new hypothesis, it is composed of car- bon and of two cvckriectspetivg bodies, chlorine and oxygen; that is, of one radicle and two (to use the expression) oxygens. But I conceive what I have said to be sufficient to enable you to judge which of the two hypotheses explains the phenomena in the most plausible and satisfactory manner. R 2 260 An Account of the Biddery Ware in India. [Ocr. ARTICLE IV. An Account of the Biddery Ware in India. By Benjamin tae M.D. Naturalist to the Hon. East India Company at Madras. Tat Hindoos have since time immemorial not only excelled their neighbours in the management of metals for useful and curious purposes, but they are even familiarly acquainted with alloys unknown to our practical chemists. Among those in general use that have drawn the attention of Europeans living in India, are the alloys for the gurry, and the Biddery ware. The gurry isa disk ofa cubit andupwards in diameter, about half an inch in thickness in the centre, but decreasing toward. the circumference, where it is scarcely more than + of an inch. It is used to mark the divisions of time, by striking it with a wooden mallet. Thesound isin general remarkably clear, full, and loud, when it is properly managed. In common they are suspended on a triangular pyramid made of three bamboos tied together at top. They are used in all large cities, at the cutivals- choultry, at the houses and cutcheries of great men, at the main guard of every battalion, and head-quarters of every detachment of troops. Some commanding officers have them even near their doors, to the annoyance of their visitors, whose ears are not so blunted and insensible as their own. In short, they are the regulators of time and business in all India. Theexact propor- tion of the compound of which they are made I do not recol- lect, but I believe it is somewhat variable, as the gurries are awry according to the place where they have been manufac- tured. ' The Biddery ware is used particularly for hooker-bottoms, and dishes to hand betel about to visitors, where more precious metals are not attainable. It is of a black colour, which never fades, and which, if tarnished, may be easily restored. To relieve the sable hue it is always more or less inlaid with silver. It is called Biddery ware from the place where it was originally, and I believe is stil! exclusively, made; for though the people of Bengal have utensils of this kind, I have nowhere seen any new ones for sale, which would be the case were they manufactured there. Biddery is a large city, about 60 miles N. W. from Hy- derabad, formerly the seat of mighty. Kings, and one of the largest, or best places of the Dekan, belonging to the Nizam. It is situated on the eastern brink of a table-land, which is about 1813.] An Account of the Biddery Ware in India. 261 100 feet above the level of the surrounding country, and from S. to N. six to eight miles in its diameter. The place is fortified, has high walls and extensive outworks, particularly to the north- ward; but whether strong, or otherwise, I am not competent to judge. I found them very badly guarded; as is generally the aa in the fortified places belonging to the native powers of ndia. As I had been always very desirous of learning the composi- tion of the Biddery ware, and could get no information of it at Hyderabad, I requested Cap. Sydenham, then resident at that Court, to favour me with a dustuck (order) to the Governor of Biddery (which place Iwas to pass on my way to join the detach- ment at Joulna), to assist me in getting the desired knowledge. I must observe here, that it is not only extremely difficult, general, for travellers, but almost impossible, without much money, to acquire any information on a subject of the most indifferent nature, without the concurrence and actual support of the head-man of the place. At Biddery the jealousy against Europeans of all classes is carried so far, that none are allowed to enter the gates of the city, except such as are in the service of the Nizam, and stationed in the fort.. It happened fortunately that the chief of that place had some favours to ask of Captain Sydenham, and Mr. Russel, his assistant, whose kind assistance in promoting my inquiries on this and all other occasions I have gratefully to acknowledge: so that I received the dustuck with- out much delay, just as I ascended the table-land. On pro- ducing itat Biddery some of the manufacturers were immediately sent to me in the choultry, under a guard of peans, with the strictest orders that they should inform me of the whole and every part of their mystery. I wished to go to their houses ; but as this had not been mentioned in the order, and as they lived in the city, I could not obtain permission. ‘The men who attended me complained of want, in an employment which in former times had been the means of subsisting a numerous class of their own cast, and of enriching the place, but which now _ scarcely yielded food to five families that remained. They are of the goldsmith cast, which, together with some of other handi- crafts, is the lowest of all sooders, though they wear the Brami- nical string, At their first visit they brought nothing but a lump of the compound used for casting their ware, and a few eau which they had just in hand for inlaying them with silver, an operation which they conceived would be of all the most attractive to a curious faringa. As the metal in this state was divested of all but its natural colour, 1 recognized it immediately as a com~ pound of which the greatest proportion is tin. It contained of this metal 24 parts, and 1 of copper, joined by fusion, 1 was ] 262 An Account of the Biddery Ware in India. [Ocr. herein not a little disappointed, as [had always understood that it was made ofa metallic substance found on the table-land of Biddery, and which, as I never had made any experiment with a view of discovering its composition, I flattered myself might be a new mineral. In coming along I really had found also a lithamaga, which resembled the common Biddery ware in colour and appearance; and it was probably this that had given rise to the account which former travellers had given of that eH as the mineral used for the ware manufactured at that ace. The business of their second visit was to cast, or to make, before me a vessel of their ware. ‘The apparatus which they brought with them on the occasion consisted of a broken cutchery-pot, to serve as a furnace; a piece of bamboo about a foot long as a bellows, or blow-pipe; a form made of_clay, exactly resembling a common hooker-bottom ; and some wax, which probably had been used by several generations for the purpose for which it is yet employed. The first operation was to cover the form with wax on all sides, which was done by winding a band, into which the wax was reduced.as close as possible round it. A thin coat of clay -was then laid over the wax, and, to fasten the outer to the inner clay form, some iron pins were driven through it in various directions. After this had been dried for some time in the sun, the wax was liquefied by putting the form in a place sufficiently heated, and discharged through the hole, by which the melted metal is poured in to occupy its place. It is scarcely necessary to say that when the metal is sufficiently cooled the form is broken, and the vessel found of the desired shape. Colouring the ware with the standing black, for which they are celebrated, is the next, and in my opinion the most remark- able operation. It consists in taking equal parts of muriate of ammonia and saltpetre earth, such as is found at the bottom of old mud walls in old and populous villages in India, mixing them together with water, and rubbing the paste which is thus produced on the vessel, which has been previously scraped with aknife. The change of colour is almost instantaneous, and, what is surprising to me, lasting. The saltpetre earth of this place has, when dry, a reddish colour, like the soil about Biddery. . It is very likely that the carbonate, or oxide of iron, which it contains, is essentially necessary for the production of the black colour. The muriate and nitrate of lime, which is in considerable proportion in all earth from which saltpetre is manufactured in India, may be perhaps not an useless ingredient in this respect. The hooker-bottoms of this ware happen sometimes to get tarnished, acquiring a brownish, or shillering colour, which is 1813.) An Account of the Biddery Ware in Indic. 268 easily removed, and the black restored, by rubbing the whole surface with a little oil or butter. As nothing looks handsome in the eyes of an Indian but what is glittering with gold or silver, it may be imagined that their hooker and betel dishes, which are chiefly used on festive occa- sions, are not left destitute of these ornaments; they are chiefly decorated with silver, in the form of festoons, fanciful flowers, and leaves. Sometimes I have seen a little gold interspersed. The way of inlaying them is very simple: but of course as tedious as can well be imagined, and could be only practised where time is of little value. The parts of the projected figure are first cut out in silver leaf, which are placed in a piece of broken earthenware before the artist, who cuts with a pointed instrument the same figure on the vessel, applies the silver leaf, piece after piece, and gently hammers it into its place. The greatest skill consists in tracing the pieces of the figure on the vessel exactly of the same size as they are in the silver leaf, and in this I have never seen they are mistaken. They do their work very expeditiously, and will make any figure on copper with the greatest nicety, according to the sample which is laid before them. Nore.—Mr. Wilkins informed Dr. Heyné that the Biddery ware is likewise manufactured in Benares, and he thinks that zinc is used as an alloy in that part of India. I examined a piece of a metal statue which Mr. Wilkins considered as Bid- dery ware: it was zinc alloyed with a very little copper.—T. ARTICLE V. Contributions towards a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. By Dr. John. (Continued from p. 184.) Action of Oxymuriatic Acid on Sulphate of Manganese. When oxymuriatic acid gas (I allowed the gas, that it might be pure, to pass in the first place through a very weak alkaline solution,) is made to pass for some hours through a solution of this salt, it is partly precipitated, and the precipitate becomes still greater when the liquid is heated. A dark brown or black oxide separates, and the solution contains uncombined atid. When the solution is so far evaporated that it congeals on cooling, the greatest part of the black oxide is again dissolved. 264 Contributions towards [Ocr. If the dry mass bs dissolved in water, and filtered to separate a small portion of undissolved black oxide, the liquid, when pro- perly concentrated, deposites reddish crystals consisting of sul- phate and muriate of manganese. If the whole mass be digested in alcohol, and the filtered solution be evaporated, small crystals are obtained, which readily deliquesce in the open air, and which, when dissolved in water, yield a copious precipitate with nitrate of silver. Hence they obviously consist of muriate of | manganese. ‘The mother-ley from which these crystals have _ separated is very acid, but neither crystallizes nor yields any precipitate when treated with nitrate of silver; but muriate of barytes occasions a precipitate insoluble in acids. Hence the uncombined acid is obviously the sulphuric. The theory of these appearances is obvious. ‘The oxymuriatic acid gives out oxygen to the protoxide contained in the sulphate of manganese, which becomes in consequence insoluble, and falls down in the state of black oxide. ‘This portion is again dissolved by the muriatic acid, and forms muriate of mangattese,’ which is not decomposed by sujphuric acid. Triple Compound of Manganese, Ammonia, and Sulphuric ‘ Acid. If we mix a solution of sulphate of manganese (not fully satu~ rated with the oxide) with ammonia to the point of complete sa- turation, and evaporate the filtered solution according to the method above described, we obtain rose-red, transparent, rhom- boidal crystals, very much entangled in each other. They deli- quesce in a moist atmosphere, and when treated with potash give out ammonia, but in other respects exhibit the properties of sulphate of manganese. Hence it follows that they consist of ammonia, sulphuric acid, and protoxide of manganese. I have not determined the proportion of the constituents of this salt. c. Feith Black Oxide. ; The peroxide reduced to the state of animpalpable powder is likewise dissolved by sulphuric acid without the application of heat. The solution, in which there is always an excess of acid, has a very fine dark violet-blue colour. When it is diluted with water the colour becomes lighter, and passes gradually into crimson-red, and thence into blood-red. ‘The solution is not altered by moderate evaporation. When a strong heat is applied the solution becomes colourless, the oxide loses a portion of its oxygen, and the whole assumes the properties of a solution of common sulphate of manganese with an excess of acid. Tartaric acid likewise changes the peroxide into protoxide when it is mixed with the solution, and a moderate degree of 1813.] a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 265 heat is applied. ‘The liquid becomes quite colourless without any precipitation taking place; and when an alkalie is added, a precipitate falls in the state of a white powder. The solution of black oxide is precipitated by the putealkalies dark brown; by alkaline carbonates, dark reddish brown; and by the prussiates, yellowish brown. These precipitates become darker when exposed to the air. The precipitate thrown down by the alkaline carbonates contains no carbonic acid. The solution of black oxide in sulphuric acid is incapable of crystallizing. When the black oxide of manganese is digested for some hours in diluted sulphuric acid, an amethyst-red solution is obtained, in which there is an excess of acid. It cannot be made to yield regular crystals. Alkalies occasion a brownish red precipitate when mixed with this solution; a proof that the manganese con- tained in it is in a higher degree of oxidation than in neutral solution. Some very interesting experiments which Giobert made known in the year 1790 on this subject in the Memoires des Sciences de Turin, t. 6, An. 1790 et 1791, p. 23—35, and which he pro- duced as a proof that sulphuric acid treated with black oxide of manganese attracted a portion of oxygen from the oxide, and by means is converted into oxysulphuric acid, dissolving a por- tion of oxide; and by that means acquiring properties similar to oxymuriatic acid, as far as the destruction of colours is con- cerned—these experiments I have not repeated with the requisite care. If we mix one part of pure black oxide with 1} parts of con- centrated sulphuric acid in a coated retort connected with a pneumatic apparatus, it is well known that by the application of a heat, at first gentle, but gradually raised toredness, we obtain pure oxygen gas. In this case it is very evident that the affinity of the pretoxide for the acid facilitates the evolution of the oxygen gas, When the black oxide is heated by itself we obtain also, as in the present case, only pure oxygen gas. In this case also the metal is reduced to the state of protoxide, in which state it is completely soluble in acids. Water Pr nea over into the receiver mixed with some sulphuric acid; and there remains in the retort, when the red heat has been continued for an hour, a white porous mass, which dissolves in water by the assistance of heat. This solution exhibits the same properties as that of metallic manganese in sulphuric acid. Ihave never been able to obtain (as some chemists assert) colourless crystals by evaporating this solution. Single crystals, indeed, may appear nearly colourless; but when they are in a they appear evidently of a light rose-red colour. “Perhaps 1 e mass found in the retort, which has quite a white colour, 266 Contributions towards [Ocr. has given origin to this assertion. This is a pretty good method of separating the iron usually combined with manganese in its natural state; for sulphate Be ison. when exposed to a red heat, becomes insoluble in water. Such is the action of sulphuric acid when the fire is raised only high enough to redden the retort; but quite other affinities take place when the heat is urged so as to melt the coated retort. In that case the salt is decomposed, the protoxide takes a portion of oxygen from the acid, and is changed into black oxide, while the acid makes its escape in the state of sulphurous acid. I repeated this experiment twice, and each time obtained in the beak of the retort a portion of solid sulphuric acid, which dis- solved in water with the evolution of the heat, and the hissing noise for which it is distinguished. We shall see hereafter that when oxymuriatic acid is passed through a solution of muriate of manganese it is very much disposed to crystallize. Can the metal give occasion to this crystallization ? And supposing this conjec- ture to be verified, can we from thence draw any conclusions respecting the still enigmatical appearance of a fuming matter in oil of vitriol? VI. Action of Sulphurous Acid on Manganese. Hitherto I have only examined the action of sulphurous acid on carbonate of manganese. [ made a current of pure sulphu- rous acid gas pass through a vessel containing distilled water, and thence into another vessel in which there was carbonate of manganese mixed with water. A strong effervescence took place, owing to the disengagement of carbonic acid. When the expe- riment was finished I separated the solution smelling strongly of sulphurous acid from a white granular powder lying in the bot- tom of the vessel, which, as I shall show presently, was sulphite of manganese. The filtrated solution being evaporated, the sulphurous acid was gradually converted into sulphuric acid, and the solution exhibited the properties of sulphate of manganese with an excess of acid. Properties.of Sulphite of Manganese. It appeared in the state ofa white, granular powder, destitute of taste, and insoluble in water and alcohol. It is not altered by exposure to the air, and therefore may be examined without difficulty. I left a portion of this salt for three weeks in a small open. vessel in a room: but it did not undergo the smallest alteration. - Sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric acids, drive off the sulphurous acid when the salt is exposed to their action, and we ovtain sul- phate, muriate, or nitrate of mangauesc. 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 267 When heated in a crucible, the acid is disengaged, and a _ brown oxide remains, which may be treated with acids, without emitting any smell ofsulphurous acid. To determinein some measure the proportion of the consti- tuents of this salt I treated 50 grains of it with very diluted sulphuric acid, and when all the sulphurous acid was separated, mixed the Jiquid with more water, and precipitated the manga- nese by carbonate of potash. The carbonate of manganese ob- tained weighed, after being washed and dried, 36 grains, which is equivalent to 20-1, grains of protoxide. Hence:100 parts of sulphite of manganese are composed of TPROSTCy 6. Rio, we esnee as eye eee nicheent 2 40°2 Acid W ater eeeeeesereseoe ee teoveeseeee VII. Action of Muriatic Acid on Manganese. (A.) On the Metal. The metal is readily dissolved by muriatic acid of every degree of concentration with the evolution of hydrogen gas, and, when the acid is not too much diluted, with the production of consi- derable heat. The solution when concentrated has a colour approaching rose-red, and deposites crystals of a similar colour. (B.) On the Protoxide. The pure protoxide dissolves in this acid quietly, and the carbonate with a strong effervescence. The solution has a rose- red colour. Chemists have hitherto affirmed that this salt cannot be pro- cured in the state of regular crystals. I have, however, been able to procure it in as regular crystals as any salt whatever. My method was this: I procured a quantity of concrete salt by evaporating to dryness a solution of manganese in muriatic acid. ‘This i put into a solution, quite neutral, and already evaporated in a cylindrical porcelain vessel till a cuticle had formed on its surface. ‘The vessel was placed for some days, as I have described in a preceding paragraph, in a temperature be- tween 77° and 88°. Properties of crystallized Muriate of Manganese. It crystallizes in very fine, longish, thick four-sided tables, both extremities of which are pointed with two plains, and the 268 Contributions towards [Ocr. edges are frequently truncated. Sometimes the truncature is so great as to change the crystals into six-sided tables. They are set upon one another. They have a rose-red colour, are perfectly transparent, and have a caustic taste, which leaves a saltish impression upon the tongue. ‘They speedily deliquesce in the air. They may be very well preserved in a close vessel at the temperature of 77°; but when the temperature is a little higher they lose their transparency, and become covered over with a white powder, owing to the loss of a part of their water of crystallization; yet they do not fall completely to powder. When strongly heated in a retort they melt immediately, and lose their water of crystallization; and in a red heat they are in a great measure decomposed, the acid " passes over into the receiver, and there remains in the retort a black shining crytalline mass, which still contains some acid. Not only water, but alcohol also dissolves more than its own weight of this salt. The alcoholic solution burns, when in con- tact with a combustible substance, with a lively red flame, and emits frequent sparks. When the alcoholic solution is slowly evaporated the salt crystallizes in very fine, thin, transparent tables, and sometimes, when the evaporation is rapid, in very fine flat needles. The specific gravity of the crystals is 1°560, that of water being 1-000. In other respects the solution of these crystals exhibits the properties of the solution of sulphate of manganese. Sulphuric acid does not decompose the solution of muriate of manganese. Estimate of the Proportions of the Constituents. A hundred grains of dry crystallized muriate of manganese were dissolved in water, and mixed with a solution of nitrate of silver as long as any precipitate fell. This precipitate being separated by the filter, washed and dried, and heated to the point of fusion in a silver vessel, weighed 130 grains. Now it follows from Klaproth’s experiments that 133 grains of such a horn silver contain 203 grains of muriatic acid. Hence the proportion of acid in 130 grains may be estimated at 205, rains. 5 After the separation of the excess of silver I precipitated the whole of the manganese by means of carbonate of ammonia, warmed the solution a little, and carefully dried the precipitate. It weighed 69 grains, which is equivalent to $84 grains of prot- oxide of manganese. As the loss in the 100 grains of muriate of manganese 1813.] a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 269 examined must be ascribed to water, it follows that the salt is composed of Protoxide..... eenevove? e@oeeevee oreo 38°50 Acid ee eeee e@sevvoenee ec@ecoeosvoeorver 208 20°04 Water. .cccscccccvencevesererer 41°46 100°00 Remark.—This analysis corresponds very nearly with that of Bucholz given in the second volume of his Beitrage; but the method which he followed can only be practised by a chemist whose eyes are very much exercised. Action of Oxymuriatic Acid on Muriate of Manganese. I dissolved 300 grains of muriate of manganese in about 12 ounces of water, and made a current of oxymuriatic acid pass through the solution for six hours without interruption. ‘The Hired Gossen soon to froth, and the foam collected upon the surface; it acquired a yellow colour, and concreted into a crys- talline mass. This change of state made it difficult for the gas to continue to pass. I allowed the apparatus to remain for a day without touching it, and found next day jthat a part of the mass had again become liquid, but that a great. many lo needle-form crystals had shot init. When the glass was opene the smell of oxymuriatic acid pas was so strong as to be scarcely supportable. I threw the w ole upon the filter, in order to separate the crystals from the ma: but the liquid passed through, and the crystals speedily deli uesced and followed it.* It will appear from what follows that these crystals consisted of oxymuriatic acid and muriate of manganese. Here we observe the crystallization of the acid in combination with a metal. Nor have I found the same thing to take place when oxymuriatic acid is passed through an alkaline solution; and I do not believe that any person has observed oxymuriatic acid to crystallize at the temperature of 41°. This solution is precipitated, by alkaline carbonates, brownish red; by the pure alkalies, brown; and by the alkaline prussiates, yellowish brown. ‘The precipitate soon becomes darker by ex- e to the air. The same thing happens to the above-men- tioned crystals when dissolved in water. Whether in this com- the manganese be really in the state of brown oxide, in which state the precipitate appears, or whether it does not ree ceive oxygen during its precipitation from the uncombined oxy- * The temperature during theexperiment was 41°, the filtration way performed at the temperature of 55°.—J. 270 Contributions towards (Ocr. muriatic acid, obviously present in the liquid from the smell, are questions which I cannot at present answer. However, the last opinion is very probable. When the solution is evaporated the smell of oxymuriatic acid gradually disappears, and at the same time black oxide is deposited. The solution assumes a red colour, contains uncom- bined muriatic acid, as is shown by re-agents, is precipitated white by the alkaline carbonates, and exhibits the properties of a common solution of muriate of manganese with excess of acid. The oxymuriatic acid is decomposed, it gives out a portion of oxygen to the oxide, and is changed into common muriatic acid. By farther evaporation the evolution of oxymuriatic acid again commences, the precipitated oxide is again dissolved, and we ob- tain finally the very same quantity of muriate of manganese at first employed. ae To these experiments I will add a few words respecting a new metal which I have found in the Saxon grey ore of manganese, the nature of which I hope soon to make evident. This substance is distinguished fromall bodies hitherto known by the following properties : It appears to occur in the ore in the state of an acid, and it may be separated and volatilized by the action of other mineral acids upon the ore. If the operation be performed in a distilling vessel, and an opportunity be given to the disengaged acid to combine with potash or soda ley, a combination takes place, and 2 crimson-red solution is obtained, which is not altered by exposure to the air, being in this respect similar to some of the alkaline solutions of manganese. If this solution be mixed with another acid, and heat applied in a retort, the metallic acid is volatilized with a peculiar smell, and the residue consists of a combination of the acid employed with the alkali, without the smallest indication of any other substance, as far as I have been able to discover. The crimson-red solution (which I consider as a combination of a peculiar metallic acid with an alkali) is precipitated by gallic acid and by tincture of nutgalls chesnut brown. Alkaline prussiates produce no precipitate, but the red colour of the solution is immediately changed to a fine lemon yellow. The solution is not altered by the alkaline carbonates. When mixed with somealcohol, and heated a little, it assumes a green colour, gives out an ethereal smell, and alkalies precipi- tate from it a brown oxide, which is soluble in muriatic acid. When I treated pure oxide of manganese in the same way I obtained none of these appearances. This substance seems to exist only ina small proportion in the 1813.) a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 271 grey ore of manganese. The experiments must be made upon pounds of the ore at once. Remarks on the preceding Paper. By the Editor. I considered the preceding paper as highly worthy of publica- tion, because it contains many circumstances respecting manga- nese with which chemists ought to be acquainted, but which do not seem to be generally known in this country. At the same time the paper exhibits some striking imperfections, which it may be proper to notice for the sake of our chemical readers, who may not have an opportunity of knowing exactly the present state of this part of chemical science. “1. Dr. John’s method of procuring pure oxide of manganese is exceptionable. How he was able to succeed by means of it we cannot say; but certainly no other person has been able to verify his results. We shall insert a paper on the subject by Bucholz, which will convince our readers of the truth of our remarks. With respect to the separation of iron and manganese there are four methods of proceeding, all of which succeed tolerably well. 1. Gehlen’s method isthe best. It consists in dropping succinate of potash or succinate of ammonia into the impure manganese solution, previously brought as near as possible to a state of neutralization. The wholeiron falls in the state of succinate, while the manganese remains in solution. The objection to this method is the high price of succinic acid, which Gehlen endea- vours to obviate by saying that the succinic acid may be reco- vered by boiling the precipitated succinate of iron in an alkaline ley; but every practical chemist must be aware that such a pro- posal is quite absurd. ‘The time lost, and the great trouble, would be more than equivalent to the price of the succinic acid. 2. Berzelius, in order to obviate this objection, substituted benzoic acid for succinic, It appears from the experiments of Hisinger (Afhandlingari Fysik, Kemi och Mineralogi, t. 3, p. 152,) that this method answers pretty well. 3. The impure oxide of manganese may be dissolved in sulphuric acid, the solu- tion evaporated to dryness, and exposed to a red heat. The sulphate of iron is decomposed by this process ; but the sulphate of manganese remains unaltered. Hence the latter continues soluble in water; but not the former. This process was pro- posed by Dr. John in the preceding paper. 4. The impure manganese may be dissolved in muriatic acid, the solution eva~ orated to dryness, and exposed to a red heat in close vessels, The ferrane sublimes, while the manganesane remains unaltered. This process may be gti two or three times, and then the oxide of manganese will be freed from iron. This process was 272 Contributions towards {Ocr. proposed by Mr. John Davy. I do not know whether it has ever been put in practice. 2. The preceding paper contains only a part of Dr. John’s experiments on manganese. We shall publish the sequel of his experiments in our next Number. The results which he obtained in his endeavours to determine the number and composition of the oxides of manganese will be there seen. He obtained three oxides, the colours and composition of which were as follows: 1. Green, composed of 100 metal + 15 oxygen. — B. Grown, oo oscwee ce ee + 25 g/g) teu. ae BGO We + 40 Berzelius has given us the result of his experiments on the oxides of manganese (Larlok 1 Kemien, t.ii. p. 129). Accord- ing to him there are five oxides of manganese. He obtained the first by keeping manganese for two years in a very well- corked glass. It fell down into a brownish grey powder, which filled the whole of the phial. It was semicrystalline, and had the metalline lustre. He found it composed of 100 metal and 7°0266 oxygen. He deduces the composition of the other oxides of manganese, partly from his own experiments, and partly from those of other chemists, as follows :— Metal, Metal, Oxygen. 1. Composed of 100+ 7'0266 oxygen, or 1 + 1. DB KER PE OO AE RAMOS SS Oe. yea i iorae 1+2 Bs Fete rele ws 6 100 + 28°1070 ......526. L+4 Be a ine 100 + 42°16 aie eaters wee ee Bah cera y cjenre 100 ++ 56°218- «1 we oo PT ES composition as follows (Elements of Chemical Philosophy, vol. i. p- 367) :-— Metal. BORG nsw niss ..100 + 26°58 oxygen 2. Brown......100 + 39°82 Itis hardly necessary to mention the experiments of Bergman, as they were made at a time when accuracy could scarcely be expected. He obtained three oxides, which he found composed as follows :— Metal. 1. Composed of 100 + 25 oxygen Z. wsesesccer - 100 + 35 B. wecccecvieer 100 +666 . 1813.] a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. 273 By arranging the proportion of oxygen obtained by the diffe- rent experimenters, as in the following table, we may readily compare them together :— Oxygen by An a See oan ee Oxides. Sane Berzelius, Davy. Bergman. _yatra SIAIRG Oe oereoncine /\ (UP15 oar are ie a ores on ST MMP ee ae LD te oe LOGS 20 a ols eh wn Meir etclele cies rere. os AO LOT Fale olnls s COLDS so ia5 5500 BEd SEMA ON ae LO Es ds GRO we ale sp SD att wkend «teas Ne DORA OW ss itjeves ———— acne 00 O All the experimenters agree very nearly in the composition of the third oxide. Nor is the difference very great in the com- position of the fourth. It is clear, from the experiments of John, that itis with the green oxide, or second oxide of Ber- zelius, that all the acids combine. Hence this is the oxide which constitutes the base of all the salts. The first or protoxide of every metal must bea compound of one atom of metal with one atom of oxygen. Hence its analysis gives us the relative weights of an atom of the metal and an atom of oxygen. If we consider Berzelius’s first oxide as the protoxide of manganese, it follows that the weight of an atom of manganese is to the weight of an atom of oxygen as 100: 7°0266. I have in my table, published in vol. ii. p. 42 of this journal, adopted 1 to represent the weight of an atom of oxygen. And an atom of manganese, on the supposition that Berzelius’s first oxide is accurate, would be 14°260. The oxides of manga- nese given by Berzelius will be composed as follows :— 1st Oxide of 1 atom manganese + 1 atom oxygen Pan Oxideof 1 ie... eee VP B Sd Oxide of 2. Pete leet p’ 4 Ad OGE. GF Dion). iy be Dae ei 6 yh 1k A Miles eae RIE 96: But if we suppose that the first oxide of Berzelius does not exist (and his mode of obtaining it was far from satisfactory), . in that case the green oxide of John will be the real protoxide, and the constitution of the respective oxides of manganese will be as follows :— . 1, Protoxide, composed 1 atom metal + 1 atom oxygen. IOI, on ve pb. Masten uae Ee Oe | Se REMOMIOG®, on ce n> o's ) A A + 3 4. Peroxide, ........ LD hie aie sel Had I confess this appears to me by far the most probable state- ment. In that case, the weight of an atom of Inanganese will Vor. II. N° IV. S 27h Contributions towards (Oct. be only 7°130: and the weight of an integrant particle of each of these oxides will be as follows :— WrotOxideies ces craic «stare ede Ra 8 TOG Dewtoxide, yor ack si ST suds TSO Tritoxide «sls gtd Sener aretete ele tease 10°130 Peroxide ...6.35..4. A WIRE Ne tee 11°130 3. The only salts of manganese of which the composition is given in the preceding paper are the carbonate, sulphate, sul- phite, and muriate. These, according to the analysis of John, are composed as follows :— 1. Carbonate of 100 protoxide+ 61°17 acid+ 17°91 water. 2. Sulphate ....100 ........4+108°53....+114 3. Sulphite ....100 ......+-+ Q4°45....+ 5443 4. Muriate ....100 ...cesest 52°05... 410768 Or perhaps the composition will be more evident by stating it in the following manner, taking the weight of an atom of pro- toxide as the basis :— Protoxide. Acid. Water. Carbonate...... 8130 + 4°972 + 1455 Sulphate ......8°130 --. 8°823 + 9'268 Sulphite ..... 8130 + 7°678 + 4°425 Muriate .'...... 8°130 + 4431 + 8°754 There can be little doubt that the weight of an integrant particle of each of the acids which enter into the composition of these salts is as follows: — Carbonic acid......... a ale tye tare, eee Sulphuric acid: ijajeieweds wastes 25 33 BOO Sulphurous acid... Muriatic acid.,.. An integrant particle of water weighs 1°132. If we compare — these numbers with the preeeding table we shall find an approxi- mation to two integrant particles of each acid combined with one integrant particle of protoxide in each of the salts. The reason why the numbers do not accord exactly with two integrant par- ticles of the acid is doubtless because some error has been com- mitted in determining the composition, either of the protoxide of manganese, or of the salts into which it enters. Both determinations are probably erroncous to a certain amount. If the quantity of oxygen in the protoxide were a very little less than Berzelius found it, the weight of an integrant particle of the protoxide would be somewhat greater, and this would aug- ment the number indicating the proportion of acid somewhat. - With respect to the water contained in these salts, it would 1818. ] a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese. O75 appear that the carbonate contains 1 atom, the sulphate 9, the sulphite 4, and the muriate 8 atoms. It was first observed by Richter that when one metal is preci- pitated from a solution by another the solution continues as neutral as at first. In this case the metal is changed, but the acid and the oxygen remains unchanged. For example, if we have a solution of sulphate of copper, a plate of zinc introduced throws down the copper. The copper in the solution was united with a certain proportion of oxygen and sulphuric acid; the zinc which has taken its place is now dissolved with the very same oxygen and sulphuric acid; so that the sulphuric acid now neutralizes a quantity of zine containing just the same quantity of oxygen that the copper did which it formerly neu- tralized. From this it follows that acids (as far at least as those metals are concerned which throw down each other) always neutralize portions of oxides containing the very same numerical quantity of oxygen. It has been’ ascertained that the quantity of oxygen in the oxides neutralized by 100 parts of the preceding acids is as follows :— ; Carbonic acid .........0.0-....--36°68 Sulphuric acid .......... RE ghee Va Sulphurous acid .........+.+ +044. -20°02 MVIMNCIATAC. ACIG os cain co cies ya ccc doin get ao Now the quantities of protoxide of manganese, which contain these respective numbers of oxygen, are the following :— 36°68 oxygen are contained in 297°68 protoxide QZO0F pegeecerenscenes cues 162°47 ZOOZ wn vrecrvvewseeessnns 162°47 BOF9 8. seabeneelve cadets ey ZAP If we compare these numbers with the composition of the salts as contained in Dr. John’s paper, we shall find that the rule by no means holds with respect to the salts of manganese. According to his analysis, 100 carbonic acid saturate 163°46 protoxide 100 sulphuric acid ...... 92°10 100 sulphurous acid .... 105°87 100 muriatic acid ...... 192°11 It would appear from this statement that the law ought not to be extended to those metals that are not precipitated by others in the metallic state. Probably the non-existence of this law with respect to them is the reason why they are not precipitated. 4. ‘Lhe supposed new metal announced by John in the pre~ 8/2 276 Experiments on the Nature of [Ocr, ceding paper as existing in the Saxon grey ore of manganese was examined, soon after the publication of the paper, by Ber- zelius; and the appearances were shown by him not to depend upon the presence of any new metal, but.to be owing to man- ganese. ARTICLE VI. Experiments on the Nature of .Axote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia, and upon the Degrees of Oxidation of which Axote is susceptible. By Jacob Berzelius, M.D. F.R.S. Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy in Stockholm.* Tuer following experiments are to be considered as a continua- tion of those which I have already published on the same subject in the Annales de Chimie of Paris, and in the Annalen der Physique of Gilbert, during the years 1811 and 1812. I have endeavoured to prove that azote contains oxygen, and that nitric acid neutralized by a saline base contains six times as much oxygen as that base. By the most accurate of my expe- riments I have found that the nitrate of lead is composed of xian 1eAG -iies Cekie Salestacders wt . .67°3 Nitric acid ee erie Matisse eth ehaus euseaheVee Ce 100°0 Hence 100 parts of nitric acid are neutralized by 205°31 of oxide of lead, a quantity which contains 14°715 of oxygen. In the nitrate of barytes 100° parts of acid are combined with 140°73 parts of barytes, which contain 14°73 of oxygen (Ann. de Chim. Nov. 1811, p. 174). Thus these two analyses mu- tually confirm each other. I have endeavoured to prove that it is a general law that when two oxidized substances combine, the oxygen contained in the oné is always either equal in quantity to that contained in the other, or it is a multiple of it by a whole number. If we admit this law to be correct, it follows from it that 100 parts of nitric acid ought to contain a certain number of times 14°715 of oxygen. This number of times must be greater than 4, because decisive experiments have demonstrated that the acid contains more oxygen than 14°715 x 4: but it cannot be greater than 7, because that constitutes more than the weight of the acid. Hence ’ * Jt may be proper to mention, for the information of Dr. Berzelius, that. this paper, though dated the 22d April, did not reach the Editor till the end of August. F : é The 2 : 1813.] Azote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 277 the acid must contain either 5 or 6 times 14°715 of oxygen, But nitric acid has the property of forming with oxide of lead several salts with excess of base; as I have shown in my memoir on the composition of salts with excess of base (Ann. de Chimie, June 1812). And among these subnitrates there is one in which the acid is combined with twice as much base as in the neutral nitrate: but if the above-mentioned law be just, it is clear that the oxygen in nitric acid cannot be 5 times 14°715; because, were that the case, the oxygerrof the acid in the subnitrate just mentioned would not be a multiple of that in the base by a whole number, but by 24; consequently the true quantity of oxygen in 100 parts of nitric acid must be 6 times 14°715, or 88°29. But as the most exact experimenters have not indicated so great a quantity of oxygen in nitric acid, it is necessary that the oxygen wanting should be contained in the azote, which of course must be a compound of oxygen and a combustible radicle. Such are the conclusions which I have drawn from my expe- riments hitherto published. I do not know how far chemical philosophers will allow them to be well founded; but, in hopes that the laws of chemical proportions which I have endeavoured to establish will be one day examined and admitted, I will con- tinue in this paper my researches respecting the nature of the bodies announced in the title; and I shall commence with the composition of nitric acid, supposing it to have azote for its radicle. It is well known that M. Gay-Lussac accompanied his impor- tant discovery of the proportions in which gaseous bodies com- bine by an analysis of the oxides of azote, and of nitrous and nitric acids. He found that nitric acid contains one volume of azotic gas and two volumes of oxygen gas, which amounts in weight to 30 5 azote, and 69°5 oxygen. Messrs. Cavendish and Davy had obtained nearly the same result from their analytical experiments on this acid. ‘l'hese excellent authorities induced me to confide in this determination; and in my analysis of the subnitrates and subnitrites I obtained a satisfactory confirmation of it; that is to say, I thought I obtained a subnitrate such that the acid and oxide contained each an equal quantity of oxygen, supposing the acid composed as above stated. I was struck with this anomaly; and I have stated (Ann. de Chim. June 1812) the experiments which it induced me to make, though they led me to no satisfactory explanation. In consequence of the new determination of the composition of nitric acid by Dalton and Davy, I have been engaged to resume my Br fh and have been happy enough to see the anomaly disappear, and to ob- tain results which throw much light on the nature of azote. Mr. Dalton, who has given, in his New System of Chemica] Philosophy, a corpuscular theory from which the doctrine of 278 Experiments on the Nature of [Ocr. definite proportions follows as a necessary consequence, has stated (vol. 1i. p. 329), that the smallest quantity of nitrous gas, which in his experiments was condensed by 100 parts in volume of oxygen gas, was always 130. If we convert these volumes into weights we obtain nearly 73°5 oxygen and 26°5 azote, When I compared this determination with the results of my analyses of the nitrates, I found, to my great surprise, that they accorded much better with it than with the determination of Gay-Lussac, though the difference in the weights that ought to be obtained in the analysis of the nitrates, nitrate of ammonia for example, according to the one or the other of these deter- minations, was so little, that it was impossible to decide by ex- periment which of the two was the most just. During my residence in London last summer, Sir Humphry Davy informed me that he had found, by experiments made with the greatest care, that nitric acid is composed in volume of 100 parts of azote and 250 of oxygen; that is to say, of 26°5 parts, by weight, of azote, and 73°5 of oxygen: for when nitrate of ammonia is distilled in a moderate heat, it is com- pletely changed into nitrous oxide gas and water, without any trace of azotic gas. In the Elements of Chemistry published soon after by this illustrious chemist he has represented nitric acid as a compound of one proportion of azote and five of oxygen. It follows that in the neutral nitrates the acid saturates a quantity of base of which the oxygen is ith of that of the acid, supposing azote to be the radicle of this acid. As Davy has not admitted the result of the calculations which I have made on the composition of azote, he considers this last sub- stance as an element, and of course he makes no inquiry about the sixth portion of oxygen which ought to exist in the azote. The only experiments of mine which did not agree with the determination of this celebrated chemist were the analyses of the subnitrates and subnitrites of lead at a maximum. I deter- mined, therefore, to repeat them; and I shall now state the result which I obtained. The analysis of the subnitrate of lead at a maximum (men- tioned in my treatise on the composition of the subsalts) being very simple, and very easy to be made with precision, I had no reason to doubt its exactness. It was more probable that I had committed some error in the method of procuring the salt. I might have obtained a mixture of hydrate of lead and subnitrate of lead, or a mixture of two different subnitrates of lead. I resolved, therefore, to examine the precipitates produced in a solution of nitrate of lead by ditlerent quantities of ammonia. Subnitrate of Lead ata Maxtmum.—'The precipitate obtained by pouring an excess of ammonia into a solution of nitrate of lead was digested for 24 hours in concentrated and caustic am- 4 1813.] Azote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 279 monia. It was then washed upon a filter till every trace of ammonia disappeared. When dried at a temperature a little above 212°, it assumed the form of a white powder. When applied to the tongue, it had a weak, but very styptic taste. It dissolved readily in nitric acid without effervescence, and of course contained no carbonic acid. Neither did it contain any ammonia, as caustic potash decomposed it without the evolu- tion of any ammoniacal odour. Ten parts (amounting to 15444 grains troy) of this salt exposed in a small crucible, exactly weighed, and placed in a sand-bath to a height considerably higher than that of boiling water, gave out pure water, and assumed a yellow colour. The loss of weight was 0.18. ‘The heat being raised still higher, a little water was disengaged, but it was accompanied by red fumes. The loss now amounted to 07198. As the last portions of water were disengaged at the same time with the acid, I cannot determine the quantity of water with rigorous exactness: but this experiment shows us that the proportion of water ex- ceeds a little 1-8 per cent., but does not amount to 1:98. The residue, heated in the crucible till the acid was completely ex- pelled, left a quantity of yellow oxide of lead weighing 9:08. To ascertain whether this subnitrate could be always pro- duced with the same properties and composition when the ex- cess of ammonia employed was great, I prepared a new quan- tity of it, and obtained exactly the same results: 10 parts of it left 9°064 of yellow oxide, and furnished 0°185 of water, con- faining traces of acid. ‘The subnitrate at a maximum, then, is composed as follows :— OORIAG Gls LER» ota G2: Dr. Wollaston has shown that in this salt the quantity of acid is just double what exists in the sulphate. © According to Wenzel, sulphate of soda is composed of 100 acid + 78732 base; according to Berzelius, of 100 acid + 79°34 base. Now 5 : 7882 :: 100 : 157°64, and ~L“* = 78-82. Now this is the mean of the two experiments. ‘ According to Berzelius (Gillert’s Annalen, xl, 282), this salt is composed of 100 acid + 42°561 ammonia. Now 100: 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 298 Number of Weight ofan atoms. integrant particle, 168. Sulphate of magnesia ....1 5 + 1 m....+. 7°368° 169. Sulphate of lime ........ 1. s. 1.2. asioweus8620 * 170. Sulphate of barytes .:.... bs cthahuleiang i514 V1 & 171. Sulphate of strontian. .... 1g. ck Liste aieviahl*900" 172. Sulphate of alumina...... Lebod 14, wledyunn-Pise * 173. Subsulphate of alumina. ..1 s + 2 @ ....+. 9°272 174. Sulphate of yttria......+. 1s + 1 y «.+.-.13°400* 175. Sulphate of glucina ...... Ls + 1g, «see. 8°600 176. Sulphate of zirconia......1 s + 1% ......10°656 Per RUN a ees ied a's os 8 Fin AS Ft POMC 30°272' 2°128 . . 3 42°561 :: 5: 2°128, and —— = 1-064, which differs but little from the weight of an atom of ammonia, © According to Dr. Henry, sulphate of magnesia is composed of 100 acid + 47°36 base. This exactly agrees with the state- ment in the table: nor could it be otherwise, as the weight of magnesia was estimated from that analysis. Berzelius makes it 100 acid + 50°06 base. (Gillert’s Annalen, vol. xl. p. 256.) f This coincides almost exactly with the analysis of Berzelius. He found sulphate of lime composed of 100 acid + 72°41 base. Now 5 : 3°620 :: 100 : 72°40. & This coincides with the analysis of Berzelius, who found sulphate of barytes composed of 100 acid + 194 base. Now 5 : 9°71 :: 100: 194°62. » The weight of strontian was deduced from the supposition that the sufi hate of strontian is coniposed of 100 acid + 138 base. Of course the number in the table is conformable to that supposition. * According to Berzclius, sulphate of alumina is composed of 100 acid + 42°722 alumina, (Gillert’s Annalen, vol. xl, p- 262.) Supposing the salt composed as in the table, the number representing an atom of alumina should be 2136. * Neither this nor the two following salts have been hitherto analysed; but I have inserted them in the table, stating their composition from the very probable analogy that they are com- posed of 1 atom of acid united to 1 atom of base; this being the case with all the preceding neutral salts in the table, except the sulphate of soda. ' This seems to be a combination of an integrant particle of three different salts: namely, Ist. Sulphate of potash, composed of 1s + 1 p. 2d. Sulphate of alumina, composed of 1 5 + 1 a, $d. Supersulphate of eluanine, composed of 25 + 1a. These 296 On the Daltonian Theory of [Ocr. Number of Weight of an atoms, integrant particle. 178. Sulphate of potash-and-) , AMMONIA: jc\'a) de Heise ober hes +38 hee) ee 179. Sulphate of potash-and- 4 ve ae MAN ESIA, i725. Zais Behews a> FsSistciin ewer eee 180. Sulphate of soda-and- et pe hag PMIGIIR, olin a niente we his Toh AA IAi eer’ 181. Sulphate of soda-and- 4 PATHESIA, cps Sidhe. Farsley a 182. Sulphate of magnesia- 35+ 2m+t 1 a 208784 and-ammonia. .......... - 183. Supersulphate of copper2 s + lc ...... 20°000 * s+ 1 so+ 3 m 42°868" added together constitute the atoms given in the table: so that if the preceding analysis be correct, this is the most complicated salt known. ™ I conceive the triple salts to be formed by the union of an integrant particle of one salt with an integrant particle of another. ‘The present salt consists of an atom of sulphate of potash united with an atom of sulphate of ammonia. If this be correct it should contain 60 parts sulphate of potash and 33°5 sulphate of ammonia. According to Link, it contains 60 sulphate of potash and 40 sulphate of ammonia. No great difference, if we consider the difficulty of the analysis. ” According to Link, this salt contains 3 parts of sulphate of potash and 4 parts of sulphate of magnesia. Hence it consists of 1 atom sulphate of potash and 2 atoms sulphate of magnesia. ° According to Link, this salt consists of 5 parts sulphate of soda and 9 parts of sulphate of ammonia. If so it is a com- pound of 1 atom sulphate of soda and 6 atoms sulphate of ammonia. P According to Link, this salt consists of 5 parts of sulphate of soda and 6 parts of sulphate of magnesia. If so it must be a compound of 1 atom of sulphate of soda and $ atoms of sul- phate of magnesia. 4 According to Fourcroy, this salt is composed of 68 parts of sulphate of magnesia and 32 parts of sulphate of ammonia. If so it must be a compound of 2 atoms of sulphate of magnesia and 1 atom of sulphate of ammonia. * As an atom of sulphuric acid weighs 5, and an atom of peroxide of copper weighs 10, this salt ought to be composed of equal weights of acid and base. Now according to Proust it consists of 83 acid + 32 oxide; according to Berzelius, of 49°1 ee 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 297 Number of Weight of an atoms, integrant particle, 184. Sulphate of copper ....1 5 + Ic ......15°000 * 185. Subsulphate of copper ..1 5 + 2c ...... 25°000 * 186. Supersulphate of iron ..25 + 17 ...... 18°666 * 187. Sulphate ofiron ...... oe Di: ad pt ag 13°666 * 188. Subsulphate ofiron....25 + 37 ...... 35°999 ¥ 189. Persupersulphate ofiron3 s + 12 ......24°666 ? 190. Sulphate of lead ...... SS PTT 87 ota 191. Suiphate of zinc ...... ls+12 ~lOLS15® acid + 50°9 oxide. The mean of this gives us almost exactly the numbers in the table. * This salt is given from analogy, never having been analysed. t According to Proust, it is composed of 18 acid and 68 oxide. Now 5: 20::18:72. This approaches pretty nearly to the number found by Proust. " According to the analysis of Berzelius, this salt is composed of 100 parts acid + 88 oxide of iron. Now 5x2= 10: 8°666 :: 100: 86660. ‘This is within 11 per cent. of Berze lius’ analysis. * We are not acquainted with this salt. Supposing it to exist, its composition must be as stated in the table. ¥ The numbers in the table correspond nearly with the ana- lysis of this salt by Berzelius. (Ann. de Chim. Ixxviii. 223.) According to him, it is composed of 100 acid + 266 oxide. Now 100 : 266::5 x 2: 26°6; and =~ = 8-866, a number nearly agreeing with the weight of deutoxide of iron. At the same time I entertain some suspicions of the accuracy of Ber. zelius’ experiment. * I distinguish the salts containing peroxides by prefixing the syllable per to the name. ‘The persupersulphate of iron means a salt composed of sulphuric: acid and peroxide of iron with excess of acid. ‘The result in the table is derived from the ana- lysis of Berzelius. He found it composed of 100 acid + 65-5 peroxide. Now 100: 65°5 :: 5 x 3= 15: 9°835. And 9°825 differs yery little from 9°666, the weight of an atom of peroxide of iron. * According to the analysis of Berzelius, sulphate of lead is composed of 100 acid + 280 yellow oxide of lead. (Ann. de Chim, Ixxvii. 83.) Now 100: 280 :: 5 x 2= 10:28. And the weight of an integrant particle of yellow oxide of lead, according to the table, 1s 27-974. _” L found sulphate of zine to contain 25°8 acid + 28 2 oxide. Now 5 (the weizht of an atom of acid) :; 5°315 (the weight of 298 On the Daltonian Theory of [Ocr. Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle, 192. Sulphate of mercury ....1 s + 1m ......31:000° 193. Persulphate of mercury ..1 s + 1 m ......32°0004 194. Sulphate of silver ......l 5 + 1 52 .. 18°618° 195. Sulphate of bismuth ....1 5s + 16 ......14994 196. Sulphate of nickel ...... L$ ch 1.8) woi0e 00 20°6238 197. Sulphate of cobalt ......2 5 + le ......19396% 198. Sulphate of manganese ..2 5 + 1 m ......19°130' an atom of oxide of zinc) :: 25°8 : 27°425. This differs but little from the result which I obtained. © According to Berzelius (Larbok 1 Kemien, ii. 355), this salt is composed of 16 acid + 84 oxide. Now 5: 26:: 16: 83°2. Hence the composition of the salt is obvious. * These numbers are given from theory. We have no good analysis of turpeth mineral. If the numbers in the table be correct, it ought to be a compound of Sulphuric acid ..... was ae «» 15°625 Peroxide of mercury ....... eo 84°375 100°080 Now Berzelius gives us 12 acid + 88 oxide (Larbok i Kemien, ii. 364), which does not differ very much from our numbers. The composition of the other mercurial sulphates has not been determined. * According to Berzelius, this salt is composed of 25°78 acid + 74°22 oxide. Now 5: 13°618 :: 25°78 : 70°214. So that the numbers in the table approach very closely to the analysis of Berzelius. f According to Lagerhjelm, sulphate of bismuth is composed of 33°647 acid + 66°353 oxide. Now if we suppose it a com- pound of one integrant particle of acid and one of oxide, its composition would be 33°347 acid + 66°653 oxide. & The best analysis of this salt that we have is that of Tup- puti. According to him, it is composed of 53°4 acid + 46°6 oxide. The numbers in the table suppose its constitution to be 47-058 acid + 52°942 oxide. Nearly the inverse of ‘Tupputi’s analysis. » According to the analysis of Rolhoff, this salt is composed of 52°11 acid + 47°89 oxide. Supposing it to consist of 2 atoms acid and 1 atom oxide, its constituents would he 51°744 acid + 48°856 oxide. This differs but little from the analysis. ‘ According to John, this salt is composed of 52°06 acid + 47°94 oxide. Supposing its constitution as stated in the table, it 1813.] Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 299 = Number of Weight of an atoms. integrant particle. 199. Sulphate of uranium ....1 5 + 1 w ....+-20°000 * 200. Persulphate of platnum..2s + 1 p ...... 24°161 ' These 37 are all the sulphates which I can venture to insert into the table. The remaining sulphates have been so imper- fectly examined that we are still ignorant of the proportions in which their constituents unite. I think there is reason to believe that neither the oxides of arsenic, tungsten, molybdenum, nor chromium, combine with sulphuric acids so as to form sulphates. The oxides of these metals possess properties more analogous to acids than to bases. I think the same observation applies to the oxides of antimony. Probably a sulphate of tin exists; but it has never been analysed. The same observation applies to the sulphate of gold. The other metals, namely, palladium, rho- dium, iridium, osmium, tellurium, columbium, and cerium, are still too scarce to expect an accurate knowledge of the salts which their oxides are capable of forming. We have it now in our power to examine into one of the canons advanced by Berzelius, and upon which he has laid a great deal of stress in some of his late chemical dissertations. , His canon is, that when two bodies containing oxygen combine, the quantity of oxygen in each is equal, or the quantity of oxygen in the one is twice, thrice, four times, &c. as great as the quantity in the other. The following table exhibits the respective quantities of oxy- gen in each of the constituents of all the sulphates the compo- sition of which we have just given. Weight of oxygen Ditto in the in the acid, base. 1. Sulphate of potash........ , eT 2. Supersulphate of potash .... 6 ......e0.- 1 a ~ would be composed of 52°726 acid + 47°274 oxide. A coinci- dence as near as could be expected. * According to the analysis of Bucholz, sulphate of uranium consists of 22°1 acid + 77°9 peroxide. If the statement in the table be correct, it should be composed of 25 acid + 75 oxide, ' According to the analysis of Berzclius (Ldrbok i Kemien, ii. 428), this salt is composed of 44°223 acid + 58°777 peroxide of platinum. Now if the supposition in the table be true, it ought to consist of 41°389 acid + 68°611 acid; a proportion which almost coincides with the numbers obtained by Berzelius experimentally, 1 300 On the Daltonian Theory of [Ocr. Weight of oxygen Ditto in the in the acid. base, $. Sulphate of soda... 6:0. +0015 2/3) 0 n0-0 b0l0.0 000M 4. Sulphate of ammonia ...... 5. Sulphate of magnesia ..... : 6. Sulphate of lime ........ xe 7. Sulphate of barytes ........ 8. Sulphate of strontian ...... 9. Sulphate of alumina ...... 10. Subsulphate of alumina .... 11. Sulphate of yttria ...... ae 12. Sulphate of glucina ........ 13. Sulphate of zirconia........ 14, Supersulphate of copper .... 15. Sulphate of copper ........ 16. Subsulphate of copper...... 17, Supersulphate of iron ...... 18. Sulphate of iron .......... 19. Subsulphate of iron........ 20. Persupersulphate of iron.... 21. Sulphate of lead .......... 22. Sulphate of.zinc .......... 23. Sulphate of mercury ...... 24, Persulphate of mercury .... 25. Sulphate of silver.......... 26. Sulphate of bismuth ...... 27. Sulphate of nickel ........ 28. Sulphate of cobalt ...... = 29. Sulphate of manganese .. 30. Sulphate of uranium ...... 31. Persulphate of platinum .... ores ee ee we A U9 SD) D oO GO OD LO OD OD BG) CO DM OD M EF & G OD Go GD OD GO OD OD OD GD OD OD By casting our eye over this table we find that the canon of Berzelius holds in all the examples in the table except seven. The first of these is sulphate of soda. I think it is pretty well established that sulphuric acid is a compound of 1 atom of sulphur and 3 atoms of oxygen. While all the experiments hitherto made lead to the conclusion that soda is a compound of 1 atom of sodium and 2 atoms of oxygen. Now if these con- clusions be well founded, as I think they are, Berzelius’s canon could not hold with respect to sulphate of soda, unless it were a compound of 2 integrant particles of sulphuric acid and 1 inte- grant particle of soda, which is just the inverse of its real com- position. Indeed, if the canon held good, it would follow as a consequence that an integrant particle of sulphuric acid is in all cases incapable of uniting to an integrant particle of a deutoxide. This rule indeed seems to hold with respect to iron, lead, cobalt, 1813.3 Definite Proportions in Chemical Combinations. 301- manganese, and platinum; for we find the deutoxide of these metals combine not with 1 but with 2 integrant particles of sulphuric acid. Hence it is probable that the sulphate of iron given in the table does not exist. If we examine the notes under the table of the composition of the salts, it will be seen that none of the other six exceptions to the canon of Berzelius can be considered as valid; because they are either stated from mere theory, or they do not agree with the analyses of the salts in question hitherto published. Upon the whole, then, the sulphates furnish one decisive exception to Berzelius’s canon. ‘This canon appears to me at resent entirely empyrical. I cannot see any sound reason {different from the result of analyses) that should lead us to adopt it. Hence the mpage of this exception disposes me at present to reject it; but we shall be able to judge with more correctness after we have examined a few more genera of salts, especially the nitrates, upon the analysis of which Berzelius seems to me to have founded it. (To be continued.) ———eeeee ArticLe XII. Magznetical Observations at Hackney Wick. By Col. Beaufoy. Magnetical Observations. Latitude 51° 32’ 40” North, Longitude West in Time 62% 100° 1813, Morning Obsery, Noon Observ, Evening Obsery. Month, Hour, | Variation, | Hour. Variation. | Hour. | Variation, Aug. 19} 8 35’ |240 15’ 35") ob 05/ |24e 21’ 52) 6» 40’ \24° 16 49” Ditto 26] 8 58 24 15 31/2 05 24 22 38/6 57 [24 17 06 Ditto 21) 8 05 \24 24 33/6 45/24 13 Ol Ditto 22) 8 —|-— — —]— _ — Ditto 23) 8 2 00 24 23 15 |— _-_ — Ditto 24) 8 —\— — —1/6 16 35 Ditto 26| 8 —|l—- — —/6 18 16 Ditto 27| 8 2 00 24 25 02) 6 TT: 04 Ditto 28| 8 2 35 |24 24 OT/6 16 48 Ditto 29| 8 2 00 |\24 24 25] 6 16 23 Ditto 80} 8 1 57 |24 24 56] 6 15 18 Ditto 31] 8 2 00:24 23 40/6 15. 51 Observations in Aug, Noon at 2 02 .,.. Ditto 24 23 82 Evening at 7 905 .... Ditto 24 16 08 Mean of {xin at 8h 44’,....Variation 24° 15’ 58” 302 Magnetical Observations. (Ocr. Mean of Morning at 8h 37’ .... Variation 24° 14’ 39” Observatious Noon at 1 50 .... Ditto 24 23 O04 in July. Evening at 7 08 .... Ditto 24 13 56 Morning at 8 30 .... Ditto 24 12 35 Ditte in June, Noon ae MSS. co. Ditto 94-22 17 Evening at 7 O04 .... Ditto 24 16 O04 Morning at 8 22 ... Ditto 24 12 02 Ditlo in May. Noon Cl Sy SR fT 24 20 54 Evening at 6 14 .... Ditto 24 13 4T Morning at 8 31 .... Ditto 24 09 18 Ditto in April. ¢ Noon at O 59 .... Ditto 24 21 12 Evening at 5 46 .... Ditto 24 15 25 Magneticat Observations continued. Morning Observ. Noon Obsery. | Evening Observ. Month. Hour. | Variation. | Hour. | Variation. | Hour. | Variation. Sept. 1| 8 50’|24° 11’ 09" 2» 33//24° 91 30h —* Ditto: 22)|\8io BOMCA,, Tere VTP Sy ae a ae Ditto 3|8 45 |24 18 11 00 [24 13 11/6 32 Ditto 4| 8 50 (24 14 58 cee Eats See SN hy pT Ditto 5|8 48 j24 14 10 00 94 129 15|— — Ditto 6/9 05 |24 18 00 — | See: 18 Ditto 7| 8 45 |24 20 10 02 |24 21 35| 6 05 Ditto 8| 8 55 124 16 Q7 02 |24 92 20|— — Ditto 9|8 50/24 14 12 55 24 20 30/6 07 Ditto 10| 8 55/24 17 02 55 |24 22 44/6 10 Ditto 11] 8 55 \24 16 54 10 |24 22 00) 6 07 Ditto 12) 8 50 [24 15 26 50 24 94 02/6 15 Ditto 13] 8 45/24 16 24 03 |24 22 56/6 20 Ditto 14] 8 55 |24 15 20 AO |04 93 45! 5 55 Ditto 15| 9 00 |24 15 40 05 |24 22 31/6 10 Ditto 16,9 15 {24 16 11 A ES aa Ditto 17| 9 55 124 13 12 10 '94 93 03/6 05 In deducing the mean variation for the month of August the observations made on the Ist are rejected, on account of their differing so much from the others. On the 6th September the wind blew very hard frem the S.W. and the needles at inter- vals vibrated from four to five minutes. Does not, therefore, the unsteadiness of the wind arise partly from electricity? It is not every gust of wind that will produce a vibratory motion. Between noon of the Ist Aug. 2 9. : Between noon of the Ist gart witart hen Evaporation between the same periods, 2°70 inches, Rain fallen ; 7 1813.) Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. $03 ArTIcLE XIII. Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. IMPERIAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, Account of the Labours of the French Institute for 1812. (Continued from p. 76.) ZOOLOGY, ANATOMY, AND ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY. M. le Chevalier Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, who has examined at various intervals the numerous family of bats, and has made us acquainted with so many interesting species, proposes to give a general table of them. He has prefaced this undertaking with a dissertation on the rank which these singular animals ought to hold among the mammalia. They were long considered as intermediate between quadrupeds and birds. It is equally ob- vious that they hold an intermediate place between the quad- rumania and carnivorous animals. Among the numerous ar- rangements proposed by naturalists, there are some, as that of innzus in his last editions, and that of Brisson, in which the bats are classed along with the quadrumania; in others, as that of Linnzus in his first editions, and that of Klein, they are placed with the small carnivorous animals, or eaters of insects, as the mole and the hedgehog. Some, as Storr and Cuvier, place them at the head of carnivorous animals, before the insect eaters just mentioned, and immediately after the quadrumania ; with this difference, however, that Cuvier distinguishes them more particularly, and makes a subdivision of them. Others, as Ray, Blumenbach, Lacepede, and Iliger, constitute them a separate order; and this order is placed by Ray and by Lacepede in some measure out of the arrangement. By Blumenbach be- tween the quadrumania and the other inguicula, at the head of which this naturalist places the rongeurs. Finally, M. Tiger places them before the carnivorous animals, at the head of which are placed, as in the arrangement of Cuvier, the devourers of msects. It is easy to see that all these combinations will depend upon those organs to which each naturalist has paid the greatest at- tention. Those who have chiefly attended to the skeleton, to the intestines, to the organization of the feet, to the form of th: nails, to the grinders, have considered the bats as analogous to carnivorous animals (and this is the opinion at present most followed); while those who have attended only to the fore- teeth, to the position of the mame, to the hanging penis, have considered them as analogous to the quadrwmania, S04 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Ocr. M. Geoffroy, in the work of which we have spoken, insists more than usual upon these last relations, to which he thinks suficient attention has not been paid. He shows particularly that the singular elongation of the anterior extremities, the general tendency of the skin to become excessively wide, and the peculiar properties which are the consequence of this in the bats, both with respect to their sensations and motions, require us to place these mammalia in a separate order; while, at the same time, their striking resemblance to the quadrumania, and to the carnivorous animals, requires that this order should be placed between them. We may look with interest to the sub- division of this order, and to the history of the species, which M. Geofiroy has promised. M. de Ja Mark, employed at the Museum of Natural History in teaching every thing which concerns the animals destitute of vertebrze, published, some years ago, the work which serves as a basis to his course. He explains in it, according to his own method, the classes, orders, and genera, of these numerous animals: but as travellers have since discovered many genera and species, as anatomists have more completely explained the structure, and as the meditations of la Mark on the subject have made him discover various new relations among these animals, he has published an abridged table of his course, after his me- thod in its most perfect state, in which he satisfies himself with giving the characters of the greater divisions, and simply enu- merating the names of the genera. He follows in their arrangement the degrees of complicate- ness, beginning with the most simple animals. Supposing that those which have no visible nerves only move in consequence of their irritability, he calls them apathic animals. He gives the name of sensible animals to the other animals without ver- tebree, and of intelligent animals to those which have vertebree. To his old classes, now well known to naturalists, he adds the cirrhipeda, which include the glands-de-mer, and other ana- logous animals, and which he places between his annelides and his mollusca; that of the epizoaines, or intestinal worms, which he places among his apathic animals ; and the infusoria, or mi- croscopic animals without visible mouth or intestines. He leaves the gchinoder mes in his radiaires, and among the apathic animals, with a greater degree of simplicity than the intestinal worms. We regret that we have not room to notice the other changes introduced by M. dela Mark into his orders, nor the numerous additions which he has made to the list of genera; but natu- ralists will not fail to look for them in the work itself. Notwithstanding the success of the anatomical investigations of animais without vertebrze for several years back, there still remained a family in which the fundamental organs were not 1813.) Imperial Institute of France.» 805 well known. It is the family called echinodérmes, which com rehends the star-fish, and other analogous genera. The Class latisa proposed a prize for the perfecting of this branch of comparative anatomy, it was gained by M. 'Tiedeman, Professor in the University of Landshut. The memoir of this skilful anatomist makes us ‘accurately acquainted, for the first time, with many particulars respecting the organization of these sin- gular animals. Aspeciesof circulation is easily observed between their organs of digestion and those of respiration, without, how- ever, offering a complete double circle. Nor can the branches be followed in the exterior organs, nor in those of motion. It appears even, according to M. 'Tiedeman, that a quite different vascular system is distributed to those numerous peduncles which in these animals serve for instruments of locomotion. The organs of respiration differ much in different genera. In the Paleehcrin they represent hollow trees, whose branches fill and empty papa eet with water from without, and are inter- laced with a vascular net. In the stars and urchins the water penetrates immediately into the cavity of the body, and moistens all the parts of it. This beautiful work, accompanied by plates exquisitely finished by M. Miinz, Doctor of Medicine, appeared to the Class to deserve the prize, by the number of new facts well au- thenticated which it presents, and by the great progress which it has made to the intimate knowledge of the echinodermes, though it has not completely answered the question proposed relative to their circulation. A family much more simple in its organization than the echinodermes, but much more numerous in species, namely, the corals, and other animals composed of a solid basis, has been particularly sudied by M. Lamouroux, both with respect to the species and the methodical arrangement. This naturalist has made a great collection of those whose basis is not stony, and which present forms so agreeable, and often so singular; and comparing with much care the form, the mutual position, of the cells from which the polypi issue, and all the other visible differences of these animals, he proposes to add 28 new genera. ‘This is an important work for the perfecting of the system of animals ; but it does not, from its nature, admit of an abridged pay. We are anxious for its speedy publication. . Cuvier, proposing soon to begin Wh Sam the great book on comparative anatomy with which he has been occupied for so many years, has presented:to the Class a table of the divisions according to which the animal kingdom will be distributed in that work. Naturalists have been long struck with the great differences which separate animals without vertebree from each other, while animals with vertebrae resemble each ether in so Vou. II, N° IV. U 306 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Ocr. many respects. Hence a great difficulty in generalizing that branch of comparative anatomy, while it is easy to generalize what relates to the animals with vertebrae. But this difficulty has suggested its own remedy. From the manner in which the propositions relative to each organ are always grouped, M. Cu- vier concludes that there exists among animals four principal forms. The first is that which is known under the name of animals with vertebrae; and the three others are nearly similar to it in the uniformity of their respective plans. ‘The author calls them mollusca, articulated animals, and radiated animals, or zoophites. He subdivides each of these forms or branches into four classes, from motives nearly similar to those which have produced the four classes generally adopted among the animals with vertebre. He has drawn from this disposition, in some respects symmetrical, a great facility in reducing under general rules the differences of organization. The comparison which the same author has made of the osteology of the animals with vertebra, has given him ideas respecting the bony structure of the heads in this class, which he has likewise presented to the Class. It had been for some time observed that the oviparous animals with vertebree, that is to say, birds, reptiles, and fishes, had cer- tain common relations in their structure which distinguished them from the mammalia. M. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire had even presented some years ago an elaborate essay on the subject, of which an account was formerly given, in which, among other things, he had shown the identity of the structure of the heads of oviparous animals, and the resemblance in the numerous pieces which enter into their composition, with that of those which we distinguish in the foetus of mammalia, where, as ie known, the bones are much more subdivided than in adults. M. Cuvier, adopting the views of M. Geoffroy, has tried to determine in an accurate manner to what bone of the head of mammalia corresponds each group of bones in the head of the different oviparous animals; and he conceives he has succeeded, by joining to the analogy of the foetus of the first the considera- tion of the position and of the functions of the bones; that is to say, by examining what organs they protect, to what nerves and vessels they give passage, and to what muscles they furnish attachments. M. Jacobsen, Surgeon-Major in the armies of the King of Denmark, has made known to the Class an organ which he discovered in the nostrils of quadrupeds, with which no ana- tomist seems to have been acquainted. It consists in a narrow sack placed along the canal of the nose, defended by a cartila- ginous production, covered internally by a mucous membrane, doubled in part by a glandular tissue, receiving remarkable 4 1813.] Imperial Institute of France. 307 nerves, with distinct divisions of the first pair, and which open most commonly into the palate, behind the fore-teeth, by a canal which passes through the hole called incisive by anato- mists. ‘This organ does not exist in man, and is more distinct in most herbivorous animals than in the carnivorous. We must suppose that it is connected with some of those faculties which nature has given to quadrupeds, but denied to our species, as that of rejecting poisonous substances, of distinguishing the sex, the state of heat, &c. The particular history of animals is enriched with important works and interesting observations. M. de Humboldt, Foreign Associate, has published the first volume of his Observations on the Animals of America, in which he has inserted not only his different researches on the condor, the electric eel, the crocodile, and many other objects of which we have spoken in our preceding analyses; but he has likewise ile several new memoirs, namely, on the apes of the New orld, of which Buffon and Gmelin only made known 11 or’ 12 species, but which Humboldt, uniting his observations with those of Azzara and Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, makes 46. He has recently read to the Class another memoir, intended for his second yolume, in which he describes new species of ser- pents that he found in Guyana. The tempests which agitated the sea last winter threw ashore several large cetaceous fish upon our coasts. The Class ap- pointed, as a commission to examine the facts which were re- ceived respecting these animals, MM. le Comte Lacepede, Geoffroy-Saint- Hilaire, and Cuvier. These naturalists have observed that several of these animals were formerly unknown, and that this subject, which might be interesting to our fisheries and our commerce, deserved to draw the attention of Government. They gave a description of a species thrown ashore in great numbers near St. Brieux.. M. emaout, naturalist and apothecary in that city, having col- lected with much care all the essential parts, it was easy to re= . cognise a species of dolphin hitherto unknown to naturalists, and of which there only existed a bad figure in the treatise on fishes by Duhamel. It is distinguished by the globular form of the head, almost similar to an ancient helmet. Its length is about 20 fect. We noticed last year the researches of M. Lamouroux on the innumerable and very small eels, known at the mouths of some of our rivers by the name of montée, and we announced the: probability that they might belong to some of the little known species of this genus. M. Lamouroux has determined by new experiments, Sat the montée is the fry of the pimperneau, a species of eel noticed by Lacepede in his history of fishes, and - v2 308 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Ocr. which is distinguished from the others by its pectoral fins being hollowed out like the wings of bats. M. Risso, naturalist at Nice, who published two years ago an - excellent work on the fishes of that coast, hast just sent another to the Class on the crustacese, that is to say, on the animals of the crab family. M. Risso adopts in his arrangement the me- thod of Latreille, to which he adds four new genera. He de- scribes 100 species, about the half of which appear new to him: 16 are represented in coloured plates. ‘The Class, in applaud- ing the zeal with which M. Risso, in a situation so unpropi- tious, has endeavoured to make known the animals of the Me- diterranean, still so little studied, would at the same time have desired more precision in the descriptions, before acknowledg- ing the novelty of so great a number of species. he ancients speitk much of an insect which they call buprestes, or burst-ox, because, according to them, it made the cattle burst who swallowed it with the grass; but they have given us no detailed description of it. ‘The moderns have ap- plied this name very variously ; nor does it appear that any of them has recognised the insect to which it truly belonged. M. Latreille, after a careful comparison of the passages in which the properties ascribed to it are mentioned with what we know at present, thinks that it was probably the meloe proscarabeeus of Linneeus, or some similar species. The me/ee are the only insects possessing acrid and suspicious properties that live among the grass, and move so slowly as to be easily swallowed by cattle. Our associate M. de la Billardiere, who employs himself in bringing up bees, having observed one whose abdomen was larger ‘than usual, found in it a white worm, which M. Bosc examined. The body of this worm was white, divided into 12 tings, flattened below, terminated at one extremity by two large _ tubercles, pierced each with an oval hole, and at the other by two soft points. Under the tubercles is a transverse slit. M. Bosc, regarding this slit as the mouth, considers the part ter- minated by two points as that where ought to be the anus; and ranging the animal among intestinal worms, he makes a new a, of it, under the name of dipodinm. He admits, however, that it is possible that the organs may in fact be reversed, and then the worm would much resemble the larvee of flies with two wings. ‘There is reason to believe, from the observations of Latreille, that the larva of one of these flies (the canops ferru- ginosa) lives in the interior of the drones. It is very remark- able that so large a worm should inhabit the body of* an insect so small as a bee. The portion of'digestion which takes place in the stomach must Haye early attracted the attention of physiologists, and recourse was ‘had successively to all the powers’ of nature te 1818.] Imperial Institute of France. 309 explain it. It was long ascribed to the muscular trituration of the stomach; but Reaumur having remarked that food contained in incompressible tubes, open at the two ends, was digested like other food, the general opinion since that time has been that the food was dissolved by means of a juice secreted by the stomach. Spallanzani, in a very celebrated work, having applied the astric juice out of the stomach to every kind of tood, affirmed. that it produced, when assisted by heat, effects nearly similar to those produced in the stomach itself. ‘This philosopher went so far as to ascribe to this gastric juice, thus separated, the pro-, perty of stopping putrefaction. He drew this conclusion from. his observations, which has been tacitly adopted by most phy- siologists, that the gastric juice produces its effects in conse- quence of its peculiar nature, of its composition, and aflinities. M. de Montegre, Doctor of Medicine, having the power of throwing up, without inconvenience, what he has in his stomach, has thought of employing this power in order to determine the different points of the received doctrine respecting digestion. When he throws up the contents of his stomach while fasting he obtains a notable quantity of a liquid which he considers as true gastric juice, and which he examined with respect to its che- mical properties as well as its action on the food. He found this liquid very similar to saliva; but its action appeared to him very different from the statement of Spallan- zaui. When exposed to a temperature similar to that of the human body, in phials placed under the armpit, it putrefied exactly like saliva. It did not stop the course of putrefaction in other substances, except when it was acid; and by adding a little vinegar to saliva it was made to possess the same property. This acidity is not essential; and when M. de Montegre swal- lowed enough of magnesia to absorb it the digestion went on as well as usual. Acidity appeared again in a little time: even when M. de Montegre mixed the food which he swallowed with an it became acidrafter a sufficient time. These experiments, repeated a great number of times, and with all the requisite precautions, have induced the author to , conclude that the gastric juice does not differ from saliva, that it cannot stop putrefaction, nor produce digestion independent of the vital action of the stomach; and that the acidity which appears, and which the food evolves during digestion, is an etlect of the action of the stomach. It is much to be wished that M. de Montegre would continue hisvesearches; and make them also upon those animals that Spallanzani employed, that we may determine what to think of a doctrine Which has for a eacetole time been generally embraced. ‘That authors may be able to verify the date of their observa- 2 310 * Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. fOcr. tions, we shall here notice some memoirs which have been pre- sented to the Class, but of which the verification is not yet finished, reserving to ourselves the liberty of returning to them next year, and of 1 making known the opinien which has been formed of them. M. de Blainville, Joint Professor to the Faculty of Sciences of Paris, has described at full length the forms of articulation of the fore-arm and arm in different animals, and determined the motions which each of these forms makes necessary, chiefly with regard to the greater or smaller facility of rotation. ‘This dis- sertation, on a point of importance relative to the mechanism of animals is interesting also, as far as regards their classifica- tion; for the degree of rotation of the fore-arm having con- siderable influence on the address of the animals, ought to be considered, as far as regards the degree of perfection, and of course influences their natural affinities. The same anatomist has presented a memoir on the form of the sternum in birds. As this bone, or rather this great bony surface, resulting (as M. Geoffroy has shown) from the union of five different bones, gives origin to the principal muscles of the bird, the more solid and extended it is, the more solid a point of support does it furnish to these muscles, and the more ought it to contribute to render the flight powerful. It ought therefore to have an influence over the whole economy of the bird, and give useful indications respecting the classification of these animals. M. de Blainville draws his indications from the membranous spaces, more or less extended, which supply the place of bone in a part of the sternum. He adds the con- sideration of the fork, and of some organs connected with it, and in most cases finds a great agreement between the dispo- sition of these parts and the natural families. However, there exist exceptions so manifest that we cannot entirely confide in this new way of classification. 4 M. Marcel de Serres, Professor to the Faculty of Sciences of Montpelier, has drawn up a laborious work on the anatomy of insects, and particularly on their intestinal canal, which he has described with much detail in a great number of species. His object was to determine the functions peculiar to the different parts of the canal and its appendages: and, besides his dissec- tions, he has made ingenious experiments on living individuals. Coioured liquors injected into the cavity of the peritoneum were absorbed by long slender vessels, which always adhere to some part of the intestinal canal: hence he conceives that the use of these vessels is to secrete from the common mass of humors digestive liquors, and to throw them into the canal. An atten- tive examination of certain sacks, which in some genera have been considered as stomachs, in others as coecums, and the cer- 1813.] Imperial Institute of France. 311 tainty acquired that the food does not enter there, but on the contrary that they are found full of bilious liquor, has induced M. de Serres to conclude that they are reservoirs of that humor. He deprives the grasshoppers, and the analogous genera, of the quality of ruminating animals, which had been ascribed to them, and he has convinced himself that these animals do not bring the food back to the mouth ; but that they throw out only in certain circumstances this biliary juice, of which they have so great a quantity. This long memoir contains many other cu- rious observations on the form of the intestinal canal, the pro- portions of its parts, and their relation to the disposition of in- sects. We shall speak of it with detail in our next year’s analysis. M. Dutrochet, physician at Chateau-Renaud, department of the Indre, has made a curious observation on the gestation of the viper. He assures us that the young vipers have their um- bilical vessels distributed not only on the yoke of the egg, in which they are at first enclosed, but that a part of these vessels is distributed likewise on the internal surface of the oviducts, and forms a net which may be considered as a real placenta. ‘The vipers in that case would participate in the mode of nutrition a to the mammalia, and in that hitherto conceived to be- ng exclusively to the whole class of oviparous animals. (Zo be continued, ) ARTICLE XIV. SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE; AND NOTICES OF SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. I. Lectures, The following arrangements have been made for lectures, at the Surrey Institution, in the ensuing season :—Mr. J. Mason Good, on the Philosophy of Physics ; to commence on F’riday, the 5th of November, and to be continued on each succeeding Friday.— Dr. ‘Thomson, on Chemistry ; to commence on Tues- day, the 9th of November, and to be continued on each suc- ceeding Tuesday.—Mr. Bakewell, on Natural and Experi- ‘Métal Philosogh ; to commence early in January, 1814.— Dr. Crotch, on Music; early in February, 1814. William Thomas Brande, F.R.S. Prof. Chem. R.I. will commence his course of Lectures on Chemical Philosophy at the Theatre of Anatomy, Windmill-street, on the second ‘Tuesday in October, at nine in the morning. ‘They will be continued every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, throughout the season, - 312 Scientific Intelligence. [Ocr. and will terminate in May. The course is divided into the five following parts:—1. Of the Powers and Properties of Matter, and the General Laws of Chemical Changes. 2. Undecom- pounded Substances, and their mutual Combinations. 3. Ve- getable Chemistry. 4. Animal Chemistry. 5. Geology. Middlesex Hospital.—The Autumnal Course of Lectures on’ Midwifery, delivered by Dr. Merriman, Physician-Accoucheur to this Hospital, and to the Westminster General Dispensary, will commence October 11th, at half-past ten o’clock. On Monday, October 4, a Course of Lectures on Physic and Chemistry will commence, at No. 9, George-street :—On the Therapeutics and Practice of Physic, from eight till nine ; and the Chemistry from nine till ten. By George Pearson, M.D. F.R.S. A Register is kept of the Cases of Patients in St. George’s Hospital, and a Clinical Lecture is delivered every Saturday morning, at nine o’clock. Mr. ‘I. J. Pettigrew will commence a course of Lectures on Human Anatomy and Physiology, on Wednesday, the 20th of October. The course, to be comprised in 12 Lectures, will be delivered on Wednesday and Friday evenings, at eight o’clock precisely. The Introductory Lecture will consist ot a General View of the Animal Structure, to which there will be a free admission. Particulars respecting the Lectures may be obtained by application to the Lecturer, No. 3, Bolt-court, Fleet-street. Dr. Prout intends, in the course of the winter, to deliver a series of Lectures on Animal Chemistry. The object of these Lectures will be to give.a connected view of all the principal facts belonging to this department of chemistry, and to apply them, as far as the present state of our knowledge will permit, to the explanation of the phenomena of organic actions. Dr. Thomson proposes next winter to give a Practical Course of Chemistry to a very limited number of young ‘Gentlemen, who will reside in his house during its continuance. The Course will begin on'the Ist of January, 1814. Il, New Example of Combustion during Combination. It is well known that when sulphur is made to combine with copper, iron, and some other metals, previously reduced to powder, and. well mixed, the compound becomes red hot, and glows like a live coal just at the instant of its formation. The same thing takes vlace when phosphorus is made to unite with lime, barytes, and strontian. When quicklime is slacked in obscurity, it frequently becomes luminous: and there is little doubt that the same thing would happen to barytes and strontian. Chevreul has lately observed that when barytes or strontian is heated in contact with muriatic acid. gas, the gas is absorbed, and the earthy salt formed becomes red-hot. There can be little 1813.] Scientific Intelligence. 318°" doubt that this evolution of heat is owing to the condensation of the gas. It is true that in the present case the agency of oxygen is not excluded; for if we adopt the opinion of Davy respecting the composition of muriatic acid, it is obvious that in the present case a double decomposition takes place. The chlorine of the muriatic acid unites with the metallic basis of the barytes, and forms larytane, while the hydrogen of the muriatic acid com- bines with the oxygen of the barytes, and forms water; but if we consider that both muriatic acid and barytes are products of combusti6n, it will be obvious that the presence of the oxygen alone cannot account for the light and heat evolved. III. Camphoric Acid. Camphoric acid was discovered by Kosegarten, and afterwards examined by Bouillon Lagrange. Bucholz has lately published the result of his experiments on this acid, which, from the known precision of this chemist, deserve to be stated here. Camphoric acid is white, and assumes the form of feather- shaped crystals. Its taste is acid, and it leaves an impression of bitterness upon the palate. It dissolves in 100 times its weight of cold water, and in 11 times its weight of boiling water. 100 parts of cold alcohol dissolve 16 of camphoric acid. Boiling alcohol is capable of dissolving any quantity of it whatever. When camphoric acid is sublimed, it is partly decomposed, and the sublimed portion refuses to crystallize. 50 grains of cam-- phoric acid require for saturation 26 grains of carbonate of lime (or 15°7 grains of lime). The camphorate of lime has an ex- cess of acid, and crystallizes so irregularly that the shape of the crystals could not be determined. Its taste is somewhat similar to that of lime, and not the least saline. When heated it does not melt, but is converted into carbonate of lime. 100 parts of cold water dissolve 21°6 of this camphorate. The. camphorate of potash may be cbtained in prismatic crystals by concentrating the solution, and setting it aside for spontaneous crystallization. Its taste is aromatic and bitter. When heated it welts in its water of crystallization. IV. Church Steeple of Greenwich, In consequence of a letter from a correspondent, I was induced to make some inguiry relative to the accident which hefel the church steeple of Greenwich some months ago; but e information received exhibited no novelty. ‘The steeple was struck with lightning, and the uppermost part of it,,14 feet in length, was thrown han) It appears that a bar of iron passed from the top of the steeple 14 feet down. Where it terminated, the mischief commenced, , The lightning, in making its way down, had torn the building in that place. It got atterwards to some wires connected with the bell,, which, were melted, S14 Scientific Intelligence. [Ocr. V. Ulmin. Professor+Berzelius informs me, in a letter which I lately received from him, that w/min is a vegetable substance, not confined to the genus ulmus, but that it forms a constituent part of the barks of almost all trees. He found it in the bark of the cinchona officinalis (Jesuat’s bark), and in that of the pinus syl- vestris (Scotch fir). It cannot be discovered by the usual mode of analysing bark; because, when the bark is digested in hot water, the ulmin combines with the tannin of the bark, and can be no longer recognised as a peculiar substance. If we begin the analysis by digesting the bark in alcohol, and afterwards in cold water, the ulmin remains undissolved, and may be after- wards obtained by means of hot water, especially if that water holds a little alkaline carbonate in solution. ‘The properties which I found the substance thus obtained to possess agree nearly with those which you assign to ulmin. “ If,” says Dr. Berze- lius, ‘¢ you think this subject of any importance, I have no doubt that my friend Dr. Young will communicate to you the details of my comparative analyses of these two barks, which you will probably find interesting in other respects besides in those particulars which relate’ to almin.” VI. Oxides of Gold. Professor Berzelius has favoured me with the following ob- servations on the account of the oxides of gold which appeared in the second Number of the Annals of Philosophy :— In your account of the oxides of gold you have done me the honour to quote my Manual of Chemistry on the subject. Though I am much flattered by the circumstance, I must take the liberty to observe, that the numbers which you have quoted as mine have been inaccurately quoted. In my Manual I have said that 100 parts of gold combine with 4 and with 12 of oxygen, omitting the fractions. In Davy’s Chemistry the result of the same analyses is added as an appendix, but by an error of the press 11-026 has been printed instead of 4°026.— You have given the description of the oxide of gold from Vauquelin. Yet M. Oberkampf, whose dissertation you likewise quote, has proved by decisive experiments that what Vauquelin considered as an oxide of gold is in fact a submuriate. I have verified this as- sertion of Oberkampf. The oxide of gold is blackish brown, and is obtained by dropping muriate of gold into a solution of caustic potash in water.—'Towards the end of that article, you draw, as a consequence from the experiments of Oberkampf, that the observation which I have made respecting the ratio of the sulphur in the sulphuret, and the oxygen of the oxide of the same metal, may be rejected as inaccurate in consequence of the want of correspondence between my experiments and his. A small mistake in the translation, it appears, here occasioned 1813.] Scientific Intelligence. $15 an error on your part. I never made use of the word protoride, which, though ingenious, does not answer all the purposes of a chemical term. You know, perhaps, that I divide metallic oxides into suboxides, oxides, and superoxides,* and that the class of suboxides never could be compared with the sulphurets. As to the pretended want of harmony between the sulphuret of gold of Oberkampf and my analysis of the oxide of gold, I beg you to observe that 12°077 (the oxygen that combines with 100 gold) x 2 = 24°154; but Oberkampf found that 100 gold are combined in the sulphuret with 24°39 of sulphur. Hence the experiments agree sufliciently well.+ If, on the other hand, you mean to say that the suboxide of gold contains only 4 oxy- gen, and that therefore the sulphuret of gold ought to contain only 8 of sulphur; I must observe, that in decomposing the muriate of the suboxide by hydrosulphuret of potash, we would probably obtain a sulphuret corresponding with the suboxide, just as happens when we decompose in that manner the muriate of the suboxide of mercury.” _ Professor Berzelius concludes his letter as follows :—“ As to your intention of checking the propensity of chemists to gene- ralize too much, I approve it exceedingly ; but request that you will not extend it to the theory of chemical proportions ; because it is either general or null. It rather requires to be supported by your credit, since the disposition of chemists appears to me little disposed to acknowledge its truth. I have been publish- ing memoirs on the subject, on the continent, for more than three years, without having hitherto, as far as I know, made a single proselyte. I do not speak of England, where the ex- assara of Dalton, seconded by Wollaston and by yourself, ve begun to acquire some credit.” VII. Alcohol of Sulphur. My chemical readers will learn with pleasure that the alcohol of sulphur, or sulphuret of carbon, which has of late been made the subject of some curious experiments by Professor Berzelius and Dr. Marcet, is prepared and sold by Mr. William Allen, Plough-court, Lombard-street. VIII. Gong. While looking over a set of German Journals, which I lately received from the continent by the way of Sweden, I observed * Ishall take a future opportunity of laying Berzelius’s chemical nomen- clature before the reader,—I’. : + I have stated my opinions on this subject at length in the 7th and 8th Numbers of the Annals of Philosophy (pages 82 and 109, Berzelius will there see what the real points are about which we differ in opinion, He will see too that L recognize the agreement which he has here poiuted out.—T, 316 New Patenis. [Ocr. an analysis by Klaproth of what he called the gonggong. (Gehlen’s Journal, Second Series, vol. ix. p. 408.) From the account which he gives of this instrument, and the result of his analysis, there can be no doubt that it was the same as that of which I gave an account in the last Number of the Annals of Philosophy. Klaproth found the specific gravity of the gong which he examined 8°815. It was not so yl as my speci- men, the reason of which probably was that it contained more tin; for he found it composed of Copper THA Fee EE re ek 78 Tin oe 22 \0'a ©. & 28'@ 6 SB Ups o's a Cae we Bre 6 oe. Oo (ate 92 100 IX. Extract of a Letter from Dr. Wollaston. The following letter was received too late for insertion in ou last Number :— ; DEAR SIR, August 24, 1813. In the continuation which you have promised of the experi- mments of Messrs. Delaroche and Berard I hope you will cor- rect a mistake they are under concerning the invention of the gazonieter they employ. I believe that the contrivance which you see ascribed to me (p. 91, of the Ann. de Chimie) was invented at Paris by Messrs. Girard as a means of giving uniform pressure in a hydrostatic lamp, that was brought into this country about two years since. Believe me ever truly yours, W. H. Wottastoy. ARTICLE XV. List of Patents. Cuartes Wixxs, of Ballincollig, Cork; for certain im- provements in the naves of wheels for carriages, and for centres of wheels for carriages, and for centres for wheels of machinery for various purposes. Dated June 29, 1813. James Penny, Low Nuthwaite, Lancaster, and Josrru Kewnpar, Cockershell, Lancaster; for an improved principle or plan for making pill and other small boxes. Dated June 29, 1813. : Joun Curr, Sheffield ; for methods of applying flat ropes to horse-gins, and perpendicular drum shafts of steam engines, for drawing coals, minerals, or water, out of mines, whereby. the horses’ labour is greatly diminished, and flat ropes working on 1813.] New Patents. “$17 horse-gins and steam-engines, constructed with the said perpen- dicular drum shafts, are preserved from material injury. Dated June 29, 1813. Tuomas Top, Bristol, for a machine on an improved con- struction for the purpose of separating corn, grain, and seeds, from the straw. Dated June 29, 1813. Cuartes Wyart, Bedford-row, London; for a method of casing or facing brick and other buildings with stone. Dated June 5, 1813. ; - Amprose Ticket, Lambeth; for an alarum and machinery for the discovery and detection of depredators in a house or premises. Dated July 1, 1813. Epwarp Tuomason, Birmingham; for various improve- ments in the construction of whips. Dated July 3, 1813. Rozsert Apams, Holborn, London; for a method of pre- paring blacking, whereby a higher polish is given, and the leather better preserved. Dated July 7, 1813. Joun Mitrarp, Cheapside, London; fora method of manu- facturing cotton-wool free from mixture into cloth, for the pur- pose of regulating perspiration. Dated July 14, 1813. Joun Cxarx, Bridgewater, Somerset; for a method of making or constructing beds, pillows, hammocks, cushions, and yarious other articles of that sort, in a different manner, and of different materials from any hitherto used. Dated July 14,1813. ALEXANDER Moopy, Southwark, tanner; for a method of tanning or dressing white buff leather. Dated July 14, 1813. Wiis Goprrry Kyxrtier, Croydon, Surrey, chemist ; for a method of manufacturing verdigris of the same quality as is known in commerce by the name of T’rench verdigris. Dated July 14, 1813. Grorce, Fercuson and Josrpu Asuton, Carlisle, hatters ; for an improved, light, elastic, water-proof hat, commonly called a beaver. Dated July 14, 1813. Rosert Prettyman, Ipswich, Suffolk; for improvements in the pan, touch-hole, and pan-cover, of a gun lock. Dated July 19, 1813. icHARD Perinc, Dock-yard, Stoke Demerel, Devon; for an anchor made on new principles; which consists, first, in con- tinuing the grain of iron from the shank into the arms, similar to the shape of a knee or arm of a tree, whereby the necessity of effecting a junction at the crown, as at present welded, is superseded ; secondly, in carrying a piece of iron across the crown from the centre of each arm, making thereby a perfect truss, which when welded resembles the form of a truss beam: thirdly, in forming both the shank and arms of flat bars, placed 80 as to act edgewise on the line of resistance when the anchor \ 318 New Scientific Books. [Ocr. is in the ground: and fourthly, in forming the largest part of the shank one-third down from the crown in a line across from toe to toe of the arms. Dated July 23, 1813. Freperick Koenic, of Castle-street, Finsbury-square, printer; for certain additional improvements on his method of printing by means of machinery. Dated July 23, 1813. Joan Lewis, Llanelly, Carmarthen; for certain improve- ments in the art of smelting copper ore. Dated July 23, 1813. Cuartes James Mason, Lane Delph, near Newcastle- under-Lyne, potter; for an improvement in the manufacture ef English porcelain. . Dated July 23, 1813. —————————— ArtTicLe XVI. Scientific Books in hand, or in the Press. Mr. Singer has in the Press Elements of Electricity and Electro- Chemistry, including Voltaic Electricity, or Galvanism. The work ‘will contain a variety of original experiments, and an account of a New System of Electrical Insulation recently invented by the Author. Sir Everard Home is about to publish his Course of Lectures on Comparative Anatomy, delivered at the College of Physicians. Mr. Dodsworth is preparing for the Press a Description of Salis- bury Cathedral, including an account of its Monuments, and Bio- graphical Memoirs of the Bishops, in a Quarto Volume, with about thirty Engravings. Mr. Clarke proposes to publish an Investigation of the Mecha- nical Science and Historical Descent of Architecture in England during the middle ages, in a Quarto Volume, with about thirty Engravings. The Fourth Volume of the Transactions of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London will be published in October. Mr. Hopkirk, Fellow of the Linnean Society, and Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society of Edinburgh, is speedily to publish Flora Glottiana—a Catalogue of the Indigenous Plants on the banks of the river Clyde, and in the neighbourhood of the City of Glasgow. A New Edition of Sir William Dugdale’s History of Embanking and Draining with a continuation to the present time, is preparing for publication. eee 2) seal *,* Early Communications for this Department of our Journal will be thankfully received. ; 1813.} Meteorological Table. $19 ArticLe XVII. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. ee” eee ¢ - BaRoMETER. ‘THERMOMETER, 1813. Wiud.| Max. Min. | Med. |Max.] Min.| Med. |Evap,|Rain, Sept. 1|S — E}30-05}29-85]29-950 2\S W]}29:90|29°85|29'875 30°17 30°175 16/N W{30°29'30°17/30°230 The observations in each line of the table apply to a period of twenty-four hours, beginning at 9 A.M. on the day indicated in the first column, A dash devotes, that the result is included in the next following observation, 320 Meteorological Journaé. [Ocr. 1813. REMARKS. Ejighih Month.—19. Cirrus and Cirrostratus clouds: rather windy. 20. Cumulostratus: windy. Cirrus clouds, very red, at sun-set. 21. Windy. 22. Cloudy morning, small rain: showers and wind: rainbow about 6 p.m. the sky richly coloured, and the clouds evaporating. 24. Cumulus during the day: Cirrus at sun-set: the twilight brilliant and coloured, with traces of Cirrocumulus and of Stratus. 25. Overcast, with Cumulostratus: twilight opake and coloured. 26. Windy, a.m. Cumulostratus clouds, the remains of which, at sun-set, glowed with a succession of crimson and purple tints, on a full orange ground. 27. Windy, a.m.: a little rain. 28. Over- cast: much wind, and at night rain, 29. Cumulostratus clouds chiefly: a shower or two: the twilight luminous, but opake, and surmounted by a blush of red, considerably elevated. 30. a.m. Cloudy. Ninth Month.—1. (At Stratford.) Slight showers in the evening. 2. Very cloudy morning. 5. Heavy rain, after 6 p.m. Lunar halo. 6. Rainy morning: high wind. 7. Still much wind: showery. 9. Very fine moonlight night. 12. Abundance of Cirrocumulus, gradually lowering, and ar- ranged in close lines from S$. E. to NW. 14. A shower in the evening. 16, About five p.m. a solar halo, of short con- tinuance: the sky at sun-set was (as usual of late) much co- loured: there was a considerable diffused redness above the twilight, and some portions of the clouds, seen against this, varied from the usual indigo colour to a pale olive green: an indistinct appearance of Nimbus in the K. horizon, RESULTS. Prevailing winds, Northerly, with an interruption of some days continuance from the southward, producing for the time a considerable depression of the barometer, together with ele- vation of the mean temperature and rain. 7 Barometer: .greatest height........ .. 30.29 inches; Beast 4.83 20 BL HORN 29°25 inches; Mean of the period...... 30°609 inches. Thermometer: greatest height........ 75° . Piast’ i}. .')./ : mabe pad Mean of the period ... .58°44° Evaporation, 2°63 inches. Rain, 1°23 inches. *,% The observations from the 30th of the eighth month to the close of the period are chiefly those of my friend Jolin Gibson, at the Laboratery, Stratford, Torrenuam, Ninth Month, 18, 1813. L. HOWARD. a « ANNALS oF PHILOSOPHY. NOVEMBER, 1813. Articte I, Biographical Account of Sir Isaac Newton. (Continued from p. 247.) AT the University of Cambridge, he spent the greatest part of his time in his closet; and when he was tired with the severer studies of philosophy, his relief and amusement was going to some other study, as history, chronology, divinity, chemistry; all of which he examined with the greatest attention, as appears by the many papers which he left behind him on those subjects. After his coming to London, all the time that he had to spare from his business, and from the civilities of life, in which he was scrupulously exact and complaisant, was employed in the same way: he was hardly ever alone without a pen in his hand, and a book before him; and in all the studies which he undertook, he had a perseverance and patience equal to his sagacity and invention. His niece, afterwards married to Mr. Conduitt, who succeeded him as Master of the Mint, lived with him about twenty years, during bis residence in London. He always lived in a very handsome, generous manner, though with- out ostentation or vanity ; always hospitable, and, upon proper occasions, he gave splendid entertainments. He was generous and charitable without bounds; and he used to say, that they who gave away nothing till they died never gave. ‘Ihis, perhaps, was one reason why he never made a will. Scarcely any man of his cireumstances ever gave away so much, during his own life time, in alms, in encouraging ingenuity and learning, and to his Vor, II, Ne V. a 522 Biographical Account of [Nov. Co relations: nor, upon all occasions, showed a greater contempt of his own money, or a more scrupulous frugality of that which belonged to the public, or to any society he was entrusted for. He refused pensions and additional employments that were offered him, he was highly honoured and respected in all reigns, and under all administrations, even by those whom he opposed ; for in every situation he showed an inflexible attachment to the cause of liberty, and to the constitution of Great Britain. George the Second, and Queen Caroline, showed him particular marks of their favour and esteem, and often conversed with him for hours together. Queen Caroline in particular, who was so great a patroness of learned men, used to take delight in his company, and was accustomed to congratulate herself that she lived in the same country, and at the same time, with so illus- trious a person. Notwithstanding the extraordinary honours that were paid him, he had so humble an opinion of himself, that he had no relish for the applause which he received. He was so little vain and desirous of glory from any of his works, that he would have let others run away with the glory of those inventions which have done so much honour to human nature, if his friends and coun- trymen had not been more jealous than he was of his own glory, and the honour of his country. He was exceedingly courteous and affable, even to the lowest, and never despised any man fort want of capacity; but always expressed freely his resentment against any immorality or impiety. He not only showed a great and constant regard to religion in general, as well by an exem- plary life as in all his writings, but was also a firm believer of revealed religion ; as appears by the many papers which he left behind him on the subject.* But his notion of the Christian Religion was not founded on a narrow bottom, nor his charity and morality so scanty, as to show a coldness to those who thought otherwise than he did in matters indifferent ; much less to admit of persecution, of which he always expressed the strongest abhorrence and detestation. . He had such a mildness * T have heard it affirmed by some of the self-constitated philosophers of the present day, that Sir [saac Newton believed the Christian Religion merely becauce he was born ina Christian country; that he never examined it; and that he left behind him a eart-load of papers on religious subjects, which Dr, Horsley exaiiued, and declared unfit for publication. These Gentlemen do not perceive that their assertions are inconsistent with each other. Nobody who has ever read a page of Newtou’s works would believe thathe could write a cart-load of papers on a subject which he never examined. Newton's reli- gious opinions were not orthodox; for example, be did not believe in the Trinity This gives us the reason why Horsley, the champion of the Trinity, found Newton’s papers unfit for publication, But it is much to be regretted Uiat they haye never seco the light, 1813.] Sir isaac Newton 328 of temper, that a melancholy story would often draw tears from him, and he was exceedingly shocked: at any act of cruelty to man or beast; mercy to both being the topic that he loved to dwell upon. An innate modesty and simplicity showed itself in all his actions and expressions. His whole life was one continued series of labour, patience, charity, generosity, temperance, piety, goodness, and all other virtues, without a mixture of any known vice whatsoever. He was blessed with a very happy and vigorous constitution : he was of a middle stature, and rather plump in his latter years : he had a very lively and piercing eye, a comely and gracious aspect, and a fine head of hair, as white as silver, without any baldness. To the time of his last illness he had the bloom and colour of a young man. He never wore spectacles, nor lost more than one tooth till the day of his death. About five years before his death, he was troubled with an incontinence of urine, and sometimes with a stillicidium ; both of which continued to afflict him, more or less, according to the motion to which he was exposed. On this account he sold his chariot, and went always in a chair; and he gave up dining abroad, or with much company at home. He ate little flesh, and lived chiefly upon broth, vegetables, and fruit, of which he always ate heartily. In August, 1724, ho voided, without any pain, a stone, about the size of a pea, ‘which came away in two pieces; one some days after the other. In January, 1725, he had a violent cough’‘and inflammation of the lungs, upon which he was persuaded with considerable difficulty to take a house in Kensington, where he had, in his 84th year, a fit of the gout, for the second time, having had a slight attack of it some years before. This fit left him in better health than he had enjoyed for several years. In the winter of 1725, he wanted to resign his situation of Master of the Mint to his nephew, Mr. Conduitt: that Gentleman’ would not permit his resignation, but offered to conduct the whole business in his place; and, for about a year before his death, Sir Isaac hardly ever went to the Mint, trusting entirely to the management of his nephew. On Tuesday, the last day of February, 1727, he went to town, in order to attend a meeting of the Royal Society. Next day Mr. Conduitt paid him a visit, and found him apparently in better health than he had enjoyed for several years. Sir Isaac was sensible of it himself, and told his Mephew, smiling, that he had slept the Sunday before from eleven at night till eight in the morning, without waking. But his fatigue in attending the Society, and in making and receiving visits, brought his old complaint violently upon him, Dr. Mead and Mr. Cheselden were carried out to Kensington to see him, by Mr, Conduitt. x 2 824 Biographical Account of [Noy. They immediately said, that his disease was the stone in the bladder; and gave no hopes of his recovery. The stone was probably removed from the place where it lay quiet, by the great motion and fatigue of his last journey to London. From this time he had violent fits of pain, with scarcely any intermis- sion; and though the drops of sweat ran down his face with “anguish, he never complained, nor cried out, nor showed the least.sign of peevishness or impatience: and, during the short intervals from that violent torture, would smile and talk with his usual cheerfulness. On Wednesday, the 15th March, he was somewhat better, and fallacious hopes were entertained of his recovery. On Saturday, the 18th March, he read the news- papers, and held a pretty long conversation with Dr. Mead, and had all his senses perfect. But that evening, at six, and all Sunday, he was insensible, and died on Monday, between one and two o’clock in the morning. Thus, he reached the age of eighty-four years and a few months, and retained all his senses and faculties to the end of his life, strong, vigorous, and lively; and he continued writing and studying many hours every day till the period of his last illness. He died worth 32,000/. of per- sonal estate ; which was divided between his four nephews and nieces of half blood. The land which he had of his father and mother descended to his heir of the whole blood, John Newton, whose great grandfather was Sir Isaac’s uncle. A little before his death he gave away an estate, which he had in Berkshire, to the sons and daughters of Mrs. Conduitt’s brother; and an estate at Kensington to Mrs. Conduitt’s daughter. From this lady the present Earl of Portsmouth is descended. Sir Isaac Newton was buried with great magnificence, at the public expense. On the 28th of March, he lay in state in the Jerusalem Chamber, and was buried from thence in Westminster Abbey, near the entry into the choir. The spot is one of the most conspicuous in the Abbey, and had been previously refused to different Noblemen, who had applied for it. The pall was supported by the Lord High Chancellor, the Dukes of Mon- trose and Roxborough, and the Earls of Pembroke, Sussex, and Macclesfield, being Fellows of the Royal Society. The Hon. Sir Michael Newton, Knight of the Bath, was chief mourner, and was followed by some other relations, and some eminent persons intimately acquainted with Sir Isaac. The office was performed by the Bishop of Rochester, attended by the Prebend . and Choir. A magnificent monument was erected to his me- mory, with the-following inscription :— 1813.) Sir Isaac Newton. $25 Boo... ISAACUS NEWTON, EQUES AURATUS, QUI ANIMI VI PROPE DIVINA PLANETARUM MOTUS, FIGURAS, COMETARUM SEMITAS OCEANIQUE £STUS, SUA MATHESI FACEM PR#FERENTE, PRIMUS DEMONSTRAVIT., RADIORUM LUCIS DISSIMILITUDINES, COLORUMQUE INDE NASCENTIUM PROPRIETATES, QUAS NEMO ANTEA VEL SUSPICATUS ERAT, PERVESTIGAVIT. NATURE, ANTIQUITATIS, S. SCRIPTURZ, SEDULUS, SAGAX, FIDUS INTERPRES, DFI OPT. MAX. MAJESTATEM PHILOSOPHIA ASSERUIT, EVANGELII SIMPLICITATEM MORIBUS EXPRESSIT. SIBI GRATULENTUR MORTALES, TALE TANTUMQUE EXTITISSE HUMANI GENERIS DECUS. NATUS XXV. DECEMB. MDCXLII. OBIIT XX. MART. - MDCCXXVL. The mathematical discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton were so numerous and so important, that it is no easy task to give an idea of them. As his geometrical studies were conducted, in a great measure, without a master; and as the first books to which he paid particular attention were the Geometry of Descartes, and the Arithmetic of Infinites of Dr. Wallis, he never possessed any intimate acquaintance with the methods of the ancient mathematicians ; a circumstance which, as we are informed by Dr. Pemberton, he afterwards regretted; but which, probably, contributed to render his invention so fertile and so happy. He made a great many discoveries while perusing the two works above-mentioned; and we have complete evidence that he was in possession of all his inventions before the age of 24. A complete collection of his works was published in 1779, by Dr. Horsley, in five quarto volumes, accompanied by a commentary, which, however, is any thing but complete. It is to be regretted that the mathematical world is yet destitute of a good commen- tary on the works of this consummate mathematician. Some of his books, indeed, have been fully commented on. ‘Thus the Jesuits’ copy of the Principia, if it has any fault, abounds too much with notes; and Stirling’s Commentary on Newton’s Treatise respecting Lines of the Third Order, is exccllent. We have also a very elaborate Commentary on his Universal Arith- metic ; and perhaps his Optics stands in need of no other com- mentary than the few optical discoveries which have been made since he wrote, and which enable us to rectify one or two of his opinions on that difficult subject. Newton communicated many of his original discoveries to Dr. Barrow, at that time Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge ; 326 Biographical Account of — . [Neov.. and by him they were made known to various other British mathematicians. He likewise entered into a correspondence with Collins and Oldenburg, and by them was induced to write several long letters to Mr. Leibnitz, in which he gave an histo- rical detail of the way that he was led to some of his most con- siderable discoveries. All these letters were afterwards published in the Commercium Epistolicum. ‘The correspondence also between James Gregory and Collins, published in the same book, throws considerable light upon the order and time of Newton’s mathematical discoveries. One of his first discoveries strack him while perusing Wallis’s Arithmetic of Infinites, about the year 1663. Wallis had shown the method of finding the quadrature of all curves, the ordinates of which are expressed by (1 — «?)™, a being the abscissa, supposing m a whole number, either positive, or negative, or zero; and that when m was respectively 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., the areas corresponding to the abscissa x were respectively x; 2 — 12°; x — 22° + 12°3 x — 323 + 3x° — 1x7; &c.; and he showed, that if a number could be interpolated between a and « — 1«° in the second series, corresponding to the interpolation of + in the first series between 0 and ‘1, that this number would represent the quadra- ture of the circle. But Wallis could not succeed in making this interpolation ; it was left for one of the first steps of Newton, in his mathematical career. Newton arranged the terms of the second series given above, under each other in order, and exa- mined them.as follows :— ) 2 bk eas Eo 2B Lr — 373 Cid A ee Ey f - ort ts Fae Ty C] — 4 PS £6inp? 17S x ax” + $x 44! + pe On considering this table, Newton observed, that the first terms are all «; that the signs are alternately positive and negative ; that the powers of x increase by the odd numbers; that the co- efficient of the first term is 1; that the co-efficient of all the other terms are fractions; that the denominators of these fractions are always the indices of a, in the respective terms; that the numerators in the second terms are the ordinary numbers; in the third terms, the triangular num- bers : in the fourth terms, the pyramidal numbers; &e. These observations made him master of the laws that regulated the whole of the series. Hence he concluded, that having to develope in general (1 — a)", the series of numerators for the respective fractions in the different terms must be 13; m; m.m—1liom.m-1.m—2 : “7.27 3 — 778,377 » &e., for these are the expressions 1813.] | Sir Isaac Newton. $27 which represent the natural, triangular, and pyramidal numbers. Now this will hold good whether m be a whole number ora fraction. In the case which occasioned the investigation, namely, (l—2)i; m=, and, consequently, the numerators deduced from the preceding formulas are J, 4, % vo» Tow &e. These, multiplied into the terms of the series, namely, «© — x x 27 a9 : 4 5 TE Beate ie re &e., give us the following series: 2 — 3 = - 2° - ye" _ ts &e., a series which ob- viously represents the area of the circular segment, correspond- ing to the abscissa x. This investigation led him likewise to the discovery of the binomial theorem, so celebrated in algebra, and of so much importance in an infinite number of investiga- tions. Newton had already made these discoveries, and many others, when the Logarithmotechnia of Mercator was published ; which contains only a particular case of the theory just explained. But, from an excess of modesty and of diflidence, he made no attempt to publish his discoveries, expressing his conviction that mathe- maticians would discover them all before he was of an.age suffi- ciently mature to appear, with propriety, before the mathema- tical world. But Dr. Barrow having contracted an acquaintance with him soon after, speedily understood his value, and exhorted him not to conceal so many treasures from men of science: he even prevailed upon him to allow him to transmit to some of his friends in London a paper containing a summary view of some of his discoveries. ‘This paper was afterwards published under the title of Analysis per Equationes Numero Terminorum Infi- nitas. Besides the method of extracting the roots of all equations, and of reducing fractional and irrational expressions into infinite series, it contains the application of all these discoveries to tne quadrature, and the rectification of curves; together with diffe- rent series for the circle and hyperbola. He does not confine himself to geometrical curves, but gives some examples of the quadrature of mechanical curves. he speaks of a method of tangents, of which he was in possession, in which he was not stopped by surd quantities, and which applied equally. well to mechanical and geometrical curves. Finally, we find in this extraordinary paper the method of fluctions and of fluents, explained and demonstrated with sufficient clearness ; from which it follows, irresistibly, that before that period he was in possession of that admirable calculus: for the editors of this paper, which was published in the Commercium Epistolicum, attest that it was faithfully taken from the copy which Collins had transcribed, from the manuscript sent by Barrow. At the request of Dr, Barrow, he drew up a full account of this metho, 328 On the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas [Nov. which was only described in the first tract with great concisencss, This new work he entitled Methedus Fluxionum, et Serierum Infinitarum. This last hook he meant to publish at the end of an English Translation of the Algebra of Kinckuysens, which he had enriched with notes. But, in consequence of the dis- agreeable disputes into which he had been dragged, by his dis- coveries respecting the different refrangibility of the rays of light, he altered his intention, and the treatise, to the great injury of mathematics, and ultimately, likewise, to the diminu- tion of his own peace, lay unpublished till after his death. About the time that this paper of Newton’s was sent to London, or about the year 1668, James Gregory published his Exerceta- tiones, a book which contained several important facts connected with the discoveries which Newton had made. In particular there is a new demonstration of Mereator’s Series for the Hy- perbola. Collins communicated Newton’s discoveries to various mathematicians, and among others to Gregory. He first sent him Newton’s Series for the Circle, concerning the accuracy of which Gregory at first had his doubts; but he soon discovered his mistake, and by pondering over the subject for about a year, there appears sufficient evidence from his letters in the Commer- cium Epistolicum, that he divined Newton’s method, and con- sequently had the merit of discovering the fluctionary calculus at least in part. But he declined publishing any thing on the subject, as he states in one of his letters, that he might not interfere with the rights of the original inventor, (To be continued.) Articie ITI, Observations on the Quantity of Carlonic Acid Gas emitied from the Lungs during Respiration, at different Times, and under different Circumstances. By Wm. Prout, M.D. Of the College of Physicians, &e. (With two Plates.) Ir was discovered by some of the earliest experimentalists on respiration, that the quantity of oxygen gas consumed, and of carbonic acid gas formed, during that act, varied very consider- ably in the same individual, under different states of the system, * The circumstance,” says Dr. Bostock, ‘* was first noticed by Dr. Crauford, and afterwards more fully investigated by M. Jurine, of Geneva, and M. Lavoisier, that the respiration of the same animal in different states of the system, and under the 5 4 R 5 q ; i ‘ i Ri t ’ 1813.] emitted from the Lungs during Respiration. 329 operation of different external circumstances, affects the air in very different degrees.—The circumstances which have been discovered to influence the chemical effects of respiration are, the temperature of the air respired, the degree of muscular exertion, the state of the digestive organs, and the condition of the system as affected by fever.” Dr. B. continues: ‘ It is highly probable that other circumstances will be discovered by multiplying and varying our experiments upon the living body,” and informs us, that ‘ these different atlections of respiration will undergo a farther examination in the third part of his essay.”* Now this, I believe, has never been published; whether, there- fore, he, or any other person, has anticipitated me in what | am about to ofier, L am unable to determine: if so, my experi- ments will at least have the effect of corroborating theirs; and if not, their interesting results may possibly induce some one to. repeat them, and thus either confirm their accuracy, or point out their errors. Mr. Brande, also, in a paper on respiration, after having noticed the above circumstances in a general way, says, “ the proportion, however, (of carbonic acid) varies in the same indi- vidual during the 24 hours, for I have found the quantity of carbonic acid gas emitted irom my own lungs to be rather less in the morning than towards the evening ; but this also varies in different people.’+ lt may also be mentioned, that Messrs. Allan aud Pepys, in their excellent paper on this function, found the quantity formed by the same animal during sleep to be dess than when waking. f Such thea, with perhaps a few other general facts of a similar kind, constituted the whole of our. knowledge (or rather of mine) respecting this most important part of the phenomena of respiration, and this, together with some other reasons which will be shortly known to the public, induced me to think of undertaking a set of experiments with the hope of throwing some light upon the subject, and, if possible, to find out the laws which it obeyed. With this view, having contrived a simple apparatus, by means of which 1 could easily, and with considerable accuracy, analyze the respired air, I put myself upon a sort of regimen, which consisted in. keeping myself as nearly as possible in the same state in every respect, and thus commenced the arduous task. ‘To this plav I adhered as nearly as circumstances would permit for upwards of three weeks, making the experiments every hour, and sometimes oftener, during the day, and occasionally during the night also. Now the results obtained from this great mass of evidence, amounting * Essay on Respiration, p. 78. + Nich, Journal, vol. xi, t Phil, Trans, 1809, Nich, Jour, vol, xxv, 330 - On the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas (Nov. to many hundreds of experiments, were generally consistent, and may be comprised under the two following laws :— é Law 1.—The quantity cf oxygen gas consumed, and conse- quently of carbonic acid gas formed, during respiration, is not uniformly the same during the 24 hours, but is always greater at one and the same part of the day than at any other, that is to say, its maximum occurs between 10 a.m. and 2 p. m., or generally between 11 a.m, and 1 p.m.; and its minimum com- mences about 8° 30’ p.m., and continues nearly uniform till about 3" 30’ a.m. Law ii.—Whenever the quantity of oxygen gas consumed, and consequently of carbonic acid gas formed, has been by any cause increased or raised above the natural standard of the period, it is subsequently as much decreased or depressed below that standard, and vice versa. Illustration of Law 1.—This law is subject to some remark- able variations, though I have never met with an exception to it. In all my experiments there has been constantly a greater quan- tity of carbonic acid gas given off in the middle of the day than at any other period of it. From what Mr. Brande advanced in the paper above alluded to, I was indeed prepared to meet with the reverse of this; and for some time felt inclined to suspect the accuracy of my experiments, till, by varying them in almost every possible manner, and with the same results, I could no longer resist their united evidence. Generally, the degree and order of these variations are the following. The quantity of carbonic acid gas, which has remained stationary during the night at 3°30 per cent.,* its minimum, about 3" 30’ a. m.,+ suddenly begins to increase, at first slowly, and afterwards more rapidly, till about noon, when it is usually as high as 4°10 per cent., or its maximum; from this point, however, it almost immediately begins to sink, at ‘first rather quickly, and then more slowly, till about 8" 30’ p.m.,+ by which time it generally arrives again at its minimum, 3°30 per cent., when it remains stationary, as before observed, till the morning. Hence the quantity given off in the middle of the day, when it is at its maximum, exceeds that Ee off in the night, when it is at its minimum, by about + of the whole. The mean quantity given off in the 24 hours is 3°45 per cent. (See Table 1.) * By this is meant that for every 100 cubic inches of air inspired, 3°30 cubic inches of oxygen gas are consumed, and consequently of carbonic acid gas formed. The same is to be understood of all the subsequent numbers, + That is, at the beginning and end of twilight, Many circumsiances have occurred to induce me to believe that the presence and absence of the sun alone regalate these variations. Future observations, however, must decide this curious question, 1813.] emitted from the Lungs during Respiration. 331 Having spoken of the law as it obtains generally, we come now to consider its variations: these may be classed under the two following heads :— 1. Variations in the quantity of carbonic acid gas, as given off by the same individual on different days. 2. Variations in its quantity, as given off by different indivi- duals. The first of these variations I have observed in a greater or less degree, several times ; indeed, no two days are exactly alike. But by far the most remarkable day that has come under my observation was the 22d of August, the maxissum of which, exactly at noon, was as high as 4°90 per cent., and the mini- mum, at 8" 20’ p.m., as high as 4°15 percent. I had been up all the preceding night, for the first time; and hence was inclined, though contrary to my judgment, to attribute it to that circumstance; but on this being repeated, no such event fol- lowed, as [ expected. What is remarkable, it had evidently begun to rise on the evening of the 21st; for at 9" 30’ p.m. of that day, I found the quantity as high as 3°50 per cent., at least 0-2 per cent. higher than the usual minimum. From this point it continued to increase gradually till day-break, or a little hefore 3 a. m., when it suddenly rose up to 3°90 per cent. At 9" 50’ a.m. it was 4:00 per cent. At 10" 25’ a.m. 4°40 per cent., where it continued till after 11 a. m., when it suddenly rose up to 4:90 per cent., as before mentioned. From this point, how- ever, it sunk rapidly ; so that at 12" 30’ p. m. it was only 4°30 per cent., and afterwards, at 2" 30’ p.m., as low as 3-90 per cent., from whence it rose, apparently gradually, to 4°15 per cent., where, as before stated, it was at 8° 20’ p.m. When this remarkable period ended I do not know; but the next day it was very litte, if at all, above the usual standard. It is proper to observe, that during this period 1 was not aware of the least difference whatever in my health, or any other circumstance that could enable me to account for it. 1 fancied my respiration was more free, and that I felt lighter than usual ; and this might be the case; but these were so trifling that 1 am confident they would have escaped my notice bad it not been particularly directed to the subject. The barometer varied from 29°80 to 29°70 during the day, which was rather below* the mean .of the preceding and subsequent periods. The mean of the ther- mometer’s range was 61. The hygrometer made considerable advances during the day towards damp: the air was calm, and showers occasionally fell composed of very large drops, as occurs in thunder weather: in the evening there was a good deal of rain. 4 have reason to believe, therefore, that the atmosphere * Generally speaking, I think I have found the quantity increase during the siuking of the barpmeter, 332 On the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas [Nov. was in an highly electrical state. What is singular, a friend who spent the evening with me, and who at my desire made the experiment about 10 p.m., was found to emit about 4°90 per cent., whereas since that time we have once or twice repeated the experiment at about the same hour, and found it only 4°10 or 4:20 per cent., which appears to be his usual minimum. Hence it would seem that the circumstance was not peculiar to myself. Two days after this remarkable increase, there occurred a no less remarkable decrease, or depression below the usual standard. The maximum took place earlier than ever I had seen it, that is, at 105 30’ a. m., and was also less, amounting only to 3°70 per cent. The minimum also took place earlier, and was greater than usual, * that is, at 7" 45’ p. m., it was 3°40 per cent, where it continued the whole evening. During this period the baro- meter was about 30°20, the thermometer 60, and, as in the former instance, 1 was not aware of any circumstance whatever to which I could refer it. The following day was also generally below the standard, though not in the same remarkable degree. In the annexed diagram I have drawn these extremes of variation along with the mean, in order that they might be rendered more conspicuous by the contrast. See Plate XII.: where the upper line represents the greatest deviation above the mean observed 5 the lower line, the least deviation. Besides these, there are some minor variations, which may be here mentioned. One of them is a slight depression occasionally between 6 and 8 a. m., which I have attributed to a less active state of the system, on account of abstinence.t This is very trifling, amounting only to 0-2 or 0°3 per cent., and sometimes is not at all perceptible. Another is, an extraordinary diminu- tion of short continuance, immediately after the maximum, sometimes even below the usual minimum itself. This I have observed only when the maximum has been greater, and more abrupt in its ascent, than usual. It may, I presume, be accounted for on a principle of the second law to be hereafter mentioned. One example of this variation we have in the extraordinary instance of great increase above described. When the increase has been gradual, the decrease has been constantly the same. 2dly. ‘The quantity of oxygen gas consumed, and conse- quently of carbonic acid gas fermed, in a given time, is cer- tainly very different in different individuals. Future investiga- tions, however, must decide this important question more * Thave generally found that when the maximum has been less than usual, the minimum has been greater in proportion: i, e, at least equal to the usual standard of 3°30 per cent., and sometimes above it, I have never seen the minimum permanently lower than 3°30 per cent. + Perhaps, however, it may be accounted for on another principle, See Illustration of Law II, —————”. oe - MOWOGENT SULINp SOUNT Ip UWOAL” PINN SDL PREF 2NUOGID.) 2Yp UO MOLT, & . =) a Ss & CUO LMCMES Hii A iL De PLT dl Het Z aE ee a p++ +34 | | a a ae (ita Emery SESS" = I Sa aa a 2 Es Pe Sonim SSS SF | [ ay Sa ee eer sem aes ee a, SSS Es Re a eee ee ‘TIX IOUT CK Wad <.. ~~ =e 53 Zee Se ee eee ee ee ee < N Feemee Oep Ue 1813.] emitted from the Lungs during Respiration. 333 accurately than it can be done at present. 1 have collected all the evidence on this subject at present in my power; the results are certainly very discordant, and no doubt in some instances are to be attributed to errors. Most of the experiments were pro- bably made, also, when the quantity was at its maximum ; and this may account in part for the largeness of their results. This was undoubtedly the case with those of Messrs. Allan and Pepys, who inform us that all theirs were made “ between breakfast and dinner.” Cub. Inch. M. Jurine,* of Geneva, “ imagined” that for every 100 cubic inches of atmospheric air re- spired there were given off, of carbonic acid. 10 Goodwin f estimated the quantity at........ lO or il Menzies,{ from experiments made with con- siderable aGcimAeGsiahaisiccaien = J. eas 5 Or 5°) Lavoisier and Seguin appear to have made it much less, especially in their later experi- ments. From the data in my possession I am unable to ascertain the precise proportion. Mr. Murray § found it vary from ..........6°2 to 6°5 Bue Davy | ‘from s,s ois ine vase» SO tO AS Messrs. Allan and Pepys** from 3°50 te 9°50 per cent., according as the first or last pro- ducts of an expiration were tried. They estimated the mean at about ..........6. 8 Myself, from 4°10 maximum to 3:30 mini- mum. Mean of the 24 hours about...... 3°45 A friend, from some partial experiments made in my presence, appears to emit, upon an average during the 24 hours, about....... 4°6 Of these my own is by far the least, so much so, that I should still almost suspect the accuracy of my experiments, had I not found the quantity emitted by my friend, under precisely the same circumstances, so much larger than by myself. Now we are both nearly of the same age, that is, about 30: of the two, he is rather my junior. With respect to habits, &c. I believe we are both equally regular, and enjoy equally good health. How, then, is this idiosyncrasy to be accounted for ? * Ann, de Chim. tom. v. 261, &c. Bostock on Respiration, p. 85. + Connection of Life with Respiration, p. 51. 1 Menzies on Respiration, p. 50. Johnson’s Animal Chemistry, vol, iii. - 127 § System of Chemistry, vol, v. p. 493. Ed. 3. || Researches, p. 431, &c. Bostock on Respiration, p. 84. Jobnson’s Animal Chemistry, vol. iii. p. 177. ** Phil, Trans, 1808, Part 11, Phil, Mag. vo). xxxii, p. 242, &c. 334 On the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas [Nov. TABLE I. Showing the Mean Quantity of Oxygen Gas consumed, and of Carbonic Acid Gus formed, at every Hour of the Day and Night, as deduced from the 14th, 16th, and 25th of August, the Three most equal Days. Mean of the Barometer during this Period, 30°02 ; of the Thermometer, 62. Quan. of| Quan. of, Hour. jc. a. per : Hour. jc. a. per cent. cent, A, M. 6} 3:43 P..M. 6} 3:40 7) 3:48 ik Se 8) 3°56 8| 3:32 9, 3°66 ; ho 9} 3:30 10; 3:78 : »,, 10) 3-30 11}- 3°92 Abas aed : 1}; 3:30 12} 4:10 12} 3°30 1} 3:98 lj. 3°30 2} 3°80 2} 3:30 3) 3°65 a) Sse 4) 3°54 ]- sais -5) 3°46 5] 3:38 Mean} 3°45 * TABLE IL. Showing the Maximum and Minimum for Twelve Days. Mininom. | idk Maxum. | Bey Quan. of} | || \Quan. of} ,; _ |of 24 1813. | Tiour, (c, a, per) Bar, 5 Hour. |c.a, per|2| Bar. 3 cent, iy I= | sir AY | = . CE Eee eee Aug, 12} 1b —']° 4:10 75'50-08 66! 8» 15’ | 3:30 |75/30-05 al 3-54 311-30) 3°85 {75 30°01/65; 9 — 3°30 |70/30°05 65| 3°45 14} 1 — | 4:10 (68/29-9663| 8 45 3°30 |70 29°92/63] 3-48 16/12 30 | 4°10: |63/299063,8 55 | 3:30 |70}29-86)63) 3-48 Tjl2 25 | 4°20 {70/29°8963 8 45 | 3°30 68)29°57/64 350 1811 40} 4-20 /70/29-9563| 8 40 } 3°35 |68,29-37/64)] 3-52 22/12 — j; 4-90 72|29°70 60 8 20 4:15 |74/29-83)60) 4-19 23] 1 320 | 4:15 |66,30-00.60|- — | —— |—~)—|-|—— 2210 25) 3°70 |74150°20.58) 7 45 3:40 |70/30°23)60| 3°32 25/11 25} 4°10 |63/30-2059 9 — J} 3-40 |68/30-20/60) 3-42 26:1 25} 375° |70)30:2060, 8 — 3°30 |68)30-18)60) 3°40 s 40 | 4:60 P33 53) 9. 30 3°30° |72,30°18}60) —— Mean |12 2j. 4.10 |70'30-0262] 8 38 | 3:40 |70|30-02162) 3-53 #* This mean, as well as those iw the following table, are obtained by first finding the mean of the quantity given out during the day, and adding it to the mean of that given out during the night, and then dividing the sum by 2, 1813.] emitted from the Lungs during Respiration. 335 Illustrations of Law W1.—The circumstances which imme- diately increase the quantity of carbonic acid appear to be com- paratively few, while those which decrease it are very numerous. The effects of the former class, also, are very inconsiderable and transient ; while those of the latter, on the contrary, are much greater and more permanent. The following are the chief circumstances which I have noticed to act in one or other of these ways ; and, in conformity to the law, it will be found, by recurring to the list of experi- ments at the end of this part of the essay, that their action having ceased the standard was sooner or later resumed. . Exercise.—The effects of this are very various, according to its nature and degree, and according also to the time of its dura- tion. Moderate exercise, as walking, seems always at first to increase its quantity; but after having been continued for a cer- tain time, it ceases to produce this efieet; and if prolonged so as to induce fatigue, the quantity is diminished. On the con- trary, violent exercise seems to lessen its quantity even from the first ; or if it does increase it, the effects are very trifling and evanescent. After violent exercise the quantity is always ver much lessened. ‘To this head also may perhaps be referred the act of speaking. 1 have found after a long silence the eftects of speaking to be, to produce a slight increase, which, however, was only momentary, though the speaking was still continued, The exhilarating passions, also, to which perhaps the above might be referred in some degree, seem to produce a similar effect. See Exper. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Food.—No doubt different kinds of food have very different effects. As my object, however, at present, has been chiefly to discover general laws, I have not paid so much attention to this part of the subject as it demands, and which I intend to do. During the period in which these experiments were making, as before observed, | kept myselfas regular as possible, with.respect to food, &c., and only partook of the most simple, in order that it might not interfere with their results. The effects observed from food, therefore, have not been remarkable, and apparently little move than to keep up the quantity to the standard, and sometimes to raise it a little above, certainly never to depress it below, unless | took some fermented liquor, and then it was always depressed, as will be seen immediately. Long abstinence and fatigue certainly lessen the quantity, the former, however, when not in the extreme, hardly so much as might be expected. Thus I have found the quantity very little depressed, after fasting 21 hours, below the usual standard, and what it probably would have been had I taken my breakfast as usual. See Exper. G and 7. Alcohol, and all liquors containing it, which ! have tried, have been found to have the remarkable property of diminishing 336 On the Quantity of Carlonic Acid Gas [MoW¥. the quantity much more than any thing else that has been made the subject of experiment. This was so unexpected on my part that I was prepared to meet with the reverse. I was first led, however, to suspect the accuracy of my opinion by observing that when I took /orter with my dinner the quantity was always much reduced below the standard, when the reverse was the case when f only took water. ‘This induced me to niake some expe- riments on the subject; and their results were such as fully to persuade me that alcohol, in every state, and in every quantity, uniformly lessens, in a greater or less degree, the quantity of carbonic acid gas elicited, according to the quantity and circum- stances under which it is éaken. When teken upon an empty stomach its effects are most remarkable: in this case they appear to take place, and the depression to be greatest, almost instanta- neously: after a short time, however, the powers of the consti- tution appear to rally, and the quantity rapidly increases; then it sinks again, and afterwards slowly rises to the standard. * Upon a full stomach, as after dinner, the effects of vinous liquors are more slow, but no less sure and remarkable ; I have even thought them more permanent ; but this might arise from my having taken a larger quantity than I chose to do upon an empty stomach. As long as their effects are perceptible, so long is the quantity of carbonic acid gas emitted below the standard. With me these effects go off with frequent yawnings, and with a sensation as if | had just awaken from sleep. Under these circumstances 1 have found the quantity generally much above the standard ; and hence it would seem that the system is then freeing itself of the retained carbon. Very similar to the effects of alcohol are those of tea when strong. I had suspected this from what I had noticed after breakfast ; and with the view of ascertaining the fact, prepared a strong infusion, three or four ounces of which I took cold when the quantity was at its maxi- mum : the result was a very considerable diminution, as will be seen by recurring to the experiment. This will probably account for its exhilarating and other effects.t See Exper. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. a Sleep.— Of course I have not had it in my power to ascertain the quantity of carbonic acid given off during sleep. I am, however, decidedly of the opinion of Messrs. Allan and Pepys, * Ihave generally observed this sort of oscillalion when the quantity has been suddenly and greatly raised or depressed from any cause, and I have been ready to account for it by supposing that the sudden and great exertions of the animal powers required to counteract. the effects of a poison, or other injurious cause operating, made them, as it were, overact themselves. + Lhave not tried opium, but have no doubt that its effects are precisely similar to those of alcohol. I hope soon, however, to investigate the effects not only of this, but of some other articles of the materia medica and alime>- taria, _ 1813.) emitted from the Lungs during Respiration. , 337 that it is low, perhaps somewhat lower than the usual minimum. An argument in favour of this opinion is, that immediately after waking, and during the act, as it were, of expergiscence, I have always found the quantity very considerable, even in some instances as high as the maximum. This, however, is only of short duration ; in half an hour the quantity, as before observed, is rather below the standard. The depressing passions of every kind, and in short whatever produces that peculiar sensation which induces yawning, sighing, or any other deep inspiration, * have evidently the effect of dimi- nishing the quantity, these appearing in fact but to be so many involuntary acts by whieh, as before observed, the system gets rid of its retained carbon. Anxiety and solicitude have a similar effect. One day ‘the quantity was rapidly approaching to its maximum when a friend came in, whom | was _ particularly anxious to show the fact: but the extraordinary solicitude I felt on the occasion entirely defeated my purpose, and the quantity was less than I had almost ever seen it. Had this occurred but once, I should not have noticed it ; but something of the kind has happened to me frequently. I mention it also to convince those who may be inclined to repeat my experiments, of the absolute necessity there is of keeping the body and mind in a state of the greatest possible uniformity. If this be not attended to the results will be discordant and unsatisfactory, as they were for the first day or two with me; so much so, indeed, that I was almost ready to give up the matter in despair, and to imagine that there was nothing like uniformity in it. By degrees, how~ ever, the laws which I have attempted to establish began to develope themselves ; and having discovered these, and more- over acquired the habit of respiring and conducting the experi- ments with uniformity, I obtained the results which are now laid before the public. Such, then, are the chief observations which have occurred to me in this investigation. The application of them to the establishment of the laws I have laid down are, I flatter myself, rendered so easy by the accompanying tables and experiments, that I deem it unnecessary to trouble my readers with it.+ * Thus we yawn when we are sleepy to counteract the effects of that approaching state of the system which favours the retention of carbon and induces sleep. We yawn and stretch ourselyes in the morning after waking to dispose of the carbon which had been retained duving that act. So also yawning when we are bungry, and sighing when we are in distress, may be considered as extraordinary acts, by which that carbon is expelle! which the diminished energy of the system in these states is unzble to throw off by common means, but which, at the saine time, its welfare demands. + It may be proper to observe, that “ the inspirations and expirations were somewhat deeper than natural, though not a great deal. The former were always made through the nose, and the latter into the bladder, till the stated number wus completed. The results obtained are evidently to be un- Vou, II, N° V, 4 $38 On the Quantity of Carbonie Acid Gas [Nov- Exper. I. Aug. 14, 1813.—Bar. 29:94, Ther. 63. Standard quant. of|Observed Hour. P. M jearb. acid} ditto. {Pulse. OBSERVATIONS. per cent . 5h —/ | 3°46*| 3:45 | 68 Before walk, 6 50 | 3°36 | 3°60 | 74} Aftera short ditto. 7 15 | 3:35 | 3:00 | 74 }2 Example of oscillation alluded to p. 331, § — 3°32 | 3°20 | 70 note. 8 45 {3°30 ' 3:30 ! 70] Return to standard. Exper. II. Aug. 18.—Bar. 29:9, Ther. 64. 4 55 | 3:50 | 3°50 | 68| Before walk. 6 55 3°42 | 3°60 | 74 After a short ditto. i 2 a a Me : Example of oscillation above-mentioned, 8 40 3°35 | 3°35 | 68 ' Return to standard. Exper. IIL. Aug. 17.—Bar. 29°89, Ther. 64. 55 | 3°35 | 3-40 | 70 | . Before walk. 45 | 3°30 | 3°30 | 68} Five minutes after a very short and slow ditto; 9 30 | 3:30 | 3-30 | 64 This shows that moderate exercise scarcely affects the quantity. aa Exper. IV. Aug. 19.—Bar. 30°17, Ther. 62. ; f Immediately after a very quick walk of & Seite hiele ls abet i= 5 hour: great heat, and profuse perspiration. 2 55 | 3°92 | 3:70 | 96 : = we ppd th ‘ Example of oscillation above-mentioned. 3 55. 1 3:50 | 3°50. | 712 derstood. as measures of the capability of the organs of respiration to form carbonic acid at any time, and not as measures of the guantity of it formed in a given time. The experiments of Messrs. Allan and Pepys show, that how frequently soever air is received into the lungs, it always returns charged with nearly the same quantity of carbonic acid. Hence during exercise, &c, when, the circulation is quickened, respiration is so also, and a greater quartity of carbonic acid is formed in a given time than when these functions are in their natural state, though the quantity formed at a single inspiration may be less, Were not the respiration quickened when the circulation is so, a great portion of the blood would pass through the lungs without undergoing that change, so essential to life, which there takes place.” * OF course most of the numbers in this column are only the result of esti- mation, They are introduced merely to show what the quantity would have been according te the general law, had not the experiments been made, 1813.] emitted from the Lungs during Respiration. 339 Exper. V: Sept. 1.—Bar. 29°9, Ther. 60. Standard quant. of Observed Hour. P. M.{carb. acid| ditto. |Pulse. OBSERVATIONS, per cent. 11h —’ | 4:10 | 4:10 | 78 | Before walk, x : : Immediately after rather a quick ditto of 1 ae AS | 4°00. 13-20, [142 ; hour; fatigue, ; Here, on account of the depression having 1 10 | 3:90 | 3:20 | 84 been induced more slowly, there was no escillation; but the quantity gradually 1. 40 | 3-80 | 3:35 | 76 rose up to the standard, 2 — | 3-72 | 3-35 | 76 Exper. VI. Aug. 18.—Bar. 29°95, Ther. 64, 15 3°98 | 3°85 | 68 Before dinner, 25 | 3°82 | 3°55 | 70 | Twenty minutes after ditto, with porter, 10 3°72 | 3°60 | 70 55 3°64 | 3°60 | 68 55 | 3°55 | 360 ' 68! Standard resumed, Exper. VII. Aug. 26.—Bar. 30°18, Ther. 61. we 09 00 00 ? ; Before dinner, No breakfast. Little food =, |G [B50 | 64 ; taken every hour. 3 25 | 3:50 | 3-60 | 72 A eeete oe after dinner. No porter, > a 4 30 | 345 | 3-70 | 68 This shows a slight increase after food, 5 25 | 340 | 3-40 | 64| Standard resumed, Exper. VIII. and IX. Aug. 27.—Bar. 30:13, Ther. 60. 11 40 | 4:00 | 4:00 | 70 | Before taking wine, 12 10 | 405 | 3:00 | 12 | Five minutes after taking about three ounces. se - Phd Aen us ‘ Example of oscillation, TL 25 | 3°86 |. 3°10 | 78 3 — | 3°66 | 3-00 | 84]. Twenty minutes after a walk and dinner, 3 30 | 3:60 | 3:10 | 78 3 55 | 3°56 | 3°00 | 74} Ten minutes after taking at once 4 pint wine, * 4 5 | 354 | 3:00 | 78 | Slight effects of ditto perceptible. Very strong effects of ditto, as vertigo, &c. 4 3 | 350 | 2-70 | 78 This is the lowest point to which Lhave ever seen the quantity reduced, 5 — | 3-46 | 2:90 | 76 Here the effects were gone off. Frequent 8 6 | 332 | 3:60 | 76 yawnings, and a sensation of having been just awoke from a deep sleep, 8 45 | 3:30 | 350 | 76 9 30 | 3-30 | 3-30 | 72 Standard resumed 55 45’ after having taken the wine, * It is to be observed, that although I do not absolutely refrain from fer. mented liquors, yet that the quantity Lam in the habit of taking is very small, y 2 340 On the Quantity f Carbonic Acid Gas [Nov. Exper. X. Aug. 31.—Bar. 30°15, Ther. €0. Standard quant. off/Observed Hour. P. M.jcarb. acid} ditto. [{Pulse- OBSERVATIONS, per cent, 12h —’ } 3°90°| 3:90 | 78 12. 30 | 3:87 | 3°60 | 74) Five min, after taking Jiss of diluted alcohoi. 12 50 | 3:82 | 3:45 | 78 Five min, after taking Jii more ditto. 1 20 } 3°76 | 3:40 | 78 | Five min. after taking 341i more. This shows that even in small and divided doses, which have been supposed to en- sure the stimulant effects of alcohol, it still acts by diminishing the quantity of carbonic acid. 1 45 | 3°69 |.3:40 | 78 20a) (3629) 8:30.01 18 ¥ 2°45 | 3°56 4 3°30 | 76 Exper. XI. Sept. 1.—Bar- 29°85, Ther. 61. ( Twenty minutes after dinner and $ pint wine. 2 Ad | 3°65 | 3-40 | 80 Effects less than I had before experienced i afier this quantity. Sy) S624 890 2) TS 4 ee ae ah : Example of oscillation. Perhaps also of P flects of food 4 35 | 349 | 3°65 | 14 y : S 5 | 345 | 345-| 741° Standard resumed. Exper. XII. oat Aug. 29.—Bar. 30'1, Ther. 60. 12 5 14:00 ; 4:00 | 72 12 20 | 3:97 | 3:90 | 72 eee min, after taking 3iii of very strong tea cold, 12, 40. | 3:93. ¢ 3°10) 42 dee i) vSi88. SO) ee I shall close this long essay with a few general observations, and an account of the instrument employed in the experiments. Of the causes operating to produce the above variations, no doubt the state of the circulation is to be considered as one. It is impossible but to suppose that when, ceteris paribus, a greater quantity of blood is exposed in a given time to the action of the air, that a greater quantity of carbonic acid gas must be formed, supposing this, at least, to be a common chemical process. It must, I think, be admitted, therefore, that this cause contri- This will account for the effects produced by what would scarcely act at all on ope in the habit of taking larger quantities, Perhaps in these cases a bottle or two would be necessary to produce similar effects, 1 | =< 1813.] emitied frem the Lungs during Respiration. 341 butes in some degree to the production of the phenomena in question, though, there is every reason to believe, in a very limited one. A very superficial examination of the above expe- riments will show that the quantity of carbonic acid gas formed bears scarcely any proportion to the numerical state, at least, of the pulse. This, indeed, { admit to be a very imperfect criterion of the quantity of blood circulating through a part in a given time, unless its strength and degree of fulness be taken into the account ; but it might be asked, has the pulse been noticed to be uniformly stronger and fuller in the middle of the day than at any other time? and is it not constantly so under the operation of hard exercise and the influence of wine? Mr. Brodie, in his excellent dissertations on the effects of poisons, has apparently demonstrated that respiration is altogether dependant on the brain ; since, when the operations of this organ were destroyed or cut off, it almost immediately ceased, while the heart, which he found much less under nervous influence, continued for some time to act, and circulate dark coloured blood. He found also that alcohol, the essential oil of bitter * almonds, and some other poisons, act as such simply by destroy- ing the functions of the brain apparently by sympathy, and not by absorption; and that under the operation of these, respira- tion soon begins to be ill performed, and if their quantity has been great, at last entirely ceases.* ‘This, then, while it enables us to account for the effects of alcohol in our experiments, seems also at the same time to prove, in general, that another cause besides the mere state of the circulation is immediately and largely concerned in the production of the phenomena in ques- tion. I conclude, therefore, that the nervous system, acting partly through the medium of the blood, and immediately by its influence over the function of respiration, is the grand source to. which we must refer them all. The laws which we have attempted to establish are no other than modifications of that general principle which prevails over all living actions. A state of depression ever follows a state of excitement; and the greater that excitement has been, the greater is the consequent depression. On the other hand, an uniformity of action at any point of the scale within which it ranges. is no less incorspatible with life, than a great and sudden deviation towards either extreme. In all living actions, there- fore, states of comparative rest alternate with states of exertion ; and these alternations are evidently connected with the. presence or absence of the sun; for according as this great source of life and heat” is present or absent, are organized beings, in general, either awake and active, or asleep and inactive. Now * Phil, Trang. 1811, 342 On the Quantity of Carbonic Acid Gas [Nov. at noon this powerful agent of nature is at his height, and hence ‘at this time may be supposed to exert his maximum energy ; whatever, therefore, is under his immediate influence, must now be supposed to be affected most strongly; and if the hypothesis be correct,* that nervous action is so, it is perhaps easy to account for many important phenomena which it presents, and, among others, that of the greater elicitation ¢ of carbonic acid at noon, respiration being considered as under its immediate influence. Of the immediate operations, however, of the sun, or minor agencies under his direction, upon the nervous system, we know nothing, as every thing connected with this part of our frames is buried in the most profound obscurity. To refer, therefore, an animal function or operation to this system, is in other words to confess our ignorance of its nature; and I consider it better to do this than to run the chance of falling into error myself, and of misleading others by a demonstration that in the present state of our knowledge must be purely hypothetical. It is possible also that the laws | have attempted to establish may depend upon some idiosynerasy, or suite of habits, peculiar to myself, and may not be general. If they do exist, no doubt they are liable to be modified in no small degree by habit, and even perhaps totally subverted. Others, however, must decide this. With respect to myself, I can only say that I have no doubt of their existence. At all events, speculations would be premature on a subject so slenderly founded as the ipse diait of a single indivi- dual ; and hence | shall defer my opinion till I have searched into the matter further myself, and heard the observations of others. Should they be established, I flatter myself they will throw no inconsiderable light on some important points in phy- siology and pathology. The instrument with which these experiments were made is ex- tremely simple, and the mode of using it may perhaps be learned by a mere reference to the figure [Plate XIII]. Its whole capacity to B is exactly 25 cubic inches of water at 60; of these 2 cubic inches are occupied by the neck, which is accurately graduated into tenths of a cubic inch. When used, it is filled with water, and a bladder, C, containing the respired air is screwéd on, as represented in the figure; it is then fixed‘in the stand; and by turning the stop-cocks, G and H, the water is permitted to run out * Are not all the most powerful agents in nature, as heat, light, electricity, magnetism, &c. which appear to influence so immediately and energetically animal life, directed and governed, with respect to their periodical changes, by the earth’s motions on its axis and in its orbit, which act only by placing it in different positions with respect to the sun? j + Not its formation: this is probably only a common chemical process, The regulation of the degree, &c. of its fermation is to be understood, alas oe raed es od Ss 5 7 i Plate XU, On the Carbonic Acid Gas respired, from the Lungs. Lagrared by Mhowy Ae Do Thomeons Annals, Published by Adaldwin Miternoster Ron Now 1g LL“ =< = - -—— —— 1813.) emitied from the Lungs during Respiration. 348 to B. After having stood some time, till it has acquired the temperature of the surrounding air, the stop-cock, G, is turned, and the elastic gum-bottle, D, containing a pretty strong solu- tion of caustic potash, is screwed on at the bottom, as repre- sented, in such a manner that no air be suffered to exist in it. The cock, H, is then turned, and the caustic potash introduced into the instrument, and well shaken, till all the carbonic acid is supposed to be absorbed ; it is then returned into the bottle, and the stop-cock, H, secured. The instrument is then transferred to the stand, F, and the cock, H, again opened under water in the vessel, E, which rising shows the quantity of carbonic acid contained in the analised air, care being taken to raise or depress the instrument till the water stands éxactly at the same height on the inside as the outside of the stem. The bladder used on this occasion contained about 300 cubic inches, and the number of expirations was always six, which were made as nearly as possible in an uniform manner, both with respect to time and depth. From some experiments made with mercury, and also ex- pressly with the view of ascertaining the quantity of carbonic acid absorbed by the water used in the experiment, I have reason to conclude that the quantity, upon an average, amounted to about one per cent. This quantity, accordingly, has been added to all the numbers originally found by the instrument. As this source of error was general and uniform, it is obvious that the results were not comparatively affected by it. Other sources of error, which I am well aware are very numerous, were carefully guarded against by every possible attention to those circumstances in which they were most likely to take place. Artic.e III. On the Method of separating Iron from Manganese. By Charles Hatchett, Esq. F.R.S. &e, (To Dr. Thomson.) DEAR SIR, Mount Clare, Roehampton, Sept. 25, 1813, Ix the last Number of your Annals of Philosophy I have remarked a paper entitled “ Contributions towards a Chemical Knowledge of Manganese, by Dr. John,” first published in Gehlen’s Journal fiir die Chimie, &c. in which the author states Gehlen’s method of separating iron from manganese by succinic acid, arid also his own process performed by means of oxalic 344 Method of separating Iron from Manganese. [Nov. acid. Jam therefore induced to communicate to you a very simple and easy method of perfectly separating manganese from iron, &c which I have for many years employed in various experiments and avalyses, although I have not hitherto had occasion to state it in any publication. Secr. I. A solution of any ore of manganese having been made as usual in muriatic acid, and filtrated, must be diluted with three or four pints of cold distilled water. To this diluted solution add gradually pure ammonia, occasionally stirring the liquor until the acid has become perfectly neutralized; a few drops of ammonia may then be added; so that the liquor shall very slightly restore the blue colour to litmus paper which has been reddened by acetous acid. The ferruginous precipitate must then be separated by filtra- tion, and the liquor which passes will be found devoid of colour, and contains the pure manganese in permanent solution. It affords a white precipitate with prussiate of potash, and the oxide of manganese may be obtained by evaporating the solution to dryness, and by expelling the muriate of ammonia by heat ; after which, if any of the muriate should be suspected to remain, it may be separated by washing the oxide upon a filter, Secr. II. Pure oxide of manganese may be also obtained by adding ammonia in considerable excess to the cold diluted muriatic solution, which then, without loss of time, must be poured upon a filtre of one fold. The liquor which passes becomes in a few minutes turbid and brownish, a pellicle is formed, and in about 24 hours the greater part of the manganese separates spontaneously in the state of brown oxide; and if the remaining liquor be evaporated to dryness and heated, the whole of the oxide will be obtained. But the objection to this method is, that the manganese is so rapidly separated from the ammoniacal solution, that it is scarcely possible, even by the quickest filtra- tion, to prevent some part from being deposited on the filter, so that it becomes again mixed with the precipitate of iron, alu- mine, &c. The effects of ammonia on. the green oxide of iron are well known; but I do not recollect any instance of this oxide being found conjoined with manganese; and therefore it is not likely to interiere with the process above described. When ammonia in great excess is added to the neutralized solution (Sect. I.), the same effect is produced as in Section IL, and the manganese is spontaneously deposited, Z _ 1813.] Mineralogical Observations. 345 Exposure to air does not appear to be necessary, for the mix- ture of the neutralized liquor (Sect. I.) and ammonia becomes turbid in close vessels. If nitric acid be added to the neutralized liquor (Sect. I.) _ previous to its being supersaturated with ammonia, the manga~ nese is not more speedily separated, and in some experiments the nitric acid seemed rather to retard that effect. I need scarcely mention, that in cases of analyses, if any alumina, or calcareous earth, &c. should be suspected to have become mixed with the precipitated oxide of manganese, they may be readily separated by digestion in very dilute nitric acid. If a misture of the neutralized solution of manganese and of green muriate of copper be supersaturated with ammonia, as in Sect. IJ., the manganese separates, as already Cescribed, the copper remaining in solution ; and if the liquor be evaporated to dryness, the copper may be taken up and separated from the oxide of manganese by digesting the residuum in warm am- monia. ‘ .J am, dear Sir, Yours very sincerely, Cuances HareHert. a ArTIcLE IV. Mineralogical Observations. By Robert Jameson, Esq. F.R.S.E. Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh. Tue mineralogical investigations I have been engaged in for some years past have enabled me to make several interesting observations. The following short enumeration contains a few of the most important of these :-— 1. That primitive rocks contain no mechanical deposites, the conglomerated rocks in gneiss and porphyry being entirely of a chemical nature. 2. That greywacke is always a pure chemical deposite, and contains no mechanical intermixture. 3. That felspar occurs more abundantly in nature than is generally supposed, this mineral being one of the principal con- stituent parts of granite, gneiss, clay slate, porphyry, sienite, serpentine, flinty slate, hornstone, greywacke, transition slate, striped jasper, oldest conglomerates, besides forming in some degree the basis of most of the primitive, transition, and floetz trap rocks, 4, That the vast beds of conglomerate which rest upon, and 846 Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. [Nov. sometimes probably alternate with, transition rocks, are also chemical deposites. 5. That-sandstone in many instances appears to be a chemical deposite. _ 6. That many of the fragments and fragmented appearances which occur in porphyry, limestone, and trap rocks, are of a chemical nature, and of cotemporaneous formation with the rocks in which they are contained. 7. That true primitive veins, those confined to primitive rocks, whatever may be their nature or magnitude, are often of cotem- poraneous formation with the rocks they traverse. 8. That many of the veins in transition and floetz countries, even those extending for many hundred yards, and of great width, are of cotemporaneous formation with the rocks in which they are contained. 9, That strata of crystallized rocks may appear to run beneath an older rock when they really rest upon it, and have been formed after it. 10. That the various wavings in the strata of gneiss, mica slate, clay slate, greywacke, transition slate, and sandstone, are the effects of crystallization. ; 11. That the general, physical, and geographical distribution of petrifactions in the crust of the earth does not correspond with that of the present existing races of animals and plants, ARTICLE V. Some Mineralogical. Observations on Cornwall, By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S, (Continued from p. 253.) In the rapid sketch of the south of Cornwall, which was printed in the last Number of the Annals of Philosophy, 1 have described nearly every part of the county that appears demon- strably to belong to the transttion class of rocks. 1 suspect, indeed, that this class of rocks extends considerably farther north than I have been able to trace it: nor would it be-sur- prising if the whole of the county should be hereafter proved to be transition ; but as 1 observed no facts te support this opinion, we cannot at present adopt it. The road from Merazion to Penzance winds along the sea- shore, and no rocks are to be seen till you reach the north end of the latter town. Here a bed of blue stone is perceived 1813.) Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. 347 shelving down towards the sea. This rock is thick slaty, and has very much the appearance of clay slate, but is considerably harder than any clay slate which I ever saw. It is dark blue, gives a white streak, and has little or no lustre. It will be con- sidered, I presume, as a variety of clay slate ; at least I do not know any other rock to which it can be so well referred. The pier of Penzance is situated near the south end of the town. It is built of granite, and is just finished. Beds of a granitic rock are seen rising out of the sea just behind this pier. It is a remarkably hard rock, of a brownish grey colour, and consists chiefly of felspar, in which crystals of transparent quartz are imbedded, which give it the appearance of a porphyry. Mica is very sparingly distributed through this rock; you may examine different specimens before you perceive any. Over this granitic rock lies a bed of clay slate.’ It is thick slaty, like the bed at the north end of the town; but its texture is coarser, it is not so hard, and has a purplish colour. These two clay slate rocks were the only ones of the kind that T observed in the whole peninsula, upon the east side of which Penzance is situated. ‘They have none of the peculiar characters of primitive clay-slate, but approach much more nearly to those of transition slate. Hence 1 am disposed to consider them as transition. ‘They lie immediately over the granite rock, which, as far as I was able to determine, seems clearly to constitute the fundamental rock of this peninsula. Between Penzance and the Land’s End, a distance of ten miles, no other stone but granite was to be seen. Granite blocks were thick scattered over the fields, they constituted the material of which all the stone hedges are constructed, and I met here and there with rocks of granite quarried, in order to procure materials for mending the roads. This granite is porphyritic, the felspar is brown, the quartz white, and the mica black. It contains numerous large crystals of white felspar, three or four inches long, and often two or three inches broad. These crystals give the stone a peculiar and rather beautiful appearance. It is common to observe black irregular shaped patches in this granite, which when seen at a distance resemble fragments of other rocks; but when examined more closely, they are found to consist of scales of black mica thick set in a base of quartz. I thought, at the time, that I per- ceived likewise some hornblende in this granite, and broke off some specimens on that account; but upon examining these specimens more carefully at Penzance, I found that the black matter was not hornblende, but mica. This kind of granite continues all the way to the Land’s End. The rocks composing that promontory consist of it. They are perpendicular clifls above 200 feet high; and the aspect which they have acquired, from long exposure to the weather, puts ove in mind of the face 348 Mineralogical Observations: on Cornwall. [Nov. of an old hay-stack partly cut away with a hay-knife. This, brownish yellow colour is owing to the great preponderancy of felspar in this rock. The Logan rock, about three miles south from the Land’s End, consists of an immense block of the same kind of granite, so poized upon a point as to be moveable by the force of a man. Veins of schorl are said to exist near it, but I did not see them. The primitive granite of Cornwall appears to constitute a tract of no great height nor breadth, extending from the Land’s End to the extremity of Dartmoor in Devon, and therefore running in a direction not very far from south-west and north-east. I did not indeed trace it the whole of this way, but I crossed it in three several places, at a considerable distance from each other, and therefore have reason to think it highly probable that the rock continues all this way (a length of about 120 miles). The Scilly Islands are likewise granite, and are doubtless a con- tinuation of the same range. ‘This granite range terminates in the sea at both extremities. It rises gradually all the way from the Land’s End to Dartmoor, where it constitutes mountains, some of which, as we learn from the trigonometrica] survey, are 4549 feet above the level of the sea. * This granite range of ground does not exceed three miles in breadth (and indeed at Redruth appears narrower) in Cornwall, but in Devonshire its: breadth is considerably greater. About half way between Bodmin and Launceston, you cioss another granite tract. It would seem that it branches off from the east and west granitic range nearly at right angles; or perhaps the granitic range becomes wider at this place than usual. It appeared to go north some miles beyond the high road from Bodmin to Launceston, and constituted all the way a tract much more elevated than the rest of the country, and rising in some places so as to form mountains. Clay slate rests upon this granite range, both on the north and south side. This clay slate on the south side dips south, and on the north side, north, showing evidently that it lies over ‘the gravite. On the west side of the north and south granite range it dips west; and at the east side, towards Launceston, it dips east. When we examine it at a considerable distance from the . granite range, it appears horizontal. ‘These observations, which T made in a variety of places, leave no doubt that this extensive bed of clay slate every where covers the granite, and is nowhere covered by it. It is likely that the granite rock extends very widely, and may even constitute the basis of the county ; _ * According to that survey, Brown Willy is 1368 feet, and Rippintor 1549 feet, above the level of the sea. According to Dr. Berger, Cape Cornwall near the Land’s End is 229 feet, and Carnbrae (a hill at Redruth) 697 feet, - above the level of the sea, 1813.) | Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. 349 for the mines are all situated in the clay slate, frequently at no very great distance from the granite. Now when these mines go deep, it sometimes happens that they penetrate through the whole of the clay slate, and continue on in the granite; thus affording a demonstration that the granite lies under the cla slate. ‘This is the case, for example, in the mine of Huel Unity, two miles east from Redruth. This clay slate, in every part of the county that I observed it, as for example at Truro, at Bodmin, at Launceston, and in the mines extending about ten miles east and west from Redruth, has the characters of transition clay slate. It has not the conti- nuous lustre which distinguishes primitive slate; but is almost dull, glimmering only from the specks of mica which are scat- tered through it. The colour is most commonly dark blue, or purple. This rock is uniformly distinguished in Cornwall by the name of ki/lus. Hence, if my opinion be well founded, the Cornish term killas is synonymous with transition slate. I have every reason to believe that it is never applied to greywacke. Hence the substitution of it for greywacke, as has been proposed by Mr. Playfair, aud practised by Mr. Allan and Sir James Hall, would be the introduction of an error, and would uni- formly mislead every mineralogist who drew his notions of grey- wacke from the killas of Cornwall. In the parish of St. Stephen’s, about five miles from St. Austle, there occurs in the granite range a curious rock, which is wrought in many places, and constitutes the material from which the _ porcelain clay for the Staffordshire potteries is obtained. This rock consists of a white and very soft felspar basis, which crumbles to powder between the fingers, and falls down in the state of clay in water. Small éransparent quartz crystals are thick scattered through this basis. I could perceive no mica, and have reason to believe that the rock contains none. ‘This rock is sent to Staffordshire in two states. It is quarried out in ‘lumps, and sent in that state without any preparation. These - lumps are ground down in Staffordshire, and the quartz powder acts the essential part of counteracting ‘the too great’ tendency which the clay has to contract. The second mode in which it is sent to Staffordshire is quite different. ‘The rock is exposed to a current of water, which, washing off the fine clay particles, runs milk white into pits prepared for the purpose. Here the water gradually evaporating leaves the fine white clay, which is dug out in squares, and when dry packed up in barrels, and sent to the sea-shore. Only the purest water can be used for this purpose, and great care is taken that the instruments used are of such a nature as not to communicate any metallic stain, which would render the clay unsaleable. The excellence of this rock consists in the almost total ab- $50 Mineralogical Olservaiions on Cornwall. [Novs sence of metal. It seems to be composed of nothing else than silica and alumina. I do not know, indeed, that it has ever been subjected to a chemical analysis ; but this ought to be its composition, on the supposition that it consists of pure felspar and quartz, and that no metallic matter is present. Almost all the mines in Cornwall are confined to a tract about six miles broad, running from the Land’s End to the extremity of Dartmoor, seemingly in the same direction with the granite range, and just beside it. The ores are all in veins, the most important of which run in an east and west direction. It has been observed that the principal tin veins ran from south-west to north-east, while the principal copper veins run from west to east. There are a considerable number of these veins not exactly parallel to each other, but approaching to that direction. In Dolcoath mine, for example, I counted eight veins. ‘These veins in Cornwall are called dodes.. During their course they vary considerably in thickness, and even in their direction. They go to a very considerable depth ; and not one of them, as far as I could learn, has ever been mined to its extreme depth. The ores have generaily been observed to increase in value as the vein deepens. One of the deepest mines in Cornwall is Dolcoath, about a mile south-west of Redruth. Its present depth is 220 fathoms. I believe Huel Unity was still deeper 5 but of late the deepest part of it has been abandoned. This was owing to a mine on the south side of it having been forsaken. The water, in consequence, accumulated to such a degree that the expense of drawing it up was greater than the mine could afford. This obliged them to forsake the lowest part altogether. It is common to find tin at the top of copper veins; but never copper at the top of tin veins.. The upper part of the vein is called gossan by the miners. It contains less ore than the lower part, and the veinstones are always stained yellowish red, as if they had been steeped in ocbre. ‘The rock which borders on the vein on both sides is ealled the country. ‘This, about Redruth, is always transition slate ; except at a considerable depth. Thus at Huel Unity, at the depth of 50 fathoms, the country becomes granite. To this granite they give the name of grauen. The veinstones are frequently quartz. Sometimes they consist of hornstone porphyry, a stone to which the miners give the name of elvan. 1 got specimens of elvan from the overseers of five or six different mines, and all of them consisted of hornstone porphyry, differing indeed somewhat in its colour, and in the size of the crystals which it contained; but in other respects the same. Hence I conceive there can be no doubt that elvan in Cornwall signifies hornstone porphyry. Sometimes clay occurs in the veins. To this the miners give the name of fleuckan. The only copper ore of any consequence that occurs in these os 1813.] Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. 351 veins is copper pyrites. The arseniates of copper, &c. are too small in quantity to be of any importance in a mining point of view. Iron pyrites and arsenical pyritcs are likewise very common attendants. They are both confounded under the name of mundic. Wolfram is rather scarce; for I did not observe any specimens of it in any of the miaes that I visited. Fluor spar isa very common veinstone. It is always green, and is distinguished by the name of green spar. Galena occasionally occurs ; sometimes, as in Huel Anne, in such quantities that it is coilected and sold, In these cases its never-failing companion, blende, is also met with; and blende is likewise in some mines collected and sold. In the united mines on the south side of Huel Unity I observed a good many specimens of native copper among the ore. The arseniate of lead, a beautiful mineral lately. analysed by Mr. Gregor, has only been found in Huel Unity mine, in a cross vein at some considerable depth. - It was in the same mine, unless I am mistaken, that some of the finest speci- mens of the arseniate of copper occurred. Green mica, or oxide of uranium, has been found at Beeralston, at the eastern extre- mity of the county; and Mr. Gregor showed me a yellow variety. of the same ore from a mine in the parish of St. Steven’s. It was in the same mine that the sulphuret of tin formerly occurred. Besides the veins running easterly and westerly, which are those of the most consequence, there are other veins which run from north to south, and on that account are called cross courses. These veins are usually filled with quartz. They sometimes contain ores, but most commonly not. They constitute the newest of the Cornish veins; for they always cut through the other veins, and frequently alter their positions ; so that the portion of the vein on the west side of the cross course lies far- ther north than the portion of the same vein on the east side. These cross veins vary in breadth from a few inches to 20 fathoms. The greatest of them is about three miles east from Redruth, and has been traced from sea to sea. In some places it is 20 fathoms wide, in others only a few feet. It heaves alt the veins which it crosses about 50 fathoms. That portion of the vein on its west side is 50 fathoms farther north than the part of the vein on the east side. The tin ore is always ¢ins(one, or oxide of tin. This ore extends the whole length of the mining district. The Scilly Islands contain the same veins, and formerly tin mines were wrought in them. No doubt this was the reason why they received from the ancients the name of Cassiterides, for xwoosrepos, as every body knows, is the Greek name for tin. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign considerable quantities of tin were raised in Dartmoor. Hence there can be no doubt that 5 352 Mineralogical Olservations on Cornwall. [Nov. the great tin veins extend over the whole length of Cornwall and Devon, and lose themselves at both extremities in the sea. Tin has been raised in Cornwall from time immemorial. It is well known that the Phenicians traded to this county for tin at least 3000 years ago. Indeed, if we believe Camden, the name Britain was given to our island on account of the tin , which it yielded; for it signifies, he says, the land of tin. Remains of the old tin mines are now and then found in orn- wall. They are never deep : and it would appear, from the way in which they are constructed, that the mode of raising the ore was to throw it. by means of shov els, to a recess cut in the shaft for that purpose ; from this it was thrown to another recess ; and this was continued till it reached the top of the mine. The copper mines constitute at present by far the most important mines in Cornwall. Prodigious quantities of copper are raised there annually. It is not much more than 100 years since the mining for copper commenced ; and during the last 30 years it has been carried to a much greater extent than before. As far as | had the means of observing, the Cornish mines are managed with very considerable skill. The machinery is all good, and in many places excellent. They are obliged almost every where to use steam-engines,. on account of the scarcity of water. A regular monthly statement of the work done by these steam-engines is collected, a plan which has been attended with much good effect already. The best steam-engines, with the consumption of one bushel of coals, raise 27,000,000 of gallons of water one foot high. ‘The little water which can be collected is applied to drive machinery with great skill; but the expense of procuring water is generally so great as to render steam- engines preferable. If i were to presume to find fault with any part of the process followed by the Cornish miners, it would be the manner of washing the tin ore after roasting it. The tin ore is always mixed with copper pyrites, iron pyrites, and arsenical pyrites. To get rid of the arsenic (or mundic, as they term it,) this mixed ore is roasted in a reverberatory furnace. The powder after this process is washed in water ; and by that means the tin ore, which is heavy, is easily separated from the copper ore, which is light. Now it appears to me that, by this roasting, a considerable portion of the copper pyrites must be changed into sulphate of copper. All this portion will be dissolved’ by the water used in washing, and entirely lost. I should propose to throw the roasted ore into a kind of pit, to cover it with water, stir it about, and after a few days draw off the water into a separate pit. Old iron thrown into this water would precipitate the copper : and I am persuaded that the quantity of copper thus saved would much more thay 1813.] Mineralogical Observations on Cornwall. 353 pay the expense of the process. The ore, after the water is drawn off, may be washed in the manner at present practised. The names by which the Cornish mines are distinguished are usually contrived by the first adventurers, and are often whim- sical enough. The term wel (pronounced will), prefixed to every mine, is said in the Cornish language to signify a mine : the other name is taken from some accidental circumstance or other. Thus Dolkoath was the name of an old woman (Dorothy Koath) who lived upon the spot where the mine began working. Huel Alfred was named by Mr. Jenkins after his son Alfred Jenkins. Huel Providence was so called from the accidental way in which the vein was discovered. 1 cannot terminate this sketch without noticing the roads in Devonshire and Cornwall. ‘They are by far the worst which I have seen in any part ot Great Britain, and are very disgraceful to both counties. The road from Dorchester to Exeter is, I presume, very old. The great ohject seems to have been to get upon every possible hill; and the country is so hilly that the whole road, with very little interval, consists in steep ascents and descents. Horses cannot possibly drag half a load upon it. No great skill would be necessary to construct a road between Dor- chester and Exeter almost perfectly level. Why this is not done is not easy to conceive. The counties of Dorset and Devon would soon pay the expense in the difference of the loads which could be carried from place to place, and in the gréater ease with which the level road could be kept in repair. These obser- vations apply with double force to the road hetween Plymouth and Falmouth, many parts of which are as badly construeted as it is possible for them to be. In a country where the internal communication is so great as in England, it is amazing to see so long and important a line of road so much neglected. Articie VI. An Account of the Explosion of Inflammable Air which very lately occurred in the Hall Pit at Fatfield. Drawn up for the “ Annals of Philosophy.’ I promisep in my account of the accident which occurred in the Collingwood Main Colliery, which you have inserted in the Jast Number of your excellent Journal, that you should hear from me again upon the subject of explosions in coal-mines ; but I did not expect that it would so soon have fallen to my lot to record an accident of greater importance, from the number of lives which were lost, than that of the Collingwood Main Vor. lI. N° V. Z 354 Explosion of Infiammable Air [Nov. Colliery. On Tuesday, the 28th of September, at half-past twelve p.m. the inflammable air of the Hall Pit Colliery at Fatfield, distant nine miles from Sunderland, exploded, by which ¢hirty-two pitmen were instantly killed, and four wounded, The overman, Mr. Joseph Noble, reports to the writer of this article, “ that the same morning on which this accident hap- pened, he considered himself as safe in this colliery, as he was at that moment in his own house.” At the’ same time it is proper to remark, that three explosions of inflammable air had taken place at different periods in this colliery, by which three men were killed each time. This explosion is supposed to have been occasioned by the falling of a stone from the roof of the mine, which carried the inflammable air with it, so as to bring it into contact with the pitmen’s candles. All the men who were in the workings were killed ; and of the four young men who were at the shaft, one was killed upon the spot, and three escaped with life. George Noble, son to Mr. Noble the overman, informs me that he was one of the people employed at the shaft, and had the good fortune to escape, with the exception of a considerable swelling over the whole body, which continued for a few hours, and then gradually subsided. This swelling was supposed by his friends to be occasioned by the carbonic acid gas of the mine. ‘This young man also mentions that he heard three distinct reports, which suddenly. followed each other; and that he was rapidly - driven to the distance of four yards by the violence of the ex- plosion ; and about this time he was deprived of sensation, for the first circumstance which he remembers was his difficulty of breathing, and at the same time he was seized with pains in different parts of the body. He is now (Sept. 30) perfectly recovered, though still very weakly. All the unfortunate men are now got out of the colliery, with the exception of an old man, David Redley, who held the appointment of deputy over- man. This coal-mine was understood to be as carefully worked, and as free from danger, as any mine in the kingdom: so much so, that many of the pitmen, who happened to be at their own houses at the time when the explosion happened in the Hall Pit Colliery, could not believe that such an accident had occurred ; ‘and all persons who knew the Hall Pit Colliery were impressed with the same favourable opinion. | No blame whatever is attachable to any person concerned in this colliery, as far as I can ascertain. What person in his sober senses will believe that the present mode of management of coal-mines is the best that can be devised for the prevention of such accidents? Against such melancholy facts, what arguments can interested persons bring? How dreadful must be the situation of those honest 1813.] in the Hall Pit. at Fatfeld. 355 and industrious people, who know not how soon they may be « gathered to their forefathers,” by a sudden and violent death! How long are such frequent catastrophes to be permitted? The Slave Trade, when at its acme, did not carry such horror to the feeling mind as these shocking explosions. Sept. 30, 1813. Dircrceivo5. Articte VII. Experiments on the Stability of Vessels containing a Well on Board. By Col. Mark Beaufoy. (To Dr. Thomson.) MY DEAR SIR, Hackney Wick, Oct. 9, 1813, Havine often heard of the fishing-vessels employed in the North Seas being lost, and that no part of the vessels came on shore, it was concluded they must have foundered in the Ocean; and having paid some attention to naval architecture, J was led to consider, if the cause of the sinking of vessels occupied in the fisheries might not be partly attributed to the faulty construction of the wells in which the fish are preserved. As the surest road to come at facts is by the test of experiment, I have taken the liberty of troubling you with the result of my inquiries on this subject, which I hope may be useful in saving the lives and pro- perties of our countrymen. Having caused a hollow parallelopipedon to be made, which measured in length very nearly 24 inches, in breadth 9 inches, and in depth 7 inches; it was loaded until it was immersed in water 44 inches, or exactly one-half of its breadth; and the ballast was so adjusted that the centre of gravity of the figure was precisely, in each experiment, 21 above the bottom, or in the same point at the centre of gravity of the displaced fluid. This concave parallelopipedon had likewise two partitions, dis- tant from each other 13°57 inches, for the purpose of forming a well; this well had also a deck, the under side of which was even with the surrounding fluid; when the figure floated in an upright position, the breadth of the well was 8}, and the depth 41 inches. By comparing these experiments together, it is evident that the first and second experiments very nearly coincide : the variation may justly be attributed to the unavoidable inaccuracy in making the experiments; and the conclusion to be drawn from the near coincidence is, that the water in the well, when Zz 2 356 Experimeits on the Stability of [Nov confined, acts as ballast, as a lump of ice would, on the suppo- sition that ice and water were of the same specific gravity. Experiment the third, in which the holes of the well are opened, and the water, when the vessel is inclined, permitted to escape, gives a very different result. ‘The vessel in this case becomes more and more deficient in stability as the inclination increases, because the water escapes to windward ; which pro- duces the same. efiect as if so much ballast was placed on the lee side: therefore, to insure the safety of the vessel, by pre- venting it from oversetting, the well-deck must be as much depressed as is equal to the greatest inclination the vessel may receive by the pressure of sail; but, as in many cases the capa- city of the well would be too much diminished by placing the well-deck so low down, the escape of the water might be pre- vented by internal valves, which would close of their own accord by the action of the fluid when running out. These valves could with facility be kept open by a line, one end being fas- tened to the valve, and the other end coming on the deck; by this means the water contained in the well could be shifted for the preservation of the fish. The advantages of a well, it is conceived, might be usefully employed on many occasions: for instance, if a boat on shore is immediately wanted, and ballast requisite, it is evident it must be put on board either before the boat is launched, or afterwards; if before, it becomes heavy, and difficult to move; if after, time is lost ; but not so with a well ; for in this case time will be saved, as the boat will take in its ballast whilst under sail: in this case the aperture may be made through, or by the side of, the keel, (as it matters not in what part of the body the orifice is made,) and stopped with a plug, when the well is filled. This plug-hole through the well- deck will suffer the air to escape while the well is filling, and by its insertion both holes closed. As I am on this subject, a thought has struck me which may be deemed worthy of consi- deration by the Public Boards connected with the naval depart- ment; that if the orlop deck of a 74-gun ship were made water- tight, and if by accident the ship got aground, or by any other cause sprung a dangerous leak, J have no doubt if the hatches were battened down, and otherwise well secured, it would swim by this deck, and have considerable stability, by which the lives ef the crew, and the materials of the ship, would be saved.. 4813.] Vessels containmg a Weil on Board. 357 Experiment. Oz. Avoird. Weight of the water displaced by the perelleheai 559-06 PEMOR: WAS s) .jst09 so bcp Habisie ea tise Weight of the parallelopipedon substract ..... »». 11156 Remains the weight of ballast ................,447°50 When the well is filled must be deducted the 264-02 eight OL WALCE 6.04 =.n,> sie chante pienep 8 oer Remains the weight of ballast used in “aye 183°48 Beare CIM en i orn tile hice minttecralss Exper._f, Exrer, IL Exeerr. III. 1 2 2 2 a) —- | —— — _— | Difference. sews > Difference. | 24687 |) ongea || 23487. | o-ogs. || 23789 1 sosns 10|} 4°9331 ee || 80075 4°3125 Sh 27812 || oe 27248 : 1-8487 15!) 7°7343 % ; 1°T343 ciiZ te 61612 ; 3 2:98.44 tee 3'2062 2°2138 20|| 10-7187 ates 10:9375 : 8°3750 : OM tas, 32500 E 29315 25156 25|| 13-9687 33750 13 $8750 3-4687 10°8906 92-6406 30) 17°3437 17°3437 13°5312 The first column shows the degree of inclination preduced by the weights (Column 2.) applied to a lever of 24°71 inches in length. I remain, my dear Sir, Your much obliged and faithful Marx BEAUFoyY. Articte VIII. Experiments on the Nature of Axote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia, and upon the Degrees of Oxidation of which Axote is susceptible. By Jacob Berzelius, M.D. F.R.S. Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy in Stockholm. (Continued from p. 284.) Ler us now examine the composition of nitrous acid. Gay-Lussac, in a memoir on this subject, has endeavoured to prove that this acid is formed when three volumes of nitrous gas are condensed by one volume of oxygen gas; that is to say, that one volume of azote requires 14 volume of oxygen to be con- 358 Experiments on the Nature of _ [Nov. veried into nitrous gas. According to the results of that cele- brated chemist, the degrees of the oxidation of azote are J, 2, 22, 4; but that series does not correspond with what we have found respecting other oxidable bodies. This consideration renders Gay-Lussac’s determination of the composition of nitrous acid doubtful. Mr. Dalton (New System of Chemical Philosophy, ii. 231,) determines the constituents of this acid to be 32°7 azote and 67°3 oxygen. This is a greater proportion of oxygen than Gay- Lussac obtained. According to the ingenious manner of Mr. Dalton of expressing chemical compounds, nitrous acid is com- posed of 2 atoms of azote and 3 of oxygen; but there is a strong objection against this hypothetical estimation. If we suppose a combination of 2 atoms of one body with 3 of another, we have equal reason to suppose the possibility of a combination of 3 atoms with 4, 5 with 6, &c. By thus in- creasing the number of atoms of each body united as much as the possibility of mutual contact will permit, we extend the bounds of chemical proportions indeed, but almost entirely destroy the doctrine of determinate proportions. Among the experiments to determine the composition of nitrous acid, Mr. Dalton states, that the greatest quantity of nitrous gas, which one volume of oxygen gas is able to condense, amounts to 3°6 volumes. This determination deserves the more attention, because we shall find that it exhibits the real consti- tution of nitrous acid. Sir Humphry Davy in his Elements of Chemical Philosophy, (vol. i. p. 265,) informs us, that, from experiments made on purpose, he considers nitrous acid as composed of 4 volumes of oxygen gas and 1 volume of azotic gas. According to this observation, the degrees of oxidation of azote will be 1, 2, 4, 5; but in this series we do not find the number 3, a combina- tion which would certainly have appeared had the series been exact. I published myself a set of experiments on the composition of nitrous acid; and as I set out from another point, I had different results from those which I have stated. 1 examined different combinations of nitrous acid with saline bases, and especially with the oxide of lead (Ann. de Chim. July, 1812,) a class of salts before that time almost wholly unknown. ‘These experiments prove, 1. That the nitrous acid forms with the oxide of lead three different compounds, namely, a neutral nitrite and two subsalts, in one of which the acid is combined with twice as much base as in the neutral nitrite. This circumstance proves that the acid must contain a quantity of oxygen, which is a multiple of the oxygen in the base by an even number; and as that number can neither be 2 nor 6, it must necessarily be 4, : | 1813.] Azote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 359 _9. [showed how a neutral nitrite of ammonia may be produced, and I have proved that a solution of this salt, not too concen- trated, exposed to a temperature of from 104° to 122°, is decomposed with effervescence, disengaging pure azotic gas” without any change in the neutrality of the salt. This could not happen unless the acid, supposing azote to be its radicle, neutralized a quantity of base, the oxygen in which amounts to + of that in the acid, or to + if we suppose nitric to be the radicle. In that case the series of the oxidation of azote will be 1, 2, 3, 5, and that ‘of nitric 1, 2, 3, 4, 6; and here, as is the case with sulphur and arsenic, the acid in ic contains the radicle combined with 14. times the quantity of oxygen that the acid in ous has. According to this determination, nitrous acid is formed when one volume of oxygen condenses 3% volumes of nitrous gas; that Is to say, that one volume of azote combines with 12 volume of oxygen. Hence this acid is composed by weight as follows :— Radicle....... 16°55 or Azote .......: 37:41 Oxygen....... 83°45 Oxygen....... 62°59 ; 100-00 100-00 I shall now add some proofs of the justness of this determi- nation, by showing that what Gay-Lussac and Davy considered as nitrous acid could not be that acid in reality. One of the best methods of doing this is to examine what passes when lead is dissolved in neutral nitrate of lead, so as to convert the nitric acid of the salt into nitrous acid. (See Ann. de Chin. Juli, 1812.) ‘To avoid long circumlocutions, I shall here employ a simple and short method of expressing determinate combina- tions, which I always use in my annotations.* Let Az = azote, * [shall take the liberty of giving a short explanation here of this method, which is founded on something very analogous to the corpuscular hypothesis of Dalton. It is known that bodies in their gaseous state either unile in equal volumes, or one volume of one combines with 2, 3, &c. volumes of the other, Let us express by the initial letters of the name of each substance a determi- nate quantity of that substance ; and let us determine that quantity from its yelation in weight to oxygen, both taken in the gaseous state, and in equal volumes; that is to say, the specific gravity of the substances in their gaseous state, that of oxygen being considered as unity. I have made choice of oxygen for unity, because it constitutes, as it were, the central point of che- mistry, and because it enters more frequently than any other substance into compounds in various proportions, and ought therefore to be the easiest to add or subtract. Itis obvious that this comes to the same thing as Mr, Dalton’s weights of atoms; but 1 hav the advantage over him, of not founding my numbers on an hypothesis, but upon a fact well known and proved. When two bodies have the same initial letter, I add the Second letter; and should that also be the same, [ add to the initial the first consonant of the word that differs, In the class of combustibles w hich Leall metalloids, T use only the initial letters. For example, S == sulphur, Sn = tin (stannum), St = antimony (slibium), C = carbon, Cu = copper (cuprum), M = muria- ticum, Ms == magnesium, Mn = manganese, &e, This isall that is necessary 860 Experiments on the Nature of [Nov, N = nitric, O = oxygen, and P = lead (plumbum)... Az + 5 O, according to Sir ‘Humphry Davy, is nitric acid; and Az + 40, nitrous acid. According to the result of my experi- ments, nitric acid puget to be represented by N + 6 O, and Jet us write Az 6, N O, &c. instead of Az + 5 O, Nitrous acid by N + 40. To abbreviate these signs a little, N + 60. The formula which represents the nitrate of lead is then 5 Az O + O P, and that which represents the neutral nitrite 4 * must be Az O + PO. Hence it follows, that in order to reduce the “age to nitrous acid we must add another P, and we shall have Az O +2P0O. There will be no disengagement of nitrous gas ; and when the nitrate has dissolved as much lead as it originally contained, no nitric acid can remain in it. Every portion of Jead added beyorid that quantity will occasion a dis- engagement of nitrous gas, and will form A nitrite containing a still greater excess of base, namely, Az O +4P0O. Let us examine whether this happens or not. In my experiments on the formation of nitrite of lead, I have proved that the solution of the lead was always accompanied by the disengagement of nitrous gas. ‘This circumstance appears at first to give a decisive proof against the deternination of Davy ; ; but this.proof is only apparent ; for whatever be the composition Of nitrous acid, it is easy to prove that its formation ought always to take place without the evolution of nitrous gas, in consequence of the property which the two acids have of forming subsalts in different degrees of saturation ; and if we consider the evolution of nitrous gas as a necessary consequence of the formation of nitrous acid, it will not be possible to form any idea of the interior of the operation. ‘The disengagement of nitrous gas depends upon another cause, which ] have already pointed out in my memoir on the nitrites. (Ann. de Chim. July, 1812.) It is owing to the property which the neutral nitrites have of being decomposed at a temperature between 177° and 212 with the disengagement of nitrous gas, and the formation of subnitrates ; and this happens equally, though there be no lead to dissolve. This disengagement is much slower, if the solution be dilute; but in concentrated solutiens it takes place with effervescence. We must, then, ascribe the evolution of nitrous gas in the above experiment to the decomposition of a small portion of nitrite immediately after its formation. To prove the truth of this opinion, | digested a solution of ten parts of neutral to understand these formulas. The only thing that remains to render the use of them more general, is to determine correctly the specific gravity of the gases. I shall publish hercafter a dissertatien upon this subject. . > . ——s ee see a ee 1813.) Azote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 361 nitrate of lead with metallic lead in an apparatus proper to collect the gas which might be evolved. ‘The apparatus was surrounded with hot water, into which I had put a thermometer. When the water acquired the temperature of 131° the lead began to tarnish, and at 140° it was covered with a white crust, and the liquid began to acquire a yellow colour at 167°. There was a sensible action between the lead and the liquor, but still without any disengagement of gas. At 176° bubbles of air slowly formed, and the action was increased. I then diminished the temperature to 167°, and [ kept it nearly at that tempera- ture for 36 hours. There had disengaged about —1,th of a cubic inch of gas, which was a mixture of nitrous gas and of azotic gas driven from the solution by the elevation of the temperature. The lead was entirely covered by a white crystalline crust 5 and a quantity of the same substance crystallized on the inside of the glass during the cooling. The liquor had a fine yellow colour, which it retained even when cold. On examining it, I found that it contained a small quantity of nitrate of lead not decom- posed, and neutral nitrite of lead, to which it owed its colour. The white crystalline precipitate was the first subnitrate. When heated it lost 3 per cent. of water; and when raised to a red heat, 19 per cent. of nitric acid were disengaged, leaving 78 parts of yellow oxide of lead. ‘This experiment proves that the nitrite may be formed without the disengagement of nitrous gas 3 and it is evident, that when nitrous acid is formed at the same time that the base increases in quantity, it is the nitric acid that ought in the first place to combine with that excess, because its affinity for the oxide of lead is stronger than that of nitrous acid. After this long but necessary digression, we will resume our examination of the decomposition of nitrate of lead by lead in the metallic state. We have said that when Az O + P O has dissolved an additional P, it is converted into Az o + 2PO; that is to say, when 100 parts of nitrate of lead have dissolved 62} parts of lead (a quantity equal to that previously contained in the nitrate), the whole is converted into nitrite : and when a greater quantity of lead, as, for example, 70 parts, is dissolved, a con- siderable quantity of subnitrite at a maximum must Le formed, at the expense of the nitrous acid of the nitrite; but I have proved that 100 parts of nitrate of lead are capable of dissolving 77°9 parts of lead before any perceptible trace of subnitrite at a maximum can be discovered (Ann. de Chim. July, 1812); that is to say, that the same subnitrite, which is already formed when the liquor has dissolved 624, parts of lead, continues still to be formed til] the liquor has dissolved 78 parts of lead. This experiment proves, then, that nitric acid has more oxygen to lose before it is converted into nitrous acid than is consistent 362 Experiments on the Nature of [Nov. with the determination of Davy. Hence it follows that the ditlerence between nitrous and nitric acids must be greater than between Az + 40 and Az + 50. But if we suppose nitric acid to be N + 6 O, and nitrous acid to be N + 4 O, we shall find that it will afford a satisfac- tory explanation of all the phenomena. To understand completely the experiment in question, we must divide the operation into three periods. The first period continues till one-half of the nitric acid is decomposed by a second quantity of lead dissolved. There is formed at first some first subnitrate and some neutral nitrite; then the subnitrate begins to be decomposed, and to be converted into subnitrite. At the end of this period the liquor contains first subnitrate 4 (NO + 2 PO) and first subnitrite (N O + 2 PO). The second period terminates when two-thirds of the nitric acid are converted into nitrous acid, and one-third remains still unde- composed. ‘The nitrate has then dissolved 14 as much lead as it contained at first; that is to say, 78 parts. ‘The solution while 6 cooling, deposites second subnitrate (N O + 3 P O) mixed 4 with a great quantity of the first subnitrite (N O + 2 PO). It is to be understood that I suppose no nitrous gas to be disen- gaged. ‘This disengagement produces no effect upon the ulti- mate results of this operation ; but when it takes place the quan- tity of subnitrite at the end cf the second period is diminished in consequence, while at the same time that of the subnitrate is increased. The third period terminates when the whole of the nitric acid is decomposed. The nitrous acid is then united with a maximum of oxide, and forms a subsaJt, which may be repre- sented by this symbol, N fe) + 4PO; that is to say, that the nitrous acid and base contain equal quantities of oxygen. The nitrate has now dissolved 2 as much lead as it contained before the commencement of the experiment; that is to say, 1371: but it is very difficult to carry the experiment so far, and that from two causes: the subnitrite at a maximum covers the lead with a crust, and that prevents the mutual action between the metal and the liquid ; and if we add new lead, the subnitrite at a minimum which is in the solution being too dilute, aud being mixed with a great quantity of subnitrite at a maximum, acts only very weakly upon the metal. In several of my experi- ments, | have without difficulty dissolved 127 or 130 parts of lead by 100 of nitrate of lead. M. Chevreul, who has repeated - apart of my experiments, bas succeeded in dissolving 135 parts of lead in 100 of nitrate in two successive experiments. (Ann. de Chim. July, 1812.*) This approaches pretty nearly to the * M, Chevreul made a set of experiments on the formation of nitrite of lead, it would appear, without any knowledge of my experiments; and he i ~P. i a ae 1813.] Axote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 363 true limit. In my experiments I always found that the liquor, which after an ebullition continued for 12 or 16 hours floated over the lead covered with subnitrite at a maximum, deposited among the crystals of this subnitrite a notable quantity of sub- nitrite at a minimum, and of course 130 parts of lead are less than the nitrate was actually capable of dissolving. It is clear that if nitrous acid were Az + 4 O, and azote were considered as a simple substance, the greatest quantity of lead which could possibly be dissolved by 100 parts of nitrate of lead would be 87 parts; since that quantity being dissolved, the quantity of oxygen remaining in the nitrous acid would be equal to that in the oxide of lead combined with the acid. If, on the has verified some of my numerical results, In a subsequent paper he has endeayoured to prove that notwithstanding the harmony of our results, 1 have deceived myself in the explanation which I have given of the phenomena. The essay of M. Chevreul has given me much pleasure, and his objections are really founded on experiments 5 but he has not perceived that if my explana- tion here was faulty, and if the one which he has substituted in its place were more correct, he would have refuted me not only in this point, but in every thing relating to chemical proportions; for these proportions never can be true, if a single exception to them exists. _ M. Cheyreul endeavoured, for example, to determine the water of crystallization of the subnitrite at a minimunt, which ke considers as the neutral nitrite, and he finds it inferior in quantity to that determined by my calculations. We have seen that the seb- nitrite at a minimum is always accompanied by a subnitrate, as M. Chevreul has likewise observed. If the subnitrite collected at the end of the first period of the operation be examined we shall find two subsalts, the first a subni- trate, the second a subnitrite, mixed together. This mixture, when analysed, give: for residue the same quantity of oxide which the first subnitrate would have given if it had been pure ; that is to say, that the first subnitrite, sup- posing it pure, would have given the same quantity of oxide that the mixture gave. But the subnitrite contains water of crystallization, and the subnitrate contains none. Hence when the mixture is analysed it will give more acid and Jess water than calculation indicates in the pure subnitrite. Hence M. Chev- reul has made a just observation ; but which, when all things are considered, does not lead to the consequence that he has drawn from it. This distinguished chemist observes, that the precipitate formed in the solution of subnitrite of lead by the addition of water is rather a carbonate than a subnitrate, pro- duced by oxidation. Tam obliged to contradict him in this point; for in none of my experiments did this precipitate ever dissolve with effervescence in, nitric acid, M. Chevreul observes, likewise, that the subnitrite at a maximum analysed by him was not so much coloured as I had described it; and in fact I have been much surprised in my latter experiments at obtaining two kinds of crystals of subnitrate at a maximum, the one reddish, the other pale yellow with a slight tint of red. The existence of more than two subnitrites being contrary (o the theory of chemical proportions, these two salts attracted my close attention, After a rigorous examination, 1 found that both were the same subsalt, the one variety crystallized more regularly than the other, as was obvious when they were viewed through the microscope. The pale sub- salt is deposited during the process, and when a solution containing it is sud- denly cooled, If we then heat the liquid, and allow it to cool slowly, the same subsalt crystallizes regularly in small prisms, forming red coloured groups. In repeating the analysis of this salt, 1 found that it contained water of crystallization amounting to 1°88 per cent, ; and that 100 parts of nitrous acid are combined in it with 1237 parts of oxide of lead, or four times as much as in the neutral nitrile. i 3 364 Experiments on the Nature of {Noy. other side, azote is considered as an oxide, and the nitrous acid be represented by N + 5 O, the greatest quantity of lead that can be dissolved by 100 of nitrate of lead will be 111-45 5 while experiment shows that it can dissolve 130. I think, then, that in the present state of our knowledge what I have stated may be considered as a decisive proof that nitrous acid is composed of 1 volume (atom or proportion) of zitric and 4 volumes of oxygen; and that it may be represented by N + 4 O. Let us now examine what the combinations may be, called nitrous acid by Gay-Lussac and Davy. It is well known that the more powerful acids can hardly ever be produced without the presence of some oxide to serve them as a base. This is the case with sulphuric, nitric, muriatic acids, &e. I have endea- voured to prove, likewise, that the oxides of the same radicle often combine together in the same manner as oxides with diffe- rent radicles. If in the experiment of condensing oxygen gas by means of nitrous gas, nitrous acid may serve as a base for nitric acid, it is obvious that the two acids must combine in such proportions that each shall contain equal quantities of oxygen, or that the one shall contain 2, 3, &c. times as much oxygen as the other. If we suppose that the acids combine in such a pro- portion that both contain equal quantities of oxygen, this com- ‘bination will consist of 2 volumes of nitrous gas, and 0°9, or almost a volume, of oxygen gas. This, in all probability, is the nitrous acid of Sir Humphry Davy. Ii to the preceding mixture we add another volume of nitrous gas, we shal! have the nitrous acid of Gay-Lussac, in which the nitric acid contains twice as much oxygen as the nitrous acid. Let us now turn our attention to ammonia. We know that its alkaline nature indicates the existence of oxygen in it; for, on the contrary supposition, one of the strongest saline bases would be an exception to the general rule, and would fail in its analogy to bodies of a similar nature. I have shown that am- monia, to judge from the quantity of it necessary to neutralise an acid, must cont:.in about 46°88 per cent. of oxygen: but we have seen that the combinations which nitric acid forms with saline bases would not be proportional to the laws of chemical combi- nations, unless azote contained oxygen; and as azote is one of the constituents of ammonia, we see in consequence that the presence of oxygen in that alkali is rendered very probable, or rather is proved. When 1 first convinced myself that ammonia must contain oxygen, I considered it as composed of azote, hydrogen, and oxygen, according to the experiments of Sir H. Davy. Some time after, the experiments of Berthollet, jun. of Henry, and Davy, proved that ammonia, when decomposed, furnishes a quantity of azote and hydrogen equal in weight to the portion of 4 {813.] Azote, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 365 alkali decomposed. Of course this first conjecture was ill- founded. I then had recourse to another explanation, namely, that ammonia is the oxide of a metal, which metal, with a smaller quantity of oxygen than exists in ammonia, constitutes hydrogen ; and with a greater quantity, azote. I thought that the electro-chemical difference between these two oxides might be explained by a change in the original electric modification of the metal. The quantity of oxygen in azote ought to be ina determinate ratio to that in ammonia: and I found that if we suppose that the radicle of the alkali combines with 14 times as much oxygen in azote as in ammonia, then all the calculations on the proportions of constituents, both in the alkali and in azote, correspond in an admirable manner. As for the oxygen of hydrogen, I found that it was very diffi- cult to prove either its existence or its quantity; because the oxygen of the azote in ammonia being subtracted from that of the alkali, there remained only a quantity so exceedingly small that it does not exceed the difference exhibited by, the most careful experiments—a difference always occasioned by the im- perfection of our methods. It was therefore doubtful whether hydrogen contained oxygen or not; and experiments did not speedily promise to throw any light on the subject; but I am able at present to prove, ina manner that appears to me deci- sive, that hydrogen contains no oxygen, and that none of our ealculations on the laws of chemical proportions gives us a right to suspect that it contains any. Proofs of the non-existence of Oxygen in Hydrogen. 1. Carbonic acid gas condenses twice its volume of ammo- niacal gas, and forms subcarbonate of ammonia. 2. This subeatbonate decomposes without effervescence the nitrate of lead, and without altering the neutrality of the nitrate which is in excess. The carbonate obtained and analysed is composed in such a manner that the carbonic acid contains exactly twice as much oxygen as the oxide of lead. It follows that if ammonia contains oxygen, two volumes of ammoniacal gas contain just half as much oxygen as one volume of carbonic acid ; that Is to say, thatammonia contains exactly one-fourth of its volume of oxygen gas. 3. Ammoniacal gas decomposed by electricity gives two vo- fumes of gas, 11 of which are hydrogen, and + volume azotic ut Azotic gas being an oxide, it follows that the oxygen which it contains is proportional to the additional quantities which it absorbs in the subsequent degrees of oxidation ; that is to say, in order to become nitrous oxide gas. Now this ratio will be a quantity equal, or double, or one-half, Let us suppose, at first, 366 Experiments on ihe Nature of {Nov. that azote contains ouly } as much oxygen as that which it absorbs in order to become nitrous oxide gas. If we subtract this quantity from the whole oxygen which ought to exist in ammonia, there remains to be found in the hydrogen a quantity of oxygen surpassing it in weight. On the other hand, azote cannot contain twice as much oxygen as that which it absorbs in order to become nitrous oxide gas, because that double quantity weighs more than the whole of the azote itself. Hence azote can neither contain more nor less oxygen than a quantity equal to that which it absorbs in order to become nitrous oxide gas ; but one volume of azotic gas forms nitrous oxide gas by com- bining with half a volume of oxygen gas. Therefore azotic gas © contains half its volume of oxygen. 5. We have seen that two volumes of ammoniacal gas contain half a volume of oxygen gas, and produce one volume of azotic ‘gas, in which half a volume of oxygen gas is contained. Of consequence no oxygen remains for the hydrogen gas. It follows, then, that the oxygen supposed from calculation to exist in ammonia is precisely equal to that demonstrated by the same means to exist in azote. ‘Therefore hydrogen cannot con- tain any oxygen.—Q. E. D. But what, then, is the constitution of ammonia, if hydrogen be an element, and azote an oxide? I think it not unlikely that some chemists will lay hold of this circumstance to revive the ingenious fictions of Beccher and Stahl in favour of phlo- giston, by making hydrogen act the part ascribed to phlogiston 5 but I do not think that this improbable hypothesis will gain much by the explanation of the composition of ammonia; for if combustibility depend upon the presence of hydrogen in the combustible body, it follows either that azote contains hydrogen, or that it is an exception to the general rule. We have no more reason to consider the radicle of ammonia as composed of a base unknown rendered combusiible by hydrogen, than to form the same supposition with regard to potassium and iron ; an opinion which has been alternately combated and defended by one of the. most celebrated chemists of our days, If azote, as we have seen, is composed of oxygen and a combustible radicle, ammonia must be composed of two com- bustible bodies, combined with a single portion of oxygen common to bogh; but I have shown (nn. de Chim. Ixxx. 36) that this is the kind of composition which characterizes the productions of the organic nature, from which ammonia itself always derives its origin. We may, then, consider it as the oxide of a compound radicle, as is the case with tartaric acid, sugar, &c. In these bodies the combination of the oxygen with one of their combustible radicles, to the exclusion of the other, gceasions decomposition. We can no more say, then, that 1313.] Axole, of Hydrogen, and of Ammonia. 367 ammonia is composed of azote and hydrogen, than we can that sugar is composed of carbonic oxide and hydrogen, or of carbon and water; because the very instant that these last substances are formed the organic compound ceases to exist as such. In the present state of our knowledge we must consider ammonia as the oxide of a compound radicle; and the formula expressing the composition of the radicle will be N + 3 H, and that for ammonia N H + O. It is easy to see that by this explanation the phenomena presented by ammonia will cease to be anomalous, and that the analogy of ammonia with other bodies is perfectly restored. We have, then, two combustible bodies, which, by uniting with hydrogen, produce compound and oxidable radicles; namely, nitric and carbon. A radicle composed of nitric and hydrogen constitutes the base of ammonia; a radicle composed of carbon and hydrogen constitutes the principal base of vegeta- ble bodies; a triple radicle composed of carbon, nitric, and hydrogen, coristitutes the base of animal bodies. It is by varying on the one hand the proportions of the constituents of the radicles, and on the other that of the degrees of oxidation, that nature with so few elementary principles produces that pro- digious diversity of organic products. What, then, is the amalgam produced by the decomposition of ammonia? Certainly not the ammonia itself combined with hydrogen gas and mercury, as ‘ihenard and Gay-Lussac have concluded from experiments far indeed from being conclusive: * nor is there any other way of explaining this phenomenon, at once singular and perfectly analogous to what happens with the other alkalies, than to consider the amalgam as composed of mercury, and the radicle either of ammonia or of azote, though the last is the least probable. If, on the other side, it is the radicle of ammonia which is combined with mercury, we have the curious phenomenon of a compound metallic body. Before leaving this subject [ trust I shall be permitted to draw the attention of the reader to some circumstances relative to ammonia and its compounds, which are well deserving of consi- deration :— 1. How comes it that nifric, a body so strongly electro- _ *® It was taken for granted in these experiments that an ammoniacal amalgam, formed in liquid ammonia, but afterwards fixed by a kind of con- gelation, ought to contain no water, It is easy to see how little force this argument of Gay-Lussac and ‘Thenard ought to have, when mercury itself in ordinary circumstances cannot be deprived of all the water with which it is penetrated without being boiled, Yet in this amalgam, formed in the midst of water, and ten times Jess dense than mercury, a dryness so absolute Js supposed to exist that it does not contain water enough to oxidize the infinitely small quantity of metal combined with the mercury, 368 Experiments on the Nature of Azote, Gc. [Nov. negative, produces with hydrogen, which is. feebly electro- positive, a radicle strongly electro-positive? It will, be said, because the hydrogen in ammonia is combined with less oxygen than in water, and because Thenard and Gay-Lussac have observed that, when in organic compounds, the hydrogen is to the oxygen as in water, the compounds are neither acid nor alkaline ; but when the quantity of oxygen exceeds this ratio the substances are acids. The observation of the French chemists is interesting, but it proves nothing; for in acetic acid, which is one of the strongest vegetable acids, the oxygen is to the hydrogen precisely’ in the same ratio as in water; and the sul- phuret and telluret of hydrogen preserve, in spite of the pre- sence of hydrogen and the absence of oxygen, the electro-nega- tive nature of sulphur and tellurium; so that hydrogen does not appear of itself to determine any thing respecting the electro- chemical nature of a compound. There remains, therefore, something at the bottom of this fact which we do not under- stand. 2. Water is composed of 11°75 hydrogen and $825 oxygen, and nitric acid likewise of 11°71 nitric and 88°29 oxygen. In azote the nitric is combined with 14 times as much oxygen as in ammonia is combined with the hydrogen and nitrie toge- ther ; that is to say, that according to the estimations which appear at present the most correct, the weight of the hydrogen in ammonia is precisely one-half of that of the nitric. Is this merely accidental? or is there some connection of cause which occasions it? Can we suppose that nature, in modifying the electro-chemical state of the radicle of ammonia, produces from it, under difierent and unknown circumstances, sometimes hydrogen, sometimes the suboxide of nitric? ~ Is it possible that the nitric, that is, the electro-chemical modification which renders it capable of forming an acid, never exists without oxygen; and that on that account azote, though a compound, bafiles all our attempts to reduce it: and consequently the com- bustible radicle can never exist alone under any other forms than those of ammonium and hydrogen? If these ideas should one day become probable, what views would they not furnish us with respecting the regeneration of the atmosphere, and the produc- tion of azote among herbivorous animals, which find so little of it in their food, and yet furnish daily so great a quantity of it in their excretions? But it is easy to make conjectures. Perhaps I have already indulged in them too far. Deceitfui.probabilities are almost always more injurious to science than the advancement of absurdities, or inaccurate experiments. 1813.) On the Specific Heat of the different Gases. 369 ArTIcLE IX, Memoir on the Determination of the Specific Heat of the different Gases. By MM. F. Delaroche; M.D. and J. E. Berard. (Continued from p. 292.) Section III. Determination of the Specific Heat of the Gases ly another Process. . WE might have repeated a greater number of times the expe- riments which led us to the foregoing results ; but we conceived that such’a repetition would have been useless. The agreement which exists between those of the same kind, and which we obtained in two experiments following each other, shows that they were not influenced by accidental causes of error; and if they were subject to a constant cause of error, no advantage would result from multiplying their number. It was therefore more essential to endeavour to arrive at the same results by a different process, susceptible of almost equal precision, and to compare these results with the preceding. Count Rumford has put this in our power, by publishing the ingenious method by which he determined the quantity of heat disengaged during the com- . bustion of certain substances, and which he had himself an- nounced as fit for determining the specific heats of the gases. We therefore undertook some experiments of this kind, employing the same apparatus which has been already described, and which had been constructed long before we were acquainted with the experiments of Count Rumford. It answered all the conditions demanded by this celebrated philosopher, It was, as has been already observed, a metallic vessel full of distilled _ water, traversed by a flat serpentine, sufficiently long to allow the gas while passing through it to acquire the temperature of the water in the calorimeter. As the gas entered by the lower end, it deposited there the greatest part of its heat ; so that this heat spread itself sufficiently equably through the whole water that filled the vessel. We determined the temperature of this water by means of a thermometer, the cylindrical bulb of which was almost as high as the calorimeter itself, and which gave us, of course, the mean heat of the whole liquid. Our gazometer, and the part of the apparatus for heating the gas, were equally fitted for the experiment. Leaving every thing disposed as in the preceding experiments, we made a new set, proceeding in the same manner, with this difference, that instead of waiting till the temperature of the Vor, I. N°'V, 2A 370 » “On the Determination of the [Nov. calorimeter was become stationary, we determined the quantity of gas which passed through the serpentine while that tempera- ture rose a certain given number of degrees, setting out from a given point, and likewise the time necessary to produce this effect. We employed the results of these experiments to calcu- late the specific heats of the gases experimented upon, setting out from this simple principle, that the specific heats, ceteris paribus, must be inversely as the quantities of gas necessary to produce the same elevation of temperature. In order to make accurate experiments according to this principle, it was necessary to take certain precautions, and to make some corrections on the results, which it will be proper to point out. Philosophers have long been of-opinion that the quantity of heat disengaged during the combustion of different substances might be determined in this manner; but it was necessary to contend with a cause of error, which proved very injurious to the accuracy of the results. In proportion as the calorimeter became hot, the air and the surrounding bodies deprived it of a portion of its heat. Hence the whole heat of the burning body was not indicated by the rise in the temperature of the calori- meter. It was necessary to include the heat lost during the process, and this was very difficult. In order to get rid of this inconvenience, Count Rumford conceived the happy thought of beginning the experiment not at the temperature of the surrounding air, but a little below it, and to allow the experiment to continue till the calorimeter was heated as much above the surrounding air as it had been below it at the commencement. By this method he made the heating of the calorimeter almost independent of the surrounding air. During the first part of the process the air would communicate heat to the calorimeter: but during the second part the calori- meter in its turn would give out nearly as much heat to the air as it had received from it at first. According to this principle, we sunk the temperature of our calorimeter about 10° Fahrenheit below that of the air of the room ; and causing a current of hot gas to pass through it, we did not begin our experiment till the temperature of the calori- meter was within 4° of that of the air of the room. We then began to reckon the number of cubic inches of gas necessary to raise the temperature 8° higher than the initial temperature. By this method we made two experiments at once; one which gave us the quantity of gas necessary to raise the calorimeter 8°; another which gave that which was necessary to raise it the 4 intermediate degrees. It is difficult to say which of these deter- minations led us to the most exact conclusions: the difference between them was never considerable, as may be seen by the table of our results. : 1313.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 371 The principle upon which these experiments depended was: such that it would have been requisite, in order to be applicable to the object in view, that the gases during their passage through the calorimeter should suffer the same diminution of tempera- ture. As this could not actually take place exactly, we have always by the rule of proportion brought the results obtained to what they would have been if that had taken place. We took for a measure of the cooling of the gases the difference between the temperature of the gases when they entered the calorimeter, and their temperature when they issued out, which we considered as equal to that of the surrounding air. This last estimate could not differ from the truth; for since the gas in passing through the calorimeter assumed the temperature of the water in that vessel, which during one-half of the experiment was below the temperature of the air, and during the other half as much above it, a compensation took place, which enabled us to take the tem- perature of the air as the mean heat of the gas during the whole process. The same compensation corrected another error, which might have been occasioned by the condensation of aqueous vapour. The gas saturated with vapour at. the temperature of the air would deposite a portion of it in its passage through the serpentine during the first half of the experiment; but as it would take up nearly the same quantity during the second half of the experiment, the general result would not be affected, We have observed already that we could not entirely prevent the gas tube from communicating some heat to the calorimeter. It was necessary to estimate the influence of this cause of error, We ascertained, by two very correct experiments, that the quan- tity of heat yielded in this manner to the calorimeter in ten mi- nutes was capable of raising its temperature 0°342° Fahrenheit ; and as it was sensibly proportional to the time, nothing was more easy than to allow for it. . We now present the result of our experiments in the follow- ing table, quite similar to the preceding one, and therefore requiring no explanation :— 2aQ {Noy, ion of the . ‘minat On the Deie 0-914 PVE-091 69-108 | 6-188 [99963 | SHY] V-0INS 2 xyz) OL a491¢ 3| 10818 699-9 | vhE-.091| Gcs-L¥ | 6¢-103 | 9-bu9F | 999.63 | 6-8F | B-O9LP apixo 1-¢105 bse-6 | FrE-091] CG3-LF | 69-10%] 0-963 | 999.68 | e8F | 61863 {xa xg Q #4OGKD L-Gc1g 699-9 | PPE-O91] S¢a-LF | 6S-L08 | F-199 | 999-63 | 38h | 8-CELP G-1F63 Lov | 98L-8¢i] PyO-6r | €@-L0a | 6-EGEr | 826-63 | O-0¢ | T-9FF1 2 he L-8018 £669 | 98L-851| PhO.6P | &%-LOa | 6-0F6s | 829.62 | 0.08 | F-I¢05 a sei L-£963 16. (| SBU-BST) 790-0F'| ELOR | OBOE) MANE.) 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Hence, reckoning the specific heat of air unity, we obtain the following numbers for the same volumes of the other gases :— Specific heats of Ditto by the equal volumes. first method, Bae tired caine Oa on pene Hydrogen ......-0°893......+++,0°9033 Carbonic acid ....1°311..........1°2583 Oxygen “itn om di ORI nxt hte DE 02 ste ct uns culnithe FOO Unely aia v nest OOD Oxide of azote....1:315..........1°3503 Olefiant gas ......1°680..........1°5530 Carbonic oxide... .0°983..........-1'0340 The agreement between the results obtained by these two processes is as great as could be expected from experiments founded upon principles so different. As we consider our first method as most exact, we shall not take the mean between the two; but satisfy ourselves with exhibiting the result of the second set of experiments, as a proof of the accuracy of the first set. Secrion IV. Specific Heat of the Vapour of Water, that of Air Leing consi- dered as Unity. Aqueous vapour being an elastic fluid which produces a very striking effect in many phenomena, it was of importance to obtain correct notions of its specific heat. It was scarce possible to make experiments on this fluid in a state of purity: because such experiments require the whole of the apparatus to be pre- served at a temperature higher than that of boiling water. It was necessary to have recourse to a mixture of vapour and air; and even in this way of experimenting several difficulties pre- sented themselves. It was necessary to employ temperatures somewhat high, if we wished the vapour to constitute a consi- derable portion of the mixture: both our apparatus and our process were accommodated to this kind of experiment. It was sufficient to observe at what temperature our calorimeter became stationary when acted upon by a current of air saturated with humidity, and by the same current of air in a state of dryness. We were able only to employ air saturated with vapour at the temperature of 104°. ‘lo have employed a higher temperature would have been very difficult : but at the temperature of 104°, such is the tension of vapour, that it forms ,',th of the volume of the air with which it is mixed, It is obvious that, operating 37 On the Determination of the {Nov, upon so small a proportion, to obtain an exact result was scarcely possible : but the nature of our apparatus, and the great pains which we bestowed on the experiments, induce us to think that _ the following results are not very remote from the truth. The air, when it came out of the gazometers, was mixed with a great quantity of vapour, and then passed through a serpentine tube surrounded with water, kept all the time of the experiment at the temperature of 102-2°. In that serpentine it deposited its excess of vapour, so that we may consider it as perfectly saturated with vapour at the temperature of 102°2°. The current was then heated in the steam tube, and passed through the calo- yimeter, asin the other experiments. To prevent the air from depositing water while -passing through the calorimeter, it was necessary to keep it always above the temperature of 102°: for this purpose it was sufficient to heat the air in the room where the calorimeter was to the tem- perature of about 86°. The air thus saturated with vapour made the calorimeter stand stationary at 106°34°, the ambient air being 85-64°. Hence the effect produced was 106°34° — 85°64° = 20°7°; from which it is necessary to subtract 3°6°, the effect produced by the gas pipe. There remains |7-1° for the efiect produced by air saturated with moisture at the temperature of 102°2°. Now this air entered the calorimeter at the tempera- ture of 207°14°, and came out at the temperature of 106°34°. Hence it cooled 100°8° to produce this effect. As soon as this experiment was finished, there was substituted for the vessel in which the air became saturated with vapour, a serpentine tube surrounded with a mixture of pounded ice and salt, which continued during the whole of the experiment, below 5°. Things being thus circumstanced, the experiment was repeated. ‘The current of air thus dried Jost in passing through the calorimeter 102°42° of heat, and kept the calorimeter sta- tionary at 104°72°, the ambient air being 85°64°. The effect produced by this dry air, subtracting the heat communicated by the gas tube, was 15°48°, By the rule of proportion it ought to have been 15°12°, if the current of air had Jost 100-8° in passing through the calorimeter, as was the case with the current of moist air in the preceding experiment. The difference between these two experiments, made exactly in the same way, is 17°1° — 15°12° = 1-98°. Therefore 1-98° is the eifect produced by the vapour. During the continuance of this experiment the barometer stood at 29°906 inches; and the tension of the vapour, at 102°2°, is, according to Dalton’s table, 1-988 inch. Of conse- guence, in the air saturated with vapour, the volume of air was to that of vapour in the ratio of 15-0 to. 1. The effect of elastic fluids on the calorimeter being, in the same circumstances, pro- 1813.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. ; ago portional to the quantity which passes through, it follows, from the preceding experiments, that if a volume of dry air raise the temperature of the calorimeter 15°12°, asi equal volume of vapour would raise it 29°7°, other things being equal. Hence, if the specific heat of air be 1-000, that of the same volume of vapour is 1°96, and of the same weight, 3:136.* SrecTIon V. f Determination of the Specific Heat of Air suljected to different ; Degrees of Pressure. After having established the relation which exists between the specific heat of the different gases, we endeavoured to ascertain that which exists between the specific heat of the same gas sub- jected to different degrees of pressure, or, which comes to the same thing, having different densities. Does the specific heat of a gas increase with its density? and if it does, is the increase proportional to the density? The experiments of Gay-Lussac, the only ones, as far as we know, which are capable of throwing light on the subject, seem to decide the first of these questions in the affirmative; but they are neither sufficiently direct nor precise to give an answer to the second. The first process employed to determine the specific heats of the different gases, appeared to us equally proper to furnish an accurate answer to these two questions. It was sufficient to circulate a current of the same gas through the calorimeter, sometimes artificially compressed, and sometimes subjected only to the pressure of the atmosphere, and to determine in both cases the point at which the temperature of the calorimeter became stationary. The following modifications in our apparatus enabled us to make these experiments with facility :— We soldered to the stop-cocks, P and P’, (fig. 8. Plate X)a tube in the form of a Y¥ reversed. The two branches of the ¥ united ina common tube, II 1, which, rising vertically, and pass- ing through an opening in the roof of the room, opened above a tub, X, placed in the room above. We carried to this room the cylindrical glass vessels, A, A’, and formed the communica- tion between them and the reservoirs, B, B’, by the long tubes which passed down through the floor. In this apparatus the height, H H, of the upper extremity of the tube, I 1, above the mouth of the stop-cocks, P, P’, determined the pressure to which the gas was subjected. It amounted to 11°29 feet.t It * This is calculated on the supposition that the weight of vapour is (o that of airas 10:16. See Gay-Lussac, Aun, de Chim, Ixxx. 218. + To enable the reservoirs to bear this great pressure without danger, they were firmly bound round with cords, 1 376 On the Determination of the [Nov. is easy to see that the gazometers thus modified would act exactly as before. It was sufficient to make these experiments on a single gas to be enabled to draw conclusions applicable to all the rest. We made choice of atmospheric air, as the most convenient, and the least likely to be altered. This enabled us to remove the bladders, and the globular vessels that contained them, and to establish an immediate communication between the gazometers and the calorimeter ; and hence to dispense with lutes, which we should have found it difficult to make sufficiently tight to resist so great a pressure, We will satisfy ourselves with giving the result of a single experiment, made with great care, because it was conducted in every respect in the same manner as all the preceding ones. The gazometers were so disposed as to give in ten minutes an uniform current of 1898 cubic inches of gas (at the temperature of 41°, the barometer standing at 29°634 inches, besides a pressure of 11°29 feet of water, making in all a pressure equal to 41654 inches of mercury). ‘The experiment was conducted ina manner perfectly analogous to all those that were exhibited in the first table. The result was, that this current of com- pressed air maintained the temperature of the calorimeter at 28 811° above that of the surrounding air, making an allowance for the heat communicated by the gas tube: but this air entered the calorimeter at the temperature of 206°42°, and came out of it at that of 73°098°; so that it was deprived of 135°322° of heat during its passage through the calorimeter. If we reduce by calculation the results of this experiment to what they would . have been, supposing it the same with the first experiment made on air in the first table, we find that under a pressure of 41°654 inches of mercury, a current of 21964 cubic inches of air, by losing 130°347° of heat, raise the temperature of the calorimeter 33°666° ; while we see by the table that under a pressure of 29-154 inches, the same current, in the same circumstances, only raise the temperature of the calorimeter 27°761°. The ratio between these two numbers being that of the specific heats of the gases, it follows that if the specific heat of air, under the pressure of 29°154 inches, be 1-000; that of the same volume of air, under the pressure of 41°654 inches, will be 1-2127. We repeated these two experiments with the greatest possible care, one with air in its usual state, the other with air subjected to the artificial pressure. They have given us, after having made all the calculations, the ratio between the specific heat of air under the pressure of 29°154 inches, to that of air under the pressure of 41°654 inches, 1: 1:2665. Taking the mean of these two determinations, we obtain the ratio of 1 : 1°2396. Hence it is evident that the specific heats of equal volumes of 1813.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 377 gases subjected to different pressures are not equal, but differ materially from each other. It is evident also that the ratio between the specific heats is not that of the densities; for the ratio of the pressures to which the air in these experiments was subjected is 1 : 13583, obviously different from that of the spe- cific heats 1 : 1°2396. If we attend to the weight, it results, from the same experi- ments, that the specific heat of a mass of air increases with its bulk, without being proportional to it. The experiments on the different gases having been made under different pressures, it was necessary, to make them capable of being compared together, to reduce the results to what they would have been supposing them all made under the same pressure. ‘The experiments described in this section furnished us with the means of making this correction ; for since we know that an augmentation of pressure, in the ratio of 1 to 1'3583, increases the specific heat of the same volume of air in the ratio of | to 1-2396, we may deduce from these ratios that of the specific heats of two equal volumes of air subjected to pressures of a different ratio from those that have been stated. We may, without running the risk of committing an error of any great importance, employ for that purpose the following propor- tion: (1°3583 — 1 = 0:3583) : (1:2396 — 1.= 0-2396) :: (= a 1) - ba _ We in which D and P denote the two different pressures ; c, the known specific heat, corresponding to the pressure P; and «&, the specific heat sought, corresponding to the pressure D. This formula is founded on the supposition that the ditterences between the specific heats are proportional to the differences of the corresponding pressures, which may be considered as true when the question relates to small differences, We employed the same formula for all the gases, because the law, according to which their specific heats vary according to different pressures, if it be not the same for all, must, at least, be very nearly the same. (To be continued.) ARTICLE X. General Views of the Composition of Animal Fluids. By J, Berzelius, M.D. Professor of Chemistry in the College of Medicine at Stockholm. (Continued from p, 208.) Of Bile. Ir is well known that the elder chemists considered the bile as en avimal soap composed of soda and a resin, ‘The accuracy of 378 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids.’ [Nov.~ this opinion had often been questioned, owing to the very smalk proportion of soda; and lately our skilful contemporary, ‘ihe- nard, has published an analysis of bile, in which he gives as its component parts, soda, a peculiar matter named by him Picromel, and a resin, which, united, produce a fluid that has the taste and other distinguishing properties of this seeretion. Nevertheless, 1 am convinced that there is no such resin as Thenard and his predecessors have described. 1 shall not here relate my experiments on this supposed resin in particular, but shall give the result of my inquiries on the bile itself, which will enable the reader to coniirm or reject my opinions, according as he finds them founded on accurate experiment. aM The substance which is peculiar to bile has an excessively bitter taste followed by some sweetness ; the smell is also pecu- liar, and the colour in most animals varies from green to greenish yellow. It is soluble in water, and its solubility is not in the least promoted by the alkali of bile, since, when this is neutral- ized by any acid, the peculiar matter does not separate: it also dissolves in alcohol in all proportions. Like the albuminous materials of the blood of which this peculiar matter is composed, it will unite with acids, producing compounds of two degrees of gaturation, and hence, of solubility. ‘The acetous acid, which gives soluble compounds with the albumen of the blood, does the same with the peculiar metter of the bile; and hence this matter is not precipitated on adding this acid to bile, though it falls down on the addition of the sulphuric, nitric, or muriatic aeids. It is this sparingly soluble compound of biliary matter with a mineral acid which has been, mistaken by many chemists for a resin; since it possesses the external characters of a resin, melts when heated, dissolves in spirit of wine, and is again pre- cipitated (in part at least) by the addition of water. The alkalies, alkaline earths, and alkaline acetates, decompose and dissolve it: the former, hy depriving it of its combined acid; the latter, by furnishing it with acetous acid, which renders it soluble in water. : The peculiar matter of bile will also combine with many metallic oxides into a pulverulent mass ; and the above described resiniform compound of this matter, and any of the mineral acids, often form with the same oxides a substance like a plaster, resembling in this respect also the true resins. The degree of insolubility possessed by these compounds of acid and biliary albumen varies both according to the species of animals, and also according to the length of time that the bile has been extracted ; for the longer it has been kept, the more solubility these compounds acquire; but in this case I have always found that by pouring in a fresh quantity of acid, and slowly evaporating the mixture, the resinous matter falls down as the supernatant liquor becomes more acid. 1313,J Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 379 The biliary matter may be obtained pure in the following way: mix fresh bile with sulphuric acid diluted with three or four times its weight of water; a yellow precipitate ofa peculiar nature first appears, which must be allowed to subside and be removed: then continue to add fresh acid as long as any preci- pitate is formed ; heat the mixture gently for some hours, and afterwards decant the fluid part, and thoroughly edulcorate the green resin which is left. ‘This resin reddens litmus, and is artially and sparingly soluble in water, It may be deprived of its acid in two ways: one of them is by digesting it with car- ponte of barytes and water, whereby the carbonate is decom- posed, and the water forms a green ‘solution possessing all the peculiar characters of bile: the other way is by dissolving it in alcohol, and digesting the solution, either with carbonate of potash, or carbonate of lime, till it no longer reddens litmus, and then evaporating it to dryness. Either of these methods wil! give the pure biliary matter, and there are also other ways of obtaining it, which I have described in my work on Animal Chemistry, vol. ii. p. 47. This peculiar biliary matter, when pure, resembles exactly entire desiccated bile. Being soluble in alcohol it might be supposed that it would dissolve in ether; but this is not the case; for ether only changes it to a very fetid adipocirous substance, exactly as it acts upon the albuminous matter of the blood. One circumstance relating to the biliary matter has much surprised me, which is, that it gives no ammonia by destructive distilla- tion. Therefore it contains no azote; but what can have become of the azote of the albuminous matter of the blood? for no vestige of azote is found in any other of the constituent parts of the bile, nor does bile contain any ammonia. — The following is the result of my analysis of bile :— DAR ee i cx ong se as stuns 2 eae Biliary matter .. 12... sees cece cree teens 80:0 Mucus of the gall bladder, dissolved in the bile 30 Alkalies and salts (common to all secreted fluids) 96 1000°0 2. The Saliva. The saliva is one of the fluid secretions which contain more water than the blood. When first discharged from the mouth it holds suspended a mucus which is not dissolved in the saliva, but gives it its frothy quality, This mucus gradually subsides from the saliva when kept in a cylindrical vessel, and with more ease when previously diluted, after which the supernatant saliva may be decanted off. Saliva is composed of 380 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Nov. WMatGrass histone wtb elays lol sack D929 A peculiar animal matter ......... 2°9 Miticnes, .ravad te sud renee al de oie 1°4 Alkaline muriates! sig fies atheels ay ae Lactate of soda and animal matter... 09 Pave ishdanweiha fish «kes BOR oR ‘9 0 1000°0 Two of these ingredients require further notice. The peculiar animal matter of the saliva is obtained by adding spirit of wine to dried saliva, which dissolves the muriates, lac- tates, &c. The soda which remains in the insoluble portion is then extracted by fresh spirits slightly acidulated with acetous acid. ‘The residue is mucus mixed with the peculiar salivary matter, which last may be dissolved by water, leaving behind the insoluble mucus. This peculiar matter is therefore soluble in water, but not in spirits of wine. The solution in water, when evaporated to dryness, leaves a transparent mass that easily again dissolves in cold water. This solution is not precipitated either by alkalies, or acids, or subacetate of lead, or muriate of mercury, or tannin; neither does it become turbid by boiling. , The mucus of the saliva is readily procured by mixing saliva with distilled water, from which the mucus gradually subsides, and it may then be collected on the filter and washed. In this state it is white, and would seem to contain phosphate of lime mixed with it. This mucus is quite insoluble in water; it be- comes transparent and horny in the acetic, sulphuric, and mu- Tiatic acids, but does not dissolve in them, and the alkalies separate nothing from them. ‘The mucus therefore contains no earthy phosphate, though its appearance would lead to suspect this earthy salt. It dissolves in caustic alkali, and is again sepa- rated from it by the acids. A small proportion escapes the action of the alkali, but yields to muriatic acid, and is not separable from this acid by an excess of alkali. ‘The mucus of the saliva is very easily incinerated, and though no phosphate of lime is detected in it by the acids in its natural state, a considerable portion of phosphate appears in the ash after combustion. Is this mucus secreted in the salivary glands, or is it only the common mucus of the mouth? The latter appears most pro- bable, though I confess that the large quantity of this mucus contained in the saliva, and the great difference between its chemical properties and those of the nasal mucus, throw some doubt on this opinion. It is this mucus that produces the tartar of the teeth, which at first is only mucus precipitated on the surface of the teeth and 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. ~ 381 adhering to them, but soon it begins to decompose, its colour changes by the influence of the air from white to yellow or greenish, the warmth and moisture of the mouth contribute to complete the decomposition, and the same earthy phosphates which are produced by oxidation and combustion in open fire are here formed and slowly deposited on the surface of the tooth by a slower but a similar process. The tartar is, therefore, as it were, the asi of mucus crystallized on the tooth, and this, as is avell known, will in length of time form very large incrustations. I have found it to consist of the following substances :— Earthy phosphates ........2-+++++. 79°0 Mucus not yet decomposed ........ 12°5 Peculiar salivary matter............ 1°0 Animal matter soluble in muriatic acid ~7°5 ———. 100-0 8. The Mucus of the mucous Membranes. I shall premise some remarks on the term mucus, as applied to animal chemistry. It properly ‘signifies the mucus of the nostrils ; but many chemists have extended it to other substances found in the animal fluids ; so that Jordan, Bostock, Haldat, and others, reckon it among the constituents of these fluids. None of these chemists has considered mucus, used as a general term, as identical with the nasal mucus, or, if they have thought so, it has been a very great error. I must now mention that there is no such principle as the mucus of animal fluids, the substance so considered being in reality lactate of soda mixed with the animal matter that always accompanies it: but if it did exist as a separate principle, some other term should have been used, to distinguish it from the mucus of the nostrils, which is very different. The chemists who have the most attended to the analysis of mucus have been Messrs. Bostock, Fourcroy, and Vauquelin ; but none has given a very satisfactory account of its properties. The two latter chemists, who have published a long memoir on animal mucus, have too much generalized the characters pecu- liar to nasal mucus, in attempting to extend them to the mucus of the intestines and gall bladder, for example, where they are totally inapplicable. The mucus of mucous membranes is produced from the same secretory organ throughout the body, and possesses every where the same external characters which constitute mucus: but in chemical properties the mucus of different organs varies consi- derably, according to the required use in protecting these organs from the contact of foreign substances. ‘Thus the mucus of the nostrils and trachea, which is intended to protect these mem- x 382 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Nov. branes from the external air, differs from that of the urinary bladder, which is to preserve this organ from the contact of ad acid liquor, or from that of the gall bladder, whose contents are alkaline. The animal matter peculiar to mucus is the same in all cases, and has the following properties: it is insoluble in water, but is able to imbibe so much of this fluid as to become more or less - transparent, semi-liquid, or what is termed glary. If in this state it be laid on blotting paper, and the paper changed as it becomes wet, the mucus may be deprived of the greater part of the moisture which it had absorbed, «and will then lose most of its peculiar properties. Mucus is not coagulable by boiling, it becomes transparent when dry, and generally resumes its mucous character on adding fresh water, but there is great difference in this property. The liquid part of mucus, or that fluid which the proper mucous matter imbibes, and to which it owes its fluidity, is the same as the liquid that remains after the coagulation of the serum. pie My experiments give the following constituent parts of nasal mucus :-— MU aE ee og a cram se sie a tha ac aac e Gis ena oh nese Mucous matter .........-. Shireit os. 6 5. sacha, eee Muriate of potass and soda.............. iF) pee Lactate of soda, with its accompanying ani- mal matter... ee eeeree seer eeeees me ae Neeley. oy. ig ihe. Manes sisi MP ahiane ae Sete cid ee, Oo Albumen and animal matter insoluble in alco- hol, but soluble in water; along with a 3°5 trace of phosphate of soda ............ 1000°0 Nasal mucus, when just secreted, contains a greater propor- tion of water than above stated. It is very fluid; and gives by evaporation only 0°25 per cent. of solid matter. There is reason to suppose that its peculiar animal matter is first dissolved in the free alkali, but is gradually precipitated as the alkali becomes carbonated by the contact of the respired air. The mucus which I analysed was of such a consistence that the whole quantity fell out on inclining the vessel that contained it. The proper muccus matter of the nose has the following pro- perties: immersed in water it imbibes so much moisture as to become transparent, excepting a few particles that remain opake : it may then be separated by the filter from the rest of the water, and may be further dried on blotting paper till it has again lost nearly the whole of the moisture it had imbibed. Mucus thus an le ee 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 383 dried will again absorb water when immersed in it, and resume its transparency ; and this alternate wetting and drying may be repeated an indefinite number of times, but it thus graduaily becomes yellowish and more resembling pus, Five parts of recent mucus absorbed by 95 parts of water produce a glairy mass which will not pour from a vessel. When mucus is boiled with water it does not become horny, nor does it coagulate ; the violent motion of ebullition rends it in pieces, but when the boiling is discontinued, it is found collected again at the bottom _ of the vessel, and nearly as mucous as before. I should observe, however, that this mucus naturally contains a little albumen, which must first be extracted-by cold water to enable the re- maining mucus to exhibit the above-mentioned appearances. The nasal mucous matter dissolves in diluted sulphuric acid: when the acid is concentrated, the mucus is carbonized. Nitric acid at first coagulates it, a netihiel of yellow spots being dis- persed through the coagulum ; but by continuing the digestion it softens, and is finally dissolved into a clear yellow liquid con- taining none of that yellow substance which I have described ‘under fibrin. Acetous acid hardens mucous matter, bat without dissolving it, even in a boiling heat. Caustic alkali at first renders mucous matter more viscous, and afterwards dissolves it into a limpid flowing liquid. ‘Tannin coagulates mucus, both when softened by the absorption of water, and when dissolved either in an acid or an alkali. The Mucus of the Trachea, as far as ‘1 Nave “been able to examine, possesses the same properties with the preceding. The first morning expectoration often contains bluish or dark coloured flocculi, which will imbibe 20 tinses their bulk of water, and sometimes become thereby so perfectly transparent as hardly to be distinguished in the surrounding water. Acids and alkalies act upon them as on nasal mucus. The Mucus of the Gell-bluddecr much resembles that of the nostrils, but is more transparent, and is always tinged yellow by the bile. When dried it will again soften in water, but loses part of its mucous property. Biliary mucus dissolves in alkali, and its fluidity increases in proportion to the quantity of the latter. If this solution is exactly Saturated with an acid, the mixture becomes slightly turbid, and of a consistence to be drawn out in threads. All the acids produce with biliary mucus a yellowish coagulum that reddens litmus. The coagulum formed with the sulphuric acid may be restored to its mucous properties by exact saturation with an alkali. Alcohol coagulates this mucus into a very yellow granular mass, to which the mucous property cannot be restored. A similar mass is often found in the adipocirous biliary concretions ; and it is remiaifrable that it 584 ~ Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids» — [Novs may be produced from mucus by alcohol, as from biliary matter by ether. Bile itself is often of such a mucous consisterce as to be drawn out in threads. ‘This is owing to the presence of mucus dissolved in the alkali of the bile. A very little of any acid (the acetous for example) precipitates the mucus, and destroys the viscosity of the bile. Alcohol has the same effect. Former chemists seem to have regarded this property of bile as owing to the presence of albumen, the existence of which has been considered as demonstrated by the precipitate caused by adding acetic acid or alcohol. From what I have already mentioned, it is clear that no precipitate produced by acetic acid ean be albumen, since the latter is soluble in this acid; and as bile is not disturbed by prussiate of potass or by tannin after the ‘precipitate by acetous acid is removed, this is a proof that no albumen can be contained in bile. The following experiment is conclusive that the supposed albumen of bile is only mucus: mix some bile with very weak sulphuric acid, drain on a filter the yellow precipitate thus formed, and then ‘digest it with a satu- rating quantity of carbonate of soda and water, and the precipi- tate will be changed to a mucus, which will be more or less glairy, according to the quantity of water employed. The Mucus of ihe Intestines accompanies the excrements, in which it often forms long and transparent filaments. When once dried, the addition of water will not restore its mucous property, but alkalies produce this effect, though without ren- dering it transparent. The Mucus of the Urinary Passages accompanies the urine, in which it is partly dissolved, and partly suspended mechani- cally. The latter portion is generally too transparent to be distinguished by the eye ; but it may be exhibited by letting the urine remain awhile at rest, decanting the fluid portion, and drying the mucus on a filter. This loses its’ mucous property totally by desiccation, and then often becomes rose-coloured, owing to the presence of uric acid, and appears to be crystal- lized. It softens’a little in water.- The urinary mucus is easily soluble in alkalies, and is not separated from this solution by acids. Tannin separates it in white flocculi. I shall return to this subject under the analysis of urine. 4. Fluids of the Serous Memlranes. It is well known that the surface of serous membranes is always moistened by a liquid, which in a state of health is never secreted in quantities sufficient for analysis ; it is therefore only during a dropsical state of these membranes that we can gain any knowledge of its tar pach This fluid may be considered -as serum deprived of from 3 to 4 of its albumen. At does not rite 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 385 coagulate by mere boiling, but it gradually becomes turbid, and during the evaporation a coagulated mass collects. This appears to be albumen, but it has a sulphur-yellow colour. It is com- posed of Rrmratert.3 >," clip pals Ghee eae ews seein BEREAN BRD nc ory: snes one oe OP Muriate of potass and soda........... 7°09 Lactate of soda and its animal matter .. 2°32 EID in winnie Hee -igplaaieoraee Site ones cettl Ly Oeee Animal matter only soluble in water, yes i 0°35 with a trace of phosphates ....... : 1000°00 The fluid whose analysis is here given was that of hydro- cephalus,* which probably approaches nearer than any other of the morbid effused fluids to the natural state, on account of the short duration of the disease, and the little time to which the fluid is exposed to spontaneous change within the ventricles of the brain. The other dropsical fluids are in general more con- centrated, which may arise either from the mere consequence of being long kept, or from the transudation of the serum of the blood that always occurs in the last stages of dropsy, and appears also to take place in the urine and cellular membrane. 5.-The Humors of the Eye. The quantity of these fluids that can be procured is so small that it is not easy to obtain a very exact analysis of them. How- ever, my experiments have shown me that they bear a very close affinity with the other membranous fluids. Those of the eye are distinguished by being perfectly transparent and colourless; the other membranous fluids having a yellowish tinge. The humors ' * It gives me much pleasure again to fall into the track of Dr. Marcet’s Jabours, who has analyzed many of these fiuids with results so nearly ap- proaching my own as to be a considerable confirmation of their accuracy, particularly as our experiments were made nearly at the same time, and with- out any knowledge of each other’s operations, The following are Dr, Marcet’s sesulls :— Fluid of Fluid of Spina bifida, Hydrocephalus internus, mratery.. oe a voan sacle Sai OU ram svetn wend ves og 990°80 Muco-extractive matter, &c. 2°20......... gikhoe- OES Mauriates, S20, ai 0) .)s\- gossinse TAGE ase ain's'> Vasein shit ci 664 Subcarbonate of soda,... ... USD aan a 8 Avia a0 8 wae 124 Phosphates, &c. .... 22.000: ORO ccccesvcevecds 0-20 I may observe that the circumstance of Dr, Marcet’s having found a greater quantity of soda is gwing to the decomposition of the lactate, as well as te the presence of carbonic acid. Vou, I. N° V. 2B 386 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Nov. of the eye are not coagulated-by boiling. Their composition is as follows:— Aqueous Humor, Vitreous Humor. CA OR SEA en eee ee 98°10..........98e AIDGRICN, - 356.532 oo «0 0 0/8, ETACE, ss. 2 Senne Muriates and lactates....... 1°15........ «op k°42 Soda, with animal matter ie ; soluble only in water iad ae ee The crystalline lens has a peculiar and very remarkable com- position. It has been considered as a muscle from the well- known experiment of M. Reil, who, on treating it with nitric acid, discovered in it a peculiar muscular structure; and Mr. Chenevix also found that its density and specific gravity increased towards the center. But its solubility in water is a sufficient proof that it is nota muscle, though to effect this solution it is necessary to break it down, and then it leaves undissolved a small ortion of extremely pellucid membrane. ‘his circumstance, added to that of the increasing density towards its center, shows that the structure of the lens is cellular, the cells being filled with pellucid matter of different degrees of concentration. The composition of the lens I have found to be as follows: — WU tee eM ee i hae oi siete aieie la sean choke onre eae Peculiar matter ..i.....'...... wi npaiie tole =) steed Muriates, lactates, and animal matter, all? ,. eV eS Fe 2. 6) A ee REY EPA, an Animal matter soluble only in water, with 13 some phosphates ........ ec otraetin owe ater Portions of the remaining insoluble cellular) 4, 4 - i EET EO Dae ap ea at pilin oh nt Sas Peas 914” 100°0 4 The matter peculiar to the lens is remarkable. It coagulates by boiling, and the coagulum has all the chemical properties of the colouring matter of blood, except colour, which is entirely absent. When burnt, it leaves a little ash, containing a very small portion of iron. The liquor in which the coagulum is formed reddens litmus, has the smell of the humors of the muscles, and like them contains free lactic acid. The perfect achromatic transparence of the lens, notwith- standing its similarity in chemical properties to the colouring matter of the blood, is well worthy of notice. The black pig- ment of the choroidea is a powder insoluble in water and acids, but slightly soluble in alkalies. When dried and ignited, it burns as easily as a vegetable substance, and the ash contains much iron. From these observations it may well be supposed 1 A, 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 387 that the circulating blood is decomposed on the interior surface of the choroidea, leaving there its colouring matter, which is required for the purposes of vision, and conveying the remainder to the inner part of the eye perfectly limpid and colourless, Need | add that the received opinion of the presence of gelatine and albumen in the lens is erroneous? The existence of free lactic acid in the humors of the lens proves nothing with regard to its supposed muscular structure ; but only shows the presence of absorbing vessels to convey the ‘products of the spontaneous decomposition of animal matter, one of the most important of which appears to be the lactic acid. (To be continued.) ArticLe XI. Magnetical Observations at Hackney Wick. By Col. Beaufoy. Magnetical Observations. Latitude 51° 32’ 40” North, Longitude West in Time 6” 22. 1833. Morning Obsery. Noon Obsery, Evening Observ. 0 FR = eee ee ee ee eee a ee Hour, ; Variation. | Hour. ; Variation, | Hour. | Variation, Sept, 18} 8» 55’\24° 15’ 43/7) Qh 10’ '24° 21’ 56” 6h 00’ )24° 15’ 12” Ditto 19} 9 00 (24 16 09) 1 50 24 21 9 /—- —|—~ — — Ditto 20; 8 50 |24 16 00); 2 03 /24 23 32) 5 55 |24 12 02 Ditto 21] 8 55 |24 14 56] 2 15 \24 20 33]6 00/24 15 52 Ditto 22) 8 50 )}24 12 55/— — |— — —|6 00 {24 14 10 Ditto 23} 8 45 24 13 45]2 05 |24 21° 38) 5 55 [24 15 00 Ditto 24) 8 52 j24 13 42|2 OU \24 22 40) 5 57 |24 16 02 Ditto 25) 9 OO |24 16 OL |\— — |— — —!/ 6 00/24 15 44 Ditto 26; 8 50 |24 16 OL] 1 57 24 23° OT | 5° bb 124-15" 50 Ditto 27; 8 50/24 14 16) 2 00 |\24 22 48/— —|— — — Ditto 28} 8 45 j24 13 56,1 55 24 22 56), 5 55 j24 17 00 Ditto 29) 8 50 \24 14 45 |2 02 24 24 30 5 50 24 17 38 Ditto 30' 9 03 124 20 00'2 15 '24 23 1615 50 124 17 08 Observations Noon at O02 .... Ditto 0422 82 in Sept. Evening at 03 ..... Ditto 24 16 O04 Mean of } Neon at 8> 53/,.... Variation 24° 15/ 44 ..... Ditto 24 15 58 West. Morning at Ditto in Aug. <~Noon at Evening at 02 ..... Ditto 24:.,298 82 05 ..... Ditlo 24 16 O8 8ST ....¢ Ditto 24 14 $2 50 ..... Ditto 24 23 O4 & West, 08 ..... Ditto 2 13 «56 Morning at Ditto in July. ~Nvon at Evening at AK eo" wO ww 2B2 588 Magnetical Observations. [Nov. Observations Noon at. 1. $3... Ditto 04) (22° AT in June. 04 ..... Ditto 94 16. 04 22...... Ditto 24 12 02 37 .... Ditto 24 20 54 14,.... Ditto QA 13 AT 31... Ditto 24° 09 “18 Mean of Morning at 8» 30',,... Variation 24° 12’ 35” West. Evening at Morning at Ditto in May. 5 Soon at - Evening at Morning at Ditto in April 3a at Evening at 59... .. Ditto 24 Poteig AG ..... Ditto 24-15 25 TOnDe a Magnetical Observations continued. Morning Observ. Noon Observ. Evening Observ. Month. —— ee : Hour. | Variation. | Hour. | Variation, | Hour. Variation. | Oct. 1} 88 53/194° 14’ 56”) 2h 03! \24° 25’ 46” Ditto. 2} 8 45 |24 13 28|2 O05 \24 22 50 ye Ditto 3) 8 52 |24.14 39) 2 05-24 21 02 a Ditto 5/8 50/24 15 40|2 00/24 24 30 2 Ditto 6 8 45194 15 56|2 10 \24 22 05 zs Ditto §)'8 50/194 14 54 |— — |— — — & 2 Ditto’ 9, 8 35 |24 12 33)2 05 (24 22 12 fey Ditto 10} 8 45 24 16 47] 1 55 \24 28 36 So Ot Ditto 11} 8 45 124 14 42] 1 58 24 22 23 22 Ditto 12S 45/24 14 42}2 05 24 19 O07 =| Ditto 14] 8 50 |24 15 28] 1 55 24 23, 02 S5 Ditto 15) 8 45 |24 15 20/1 50 24 22 93 25 Ditto.16} 8 45 [24 17 32] 2 00 24 20 57 a Ditto 17) 8 35124 16 50] 1 57 24 22 06 } Sept. 30.—The wind blew hard from the east, the weather fine; and at noon the needle became unsteady, and vibrated three minutes, Oct. 10.—The variation was remarkable, the day fine, with a pleasant breeze from the west; fifteen hours after it blew very hard from the same point, with rain. Oct. 15.—The wind blew strong from the south-west, with a drizzling rain; and the needle, at intervals, vibrated at noon five minutes. ns Between noon of the Ist Sept.? p. : abe mage lieteecs noon of the Ist Oct. ‘ O-PGL anche Evaporation during the same period, 2°000 inches, —e Errata in Numser X. p. 302. Sept. 3, for 24° 13’ 11” read 24° 23’ 11”, Sept, 5, for 24 12 15 read 24 22.15. 1813.] Mineralogical Remarks on Greenland. 389 ARTICLE XII. Some Mineralogical Remarks on Greenland. By Thomas Allan, Esq. F,R.S.E. (fo Dr. Thomson.) . SIR, ' Iy your second Number you were so obliging as to insert some remarks on a collection of Greenland minerals which fell into my hands a few years age. I then mentioned, that the Gentle- man who collected them would be here this season; and J have now the pleasure'to announce to you the safe arrival of Mr. Geiseck*, after a residence of seven years and a half in Green- land, where he has been occupied in examining the coast and numerous islands, from Cape Farewell, in lat. 591°, all along the west side of the peninsula, to 76°. {t is with much satisfaction that I find the losses, which he sustained in consequence of the war, have, in a great measure, been repaired by his industry and perseverance, although they added one year more to his detention in the country. Mr. Geiseck¢ is possessed of a great deal of interesting intelligence, not only with regard to the mineralogy and geology, but also the zoology and botany, of the country: the former were his prin- cipal objects ; and from his accdrate knowledge of every part of the science, we have reason to expect a great deal of most useful and interesting information, as he is about to publish an account of his travels in Greenland. With his permission, 1 am -now enabled to give you some information respecting ecryolite, and the other new minerals mentioned in the note I formerly sent you. Cryolite is found only in one place, in a very remote and unfrequenied quarter, in a fiord, or arm of the sea, distinguished by the name of Arksut, situated about 30 leagues from the colony of Juliana Hope, in South Greenland. It occurs imbedded in gneiss, in two thin irregular seams: one of these contains the pure white ciyolite, and is entirely uncontaminated with any admixture; the other is wholly composed of the brown discoloured variety, mixed with galena, pyrites, &c. ‘They are situated very near éach other; the first is washed, at high water, by the tide, and a considerable portion of it is exposed, the superincumbent gneiss being re- moved, It varies from one foot to ¥1 in thickness. From the degree of decomposition whicli it has undergone, this curious fossil could not be procured attached to the-matrix, particularly as it was always separated by a thin layer of mica in a state of disintegration, 890 Mineralogical Remarks on Greenland. [Nov The mineral to which you have given the name of sodalite likewise occurs only at one spot, but in a more accessible situa- tion, at Kanerdluarsuk, a narrow tongue of land upwards of three miles in length, in lat. 61°. It is found in an extensive bed, varying from 6 to 12 feet in thickness, and dipping south. It oceurs between beds of mica slate ; these rest on gneiss; and in the upper one the graphite, noticed in the list cf minerals formerly sent you, is found disseminated. The coasts are here precipitous, but the land nowhere in this vicinity above 1000 feet high. The aljanite occurs in granite at Kakasoeitsiak, near Alluk, between Capes Discord and Farewell, on the east coast, the extreme point of Mr. Geisecké’s travels in that direction ; and he consequently was unable to revisit it. Of your analysis of these two minerals Mr. Geisecké had heard, by means of a Hull paper, and had them noted in his catalogue under the names you have given them. Besides these, Mr. Geisecké has been so fortunate as to find a great variety of other minerals, entirely new, specimens of most of which he had the kindness to place in my cabinet. It is not, however, my business to rob him of the satisfaction of making them known to the mineralogical world himself, which, besides, I could only do in a very imper- feet manner. After arranging his affairs in Copenhagen, where he proposes to place a suite of the minerals of Greenland in the Royal Cabinet, he proceeds to his own country, with the inten- tion of immediately preparing for the press. Your readers will probably be anxious to know the kind of country Mr. Geisecké met with in Greenland. So far as he saw, the coutinent was entirely primitive, excepting the peninsula of Norsoak, in 71°. The large island Disco is composed of trap rocks, resting on gneiss and mica slate. Hassen Island, and one or two others in that neighbourhood, are also compesed of trap; and among the immense group of the Vrouwen Islands, which are principally primitive, he found a few small ones be- longing to the fioetz class. The diticulties Mr. G. had to contend with were innumerable, and the dangers continual. He frequently had to walk 30 or 40 miles, carrying on bis shoulders the fruits of his labour; and in goin from one island to another, he had nothing to convey him but the miserable seal-skin boats of the country, and these always managed by women. I have, therefore, more reason to he surprised at his being able to form a collection at all, than that his minerals should have been in the dirty and uncouth state in which 1 foand them. He, however, informs me, that they were in a very different condition when they were sent from him; and has pointed out 1813.] Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. 391 several specimens which he had carefully packed up at the time, although they were loose and dirty when they came into my hands. Iam, Sir, your most obed.ent, Edinburgh, Oct. 12, 1913. Tuomas ALLAN. ArticLe XIII. Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. IMPERIAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. Account of the Labours of the French Institute for 1812. (Concluded from p. 311.) MEDICINE AND SURGERY, Arter twelve years of experiments, made in every civilized country, since the discovery of vaccination, the Class conceived that it would be useful to collect the result of the observations on an object so important to humanity. Another motive ren- dered this undertaking necessary: objections and doubts had been raised by well-informed men, whose testimony was calcu- lated to influence public opinion. It has even been questioned, whether small-pox inoculation, considered as a preservative, and in some cases as a remedy for various diseases, was not preferable to vaccination, or at least entitled to be preserved as well as it. MM. Berthollet, Percy, and Hallé, commissioners, under- took the necessary researches to satisfy the intention of the Society ; and presented, by means of M. Hallé, a long report, which the Class ordered to be printed. They bring the different points of discussion to six principal questions. Under these different heads they unite, as far as possible, every thing that has been accurately ascertained respecting the effects of vaccination in Europe, and in the countries where Europeans have been able to introduce vaccination. They have collected a great many facts, observed particularly in France, England, Italy, India, and America, and observed in individuals of all classes. constitution, mode of life, habits, and manners, exceedingly different from each other. On the other hand, they endeavour to estimate the value of the prin- cipal facts upon which have been founded the most plausible objections, which’ they neither attempt to elude nor conceal. Thus, by comparing together the observations, they have been led to the conclusions with which they terminate their report: namely— That vaccination does not introduce into the body a matter 392. Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. {Noy. capable of producing a remarkable disturbance, and which re- quires to be expelled by a movement similar to that which results from inoculation: that the eruptions which sometimes appeared at first were not owing to the cow-pox matter; but to other circumstances, in the midst of which these vaccinations were performed : That the unfortunate results which sometimes occurred were owing to causes altogether foreign, which made their appearance during the course of vaccination, and owing entirely to the state of the patients : That the disorders following vaccination, when not owing to pre-existing diseases, have been very particular cases, depending upon circumstances peculiar to individuals; and that their number bearing no proportion to the immense number of obser- vations exempt from accidents of any kind, no general conse- quence can be drawn from them : That the unfortunate results, even supposing them incon- testible, are more than compensated by the numerous instances of chronical and obstinate diseases which have been completely removed by vaccination ; examples which, when compared with similar effects from inoculation, especially if we take into consi- deration the greater danger of inoculation, leave the superiority greatly on the side of vaccination : Finally, that the preservative virtue of vaccination, when the virus has been properly taken, and the pock has proceeded pro- perly, is fully as great as that of small-pox inoculation ; while it possesses the immense advantage of circumscribing small-pox epidemics, and affords reasonable hopes of finally annihilating this dreadful scourge of humanity. * M. Portal has published a new edition of his treatise on asphyxias ; a work printed and circulated by order of govern- ment, for the instruction of the people, and which has probably saved the lives of thousands of citizens, since it has been cireu- lated in France, and in all the rest of Europe, by the numerous translations that have been made of it. M. Dumas, correspondent and Dean of the Faculty of Medi- cine at, Montpellier, has published a considerable work, entitled General Doctrines of Chronical Diseases, in which he considers this important subject in the most general point of view. Not confining himself to the external forms of these diseases, he ascends to the prineiples of their phenomena, determining by analysis the simple affections of which they are composed, and which may be considered as their elements. An accurate com- parison of acute and chronic diseases induces him to conclude that there is no constant character which separates these two * This important paper will be found in Nos, II. and VY, of our Journal, 1813.] Imperial Institute of. France. 393 classes of diseases. In his account of chronic diseases, he shows that the want of nutrition and emaciation are produced more speedily by diseases connected with respiration than with the orgens of digestion. He shows the constant relation between certain external forms, and a disposition to peculiar chronic diseases. Hence he deduces the character of the physiognomy peculiar to each. The study of the revolutions natural to these diseases has made him perceive a period within which it is still possible to prevent their formation : different kinds of crises which ‘succeed it, and what may render these crises advantageous or injurious: the different changes of acute into chronic ‘diseases,. and vice versé, and the cause of these alternations. The determination of the simple affections of which these diseases are composed, or of their pathological elements, ~ap- peared to him of the greatest importance; since it furnishes us, in some measure, with the means of simplifying them, by attacking these elements one after another, beginning with the most powerful. ‘This fundamental point of view has enabled. him to explain their formation, and to determine in a solid manner the method of treating them ; but for this purpose it was necessary to draw an accurate line between the essential elemen- tary affections and the symptomatic. ‘Thus he has risen by degrees to the general phenomena, and has beer able to deduce them from a small number of primitive affections. His theory of the formation of chroni¢ diseases reduces itself to the relations of the elementary affections to each othe;, and to the system of organs which they occupy. M. Dumas treats, in a manner which he considers as new, every thing that regards the general disposition to chronic diseases. He establishes a difference between the constitution and the temperament, which are sometimes opposed to each other ; and this opposition is the most direct cause of a tendency to chronic diseases. He estimates the influence of time of life by the relation between the elementary affections, from which results a disposition at every age to different kinds of diseases, modifications in the diseases common to each age, and changes advantageous or hurtful during the progress of each disease. He treats of the passions after analogous views. Each of them may be decomposed into a certain number of simple affections, which Metaphysics knows and enumerates. Finally, M. Dumas arrives at his last part, which is that of the treatment. He shows the justice of his doctrine, by making it appear that all the approved methods of treatment are easil reducible to the principles which he has established. He finishes with some interesting observations on hereditary and on incurable diseases, In an appendix, M. Dumas gives several examples of the 394 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [Nov. manner in which he thinks the particular and detailed history of the elementary affections may be drawn up. A second work, which he promises, will establish and explain, by examples drawn from his practice, every thing difficult and abstract which this general doctrine contains, AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY. M. Tessier has presented us with the results of numerous experiments which he made to compare with each other the far.na of different varieties of wheat, and the bread made from them. Wheats raised in the same field, ground in the same mill, baked by the same baker, and in the same oven, gave Toaves very different in appearance, taste, and rapidity of drying; differences which may ivfluence us in the preference given to each variety. M. Parmentier, who is not prevented by his great age from devoting himself with the same ardour to every thing that affects the prosperity of agriculture, has given a sketch of the results obtained in the manufacture of syrups and conserves of grapes, from the time when his treatise on the subject drew to it the attention of agriculturists, and he shows all the advantages that may be derived from this method, now that he has brought it to perfection by experience. The same author has published a new edition of his Treatise on ihe Culture of Maize, which received the prize in 1784 from the Academy of Bourdeaux, and which has been of essential service to the southern departments of France. The art of rotation of crops consists in making it produce, by the succession of vegetables committed to it, and by the labour which the cultivation of them requires, every thing that it is eapable of producing without ever injuring it. For some years it has been the principal object of research with those who em- ployed themselves in promoting agriculture. M. Yvart, correspondent, who has undertaken a great work on the subject, has this year submitted to the Class dn Historical Notice on the Origin of Rotation of Crops (assolemen), followed by an Explanation of the principal Motives and Means adopted to extend it in the French Empire. ‘This notice seems intended as an introduction to his great work. The researches of the author have shown him that the triennial rotation so common in Europe at present is a modern invention, ‘This rotation, which consecrates the third year to the repose of the soil, has been introduced by laziness and poverty, and perpetuated by custom and ignorance. In the historical notice of Yvart, we see that all good farmers, both ancient and modern, of every country, have ascertained that the true repose of the soil consists in varying “productions. Virgil has consecrated this precept :— © Sic quoque mutatis requicscunt foetibus arva,”—Grore, Lis, I, 1813.] Imperial Institute of France. 395 But it was destined for the writers of our days to explain and support, by numerous examples, the advantage of proper rota- tions. M. Yvart, one of those who has paid most attention to the subject, has the merit of drawing all his from the soil of France itself. His instances are very numerous. He has given them for all climates, for all exposures, for all varieties of soil. He has shown that we may every where suppress the fallows, and introduce in their place a rotation of crops much more produc- tive, and capable of retaining all the fertility of the soil. M. Hassenfratz, divisionary inspector of mines, charged by government to publish a treatise on metallurgy, has submitted to the Class the first part of it, entirely devoted to the extraction of iron from its ores, on account of the importance of this metal for the arts, and the numerous works required by the different modifications of which it is susceptible. It has been found that the facts contained in this work are arranged in a natural order; that all the processes are explained with clearness ; and that it may be considered as a general collection of every thing known respecting iron, either from books, from workmen, or iron- masters. This first part has been recently published. ARTICLE XIV. SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE; AND NOTICES OF SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE, I. Ulmin. Notwithstanding the various observations and experiments which I have had an opportunity of making on ulmin, it is only lately that 1 have been so fortunate as to meet with it in a state of purity, so as to be able to ascertain its real properties, and to assign it a true place among vegetable substances. I received some time ago from Dr. Leach a specimen of a black matter which he had collected on an oak in the neigh- bourhood of Plymouth. It turned out, on examination, to be ulmin quite free fiom potash, a substance which had constituted a part of all the specimens formerly examined either by Mr. Smithson or myself. It was in small lumps, mostly attached to each other by vegetable fibres. Its colour was a very dark brown, almost black. It had little or no taste. It was considerably firmer than the ulmin mixed with potash, and of a greater specific gravity, I found its properties as follows :— 1. Nearly tasteless. 2. Dissolves very slowly, and in small quantity, both in water and alcohol. The solution is pale brown, and tasteless, 396 Scientific Intelligence. [Nov. 3. The aqueous solution is not precipitated by sulphate of iron, sulphate of copper, sulphate of zinc, or nitrate of silver. A. Nitrate of mercury, and superacetate of lead, occasion _ brown flocky precipitates ; but both of these salts were precipi- tated white by distilled water. 5. The acids occasion no precipitation in the aqueous solution. 6. The alcohol solution was precipitated dark brown by sul- phate of iron and sulphate of copper. 7. When a weak solution of carbonate of potash is poured upon this ulmin, a dark brown solution is immediately effected, which possesses all the properties formerly described im my paper on ulinin, in the first Number of the Annals of Philosophy. I burned five grains of this ulmin in a platinum crucible. A white ash remained, weighing 0°27 grain. It contained no per- ceptible portion of alkali, but dissolved with effervescence in nitric acid, and was wholly carbonate of lime. The most striking property of ulmin is its affinity for car- bonate of potash. It is by means of carbonate of potash that it is usually so soluble in water. The acids throw if down, merely by depriving it of its potash. The metalline salts throw it down from its alkaline solution by a double decomposition. Il. Ulmin from the Horse-Chesnut. Mr. Sowerby was so obliging as to send me a specimen of a black matter which he collected from a horse-chesnut (dscudus hippocampus) growing in a garden in Southgate. In appearance and taste it resembled former specimens of ulmin very closely ; but it was so much mixed with portions of the bark of the tree, that [ could hardly obtain any quantity in a state of pertect purity. Ten grains of it (not free from bark) being. burnt ina platinum crucible, left 1:44 grain of a white ash. This consisted chiefly of carbonate of potash mixed with a little carbonate of Jime, and with a portion of silica, which I could not weigh, but estimated at about 0°04 grain. It was dissolved in nitric acid, and shot into small crystals of saltpetre. It appears, then, that this ulmin contains less potash than the ulmin from the elm. Five grains of it being treated with water, formed a dark | brown solution, and left behind a portion of black looking matter, which I found to be bark. This solution was not preci- pitated by acids, nor by sulphate of zinc, nor muriate of tin. Sulphate of iron threw down a grey precipitate ; sulphate of copper, a green ; nitrate of silver, a white ; and acetate of lead, a yellow. > These differences from the ulmin of the elm seem to depend upon the smaller quantity of potash present, which prevents water from dissolving so great a quantity as to be precipitated by acids. US. Full of Stones from the Almosphere, near Chester. I received some weeks ago a letter from Chester, dated the 1813.] 4 Scientific Intelligence. 897 15th of September, containing the following information, which the writer says was first communicated to the public in a provin- cial newspaper. He does not give the date ; but merely quotes the following passage from the newspaper, in the words of the anonymous writer of that article. ‘* Last week, having occasion to go to Malpas (a village 15 miles from Chester), I witnessed a very singular phenomenon. About one o’clock in the day, from the great heat and the calmness of the air, 1 apprehended a thunder-storm, and supposed my apprehensions were going to be realised, when I beheld a bright cloud, out of which fell some large stones, which were soft and intensely hot at first, but after- wards acquired considerable hardness.” I am not aware that any of the stones in question have been brought to London. These phenomena have been of rare occur- rence in Great Britain of late ; but five or six examples of simi- lar falls on the Continent, during the years 1811 and 1812, have been recorded, and the stones subjected to chemical analysis. As some of the results of analysis are curious, I have been intending to lay them before the readers of the Annals of Phi- losophy, but have hitherto been prevented by want of room, IV. Swedish Agriculture. I take this opportunity of correcting a very important mistake which occurs in my Travels in Sweden, relative to the quantity of grain produced annually in the kingdom. In page 426 of that work I have given an official table exhibiting the quantity of ground in tillage, and the annual produce in spanns ; and I say, below the table, that the Swedish spann contains 28 kanns, or 44 English wine pints. This statement I took from a Swedish dictionary, published at Stockholm in 1807. But I have received a letter from a Swedish. gentleman in London, stating the following to be the real amount of the Swedish measures, from his own personal knowledge, which I have no reason to call in question. 1. The Swedish tunn consists of two spanns heaped as much as can be laid on the top, and is the only lawful measure of the country. It amounts to French cubic Boglish cubic inches, inches, S31LO 0. « wae’ ee DA8S'S The Swedish kann is ....... 182.......0.. 149°9 Now a Winchester bushel is 2150°42 cubic inches: therefore the Swedish tunn, according to the preceding statement, is 4°3893 Winchester bushels, and the Swedish spann is 219465 Winchester bushels ; so that these measures are above 40 fold greater than I made them. This removes the extraordinary bar- renness, which appeared so very striking according to my original estimate; so that the tunuland (14 acre) produces 398 New Scieniific Books. [Noy. annually rather more than eight Winchester bushels of corn. I thought it right to make this error known as soon as possible, to prevent any erroneous inferences from being drawn from the table in question. V. Sulphate of Soda. Want of room obliges me to defer for the present the con- tinuation of the table of the constitution of the salts: but I think it necessary to point out a mistake in that part of the table which was inserted in the last Number of the Annals of Philo- sophy. Sulphate of soda (p. 294) is said to be composed of 1 intezrant particle of sulphuric acid + 2 integrant particles of soda. From the note it will easily be seen that the reverse is the case. It is composed of 2s. 4. + 1 soda, and its weight, of course, is 10°7582. Heuce the remarks made upon it in page 300, as an exception to Berzelius’s rule, are erroneous. I have not yet met with any exception to his rule, except among the nitrates. These exceptions he admits, and endeavours to obviate by the ingenious theory published in this and the preceding . Number of the Annals of Philosophy. VI. Electrical Oxides. The beautiful figures produced on paper by the oxidation of various metals with an electrical battery, cannot be effectually represented by engravings. Mr. Singer proposes to illustrate a few copies of his Elements of Electricity (now in the Press) with some real oxides, produced by his powerful apparatus, Those who desire such copies may secure them by an early transmission of their names to Mr. Singer. VII. Practical Chemistry. Dr. Thomson proposes next winter to give a Practical Course of Chemistry to a very limited number of young Gentlemen, who will reside in his house during its continuance. The Course will begin on the Ist of January, 1814. ARTICLE XV. Scientific Books in hand, or in the Press. Mr. Kerrison is preparing for the Press An Inquiry into the Establishment and Progress of the Medical Profession in England, as it regards the Physician, Surgeon, Apothecary, General Practi- tioner, and Chemist and Druggist ; with a Compendious Analysis of all the Charters granted to Physicians, Surgeons, and Apotheca- ries, tending to illustrate the Merits of the Bill about to be sub- mitted to Parliament by the Associated Surgeon-Apothecaries of England and Wales. Mr. W. Henley is about to publish a Series of Chemical Tables, intended to exhibit the Properties of all the present known Bodies, the Result of their Union, &c.; forming a Complete Abstract of the Science of Chemistry. ' 1813.] Meteorological Journal. 399 ArticLte XVI. METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL. —— BAROMETER. THERMOMETER, * 1813. |Wiud.| Max.| Min. | Med. |Max.} Min.| Med. Evap. (Rain. _—| —_——_—— Oth Mo. Sept. 17\S E/30°22/30°11|30°165| 72 | 56 | 640 | — 18siS _E/30°11|30°01/30-060| 70 | 46 | 580] — 19| E [30°01/29°92/29°965|] 72 | 43 | 57°35 | — 20IN E}29°90)29'°89 29° 895| 66 | 45 | 555) — 21IN E)29°91/29 87) '29°890) 70 | 50 600 | +29) — 22} N_ |29-96)29°90! '29°930| 68 | 48 | 58:0 | — 6 93\|N_ E/30°01 29°96) 29 985) 04 | 54 | 5970 | — | °14 24\N E/30°11130°01/30-060| 66 | 47 | 56-5 | — | — 25|N E/30°11)30°03/30-07 0}. 62 | 51 | 56°5 | *20 26|N E}30:03}30°01|30:020) 67 | 47 | 57:00 | — 27| E |30°01|29°94:29°975} 66 | 441 550 | — 28IN E| ——(\29°94|——~| 60 | 47 | 53°35 | — | — 29|N .- E3012] ——| ——- 62 | 47.| 545 | -21 30|N E/30°12/29°84129-980) 62 | 40 | 51:0 | — 10th Mo Oct. 1|N_ E}29°84/29°68/20-760| 61 | 41 | 510] — QIN e 29'70|29°07|29'685} 59 | 49 | 540 | —] — 3/S E}29°80}29°70}29-750| 62 | 48 | 55°90 | -21| — 4S) Ej} ——}| ——|} ——| — | — | —— |] — |] — 51 W |29°78/29°65|29°715| 66 | 54 | GOO | — 6S W/29°80!29°77|29:'785| 66 | 52} 590 | — ' 7|S W/29-52/29°47 |29°495| 65 | 51 | 580 | — | — 8| W |29°73|29°46 29°505}| GO | 54 | 5770 | — |2°50 9} Var. }29°43'29°42 29425] G1 | 49 | 550] — 10|S_W/29"44,29'15 29:295| 654 45 | 550} —| 4 { 11] W_ |29-46 28 "93.29 195] 60 | 48 | 540 | — | — i 12|S W129°75 29° 55.29°650| 60 | 41 | 50° | — | — 13)S W)29'55.29'34,29-445] 58 | 52 | 55°0 | — | “45 . 14IN W/29:02,29° 52 (29°57 0| 58 | 34 | 46°90 | — | +29 15] S ° |29°58:29°21 29395] 51 | 33] 42:0 | ‘28| 47 — ——e ° 30.22 28°93,20'7 52) 72 | 33 | 55°23} 1:19 3°95 ooo SC -r O OOOO NE ‘The observations in each line of the table apply toa period of twenty-four hours, beginning at 9 A. M. on the day indicated in the first column, A dash denotes, that the result is inclyded in the next following observation, 400 Meteorological Table. [Nov. 1813. REMARKS. Ninth Month.—19, 20. Breezes by day: much dew. 2i._ Cloudy quite to sun-set: a few drops of rain, 22. A breeze, a.m. bringing clouds: p. m. a sudden shower: rain in the night. 23. Windy: showers. 24. Much wind. 25. Windy: cloudy. 26. Overcast a.m.: clear p. m.: a luminous twilight, with Cirrus and Cirrocumulus. 27. Morning twilight somewhat coloured: forenoon, overcast: clear, p. m.: and at sunset, fas- cicular Cirri, arranged from W. to E.: the wind being E. and nearly calm. After these appearances, lightning far to the S. E. and S. W. 28. Cloudy, with a few drops. 30. A pink twilight, with dense, coloured Cirri. For three days past, a steady N. E. breeze, with pretty much sunshine. Tenth Month—1. Overcast, a.m.: wind N. After sunset, Cirrocumulus passing to Cirrostratus, a corona round the moon, and a small meteor, which went W. 2. Overcast most of the day: afew drops, p.m. 3. Cirrus, with Cumulostratus : \twi- light opaque, orange coloured. The roads have become of late excessively dry, and the dust raised from them floats in great quantity in the air. 4, Early this morning began a steady rain, which continued till after sun-set. 5. Fine day: lunar halo. 6. Cloudy. 7. A considerable storm of thunder and lightning early this morning, followed by much rain. 8. Fair, a. m.: wet, p.m. 9. Fine day. 10. Wet, with a fair interval. 11, . Wet, a. m.: fair, p.m. 12. The reverse of yesterday. 14. Fair. 15. Very wet. : RESULTS. Prevailing Winds, Easterly, aud drying, to the first quarter of the moon; soon after which they became Westerly, and brought much rain. Barometer: greatest observed elevation . .30°22 inches; DUGaSt hs cinssigrs eociorin dete RO OE Mean of the period........29:752 inches. Thermometer: greatest height ........:..72° Least Scans. cal eae Oeraee Mean of the period... .55°23° Evaporation, 1:19 inches. Rain, 3°95 inches. The rain of the 4th inst, having put a conclusion to a fine season of some weeks’ continuance, Lavailed myself of the opportunity of a journey made immediately after it, to ascertain, as far as Tcould, its extent. I found that it had rained from morning to night on that day all the way between London and York, also (by information from other travellers) as far north as the Tyne, and over the narrow part of the island, from Cheshire to Northumber- land. It having been likewise a very wet day on the south coast, I conclude that probably the whole of England was, on this oceasien, irrigated at once from an Atlantic current, which during the prevalence'of the casterly breeze just befare, had taken possession of the higher atmosphere, and which on that day arrived, in its progress of subsidence, near enough to the earth to part with its electricity, and displace the lower stream of air, Torrennam, Zenith Month, 23, 1813. L. HOWARD. ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. DECEMBER, 1813. ArTICLE I. Biographical Account of Sir Isaac Newton. (Concluded from p. 328.) IN the year 1704, the Treatise of Quadratures, by Newton, was published. This treatise had been written long before, many things being cited out of it in Newton’s letters of Oct. 24, and Nov. 8, 1676. It related to the method of fluctions; and that it might not be taken for a new piece, Newton repeated what Dr. Wallis had published nine years before without being contradicted, namely, that this method was invented by degrees in the years 1665 and 1666. But the editors of the Acta Lip- sica, in their review of this book, (and the author of the review was conceiyed to have been Leibnitz himself,) represented Leibnitz as the first inventor of the method, and said that Newton had substituted fluctions for differences, just as Fabri, in his Geometria Synopsis, had substituted movement for the indivisibles of Cavalleri. This accusation gave a beginning to the controvers’. For Dr. Keill, in an epistle published in the Philosophical Transactions for September and October 1708, retorted the accusation, asserting that ‘ all these things follow from the now so much celebrated method of fluctions, of which our Newton was doubtless the first inventor, as will be evident to any one who shall read his letters published by Dr. Wallis. Yet afterwards the same method was published by Mr. Leibnitz in the Acta Eruditorum ; only changing the name and manner Vor. Il. N° VI 2C 402 Biographical Account of [Dxc. of notation.” * Leibnitz, understanding this passage as a direct charge of plagiarism, complained of it as a calumny in a letter to Sir Hans Sloane, the Secretary, dated March 4, 1711, and moved that the Royal Society would cause Dr. Keill to make a public recantation, Dr, Keill chose rather to explain and defend what he had written ; and though Newton was at first offended at his original paragraph, being apprehensive that it might occasion a controversy, yet when he was shown the accusation in the Acta Lipsica, he gave Keill liberty to maintain the opinions which he had advanced. Keill wrote a long letter to Sir Hans Sloane, in which he endeavours to demonstrate not only that Newton was the original discoverer, but that he had given Leibnitz so many hints of his method, that even a man of very ordinary abilities could hardly fail to make it out. This letter was sent to Leibnitz, who demanded that the Royal Society would put a stop to the accusations of a man too young to know what had passed between Newton and himself. Instead of making good his own accusation, as he ought to have done, that it might not be deemed a calumny, he insisted only on his own candour, and refused to tell how he came by his method. He said that the Acta Lipsica had given every man his due; that he had concealed the invention above nine years, that nobody might pretend to have been before him in it. He called Dr. Keill a novice who deserved to be silenced, and desired that Newton himself would give his opinion in the matter. Dr. Keill, in fact, had only repeated what Dr. Wallis had published 13 years before, and Newton had already given his opinion on the matter before the dispute began; and this opinion in all probability was the cause of the controversy, by giving origin to the severe and unjust treatment which the book had received in the Acta Lipsica. The Royal Society being thus twice pressed by Mr. Leibnitz, and seeing no reason to condemn or censure Dr, Keill without inquiring into the matter; and that neither Newton nor Leib- nitz (the only persons alive who knew and remembered any thing that had passed respecting these matters 40 years before) could be witnesses for or against Dr. Keill, appointed a committee, consisting of Dr. Arbuthnot, Mr, Hill, Dr. Halley, Mr. Jones, Mr. Machin, and Mr, Burnet, to search old letters and papers, and report their opinion on what they, might find, and ordered the leiters and papers, with the report of their committee, to be published. ‘This publication was the famous Commercium Epis- tolicum, containing the letters of Oldenburg, Collins, Leibnitz, * Phil, Trans. 1708, vol. xxvi. p, 174, The passage oceurs in a Latifé paper, by Dr. Keill, on The Laws of Centripetal Force. 1813.] Sw Isaac Newion. 403 Gregory, and Newton. The committee reported, that it ap- peared to them that Newton had the method in or before the year 1669, and it did not appear to them that Mr. Leibnitz had it before the year 1677, a year after the communication of a letter from Newton to Leibnitz, in which the method of fluctions was sufficiently described for every intelligent person, They add, that the differential method of Leibnitz was the same as the fluctionary calculus of Newton, the notation excepted; that they regard Newton as the first inventor of that method, and that Dr. Keill in saying so has done, in their opinion, no injury to Leibnitz.* The dispute did not and could not well terminate here. Leibnitz complained bitterly of the Commercium Epistolicum, and threatened to publish a reply that would confound his anta- gonists. But he was wise enough not to attempt it. Indeed, it would have been a hopeless and impossible task to have at- tempted to overturn the evidence, contained in the Commercium Epistolicum, of the priority of Newton as the inventor of fluc- tions, Several anonymous papers were publislied, either by Leibnitz or his friends, in which Newton was rather attacked than Leibnitz defended. Bernoulli even attempted to prove that Newton did not understand the differential method, as far as the higher orders of fluctions are concerned. At last Leibnitz, associating himself with his friends, the Bernoullis, had recourse to a method which, he conceived, would demonstrate his supe- riority over the British mathematicians, and thus give his claim of originality a greater chance of obtaining credit. ‘This was to propose difficult problems to embarrass his adversaries. Newton had formerly solved two celebrated problems proposed by John Bernoulli in the year 1697, and an anonymous solution was published that year im the Philosophical Transactions. He received the first problem, proposed by the triumvirate, to con- found the British mathematicians, after he had undergone a good deal of fatigue in the Mint, and yet he solved it before he went to bed, During the course of this dispute the extreme partiality which united Bernoulli to Leibnitz induced him to treat Newton with an unbecoming severity, and even injustice. He published, in the Acta Lipsica, under a disguised name, a most violent attack upon Keill, in which he endeavours to prove that Newton did not understand the rules of second differenciation. His opinion was founded upon a passage in the Treatise on the Quadrature of Curves, in which Newton, from inadvertence, hud represented the different orders of fluctions by the terms of his binomial * The best edition of the Commercium Epistolicum is the octavo of 1723 which contains several articles net to be found in the original quarto edition Qe . AOL Biographical Account of (Dec. theorem. On the other hand, Keill went too far when he at- tempted to show that Newton had committed no inadvertence whatever. The dispute at last was silenced, if not terminated, by the death of Leibnitz in 1716. Now that the violence which actuated both parties in this memorable dispute has subsided, and that all party feeling is, in some measure, at an end, we may be allowed to judge of the merits of both parties from the documents that remain. Perhaps the safest way is to reject the arguments brought forward both by the British and German writers of the times, considering them as parties. But there are several French writers who have given their opinions on the subject, and who may be considered as more impartial. The principal of these are Fontenelle, Buffon, Bossut, and Montucla. Fontenelle is very unsatisfactory. He lived too near the time of the dispute, and had, in some measure, committed himself beforehand in his Kloge on the Marquis de ) Hospital. Buffon adopts the side of the English mathemati- cians, and seems to have taken their assertions for granted without ever having examined the documents. Bossut adopts the side of Leibnitz ; but it is equally evident that he has never examined the documents, but trusted to the assertions of the Bernoullis, and the other coadjutors of Leibnitz, with whose works he is obviously much better acquainted than with the Com- mercium Epistolicum, and the writings of Newton. His History of Mathematics is written with much elegance, and does credit to his taste and talents; but from several particulars which it contains we may infer that it was written when he was a very young man, and that he gives many of the facts which his book contains only at second hand. Montucla gives the most parti- cular and the most impartial account of the dispute of any writer that we have seen; but even he does not appear to have perused all the documents, at least if we may be allowed to give that name to a very elaborate paper which appeared in the Philoso- phical Transactions, giving an account of the Commercium Kpistolicum, and of the dispute between Leibnitz and Keill. Tradition ascribes this composition to Newton, and there is every reason, from internal evidence, to believe that he was the author.* Now this paper brings forward several striking in- stances of Leibnitz having attempted to palm Newton’s inven- tions, received in Newton’s own writing, upon Newton himself as his own, and of his having desisted from his claim’ when the trick was pointed out to him. It shows also that Leibnitz had formerly, during the life of Dr. Wallis, acknowledged that Newton was the original inventor of the calculus, and that he had retracted this admission after the death of Dr. Wallis. In * Phil, Trans, 1714, vol, xxix.ps 173, 1813.] Sir Isaac Newton. 405 short, this paper contains so many important facts, and such accurate reasoning, that it ought to be perused by every person who wishes to form an’ accurate opinion on the dispute. We think that the following conclusions may be drawn with almost perfect certainty. 1. The method of fluctions, and the differential calculus, are absolutely the same in principle, and differ only in the notation. The reasoning of Newton is rigidly accurate ; but that of Leib- nitz, loose and unsatisfactory. The Leibnitzian notation is con- ceived to have an advantage over the Newtonian: this advan- tage, as far as it is real, applies only to the mode of expressing the higher orders of fluctions; and this mode might be intro- duced, with facility, into the Newtonian notation. But it must be admitted, that the notation introduced by Leibnitz into the integral calculus has advantages, and, accordingly, it has been universally adopted by British writers, which is not the case with his mode of expressing the higher orders of fluctions. 2. Newton was in possession of his method of fluctions many years before Leibnitz thought of his differential calculus, or indeed before Leibnitz had made any great progress in mathe- matics. This is so obvious from the Commercium Epistolicum, that we believe no one will think of calling it in question. 3. Newton more than once announced to Leibnitz that he was in possession of the fluctionary calculus, and points out its advantages with peculiar emphasis; but in none of his letters does he explain the nature of this calculus. There is an explana- tion of it, however, in Newton’s Analysis per Equationes Numero Terminorum [nfinitas; which was sent up to London by Dr. Barrow, in manuscript. There can be no doubt that Leibnitz saw this paper long before he wrote any thing respecting the differential calculus. The notice, we allow, is very brief; but it is much more than the information given to James Gre- gory, who, notwithstanding, succeeded in discovering Newton’s method.’ 4. NeWwion himself admitted, in his Principia, that Leibnitz had invented his differential calculus without receiving any infor- mation. This passage, which is of great importance to the subject in hand, is as follows :— ** In literas que mihi cum geometra peritissimo G. G. Leil-’ nitio, annis abhine decem intercedebant, cum significarem me ecompotem esse methodi determinandi maximas et minimas, ducendi tangentes, et similia peragendi, que in terminis surdis que ac in rationalibus procederent, et literis transpositis hance sententiam involventibus (data @quatione quotcunque fluentes quantitates involvente, fluxiones invenire, et vice versa) eandem celarem: rescripsit vir clarissimus se quoque in ejusmodi me- thodum incidisse ; et methodum suum communicavit a meo vix 406 Biographical Account of [Dee. abludentem preterquam in verborum et notarum formulis, et idea generationis quantitatum utriusque fundamentum continetur in hoe Jemmate.” * This passage appeared in the first edition of the Principia, published in 1686; it was continued in the second edition, pub- lished in 1713, while the quarrel between Keill and Leibnitz was at the hottest,t but it is not to be found in the edition of 1722. From this passage, there is complete evidence that Newton admitted Leibnitz to have discovered the differential calculus; which he never would have done, if he had furnished him with a sufficient explanation of his own method to enable him to understand it. 5. Newton, then, was the original inventor; Leibnitz knew that he was in possession of some unknown method ; this seems to have stimulated his invention. His differential calculus seems to be founded on the method of tangents of Barrow, from which it differs only in the notation. But it was the generalization of that method which constituted the chief merit of Leibnitz. Had Newton published his Treatise on Fluctions when it. was origi- nally written, he would have had no competitor nor coadjutor, and Leibnitz’s mathematical reputation would probably never have risen beyond mediocrity. All concealment in matters of science we consider as improper, and Nature usually punishes it by putting the same invention into the hands of some other person, who deprives the real discoverer of a part of the reputa~ tion which he would otherwise have acquired. Newton’s hesita- tion, indeed, proceeded from an amiable and. praise-worthy motive ; yet it was a weakness, and, as such, was punished by raising up a competitor, who deprived him of his just share of reputation, and gave him more trouble and uneasiness than that which he sought to avoid by withholding his publication. 6. It has been attempted by, some to compare Leibnitz to Newton, and to hold him up as scarcely inferior to that illustri- ous man: but the comparison is very unequal. Leibnitz cer- tainly was a very extraordinary man, and one of the greatest geniuses that ever appeared among mankind: the extent of his % Newton’s Principia, lib. ii, Scholium, at the end of lemma ii, p, 226, of the edition of 1714, + Montucla assigns, as a reason why it was continued in that edition, that Cotes, the editor, published it without Newton’s knowledge, and against his will, But there must be a mistake in this ; for after the preface there is an advertisement, by Newton himself, mentioring a great number of additions and improvements, wiiich he had made in that edition, A proof, not only that he knew of the edition, but that he had been at some pains in correcting and improving it, The paragraph then was retained, because Newton did not wish to crase it. It was doubtless scratched out of the third edition at the suggestion of Keil), or of some other English mathematician engaged in the dispute. Newton's opinion of the dispute is sufficiently evident from his ac- count of the Commercium Epistolicum, in the Phil. Trans. 1813.) Sir Isaac Newton. a 407 information was prodigious, his activity was indefatigable, and every region of knowledge which he traversed received marks of his original and inventive genius. But he was far inferior to Newton, both as a philosopher and as a man. None, of his pro- ductions will bear a comparison with the Principia, or the Optics, of Sir Isaac Newton ; nor do we think any of his ma- thematical writings equal to the Universal Arithmetic, or the Fluctions of Newton. We cannot conclude this account better than by giving the comparison between the two men, drawn up by Newton himself, on occasion of this very controversy. < It must be allowed that these two gentlemen differ very much in philosophy. The one proceeds on the evidence arising from experiments and phenomena, and stops where such evi- dence is wanting; the other is taken up with hypotheses, and propounds them, not to be examined by experiments, but to be believed without examination. The one, for want of experi- ments to decide the question, does not affirm whether the cause of gravity be mechanical or not mechanical: the other, that it is a perpetual miracle, if it be not mechanical. ‘The one, by way of inquiry, attributes it to the power of the Creator, that the least particles of matter are hard; the other, attributes the hard- ness of matter to conspiring notions, and calls it a perpetual miracle, if the cause of this hardness be other than mechanical. The one does not affirm that animal motion in man is purely mechanical : the other teaches that it is purely mechanical, the soul or mind (according to the hypothesis of a harmonia presta- bilita) never acting on the body so as to alter or influence its motions. The one teaches that God (the God in whom we live, and move, and have our being,) is omnipresent; but nota soul of the world: the other, that he is not the soul of the world, but intelligentia supra mundana, an intelligence above the bounds of the world; whence it seems to fo!low, that he cannot do any thing within the bounds of the world, unless by an incre- dible miracle. ‘The one teaches, that philosophers are to argue from phenomena and experinients to the causes thereof, and thence to the causes of those causes, and so @n till we come to the first cause ; the other, that all the actions of the first cause are miracles, and all the laws impressed on nature by the will of God are perpetual miracles and occult qualities, and, therefore, not to be considered in philosophy. But, must the constant and universal laws of Nature, if derived from the power of God, or the action of a cause not yet known to us, be called miracles and occult qualities, that is to say, wonders and absurdities? Must all the arguments for a God, taken from the phenomena of nature, be exploded by new hard names? And must experi- mental philosophy be exploded as miraculous and absurd, because ae ; ~ 408 Graphical Represéntatin of ihe daily Rate of the (Dsc. it asserts nothing more than can be proved by experiments, and we cannot yet prove by experiments, that all the phenomena In nature can be solved by mere mechanical causes? Certainly these things deserve to be better considered.” * ArTIcLeE II. A Graphical Representation of the daily Rate of the Barometer- during a Year in London, Paris, and Geneva. By. J. P.. Pictet, Assistant Professor of Natural Philosophy in Geneva.t Tue representation in Plate XIV. was made out by the author upon a very small scale from a great collection of observations of the rate of the barometer at London, Paris, Geneva, and Ma- drid, laid before. the Natural History Society of Geneva. It contains a complete year of observations, made in the three first named cities. The upper half of the copper-plate reaches from the autumnal equinox of 1806 to the vernal equinox of 1807, the lower half extends from this equinox to the autumnal equinox of the same year. “ We see here very evidently,” says M. Pictet, “ how much more the barometer rises and falls in winter than in summer. The complete harmony which exists between the three barometrical curves, and the very regular parallelism of their inflections is surprising, when we consider. the great distance of the three places from each other. ¢ In January and February we find the greatest, in July and August the smallest, alterations in the height of the barometer. Very high and very low positions correspond in all the three places within a day. The figures upon the plate mark the day of the month on which these maxima and minima were ob- served, An exception is observable in October, 1806. The barometer was highest in London on the 24th, at Paris on the 25th, and at Geneva on the 26th. Likewise in January, 1807, it was highest at London on the 5th, in Paris on the 6th, and at * Phil. Trans. 1714, vol, xxix. p, 173. + This curious paper was published in the Bibliotheque Britannique for Jan. 1811. Ihave translated it from Gilbert’s Annalen for May, 1812. It is evident that the German editor has made considerable alterations in the ori- ginal.—T, { The same thing holds good in another set of barometrical curves con- structed by M. Pictet upon a much larger scale, embracing a longer period of time, and including likewise a curve for Madrid. When these curves are compared, it appears that all the principal inflexions agree very nearly with each other in time and amount: only, the farther north a place lies, the sooner does the change begin at it, October Novenber Decemba 7006 i January 1807 43 ve dept 18 a * 18!3.] Barometer in London, Paris, and Geneva. 409 Geneva on the 7th. In November the barometer stood lowest in London on the 3d, in Paris and Geneva on the 4th. As these alterations in the weight of the atmosphere begin usually at London, they seem to proceed chiefly in a direction from west to east ; but this commencement in London is not without ex- ception. In May, 1807, the barometer was lowest at Paris on the 29th, at London and Geneva on the 30th. Though the curves have a great resemblance to one another upon the whole, yet there are some particulars in which they differ: for example, in London the barometer sunk without interruption from the 13th to the 2lst of January, 1807; while in Paris and Geneva it made several oscillations during the same time, which agree with each other in these two cities. On the 13th of January, 1807, the barometer sank slowly in Paris and Geneva ; but in London it descended with such velocity that in 48 hours it had sunk 0°71 inch. The cause of this change in the barometer must be very powerful, yet completély local, and of very short duration, since the rate of the barometer agrees within a day in London, Paris, and Geneva. It were to be wished that we knew the state of the atmosphere at London on the day of this rapid descent of the barometer. -This knowledge would probably throw some light on so sudden a fall.* I consider the present attempt to be sufficient to show how important it would be to keep daily tables of meteorological observations on different parts of the meridian and parallel of Paris, and to exhibit these observations every year in the state of curves. By this method more knowledge of the modifications which take place in the atmosphere would be gained by a single glance of the eye than by a painful comparison of voluminous observations.. [To save trouble, tables might be published so contrived that the observer would have no more to do than to denote the daily observation by a point upon the table. At the end of every half year the curve may be directly drawn. A copy of such a graphic delineation might be sent to the central board, which already exists under the name of Board of Longitude, and holds its meetings at the observatory of Paris. Here a complete table of all the observations would be constructed, and a copy of it sent to every observer; from which he would see the fruit of his labour, and be induced to continue his observations. The choice of the places of observation, accurate directions for the benefit of the observers, the precision of the instruments, and * In Great Britain it holds, without exception, as far as my observations have gone, that when the barometer falls suddenly a violent wind soon follows, not always at the very place of thefall, but within no very great distance. IT have no doubt that the fall alluded to by M, Pictet was fellowed by a violent south-vester,—T, 410 On the Composition of Oxide of Zinc. [Dec. the general result of the comparison, are particulars which ob- viously belong to the consideration of the learned in this cele- brated society; and they appear highly worthy of their attention and their zeal. Articie III. On ihe Composition of Oxide of va By Thomas Thomson, M.. R.S. In the table of the proportions in which chemical bodies unite, published in the Annals of Philosophy, vol. ii. p. 42, I have stated that the oxide of zinc is composed of 100 metal + 23-175 oxyge. This number is the mean of experiments made to determine the point by Berzelius, Davy, and myself. But as the zine of commerce, with which my experiments, and those of Sir Humphry Davy, had been made, is always contaminated with some lead, and not unfrequently also with copper, it is obvious that experiments to determine the composition of tlic oxide of zine by directly oxidating that metal cannot be perfectly accurate, and will probably give the proportion of oxygen below the truth. This consideration induced me to make a set of expe- riments in a different way, and susceptible of greater accuracy, in order to see how far the proportions which I had stated in the table deviated from the truth. I shall here give the result of my experiments for the satisfaction of my readers. 1. The sulphuric acid which I had in my possession was of the specific gravity 183993, at the temperature of 60°. My first object was to ascertain the proportions of real acid and water contained in this liquid: 100:4 grains of the acid were diluted with water, neutralized by a base, and precipitated by muriate of barytes. The sulphate of barytes obtained was washed, dried, and exposed to a red heat. It weighed 2201 grains. The experiment being repeated, the sulphate of barytes obtained weighed 223°78 grains. A third experiment was made with 100-06 grains of the acid. The sulphate of barytes obtained weighed 220°67 grains. ‘These experiments were all made with equal care; and the want of agreement between them must be ascribed to the imperfection of our methods of experimenting, and not to any want of attention on my part. If we consider sulphate of barytes as composed of 100 acid + 194 base, ac~ cording to the experiments of Berzelius, then the sulphuric acid is composed 1813.] On the Composition of Oxide of Zinc. 411 By Ist experiment, of 74°564 acid + 15°436 water 2d. 20 ees vew'd. ¥) 7581S? 4 aay Pe TS Nog eh Seer oD + 15:090 Mean ...... 75°096 + 14°904 1 may remark here, that this result almost exactly coincides with the table of the strength of sulphuric acid published by Mr. Dalton (New System of Chemistry, part ii. p. 404); for by that table we see that acid of the specific gravity 1:838 con- tains 75 per cent. of real sulphuric acid. Now the acid which I used was of the specific gravity 1°8399, and contained 75:096 per cent. of real acid, 2. I diluted 100-4 grains of this acid with water, and put into it a plate of zinc. ‘The acid was allowed to act upon the zine for 24 hours. It then had lost the power of reddening paper stained with litmus. Hence I considered it as neutralized. ‘The quan- tity of zinc dissolved was 62°7 grains. The experiment was repeated with the same weight of acid, and the zinc was allowed to remain in the liquid for two days. The quantity dissolved was 62°93 grains. Supposing it possible that some portion of the acid might remain uncombined with the oxide of zinc for want of time, I repeated the experiment a third time: 100-06 grains of acid were diluted with water, and a plate of zine of consider- able size was kept in it for nine days, the liquid being frequently agitated, and the zine brought in contact with every part of it. The portion of zinc dissolved in this case was only 61°5739 grains. According to these experiments, 100 grains of real sulphuric acid dissolve By Ist experiment ......983°168 grains of zinc 2 RN #000 209000 16D Mean .......82°859 3. I consider it as established by experiment that’ 100 parts of pure sulphuric acid are neutralized by a quantity of base, which contains 20°02 of oxygen. ‘Thus, for example, 100 sulphuric acid combine with 280 of yellow oxide of lead; and 280 of this oxide contain 20°02 of oxygen. So, likewise, 100 of sulphuric acid combine with 100 of black oxide of copper, which contain 20 of oxygen. It follows from this, since zinc has the property of precipitating copper from sulphuric acid, and taking its place, that the 82°859 of zinc which unite with 100 of sulphuric acid must previously combine with 20-02 of oxygen. Therefore 100 sulphuric acid combine with 102°879 of oxide of zine; and the 412 Account of a New Hydraulic Machine. (Drc, oxide of zine is composed of 82°859 metal + 20°02 oxygen, or of 100 metal + 24 16 oxygen. ' The preceding experiments warrant us, I conceive, to consider the oxide of zinc as composed of 100 metal + 24:16 oxygen. Now this determination approaches much nearer to that of Ber- zelius, who found oxide of zine composed of 100 metal + 24:4 oxygen; than to that of Sir H. Davy, who makes it 100 metal + 21-951 oxygen; or myself, who obtained the numbers 100 metal + 23°5 oxygen, by direct experiment. This new deter- mination of the composition of the oxide of zinc makes it necessary to alter the numbers representing the weight of an atom of zinc in the table (Annals of Philosophy), vol. ii. p. 49). Instead of 4°315, the corrected number will be 4°139, and the weight of the oxide of zine will be 5°139. These new numbers do not agree quite so well with my ana- lysis of the sulphate of zinc (stated in the Annals of Philosophy, vol. ii. p. 297. as the preceding ones, which I employed in my table. I found sulphate of zinc composed of 25°83 acid + 28:2 oxide. Now 5 (the weight of an atom of acid) : 5*139 (the weight of an atom of oxide) :: 25°8 : 26517. But I find, upon considering my analysis, that the quantity of sulphuric acid obtained is underrated. 100 grains of crystallized sulphate of zine yielded 78:2 grains of sulphate of barytes. Now 78:2 of sulphate of barytes contain, according to the analysis of Berze- lius, 26°6 of sulphuric acid. Now 5 : 5°139:: 26°6 : 27°34. This does not exactly coincide with the 28-2 of oxide of zinc obtained. But I find two circumstances stated in the account of my analysis which appear to me quite sufficient to account for the difference. 1. The sulphate of zinc whichI analyzed is stated to redden vegetable blues. Now I find that the salt obtained by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid has not that pro- perty. Hence the salt analyzed must have contained a slight excess of acid. 2. The precipitate of oxide of zinc is described as flesh coloured. This shows that it was mixed with iron, and consequently that the salt was not quite pure. * ARTICLE IV. Account of a New Hydraulic Machine. Contrived by M. Mannoury Dectot.* Tue Class has already approved of several machines invented * This isa translation of the Report made to the Institute on the subject on the 23d August, 1813, Ihave translated it from the Moniteur of the 27th August, 1313.] Account of a New Hydraulic Machine. 413 by M. Mannoury. The one which we have at present to describe is not less worthy of attention. M. Mannoury not having yet given a name to his new ma- chine, we shall venture to call it a danaide, as this name seems proper to give a first conception of the mechanism of the ma- chine, which in fact is nothing else than a trough into which the water is continually running from above, while as great a quan- tity runs out by a hole at the bottom. But the danaide of M. Mannoury is more fortunate than that of the daughters of the King of Argus; because it is more ingenious. He has contrived to give his trough a rotatory motion, to prevent by its centrifugal force the too great rapidity of the escape of the water: so that if the secrets of M. Mannoury should ever make their way into Tartarus, he will have the glory of alleviating the labours im- posed for so many ages upon these unfortunate princesses. ~ The model, by means of which M. Mannoury exhibited his experiments to us, consists principally, as has een said, of a trough, the bottom of which has a hole in its centre. This trough is cylindrical, and nearly as high as it is broad, and is made of tin plate. It is fixed to a vertical axis of iron, which passes through the middle of the hole in the bottom, leaving a vacant space all around, through which the water escapes as it flows into the trough. ‘This axis turns with the trough upon a pivot, and is fixed above to a collar, The object of M. Mannoury was, that the water flowing into the trough from above with a certain quantity of vis viva, should communicate the whole of it to the solid parts of the machine, to be employed afterwards in producing some useful effect ; always excepting the small quantity of force necessary to enable the water to escape by the orifice below. He obtains his object in the following manner. To the axis of the trough, and within it, there is fixed a drum, likewise of tin plate, concentric with the trough, and close above and below. This drum, which turns round with the trough, fills almost the whole of its solid contents: there is merely a smal] space between the two, not exceeding 1°5 inch. This space exists likewise between the bottom of tHe trough and the drum, but it’is in that place less, and is divided into several compartments by diaphragms proceeding from the circumference to the central hole ‘in the bottom of the trough. These dia- phragms do not exist between the sides of the drum and the trough, and the compartments at the bottom communicate with this annular space. : The water comes from a reservoir above by one or two pipes, and makes its way into this apnular space between the trough and drum. The bottom of these pipes corresponds with the Ald Account of a New Hydraulic Machine. [Dec. level of the water in the trough, and they are directed horizon- tally, and as tangents, to the mean circumference, between that of the trough and of the drum. The velocity which the water has acquired by its fall along these pipes makes the machine move round its axis; and this motion accelerates, by degrees, till the velocity of the water in the space between the trough and drum equals that of the water from the reservoir: so that no sensible shock is perceived of the affluent water upon that which is contained in the machine. This circular motion communicates to the water between the trough and drum a centrifugal force, in consequence of which it presses against the sides of the trough. This centrifugal force acts equally upon the water contained in the compartments at the bottom of the trough, but it acts less and less as this water approaches the centre. The whole water, then, is animated by two forces, which oppose each other; namely, gravity and the centrifugal force. ‘The first tends to make the water run out at the hole at the bottom of the trough; the second tends to drive the water from that hole. To these two forces are joined a third, namely, friction, which acts here an important and singular part, as it promotes the efficacy of the machine, while in other machines it always dimi- nishes that eficacy. Here, on the contrary, the effect would be nothing, were it not for the friction, which acts in a tangent to the sides of the trough and the drum. By the combination of these three forces, there ought to result a more or less rapid flow from the hole at the bottom of the trough: and the less force the water has as it issues out, the more it will have employed in moving the machine, and of course in producing the useful effect for which it is destined. The moving power is the weight of the water running in, multiplied by the height of the reservoir from which it flows above the bottom of the trough: and the useful effect is, the same product, diminished by half the force which the water retains when it issues out of the orifice below. We endeavoured to ascertain by a direct experiment the amount of this useful effect. We fixed a cord to the axis of the machine, which by means of pulleys properly placed raised a weight in proportion as the machine turned round. The result of repeated experiments was, that the effect produced amounted to =i, of the moving cause, and often approached =75., even not reckoning the friction of the pulleys, &c. which has. nothing to do with the machine. This effect surpasses considerably. that of the best machines known. Hence this new piece of mechanism, notwithstanding its 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 415 | great simplicity, ought to be placed among the most important conceptions for the arts, and we propose to the Class to give it its approbation. (Signed) Perrier, Prony, Carnot, Reporters. The Class approves of the Report, and adopts its conclusions. DecamsreE, Perpetual Secretary. ee ARTICLE V. General Views of the Composition. of Animal Fluids. By J, Berzelius, M.D. Professor of Chemistry in the College of Medicine at Stockholm. (Concluded from p. 387.) Of the Fluids that compose the Excretions. I must refer the reader to what I have already observed gene- rally on this subject, and shall proceed to the individual species, 1. The Fluid of Perspiration. I have not been able to make my experiments on this fluid in any large quantity, the organ that secretes it being extended over so large a surface, and seldom affording much at a time, As to what collects in under-waistcoats after some days’ wearing, it must always be more or less altered by spontaneous decompo- sition. ; I collected on a watch-glass a few drops of sweat as they fell from my face, and evaporated them carefully. The yellowish residue had all the appearance under the microscope of the usual mixture of the muriates of potash and soda with lactic acid, Jaetate of soda, and its accompanying animal matter. It red- dened litmus, and dissolved in alcohol, and was. without doubt of the same nature as the analogous matter found in the other fluids. The alcohol left untouched a small trace of an animal matter which blackened in the fire, but was in too small quantity to admit of further examination. M. Thenard discovers acetous acid in perspiration, but this acetous acid is produced here, as in his other experiments, from the lactic, by his mode of operating. It is well known that litmus paper reddens instantly when put in contact with the skin of the living body; which shows that the acid that produces this effect is not volatile, otherwise it would be evaporated by the dry surface of the body, which has always a temperature of 86° to 90° Fahr. ° ~ 4l6 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Die. 2. Urine. We possess many analyses of urine, both in a healthy and diseased state, but none of them gives a very extended view of the subject ; and it is clear that the analysis of morbid urine acquires its chief interest from being able to compare it with that of health. : A. The Acids of the Urine.—The acidity of healthy urine has generally been attributed to the phosphoric acid. By the che- mical change which the blood undergoes in the kidneys, a large portion of its constituent parts are acidified ; so that the blood which enters alkaline into the renal arteries, returns from the renal vessels loaded with many acids, some of which did not at all exist in the blood at its entrance, and others were present in very minute quantity only. The acids of the urine which do not at all exist in the blood are the sulphuric, uric, and sometimes the benzoic; the others are the phosphoric and lactic. The muriatic and fluoric acids appear to pass from the blood to the urine without increase in their proportional quantity. As by the laws of chemical affinity these acids will unite with any alkali that may be present, and saturate themselves with it in the order of the force of their respective affinities, it must follow that where the quantity of alkali is insufficient to saturate all the acids present, the weakest acids must be those that will remain uncombined and will give the urine its acid properties. These therefore must be the lactic and the uric. It is so generally known and so fully proved that the urine contains the phosphoric, muriatic, and uric acids, that it is useless to add any thing further on this subject. Urine contains the fluoric acid. In my analysis of bones I have found that human and ox bone contain as much as two per cent, of fluate of lime. It is therefore natural to suppose that ithe earthy phosphates dissolved in urine, which are chiefly de- rived from the decomposition and absorption of bone, should also retain the same proportion of fluate of lime. ‘To prove it, I precipitated a large quantity of urine with caustic ammonia, collected and calcined the precipitate, mixed an ounce of it with as much sulphuric acid, and then heated the mixture moderately in a platina crucible covered with a glass plate prepared for etching. After some hours I removed the glass, took off the graver’s wax, and found the lines corroded by the fluorie acid vapour. Urine saturated by ammonia, filtered, and mixed with muriate of lime, gives also a good deal of phosphate of lime, containing ho fluoric acid. The urine therefore.contains no other fluate than that of lime. 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids, 417 The sulphuric acid is also found in urine. The alkaline fluids merely neutralized by acetic or muriatic acid, and then mixed with muriate of barytes, give no indication of sulphuric acid. But if the residue left after the evaporation of these fluids be first ‘ealeined, and the saline part then extracted by lixiviating the ash, and treated with muriatic acid and muriate of barytes, a notable quantity of sulphuric acid is found, produced from the sulphur contained in animal matter. But with urine the appear- ances are very different. Muriate of barytes added to it forms immediately a copious precipitate of sulphate of barytes; and I have constantly found that the quantity of sulphuric acid in urine exceeds that of the phosphoric acid. Rouelle, the elder, long ago detected sulphuric acid in urine, but this was considered as an accidental cireumstance : I have however very good reason for supposing this acid to be a most essential constituent part of urine. The production of this acid takes place in the kidneys, and the action of these organs resembles combustion in this respect, that part of the constituent elements of the urine, such as the sulphur, phosphorus, the radicals of the alkalies and earths, &c. become oxidated to their maximum: and here also the kidneys generate some acids with compound bases. The remainder of the blood gives rise to the urea, which, being formed from the materials of the blood, ought to contain more azote in proportion as a greater number of the other elements of these materials has been acidified. It would however be incor- rect to consider the production of urine as an excretion of the azote which is in excess in the anima] economy, because it appears that the amount of its quantity in the constituents of urine is not greater than in the constituents of blood. We might with as much reason consider the kidney as an organ for oxida- tion: but it is certainly an error to believe that any organ except the lungs has the office of removing one particular element in a greater proportion than the rest. 1 at first conceived that the whole of the sulphur contained in the blood was acidified in the kidneys, and consequently imagined that the same change might be induced on a part of the azote, the carbon, and the hydrogen. Proust asserts that the urine contains carbonic acid; but it is very difficult to establish the certainty of. this fact, because the urea is decomposed by a heat éven inferior to that of boiling water, and produces carbonate of ammonia, which is decomposed by the free acid of the urine, and carbonic acid is disengaged. I am rather disposed to believe that urine does not contain carbonic acid, because no bubbles of air are ever seen to form on the sides of the containing vessels: and if urine still warm be thrown on any substance whatever reduced to powder, such as powdered sugar, no effervéscence Vor. II. N° VI. 2D 418 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Dec. ensues. Urine is found to contain no nitric acid. If the. resi- duum from evaporation be treated with alcohol, and the: undis- solved portion (which must contain all the nitrates of the urine) be exposed to fire, it will exhibit no sign of detonation: although this phenomenon is very perceptible whenever a very small quan- tity of nitrate of potass, or even of nitric acid, has been added to the urine. Lastly, 1 found accidentally that the whole-of the sulphur contained in urine is not acidified. 1 had made use of nitrate of barytes to precipitate the sulphuric acid in urine, and had previously added to the latter some nitric acid, in order that the phosphate of barytes might be retained in solution. After having separated the sulphate of barytes, I precipitated the phosphate by ammonia; and after having filtered the ammoniacal liquor, I evaporated it. During its evaporation it deposited small white shining crystals, exceedingly hard, insoluble in water, in acids, or in caustic potass. After subjecting them to many experiments, I at length found them to be sulphate of barytes. In repeating the experiment with muriate of barytes and muriatic acid, in order to prevent the precipitation of the phosphate of. barytes, no sulphate of barytes was formed. The production of this salt is the more singular because the nitric acid present was even supersaturated with ammonia. Instructed by this experi- ment, | precipitated another portion of urine with nitrate of barytes, and after filtering evaporated it to dryness, and burned the residuum with a fresh quantity of nitrate of barytes.. ‘The ashes treated with muriatic acid left a considerable quantity of undissolved sulphate of barytes. 4, The benzoic acid is found, according to Scheele, in, the urine of infants. I have not been able, in my experiments, to discover the Jeast trace of it, andl much doubée whether it be contained in acidulous urine. ; 5. Lactic acid.—It is principally to this acid that urine owes its acid properties: and if I may be allowed to speculate on final causes, I should say that it is destined to hold the earthy phos- phates in solution, and obviate the dire effects of their deposition in a solid mass. In order to ascertain the presence of this acid, the urine must be evaporated to the consistence of a syrup, and treated with alcohol. The substance which remains undissolved is acid, and by the addition of ammonia is decomposed; and the lactic acid combined with the ammonia becomes soluble in alcohol. From its solution in alcohol the ammonia is disengaged by quicklime, and from the new salt thus formed the lime may be separated by oxalic acid, which leaves the lactic acid dissolved in water. By this process small part only of the lactic acid contained in the urine is obtained, the greater part, together with the lactate of ammohia, being carried off by the alcohol. 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 419 B. The Deposit from Urine. Urine, by cooling, affords a deposit which varies considerably in different circumstances, not only in quantity, but also in external characters. *When it is abundant the urine becomes turbid throughout, a grey powder is precipitated, and after con- tinuing for some time at rest, the precipitate is found at the bottom covered with a mucous stratum.. The deposit gradually acquires a red tinge, and after some time is found perfectly crystallized. When the urine does not become turbid, there only appears a thin cloud scarcely discernible, which by rest sinks to the bottom or collects in light transparent flocculi, in which there are sometimes formed, after 24 hours, red crystals. All urine, when newly evacuated, contains a matter suspended in it, which in some degree affects its perfect transparency. This matter is the mucus of the inner coat of the bladder. If the urine, while yet warm, be poured on a filter, it will pass perfectly clear, and the mucus will remain on the filter in the -form of transparent and colourless flocculi. The deposit. which _ afterwards takes place in filtered urine is pulverulent, and nowise mucous: which proves that it is from admixture with the mucus of the bladder, that the flocculent appearance, so frequently assumed by the deposit, arises. By drying, the mucus loses its transparency, becomes red, and sometimes has a crystalline aspect, which is owing to the presence of uric acid, the crystals of which have a diameter exceeding the thickness of the dried mucus. if a person, after continuing for a long time either in a stand- ing. or sitting posture, without much exercising his muscles, should evacuate urine successively in different vessels, the first portions will contain the largest quantity of mucus, the next less, and the succeeding portions none whatever. This arises from the mucus being heavier than the urine, and collecting in the lower part of the reservoir: but if, on the other hand, a person be obliged to remain long on his back, and to evacuate the urine in that position, the lowermost portion does not come away first, and it thea frequently happens that the whole of the mucus cannot be evacuated, and that a part remains for a lon? time in the bladder, when, from the disposition of the uric acid to form crystals in the mass of mucus,* the latter becomes a nucleus for the formation of calculus. To this circumstance may be ascribed * * Lhave very often observed that when the urine has been evacaated in two portions, of which the one contained mucus, and the other was clear, the latter has afforded no precipitate, while in the former the mucus was found, after 12 or 24 hours, to contain numerous red crystals, sometimes of considerable size. It would therefore appear that io urine, which does not contain enovgh of uric acid to form a precipitate by cooling, the presence of mucus favours lo sume particular way its crystallization. 420 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Drc. the frequency of this disorder originating during the cure of fractures of the lower extremities. The cloud which appears in the urine during fever, is in fact merely the mucus of the bladder, which, from the increase of the specific gravity of the urine, subsides more slowly, or some- times remains suspended in the fluid. The deposition which urine exhibits in diseases frequently suggests useful indications, and its examination is sometimes of great importance in the practice of medicine. It is necessary, in this inquiry, to distin- guish between two different kinds of matter deposited: the one being composed of the materials which are not held in solution, and are mechanically suspended, and the other consisting of those which are dissolved in warm urine, but which separate by cooling. ‘The former contains, in a state of health, only the mucus of the inner coat of the bladder; which, while yet warm, may be separated from the latter by filtration. The mucus that remains forms discrete flocculi, which do not collect together, and which, after being dried, do not recover their original transparency and mucosity by maceration in water. This mucus is in great part dissolved by acetic acid or diluted muriatic acid ; but diluted sulphuric acid acts upon it very feebly. It is also soluble by digestion in caustic alkalies. : In catarrhus vesice the urine is loaded with an enormous quantity of a mucous matter which is suspended in it. This matter is a true mucus, although, in consequence of the morbid affection of the organ which produces it, its characters are diffe- rent from those of healthy mucus. If it be collected on the filter, in proportion as the water is absorbed, it becomes more and more mucous and viscous; and, during the desiccation, it becomes transparent and greenish. By maceration in water it recovers its mucous character, undergoes after some time an acid fermentation, and acquires a purulent appearance. In a word, the mucus of the bladder, when diseased, approaches more nearly to that of the nose, and differs much in its properties from the secretion in its natural state. There is still another morbid condition of the urinary passages, in which the urine.carries along a matter mechanically suspended in it, and which has so close a resemblance to that produced by catarrh, that inattentive practitioners easily confound the one with the other. ‘The urine when filtered leaves a mucous matter’ on the filter, which however does not become transparent by desiccation, but gives, on the contrary, a white powder appearing only to the touch. This powder consists of phosphate of lime, and the ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate, mixed with the mucus of the bladder. The urine in this disease has lost all its free acid, it does not affect the colour of litmus paper, and I have sometimes even seen it restore the blue colour of litmus when it — —— 1813.) Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 421 had been reddened by vinegar. In observing this re-action, the paper should be inspected immediately ; if it be allowed to dry, it reddens from the decomposition of the ammoniacal salts, and this happens even when the paper is immersed in a solution of neutral muriate of ammonia, or even when the ammonia is in excess. The urine in this disease has also the property of yield- ing a precipitate by common muriate of mercury, in the same way as during a paroxysm of fever: a circumstance which is owing to the absence of the free acid.* The secondary precipitate which is formed in urine, which has been filtered while still warm, is pulverulent, and contains, as is already known, the uric acid in abundance. In the first moments after its formation it is of a greyish white, but it gra- dually acquires a reddish hue, and the pulverulent matter assumes at the same time a crystalline form. ‘The change is effected still more quickly when exposed to the immediate contact of air, than when the deposit is covered with urine. ‘The greyish precipitate which is first formed is soluble in caustic alkali, without the evolution of ammonia: but in proportion as it becomes red and crystallized, potass disengages from it ammonia in abundance, It is evident, therefore, that the crystallization of the precipitate depends on the formation of urate of ammonia with excess of acid, which appears to constitute the red crystals which form in urine by cooling. I think I have observed that the mucus is in & great measure concerned in this change in the precipitate, since it takes place more slowly, and in a less degree, in urine which has been filtered. ‘That species of urine which on cooling becomes milky, and appears like a mixture of clay and water, yields about one-thousandth of its weight of precipitate. The deposit, treated with acetic acid, is partly dissolved, and gives a yellowish solution, from which a precipitate is thrown down by carbonate or prussiate of potass, as well as by infusion of galls, but not by the caustic alkalies. ‘The quantity dissolved is greater, and the yellow colour more intense, when the urine had not been filtered before cooling ; which appears to prove that the substance dissolved by the acetic acid is in both cases mucus, of which a part has been dissolved in the urine, and since preci- * I once had occasion to treat a man attacked with this disease. I endea- voured by large doses of phosphoric acid to supply the deficient acid in the urine, but without being able to effect any alteration whatever, The dose was at length increased till it purged the patient, when the urine suddenly resumed its natural characters, and became acid, transparent, and deposited uric acid. But these salutary effects disappeared with the purgative one, and they could not be againreproduced, After the phosphoric acid had been employed in vain, the acetic and sulphuric acids were given, but without success, Alkaline reme- dies had no effect either beneficial or injurious, and the disease still continues, having produced a great degree of debility in the inferior extremities. 422 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. [Dec. pitated in a state of chemical combination with the uric acid. It is this compound which is gradually decomposed, and gives rise to'the crystallized superurate of ammonia. ‘The deposit contains none of the earthy phosphates. The muriatic acid digested with the deposit, and then saturated with ammonia, precipitates nothing. Subjected to fire, the deposit burns, and leaves at length, and with some difficulty, a very small quantity of a fused ash, which consists of carbonate of soda, proving that the deposit often contains a small quantity of superurate of soda, that inso- luble salt which, according to the experiments of Dr. Wollaston, produces the gouty concretions of the joints. The secondary deposit of healthy urine, therefore, is not uric acid, but a combination of this acid with an animal matter, which appears to be a portion of the mucus of the bladder dis- solved by the warm urine. The deposit contains still a trace of superurate of soda, and by spontaneous decomposition there is formed superurate of ammonia, which renders it crystalline. It is to be presumed that uric acid, which is deposited in the bladder and forms calculi, contains this same animal matter, which ought accordingly to be an essential constituent of all calculi formed in the bladder. I have thus found. it in two different caleuli which I examined with this view. The following is the mode of separating the uric acid from the animal matter. The caleulus is dissolved in caustic alkali, and a precipitate obtained by adding to the solution muriatic acid in excess.. The precipitate consists of uric acid; and a combination of the animal matter with muriatic acid, which may be carried off by washing the precipitate freely on the filter. The muriatic com- pound is soluble in pure water, and is again precipitated by the addition of muriatic acid, or by allowing it to drop into the acid liquor which has passed through the filter. The uric acid re- maining on the filter is in a state of purity greater than any that has been hitherto the subject of examination. > C. Analysis of Urine. T have*been at much pains to arrive at as accurate a know- ledge as possible of the precise composition of urine, both as to ~ the quantity and eondition of its constituents. The task has been laborious, difficult, and often extremely complicated. It would be trespassing on the patience of the Society, were I to attempt at present to give an account of all the details, and such is the nature of an exact analytical investigation that it admits not of a brief recital. I shall therefore content myself svith communicating the general result, which is as follows :— 1000 parts of urine are composed of 1813°] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 423 BOW atere Se. ORES x: MON sy ooo OO Brea? Bpag es; Me Pe ees 1 ae STO Sulphate of potass Pek et my Wirap iin g/d Sulphate of soda....6...--.--.. 3°16 Phosphate of soda .............. 2°94 Muriate of: soda (200% 6000 2... 4°45 Phosphate of ammonia-.......... 1°65 Muriate of ammonia ............ 1°50 Freeilactic acid P,P.) 7) Lactate of ammonia .......... Animal matter soluble in alcohol, and usually mapas ged the hol « OG OY: Bar ete \ Urea not separable from the pre- | CORI SEGA VE LIER IS th ee phosphates with a trace of 1-00 : Matelek Timer ois, Pee eh p£60 UrieractivsGs 2.29) 8 SiN DY ean Mucus of. the bladder See rot fore amemen (at F- bem te e-3 See ay eels tine oa wae © GOOD 1000-00 With regard to the relative proportions of these ingredients, it is very probable they may vary independently of disease. I believe, however, that in urine they are never very different, unless from pathological causes, which materially affect the health. I should also observe that in the 17:14 parts of lactic acid, lactate of ammonia, &c. there exists a quantity of water which it is not possible to abstract without the risk of decomposing these substances. ‘The quantity of uric acid always varies accord- ing to the individual, and also in the same individual from different ‘circumstances which have little influence on health. In the above analysis it was determined from urine which be- came ‘turbid throughout during its cooling, and which during its deposition resembled water mixed with clay. The earthy phosphates contain much more magnesia (as much as 11 per cent.) than in the bones or the ashes of blood. Of the cause of this lam ignorant; but I have likewise found much more potass in uribe and in milk than in the blood. The silex was not detected by the composition of dried urine : for in this way it might have been considered as a constituent of some animal matter dissolved in the urine. I discovered it by treating evaporated urine with alcohol, then with water, and afterwards with muriatic acid, which left the undissolved silex in 424 Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. (Dec. the form of a grey powder, which fused with soda produced a transparent glass, and which by the decomposition of the glass was converted into the gelatinous state. The water we drink, and which supplies the continual waste of that element by per- spiration and by urine, always contains silex, which appears not to separate from it in the body, and which thus makes its exit in the same state in which it entered. It is evident that this earth should be found dissolved in the other animal fluids, and that the quantity must vary according to the quantity contained in the water used as beverage. Milk. My experiments have chiefly been made on the milk of the cow. The composition of this fluid is exceedingly analogous to that of blood. It consists, like the blood, of a chemical solu- tion, and an admixture of undissolved matter suspended in it. By exposing milk for some days in a shallow vessel to the tem- perature of 32° Fahr. I separated from it the cream as com- pletely as I could. The lower portion of milk, decanted by a hole at the bottom of the vessel, had a specific gravity of 1:033, and yielded by analysis the following constituents :— WRITS aie he ees SS ey te Cheese, with a trace of butter .... 28°00 Sugar of milk .......... ey ee Muriate of potash .............. 1-70 Phosphate of potash ...........- 0°25 Lactic acid, acetate of potash, with 6-00 a trace of lactate of iron .... a Earthy phosphates............. ts 4. One 1000°00 Cream contains the emulsive matter which is not dissolved, more concentrated and mixed with a portion of milk. This emulsion is easily decomposed by agitation, absorbs oxygen, and the butter separates: the milk becoming by this operation more acid than it was at first, I found that cream of the specific gravity 1-°0244 was composed of * Butter...... Us ries es. a yo: 4:5 Cheese ...... SER va yd Ph re tea fo Wher 2 AF: Scie akS oe EAE Bee As 92 parts whey contain 4°4 sugar of milk and salts, it follows that cream contains about 12:5 per cent. of solid matter. It is very remarkable that scarcely any other alkali than potash is found in milk. I have burnt a quantity of dried milk, and have dissolved the muriate of the ashes in spirit of wine; and the 1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 425 alkali left undissolved by the alcohol, neutralized by the sulphuric acid, produced only sulphate of potash. I know not how far this observation is applicable to other kinds of milk, or to milk taken from other individuals. Cheese, which is destined to be part of the nourishment of the young animal, has very peculiar characters, which, as it would seem, fit it for this office, It admits easily of incineration, affording a white ash which contains no alkali, and which forms as much as G’5 per cent. of the weight of the cheese. This ash contains principally earthy phosphates with a little pure lime: but it contains neither alkali nor oxide of iron. Cheese digested with concentrated muriatic acid yields the greater part of its phosphates to the acid, and it afterwards burns without leaving any ash. But the cheese may be precipitated from the milk by an acid without losing its phosphates. It appears, then, that the latter are not yet formed, but that a slight affinity only is requisite to their production. We may conclude that Nature has thus sought to assist the digestive powers of the young during a period of their lives in which there exists in the economy the greatest demand for earthy phosphates for the purposes of ossification, which is at that time advancing so rapidly. Cheese is generally considered as a substance insoluble in water, and yet a great part of it is in actual solution in milk, A solution of it in water may be obtained, if cheese precipitated by an acid and well expressed, be digested with carbonate of barytes or carbonate of lime. ‘The carbonate is decomposed with effer- vescence, and the cheese quitting the acid is dissolved. The solution is yellowish, and resembles a solution of gum. Evapo- rated to dryness it leaves a yellow mass, which easily redissolves in water. The solution boiled in an open vessel becomes covered with a white pellicle, precisely as milk does, and acquires the smell of boiled milk. ‘The membrane is almost insoluble in water, and appears to be a product by the action of air on the dissolved cheese, With the mineral acids cheese produces the same combinations as albumen and fibrin, although the neutral combinations are less soluble than those of fibrin. A great excess of acetie acid is required in order to dissolve the cheese, and the neutral combi~ nation with this acid appears to be insoluble. Cheese is easily dissolved in alkalies. Its solution in acetic acid, as well as in ammonia, becomes covered with a small quantity of cream every time that the cheese has not been well separated from the butter, Alcohol converts cheese into an adipocirous and fostid substance, Butter and sugar of milk are so well known, that no additional information can result from my experiments on them. 426 On ihe Determination of the (Duc. ArRTICLE VI. Memoir on the Determination of the Specific Heat of the different Gases. By MM. F. Delaroche, M.D. and J. E. Berard. (Continued from p. 37T.) Secrion VI. Determination of the Specific Heat of the Gases, that of Water being taken for Unity. Wz have already observed, that the principle upon which our first set of experiments to determine the specific heat of the gases, was founded, furnished us with two methods of ascertain- ing the ratio between their specific heats and that of water, sup- posing it unity. ‘The second process, described in § Til., for the basis of which we are indebted to Caunt Rumford, furnished us with a third method of arriving at the same conclusions. We will describe in succession the result of our experiments, accord- ing to each of these three methods. , § 1.—First Method. In determining the specific heat of the gases, we set out from this principle, that this specific heat was proportional to the maximum of the elevation of temperature in the calorimeter by a current of hot gas. To compare these specific heats with those of water, it was only necessary to compare the effect produced upon the calorimeter by one of the gases, and by a current of hot water moving so slowly that its effects should not be much . more considerable than those of the gas. This we. did in the following manner :— Yo get a constant and regular current of water, we made use of a syphon of glass, C, (Plate X. fig..9,) one of the branches of which passed through one of the mouths of a flagon with two mouths almost filled with water. On the other mouth was placed a globular vessel turned upside down, and full of water. The neck of this vessel was of such a length as just to reach the sur- face of the water in the flagon. Hence it*is evident, that when- ever the water ran out through the syphon so as to sink its sur- face below the mouth of the globular vessel, the water which filled that vessel would fall down and supply its place ; so that the height of the water in the flagon would remain always nearly . the same, and of course the water would flow through the syphon pretty equably. The bore of the syphon was capillary, in order to make the current of water very slow. This current of water was heated in the same manner as the 1813] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 427 current of the different gases in the preceding experiments: but when a current of hot water circulates slowly in a horizontal tube, it is impossible to determine its temperature exactly by means of a thermometer placed in the centre of the tube, on account of the unequal temperature of the different strata of fluid which constitute the current. We ascertained, by experi- ment, that a thermometer thus placed indicated a temperature much lower than the true temperature of the current. To get rid of this falas ays we disposed the apparatus in the manner represented in fig. 9 The current of water which flows from the syphon, C, is received into the tube, D D, which passes through a iarger tube, EE, kept continually filled with steam, by means of: the small boiler, R. The tube, DD, is soldered to another tube, F F, about 0:3 inch in diameter.* In this tube, placed, as will be seen, almost vertical, are disposed three thermometers, Nos. 1, 2, 3, in such a manner that the small spherical bulb of each is in the centre of the tube, and at the distance of 1°083 inch from each other. We shall see below how these thermometers served to determine the temperature of the current of water at its entrance into the calorimeter. ‘The tube, F F, is cemented to the horizontal tube of glass, G G, which is cut at its end, G, very near the junction, so that the bulb of the thermometer No. 1, which must necessarily be in the vertical tube, that it may acquire the temperature of the current of water, is, not- withstanding, no farther distant from the calorimeter than the first thermometer is from the third. ‘The tube, G G, is shut by a stopper, H, that no water may escape, and it is ground at its extremity, G, so that by pressing it, by means of two screws, against a piece of leather placed on the calorimeter, it is suffi- ciently tight to prevent any water from escaping in that direc- tion. The water comes out of the calorimeter by the tube, 0.0 O, which is capillary at its extremity, P, from which it falls, drop by drop, into a graduated tube, which serves to measure the rapidity of the current. ‘The calorimeter was placed, as in the preceding experiments, in a separate room, that the temperature of the ambient air might be less variable. The same method was always followed to determine the maximum effect produced by the current of hot water. The temperature of the calorimeter was in the first place raised to a temperature a little below the maximum. The current of hot water was then made to pass through it, and the temperature marked every ten minutes. When its effects were scarcely any longer greater, the thermometer stood as in the following table. : * This tube is represented separately in the plate of a larger size, 428 On the Determination of the [Dec. Leg tage Temperature THERMOMETERS, rounding the il se ce } calorimeter. : No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. 45 990° 83-025" | 140-954° | 151-286° | 145-749° The temperature of the calorimeter was then artificially raised about 1°1°, and the current of water made to circulate as before. The temperature of the calorimeter gradually sunk ; and when it had nearly reached its minimum, the following observations were made :— — Se Temperature | Temperature THERMOMETERS. of the sur-jof the calori- rounding air. |meter. No. 1. No. 2. No, 3. 45-9662 | 83-5039 140°756° 151:340° | 145°598° In these experiments the current of water was such that 583°01 grains troy of water passed in ten minutes. If we examine with attention the state of the thermometers Nos. 1, 2, 8, we shall perceive, that for distances so small as those in our apparatus, the following proposition may be consi- dered as true. When a regular current of hot water passes through a vertical tube, if thermometers be placed in its centre, at equal distances from each other, the difference between two neighbouring thermometers will be proportional to the excess of the temperature of the water above that of the surrounding air, We cannot therefore commit an error of much importance, if we suppose that the current of hot water, in going from ther- mometer No. 1 to the calorimeter, lost 4°86 of its heat, and entered into the calorimeter at the temperature of 135°59°. We ascertained, by experiment, that it issued out at the same temperature as that qv the calorimeter. It follows from this experiment that a current of water amounting to 583:01 grains in ten minutés, by losing 52°330° of its heat, kept the calorimeter higher than the surrounding air by 35°283°. We see by the first table that 2196°4 cubic inches of air, or 723°71 grains, passing through the calorimeter every ten mi- nutes, and losing 130°347° of heat, kept its temperature ele- vated above the ambient air 28°321°. If we bring by calculation the results of the experiment on the current of water, to what they would have been under the same circumstances as in the 2 1813.Jq@ Specific Heat of the different Gases. 429 current of air, we find that the maximum of temperature at which it would have maintained the calorimeter would have been 115°241° above the surrounding air. The specific heats being proportional to the effects of the currents, it follows that if the specific heat of water be 1, that of air is 0°2460. A second experiment gave us 0°2536. . The mean of the two is 0°2498, § 11.—Second Method. The second method of knowing the ratio between the specifie heats of water and air, consists in determining by calculation the quantity of heat given out in a certain time by the calori- meter, when the current of hot air has rendered its temperature stationary. We have shown that, when it reaches this point, it abandons as much heat to the ambient air as it receives from the hot gas. The bases of this calculation are as follows :— Our calorimeter contained 8586-8 grains of distilled water. The brass of which it was composed and the worm weighed 5065°6 grains. Nowas the specific heat of this metal is 0:112,* this quantity of brass corresponds with 566°80 grains of distilled water. ‘There was besides 1652°5 grains of solder, the specific heat of which being a mean between that of tin and lead,t may be reckoned at 0:038. Hence the solder is equivalent to 62°70 grains of water. Therefore the whole calorimeter, with its contents, contained as much heat as 9217 grains of distilled water. Let us recapitulate here the result of our experiment upon atmospherical air under the pressure of 29-922 inches of mer- cury, and at the temperature of 32°. A current of air of 2196-4 eubic inches in ten minutes, by cooling 130:347°, lost a quantity of heat sufficient to keep the calorimeter 28°321° above the temperature of the surrounding air. Hence it furnished it in a given time with as much heat as it lost during that time : but it results from an experiment of which we shall give an account immediately, that if the quantity of heat which it lost in ten minutes under these circumstances had not been supplied, its temperature would have Sunk 2°8793° ; or, which comes to the same thing, the quantity of heat abandoned by the current was sufficient to elevate the temperature of the calorimeter 2°8793°. The air which passed through the calorimeter in ten minutes weighed 723-71 grains. This quantity, in suffering a diminution of temperature amounting to 130°347°, lost as much heat as was sufficient to raise 9217 grains of water 2°8793°; or, which comes to the same thing, to heat 203-60 grains of water, * Crawford. Thomson's Chemistry, ii. 227, French transl. + Tho specific heats of lead aud tin are taken from the Memoirs of Lavyoi- sier, i, 130, 430 On the Determination of the [De¢. . 130°347°. Hence the specific heat of air is to that of water as 203°60 to 723'713 or as 0'2813 to 1; a ratio which does not differ much from that which we obtained by means of a direct current of water. It now remains to prove, that if the heat lost by the calori- meter in ten minutes had not been supplied by the hot gas, its temperature would have sunk 2°8793. We began by determining, by means of the following experi- ments, how much the temperature of the calorimeter would have sunk, after having reached its maximum, in a given time, if the current of hot gas had been suddenly stopped. For this purpose the temperature of the calorimeter was raised, by means of a lamp, to about 104°, Then leaving every thing in the same situation as when the current of hot gas was circulating, even the tube, F G, (fig. 5,) which served to heat the gas, being kept full of steam, but not passing any current of gas through the apparatus, we left it to itself, and marked the rate of its cooling. By this method we obtained, in two successive experi- ments, the two following series :-— First Series. Second Series. Temperature |e Te calorie} trime.| Temperature |e tne catur of the air, say By | ‘| of the air. mckals 41°333° | 86°454° 0’| 41:540° | 84-007° 41°333 84-412 5 | 41472 | 82-076 41°333 | 82°436 10 | 41466 80°227 41310 | 80-620 | 15 | 41:309 | 78-467 41°310 | 78872 20 | 41°265 76°829 41-286 | 77216 | |.225 | 41/265 75°249 41194 | 75°652 | 30} 41265 |. 73-778 41-103 | 74:165 | 35 | 41:286 72:408 °40°917 | 71°398 | 40 41°286 71:056 40°917 70°104 | 45 | 41274 69°795 40°887 68913 | 50 | 41265 | 68:610 40°795 67-752 | | 55.) 44-265. | 67-474 40°795 66°643 | Now we see by our first table that the current of atmosphe- rical air there indicated raised the temperature of the calorimeter 23:321° above the influence of the steam tube employed to heat the gas, or, which comes to the same thing, above the influence of the ambient air, supposing it increased by 4°5° (the effect of the steam tube). Let us make choice in our first series of obser- 1813,] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 431 vations on the’rate of cooling, a term, whose excess above the temperature of the surrounding air, supposed likewise increased by 475° (to render the circumstances similar) is nearly the same. We find 74:165°. Neglecting the terms immediately following, let us take the one observed 20 minutes after, namely, 68°913. If we subtract it from the other term, we get 5-252°, a quantity which expresses the cooling-of the calorimeter in 20 minutes. We find by a proportion that if the excess of the temperature of the calorimeter above that of the surrounding air, augmented always by 4'5°, had been in the case which we have chosen exactly 28-321, the cooling in 20 minutes would have been 5°197°, and of course this excess would have been found at the end of 20 minutes equal to 23°124°. This diminution of temperature, given by experiment, is not the same with that which the calorimeter would have experienced in the same time, if it had preserved the rate of cooling which it had at first. It would have been more considerable ; but we may determine it hy means of the preceding data, and by making use of the following formula :— A S = A log. hyp. ahi in which S signifies the quantity wanted ; A, the excess of the temperature of the calorimeter above that of the surrounding air in the first instant of the experiment; and B, that excess at the end of 20 minutes. If we apply this formula to the numbers stated above, we have A = 28°321°, and B = 23°124°, which gives us S = 5°7411°. We find S = 5°7760°, if we make use of the second series of observations of the cooling of the calorimeter. The mean of Fi s these two values gives us S = 5°7586°, and of course - = g ’ 3 2-8793° = the quantity of heat lost in ten minutes, supposing it to preserve always the initial rate of cooling. ‘This is the humber which we employed to calculate the relation between the specific heat of air and water. § I.—Third Method. The experiments which we made, according to the process contrived by Count Rumford, gives us a direct and more simple method of determining the specific heat of air compared with that of water. We see by the table of these experiments that, under a pressure of 29°922 inches of mercury, and at the tem- perature of 32°, 5077°5 cubic inches of atmospherical air, or 1672°9 grains, by undergoing x diminution of 154°192° of temperature, raised the temperature of the calorimeter 7°. But * Sev Note 3d, at the end of this paper, for an explanation of this formula. 432 On the Determination of the [Dxc. in these experiments our calorimeter contained 8957‘5 grains of distilled water. If, to this number we add 628°56 grains, which, as we have seen above, represents the quantity of metal in the calorimeter, we have 9586706 grains of water, which we may consider as containing as much heat as the calorimeter. : 1672-9 grains of air, by losing 154-192° of heat, increase the temperature of 9586°06 grains of water 7°: but we find by the rule of proportion that 9586-06 grains, to be heated 7°, require as much heat as 451°18 grains to be heated 154'192°. Hence the specific heats of air and of water are to each other in the ratio of 451°18 to 1672°9, or of 0:2697 to 1. By the first method we found the specific heat of air 0:2498, by the second 0-2813. We see that these three determinations do not differ much from each other. By taking a mean of them, we get 0°2669 for the specific heat of air, that of water being considered as unity. This being determined, it is easy, by means of the first table, to refer the specific heats of all the gases to that of water. Undera pressure of 29°922 inches of mercury, these specific heats are as follows :— Water eer eeee eGeer eee eeeee evens 10000 PREY oss ecg nee pea ah 2 al,» wilele chefele is fe AO OOe Hydrogen gat 06 ois oe eee. eee 3°2936 Carbonic avid: 2... 36. bes Ue ewe O22ZKO OXYZEN ceicevieeserevdewedivee OLE! AZOLE: chavs dist edeis eionaistSesieis sola amsentek 0°2754 Oxide of azote 6.06. 60.6. eee es O'2369 Olefiant gas ..c sc. wecde divers sy W4207 Carbonic oxide .....0....6..6-. O'2884 Aqueous Vapour... cece ere eee W847 Section VII. General Considerations. + We shall terminate this paper by pointing out the general result of the facts which it contains, and by offering some obser- vations on the consequences which may be drawn from them. § I.—Specific Heats of the Gases compared with each other. The specific heat of the gases is not the same for every one, whether we attend to their volumes or their weights. The differences, it is true, are not very great in the first point of view. Hence, when very accurate experiments are not made, it is easy to be misled (as some philosophers have been) into the notion that the gases do not differ from each other in this respect. We have not observed any relation between the specific gravity and the specific heats of the gases. The following table is a sufficient proof of this :— 1813.) Specific Heat of the different Gases. 433 . Specific Heats of 2 ————— Equai volumes. Equal weights, Specific gravity. BENET ccc evade e'aiersieet 2 MIO) tera a s'¢ 5 aPOMOOY! Juries ye OOD Bradmeren 's oS 0905S os). a. SOL fs 0:0732 Carbonic acid ..'. 1°25830% .).).'..:0°8280 4. e. L5196 BRWCT sos ns s 1 97 OD) ens oe GO OOSD) 0). Le OB PAZOUE) 0 So che ciel os BI OUO vende ook OGISE hae oa; 9Oon Oxide’ of azote. ...1°3803 25.4. O3878". Jiue., ‘155209 Meuawt ras". , .:.) 15930 eh: lana Li yOas at... oases Carbonic oxide.. 1°0340 ...... 1:0805 ...... 0°9569 The difference between the specific heats of the gases, when the same weights of both are taken, is more considerable, as is obvious from the table. § I1.—Influence of the Density on the Specific Heat of the same a Gas. The specific heat of atmospherical air in the ratio of its volume, increases with its density, but at a slower rate; of course, considered in the ratio of the mass, it diminishes as the deisity increases. This is the direct result of our experiments, which give us the specific gravity of air, subjected to the pressure of 41°654 inches of mercury, 1°2396; while that of the same volume of air, subjected to the pressure of 29°634 inches of mercury, was 10000. Here the increase of specific heat is in the rativ of t to 1:2396, while that of the pressure is in the ratio of 1 to 1°3583. It results, likewise, from this experiment, that the ratio of the pressures being the same as before, the specific heats of the same mass of air, subjected to these different pressures, are in the ratio of 1 to 0°9126. Every person knows that when the air is compressed heat is disengaged. This phenomenon has been long explained by the change supposed to take place in its specific heat: but this explanation was founded upon mere supposition, without any direct proof. The experiments which we have given seem to us sufficient to remove all doubts on the subject. Dr. Irvine, and several philosopers since his time, have endeavoured to determine the real zero, or the number of degrees that a body must be cooled in order to be deprived of the whole of its heat. He set out from this principle, chat the quantity of heat disengaged, or absorbed, during the passage of a body from one state to another, is entirely owing to the change of capacity which takes place in the body: and he conceived that he could, knowing this change of capggity, and the quantity Vor, Il, N° VI, 2£ 434 On the Determination of the {Dec. of heat absorbed, or given out, during this change, determine the whole quantity of heat which the body contained. ‘Thus, supposing the specific heat of ice 0-9, and that of water 1.0, and admitting that water in freezing gives out 135° of heat, it has been concluded that the real zero is 1350° below the freezing point. Different motives, which it would be too tedious to state here, but some of which we shall notice below, have induced philoso- phers to entertain doubts respecting the justice of the principles upon which this determination depends. We are disposed to consider these doubts as well founded. At the same time, we think it worth while to exhibit a calculation of the same kind derived from our experiments. It is well known that the theory of sound, founded on the knowledge of the elasticity of the air, gives for the rate of its propagation a velocity less considerable than we obtain from experiment. M. de Laplace conceives that this difference between theory and observation is owing to having neglected the increase of elasticity occasioned by the heat evolved in conse- quence of the sudden compression of air during the transmission of sound: and M. Poisson has proved that, to make the results of theory and observation agree, we must suppose that a volume of air, when it is suddenly compressed by a force capable of diminishing its bulk —+,th part, gives out a quantity of heat sufficient to raise its temperature 1° centrigade (1°8° Fahr.). This supposition is so probable, that we may consider that measure of the quantity of heat disengaged by the conrpression of air as more exact than what we could obtain by a direct experiment. We may therefore employ this:datum to determine the quantity: of heat which air would have abandoned in passing from the pressure of 29°154 inches of mercury to that of 41:654 inches, to both which pressures it was subjected in our experiments. We find that it would have been sufficient to have raised the tempe- rature of the same quantity of air 54°9°.* Now let us denote by & x the absolute quantity of heat contained in the mass of air compressed, 4 being its specific heat, and « the excess of its temperature above the real zero. Let us denote by a x the: quantity of heat contained in the air not compressed, a being its specific heat. ‘The excess of one of these quantities above: the other will be (2 — /) x; and since, according to the theory of Dr. Irvine, this excess is equal to the quantity of heat dis- engaged during the change of state of the body, we may repre- sent it in the present case by 654°9°, since d is the specific heat of the compressed air. Therefore (a — b) x = 54°96. This *-Supposing the disengagement of heat proportional to the absolute dimi- nuiion of volume, 1813.] Specific Heat of the different Gases. 435 3 54°96 = . + - ivesus x= ———. Substituting for a and Ll their values given g ae £ us by experiment, namely, 1 and 0°9126, we get x = 573:1% If we subtract from this quantity 19°, the number of degrees above 32° that the experiments were made, we get 553-9° for the number of degrees of heat contained in ice at the tempera- ture of 32°. This result differs very materially from what we obtained by comparing the specific heats of water and ice 5 but it dues not differ much from 675°, which we should obtain, if, with Dr. Irvine, we considered the specific heat of ice to be OS: but we again repeat that we attach very little importance to this kind of reasoning. The difficulty of this sort of experiments has prevented us from determining if the change in the capacity for heat by pressure be the same in all gases. ‘This is exceedingly probable, asthe increase of density of each from pressure is the same. Hence the opinion ought to be admitted till new experiments demonstrate to the contrary. We have no direct proofs of it, however. ‘The very curious experiments of M. de Saissy,* if they are exact, may even induce us to entertain doubts on the subject. § Ill.—Specific Heat of the Gases compared with that of Water, and with different Solids and Liquids. We cannot make experiments to determine the specific heats of the gases without remarking that, when equal volumes are considered, they are very small, compared to the specific heats of liquid and solid bodies. ‘The most careless experiment is sufficient to prove the justice of this assertion, which a more exact examination fully confirms. Thus, if we compare the specific heat of an equal volume of olefiant gas (which under the same volume has the greatest specific heat) and of water, we find that the first is only +2y5th part of the second. lf we take the same weight of each, the specific heat of the gases approaches much more nearly to that of the solid bodies, as may be seen from the result of our experiments, which we here lay before our readers :— Specific heat. te LE a Pd ato olceolh oe igte 1-0000 A Sete see RTE eete Maer us el GO Hydrogen’. vo... eee eee es . 3°2936 PAT BONTe CIA we oie ie Cielo s oc els .. 02210 OKYZEN oo saci eepeeercever cece O2ZIEL * M, de Saissy, a philosopher of Lyons, has made experiments, fram which it follows, that when gases are sulgected (oastrong and suddeu pressure those only which contain oxygen give out light, and oxygen itself gives out ihe most, 2682 436 On the Determination of the [Dxc, Specific heat. NZ OtG ONE once le mitre stare tee «loca nieres Oe Oxidetor azote cc's c is cele etonis ec ccet 2OOU OSHC Gs oon es ole an, a 5;35. | 1813. | Morning Observ. Noon Obsery. | Evening Obsery. Month, | Hour. | Variation, | Hour. Variation. Hour. | Variation. Oct. 1885 45/7249 16’ 36” 1h 55! |24° 21’ 10” wrk Ditto 19. 8, 50 124 15 32) 2° .00/24 21 11 er Ditto 20° 8 45 |24°15 40] 1 55 (24 21 50 re Ditto 22.— '-— |—~ —— —e— | 1 «+45 24 25 «00 € o Ditto 22. 8 45/284 i4 4 /— —~|—_— — — a Ditto 23.8 45 24 15 17/2 00 24 23 36 sie Ditto 24, 8 45 |24 16 05); 1 55 \24 22° 32 52 Ditto 95 8 55 (24 15° 295) 1 55 24 21 06 Es Ditto 26— = j}~o-— —|2 00 24 25 44 s% Ditto 28 :.8..30 j24. 15 24 )/— — |— _— — es | Ditto 31 8 35 '24 22°25] 2 10 24 23° 50 ca ley Mean of Morning at 8h 45’... Variation 24° 15’ 41”U yo, Observations -2,Noony, at 1. 59....Ditto 24 22 53 er in Oct. Evening at — —....Ditto — — — Not obs, Morning at 8 53....Diito 24 15 46 Pitlo in Sept: Noon ‘at 2 02....Ditto 24 22 32 > West, - : Eyening at 6 03,,,,Ditto 24 16 04 Z 1313,] Mean of Morning Observations Noon in Aug. Evening Morning Ditto in July. Noon Evening Morning Ditte in June. } Noon Evening Morning Ditto in May. Noon Evening Morning Ditto in April, 4 Noon Evening at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at Magnetical Observations. 455 8h 44’ ... Variation 24° 15’ 58” 2 02.... Ditto 24 23 32 }West 1, Ob... Ditta 24 16 08 8 37.... Ditto 24 14 32 1 50.... Ditto 24 23 04 bower T O8.... Ditte 24 13 56 8 30.... Ditto 24 12 35 hy 33. ., 4 Ditto 24 22 17 > West. 7 O4.... Ditto 24 16 04 8 22 ... Ditto 24 12 02 Be? ee cia tO 24 20 54 >West. 6 14.... Ditto 24 13 AT 7 8 31.... Ditto 24 09 #18 0 59.... Ditto 24 21 12 > West. 5 A6.... Ditto 24 15 25 Magnetical Observations continued. Morning Observ. Month, Hour. | Variation. Noy. 2| 8: 50’ ‘240 17! 24" Ditto 4) 8 25.24 18 Il Ditto 5/8 25 |24 18 37 Ditto 6,8 25 j24 17 03 Ditto 7/8 35 24 19 00 Ditto 8| 8 22/24 16 03 Ditto 9|8 25 !24 15 56 Ditto 10| 8 25 |24 16 51 Ditto 11} 8 25 |24 43 55 Ditto 12| 8 35 24 17 25 Ditto 13| 8 50 \24 19 20 Ditto 14] 8 35 |24 17 50 Ditto 15| 8 50/24 16 37 Ditto 17| 8 40 \24 17 07 Noon Obsery. Evening Obsery. Hour. | Variation. | Hour, | Variation. ds =F} hea can | er * eee a, peas — o pepe: eT = gens Sen z 1 50 23 51 ac Sg ae Cah akiem viane “SO Carbonate of barytes........ alelericasewhietic Carbonate of strontian’........-+e.+. 23 PAPC IER haarien > ee te 5 Wr ym Green-stone ......... in wn tale Matte 80 Sea sand with shells .,:........ ae Oe The degree of: dryness produced by the different soils he found proportional to the fertility of the soil. Hence he con- jectures that the fertility depends upon this property. There can be no doubt that the fertility of soils is very much connected with the power which they possess of retaining the proper degree . of moisture. Connected with these curious results are the following :— 462 - Analyses of Books.) (Dec. 100 grains of ivory attract from the air 7 grs: of humidity boxwood ...... EOL, RA downs’ .!5 SO278 .ABB. SHE 16 wool? JD, $F8%, 0. YEA ..18 beech 8229695, i, Og? 2S There is little difference between the effect produced upon the dryness of air by the pure earths and theircarbonates; but the effect is greatly diminished by heating the earthy bodies red-hot. IV. Cold produced by Rarefaction, assisted Ly the absorbing Power of Sulphuric Acid. — Mr. Leslie’s method of freezing water by placing it under the receiver of an air-pump in a small vessel, while the greatest part of the bottom of the receiver is occupied by a shaltow vessel of sulphuric acid, and exhausting the receiver, is known, I presume, to most of my readers... By drawing out the air, the rate of evaporation is accelerated. The sulphuric acid absorbs the vapour as fast as it is formed. Thus the evaporation is continued without intermission, The,.cold produced is sufficient to freeze the water in a very short time: indeed, it is so great that Mr. Leslie has, even frozen mercury by means of it. Mr. Leslie describes the different experiments which he has made on this curious subject at considerable length, explains the theory of the congelation, points out the proper methods of proceeding, and the various important, purposes ;to, which the process may be applied. , This part of the book is, very interesting, and highly deserving the, attention of. all classes of readers. Indeed, the many valuable practical inferences. which the author draws in different parts of his book, and, the; many. useful purposes to which he conceives his instruments may be applied, give this little treatise a claim upon the attention of the nation in general, and entitle the author to the thanks, not only of men of science, but likewise of our manufacturers’ and agrti- culturists. ——— The Philosophical Transactions for 1813, part ii.,are pub- lished : they shall be noticed in a subsequent Number of the Annals of Philosophy. The Memoirs of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburgh for 1809, 1810, and 1811, have been received in London: they’ shall be likewise noticed in a future Number of the Annals of Philosophy. onion, ; * Pear rel 1813.] Proceedings of Phiiosophical Societies, 463 ArticLe XI. Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. Tue Royal Society resumed its meetings on Thursday, the 4th of November. A description of a sliding scale of chemical equivalents, contrived by Dr. Wollaston, was read. This con- trivance is distinguished by all that sagacity which characterizes Dr. Wollaston, and cannot but be highly useful to the practical chemist. It is not easy to render the nature of this contrivance intelligible without an engraving, which I do not consider myself at liberty to give before the publication of the paper in the Phi- losophical Transactions; but the following observations will perhaps suggest some idea of it to those who are interested in practical chemistry. It was first observed by Richter that when two neutral salts are made to decompose each other, the neutrality of neither is dis- turbed. ‘Thus if you dissolve 100 grains of sulphate of potash in water, and pour into the solution muriate of barytes in suffi- cient quantity to decompose the whole of the sulphate, two new neutral salts will be formed, namely, sulphate of barytes and muriate of potash. If into the muriate of potash thus formed a sufficient quantity of nitrate of silver be dropped to decompose it, two new neutral salts will be formed, namely, nitrate of potash and muriate of silver. ‘Thus the same weight of potash has been united in succession with sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric acids. he weight of barytes that neutralized the muriatic acid neutralized likewise the weight of sulphuric acid combined with the potash which had neutralized the sulphuric acid. These observations of Richter were still farther generalized by Ber- thollet ; but it: is to Dalton that we owe the full generalization of the facts, and the explanation of them. He supposes that bodies unite atom to atom, and showed how the weights of the atoms of bodies might be determined. This subject, having been already explained at considerable length in the Annals of Philosophy, need not be farther insisted on here. Dr. Woilaston has divided the slider of a scale into the loga- rithmic spaces from 10 to 320, by a method familiar to all who are acquainted with the nature of logarithms, or in a similar manner as the line of numbers is laid down in Gunter’s scale. He considers 10 as representing the weight of an atom of oxygen. On both sides of the scale he has written the substances most familiar to chemists, viz. the acids, bases, water, and principal salts, each opposite to the number on the slide, which corre- 4 464 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies, [Due. sponds with the weight of an atom of it. Suppose now we want to know how much oxygen combines with 200 mercury: bring 200 on the slide opposite to mercury on the scale; then over against oxygen on the slide will be found 16, the quantity of oxygen required. Suppose we want to know how much oxide of copper combines with 60 of sulphuric acid: bring sulphuric acid opposite to 60, and we shall find over against oxide of copper 61, the number required. The Sliding Rule is fitted to answer an infinite number of similar questions. Dr. Wollaston determined experimentally the composition of nitrate of potash, and found it composed of 68 acid + 59 potash. His scale is referred to carbonate of lime, which he considers as the most exact standard of comparison that can be obtained. . On Thursday, the 11th of November, part of the Croonian lecture on the Influence of the Nervous System on Muscular Motion, by B. C. Brodie, Esq. was read. ‘This lecture began with a short historical account of the facts and opinions of former physiologists on this subject. The author then relates a number of experiments which he himself instituted still farther to advance the subject. He found that after the destruction of the lower part of the spinal marrow of a dog, the arterial blood of a horse injected into the lower extremities of the animal, after circulating through the limb, came out at the mouths of the veins dark coloured. He found that the lower extremities of a frog, treated in the same way, though deprived of voluntary motion, contracted by stimuli and by the galvanic influence. He found that the heart of a rabbit continued to beat with its usual regularity for some time after the blood-vessels had been emptied of their contents; but that the action of the heart was destroyed when an animal was strangled, showing clearly that the stimulus _of the blood is not the exciting cause of the action of the heart. On Thursday, the 18th of November, the remainder of Mr. Brodie’s paper on the Influence of the Nervous System on Mus- cular Motion, particularly of the Heart, was read. The author concluded with some general inferences from the experiments detailed in the preceding part of his paper. Some farther experiments, comparing the Gregorian and Cassegrenian telescopes, by Brigade Major Cater, were also read. The author related a new experiment which he had made, and which confirmed the experiments detailed in his former paper on. the superiority of the Cassegrenian above the Gregorian tele- scope. At the same meeting there was also read an analysis of a new species of copper ore, from India, by Dr. Thomson. This ore was discovered about 13 years ago by Dr. Heyne, at some dis- 1813.] Royal Society. 465 tance north-west from Madras, It occurs in nests in primitive trap. It is an anhydrous carbonate of copper, and was composed of the following constituents :-— Carbonic acid ........ San, 520 cumpush, sh ee Black oxide of copper............ 60°75 Red oxide of iron ........... oie: Deanne PMSA hs «, Son cas atd' et 5 METRY & Sih n aa eee MMMM i cisti'be cues ia ake Goistele acs aisiahare’ ene cana 100:00 The silica was accidental, proceeding from small quartz crys- tals interspersed in the ore. The red oxide of iron was probably only mechanically mixed, as it differed in quantity in different specimens. Two other native species of carbonate of copper were already known; namely, malachite and blue copper ore: but both of these are hydrates ; the first containing two integrant particles of water, the second one. The ore described in this paper was anhydrous. LINNZAN SOCIETY. The Society resumed its meetings on the 2d of November. A specimen of convolvulus jalappa (jalap of the shops) raised in a stove in England was exhibited to the Society by A. B. Lam- bert, Esq. Dr. Leach laid before the Society a shell (a species of Venus) found in the transition clay-slate of Plymouth, and a similar shell found upon the top of Snowdon in a rock, presumed like- wise to be transition slate. I may take this opportunity of men- tioning, that 1 have been informed by the same Gentleman that he has seen madreporites in the transition lime-stone of Plymouth. Mr. Sowerby presented to the Society a new genus of shell (a bivalve), found among the rubbish of the West India Docks. A paper, by Benjamin Smith Barton, M.D. of Philadelphia, was read, describing a new species of Syren, found in Georgia, called the Syren striata. The paper contained likewise a descrip- tion of another species, called Syren tetrapus. There was read also a description of some plants growing on Mount Caucasus, by Mr. Stephen. This paper was sent from Moscow ; for the Natural History Society of that city, in conse- quence of its late destruction by fire, will not for some time be in a condition to resume the printing of their papers. Part of a paper, by Dr. Leach, was likewise read, giving a corrected character of the genus me/oe, and describing six exotic species of that genus. ’ On the 16th of November the remainder of Dr. Leach’s paper on different species of meloe was read. As this paper Vox, Il. N° VI, 2G 466 | Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. (Dec. consisted ef a technical description of different species of meloe, it is obviously not susceptible of abridgment. Part of a paper, by the Rev. Patrick Keith, on the upward direction of the plumula, and downward direction of the radicle, of seeds, was also read. The paper began by stating the curious fact that, whatever be the position of the seed, the plumula always assumes an upward direction, and the radicle goes downwards. Then follows an historical statement of the different explana- tions of this curious fact given by philosophers. The supposed levity of the sapof the plumula, and gravity of that of the radicle, is mentioned ; then the supposed attraction of air for the plumula, and of earth for the radicle. Dr. Darwin’s opinion is next stated, and a direct experiment in refutation of it described. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. The Geological Society held its first meeting after the long vacation on Friday, the 5th of November. Mr. Webster’s paper on the formations in the South, of England lying over the chalk was continued. He described 18 different beds of calcareous matter, clay, and sand, most of which may be traced for a very considerable extent of country. ; On the 19th of November Mr. Webster’s paper was continued. He made a comparison between the different formations in the neighbourhood of Paris and those in the South of England, and showed their exact similarity, both in the constituents, position, and fossil remains which they contain; though some of the Parisian beds are wanting, or at least have not hitherto been observed in the South of England. Thus something similar to the lower part of the calcaire grossiere of France has been ob- served in England, but nothing similar to the upper part of that formation. ‘Phe gypsum in Paris occurs in a fresh-water forma- tion. Selenite is found in a similar position in England: but we have no rocks exactly similar to the gypsum of Montmartre. One of the most remarkable formations which fie over the chalk in England is the London clay, which varies from 200 to 500 feet in ‘thickness. It extends over a considerable part of the north coast of Kent, and constitutes the surface of most of Essex and Suffolk. The fossil remains which it contains are various, and highly interesting. Myr. Webster gave a catalogue of the fresh-water shells found in the fresh-water formation in England, and showed that they are preeisely the same that are found in the same formation in the neighbourhood of Paris. At the same meeting a short notice, by Mr. Arthur Aikin, _ was read, respecting the granite of the Malvérn Hills, one of which he ascended. He found it composed of quartz, felspar, mica, and pistazite; and would have hesitated to call it granite, had it not been for the numerous specimens of small grained graphic granite, which he found every where around. 1$13.] Scientific Intelligence, . 467 ArTIcLE XII, SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE; AND NOTICES OF SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH SCIENCE. I. Pyrodmalite. Some years ago a mineral was discovered in the mine of Bjelke in Vermeland, a province of Sweden, situated on the north side of the lake Venner. ‘This mineral was observed to have the property of giving out the odour of muriatic acid when heated. On that account it was distinguished by the name of pyrodma- lite. The following description of it, which was drawn up by Assessor I. G. Gahn, of Fahlun, is translated from Hisinger’s Samling till en Mineralogisk Geografi Ofver Sverige, p. 175. The colour of pyrodmalite is commonly yellowish-brown, passing into greenish ; internally, it is light greenish-yellow. It occurs crystallized in regular six-sided prisms without any ter- minating pyramids. It is composed of plates lying upon each other in a direction perpendicular to. the axis of the prism. Principal fracture, splendent ; cross fracture, uneven, and with- out lustre ; opaque ; semihard; it is scratched by steel. The crystals are often several inches lone. Specific gravity 3:081, Before the blow-pipe it becomes dark reddish-brown, and emits the odour of muriatic acid. It then melts into a black slag, and at last a small bead is obtained, more or less attracted by the magnet. It dissolves readily, ayd in considerable quantity in glass of borax, and gives a colour indicating the presence of manganese and iron. In phosphate of ammonia-and-soda it dissolves with great difficulty. Its constituents are silica, lime, iron, manganese, and muriatic acid. It occurs in the mine of Bjelke mixed with iron ore, calcareous spar, and black erystal- lized malacolite. Pyrodmalite was analyzed last summer by Mr. Hisinger. He found its constituents as follows :—- Silica vee vd walisiocgs side ual edavtaraine eat Oxide of AO he cing ity sha. wants hae a, BORG Oxide of manganese .............. 23°] Alumina........ AP Ok «> bdaow yn Oe Moriatio Amid «4 en us G5 ook vaca. oo OS FABA 8 AU) Hegde elieel o> aeheca alti 100:0 It would be difficult to form a conception of the composition of this mineral if it be a chemical compound, ‘The muriatie acid can neither be united with the iron nor the manganese, as 262 468 Scientific Intelligence. [Dxc. neither of these-are in the requisite proportions. The escape of the acid by heat seems to indicate the presence of a portion of water amounting to about two-thirds of the loss stated as sus- tained in the analysis. I]. Polychroite. This is the name given by Bouillon Lagrange, and Vogel, to - the colouring matter of saffron, formerly considered by chemists as extractive, but which they conceive to be a peculiar vegetable principle. ‘To obtain it, we have only to digest saffron in water, evaporate the liquid to the consistence of a thick syrup, and digest this residue in alcohol. When the alcohol is evaporated, polychroite remains behind in a state of purity. The properties of this substance are as follows :— 1. It has a very intense yellow colour. Its taste is bitter, similar to that of saffron, and it has an agreeable smell. 2. It dissolves readily in water and alcohol, but scarcely in ether, and not at all in fat and volatile oils. 3. When the solution of polychroite is exposed to the light, it gradually loses its colour. Its colour is destroyed likewise by oxymuriatic acid. The addition of a few drops of sulphuric acid changes its colour to an intense and beautiful blue. Nitric acid, added in like manner, renders it green. 4. It combines with lime, potash, and barytes, forming with these bases soluble and insoluble compounds. 5. When sulphate of iron is dropped into a solution contain- ing it, a dark brown precipitate is formed. 6. It stains cloth of an intense yellow colour. 7. When distilled it yields an acid liquid, a yellow-coloured oil, and carbonic acid gas, and carbureted hydrogen gas. The acidulous liquid contains ammonia. ‘The charcoal, when inci- nerated, leaves traces of carbonate, sulphate and muriate of potash, of carbonates of lime and magnesia, and of iron. See Ann. de Chim, vol. Ixxx. p. 198. Il. Picrotoxine. This is the name given by M. Boullay to a peculiar substauce which he extracted from the Cocculus Indicus, to which that body owes its deleterious qualities. Picrotoxine may be obtained by the following process. Boil the seeds deprived of their peri- carp in a sufficient quantity of water. Filter the decoction, and precipitate it by acetate of lead. Then filter again, and evapo- — rate slowly to the consistence of an extract. Dissolve this extract in alcohol, and evaporate the solution to dryness, Repeat these solutions in alcohol and evaporations, till the residue is wholly soluble in alcohol and water. It then consists of picrot- oxine mixed with a little colouring matter. Agitate it with a 1813,] Scientific Intelligence. 469 very small quantity of water, the colouring matter is dissolved, and the picrotoxine separates in small crystals. Its properties are as follows :— 1. Its colour is white, and it crystallizes in four-sided prisms. 2. Its taste is disgustingly bitter. 3. A hundred parts of boiling water dissolve four parts of picrotoxine, one half of which separates as the solution cools. The solution does not alter the colour of vegetable blues. 4. Alcohol of the specific gravity 0°810 dissolves the third of its weight of this substance. A little water throws down the picrotoxine ; the addition of a greater quantity redissolves the precipitate. 5. Sulphuric ether of the specific gravity 0°700 dissolves only 0°4 of picrotoxine. 6. It is insoluble in oils, both fixed and volatile. 7+ Diluted sulphuric acid does not act upon it; concentrated acid dissolves it, assuming a yellow colour. When heat is ap- plied, the picrotoxine is charred and destroyed. 8. Nitric acid dissolves it without the disengagement of nitrous gas. The solution is yellowish-green. When heat is applied, the picrotoxine is converted into oxalic acid; but about 18 parts of nitric acid are requisite to produce this effect. 9. Muriatic, oxymuriatic, and sulphurous acids, have no action on it. 10. Acetic acid dissolves it readily. Carbonate of potash precipitates it from this solution unaltered. 11. Potash, soda, and ammonia, diluted with ten times their weight of water, readily dissolve picrotoxine. 12. When triturated with potash, it assumes a yellow colour, but does not emit the odour of ammonia. 18. When heated, it burns without melting, or giving out flame, exhaling a white smoke, which has a resinous odour, 14. When distilled, it yields very little water and gaseous products, but much yellow-coloured empyreumatic oil, and a brilliant bulky charcoal remains behind. See Ann. de Chim. vol, Ixxx. p. 209. IV. Boletic Acid. This is a new vegetable acid obtained by Braconnot from the juice of the Loletus pseudo-igniarius by the following process. The juice was boiled, filtered, and evaporated cautiously to the consistence of a syrup. This syrup was repeatedly digested in alcohol, the insoluble portion was dissolved in water, and preci- pitated by nitrate of lead, The white precipitate thus obtained was mixed with water, and decomposed by sulphureted hydrogen gas. ‘The water being now evaporated yields numerous crystals, 470 Scientific Intelligence. {Dec. which constitute loletic acid. The properties of this acid are as follows :— ’ 1. When purified by solution in alcohol and crystallization it is white, not altered by exposure to the air, and consists in irre- gular four-sided prisms. 2. Its taste is similar to that of tartar; it requires 180 times its weight of water to dissolve it at the temperature of 68°. It is soluble in 45 times its weight of alcohol. 3.-‘The aqueous solution reddens vegetable blues. Nitrate of lead occasions a precipitate in it which is redissolved by agita- tion. It precipitates the red oxide of iron completely from its solutions in the form of rust-coloured flocks; but it does not throw down the black oxide of this metal. It precipitates nitrate of silver in the state of a white powder, which is soluble in nitric acid. Nitrate of mercury is precipitated in the same state; but the solution dissolves with difficulty in nitric acid. Neither lime nor barytes-water produce any effect upon the aqueous solution of this acid, 4. When heated it rises in white vapours, which irritate the throat, and condense on surrounding bodies in the form of a farinaceous powder. When distilled the greatest part of it sub- limes unaltered, excepting that it afterwards crystallizes more regularly. At the same time a little liquid appears, having a strong smell of acetic acid. 5. Boletate of ammonia is a salt which crystallizes in flat four-sided prisms, and is soluble in 26 times its weight of water at the temperature of 68°. Its taste is cooling, saline, and somewhat sharp. When heated it melts, swells, and sublimes. It precipitates red oxide of iron; but does not alter sulphates of lime, alumina, or manganese. It slowly precipitates nitrate of copper in blue silky needles. 6. Boletate of potash is very soluble in water, and crystallizes with difficulty. Acids precipitate the boletic acid from it. 7. When boletic acid is heated with carbonate of lime it dis- solves it with effervescence. The boletate of lime crystallizes in flat four-sided prisms. ‘Ihis salt has little taste, and requires at least 110 times its weight of water, at the temperature of 72°5°, to dissolve it. It is decomposed by oxalic and sulphuric acids. 8. Boletate of barytes is an acidulous salt in white plates, little soluble in water or nitric acid. When thrown ona red-hot iron it burns rapidly, with a red flame, and striking scintillations, leaving for residue carbonate of barytes. 9. When heated with iron filings and water, hydrogen gas is emitted, and a yellow Jiquor is obtained with an inky taste. See Ann. de Chim. vol, Ixxx. p. 272. 1813.) Scientific Intelligence. 471 V. Freezing of Alcohol. A correspondent informs me that the process followed by Mr. Hutton to freeze alcohol, and which he thought proper to con- ceal, was as follows. The alcohol is put into a condensing vessel, and air condensed on it as far as can be done with safety. The vessel is then reduced to as low a temperature as possible by means of freezing mixtures, and the air being allowed suddenly to make its escape increases the cold so much that the desired effect is produced. VI. Situation of Cryvlite in Greenland. I received from Mr. Allan the following correction of his ac- count of Greenland from Mr. Giesecké too late for insertion in the Jast number of the Annals of Philosophy :— ** Cryolite occurs in two small detached beds, resting on gneiss ; one of them is composed entirely of the fine white cryolite uncontaminated with any mixture ; in the other, the brown variety occurs mixed with galena, pyrites, &c. They are situated very near each other. ‘The first is touched at high water by the tide. It varies from 1 to 21 feet in thickness. From the decompositions which this curious mineral has under- gone, it could not be procured attached to the rock on which it rests. It is, besides, divided from it by a thin layer of mica, always in a state of disintegration. Mr. Giesecké is inclined to consider the cryclite as belonging to a fluetz formation.” VII. Meteorological Apparatus. In answer to the correspondent who wishes for correct infor- mation respecting Mr. Luke Howard’s meteorological apparatus, I have only to refer to the wrapper of Number di. of the Annals of Philosophy, where every thing respecting it with which 1 am acquainted has been noticed. As to evaporation, he will find useful observations on it in Saussure, and in a paper by Mr. Dalton published in the Manchester Memoirs. ‘The part of the apparatus most frequently wrong is the rain-gage, which never can give correct information unless it be placed within a few. feet of the ground, and detached from all buildings. 1 believe the mean temperature indicated by the thermometer in most journals is too high. It must always be so, unless the lowest point to which the thermometer falls in the night be marked. ‘This, in summer, is usually about sun-rise; in winter, it is irregular, depending on the wind. A good Six’s thermometer I conceive to be a necessary appendage to every meteorological apparatus. VIII. Biddery IVare. I have been favoured by Dr. Wilkins with the following 472 New Patents. (Dec. receipt, which he informs me is followed in making Biddery ware in some parts of India :— Copper. tess oh trout, taht. OC Sivele .. 16 oz. Lead Shots ate cha it ag aka ba a ay 4 UNTER Seas. ig es. niehedi tei odes 2 Melt all these together ; take 3 ounces of the alloy, and melt them with 16 ounces of zinc. This mixture constitutes the alloy of which Biddery ware is made. To give it a black colour, wash the surface with a solution of | oz. of sal-ammoniac, } 02. of saltpetre, 3 oz. of common salt, + oz. of blue vitriol, and dip the Biddery ware into this solution. IX. Gong. Gongs are manufactured in Canton in an open manner. The largest kinds are made in one of the interior provinces of China. They are not made in any part of India. ArTIcLe XIII. List of Patents. Joun Braziti, of Great Yarmouth; for a machine for working capstans and pumps on board ships, which machine may also be applied to various other useful purposes. Dated Sept. 4, 1813. Joun Westwoop, of Shefheld; for a new method of em- bossing ivory by pressure. Dated Sept. 9, 1813. Frank Parkinson, of Kingston-upon-Hull, distiller; for a still and boiler for preventing accidents by fire, and for pre- serving spirits and other articles from waste in the operation of distilling and boiling. Dated Sept. 4, 1813. Henry Liston, Minister of Ecclesmachen, Linlithgow ; for certain improvements on the plough. Dated Sept. 23, 1813. Henry Ossurn, Whitmore-house, Warwickshire ; for a method of making tools for tapering of cylinders of different descriptions, made of iron, steel, metal, or mixture of metals; and also for tapering bars of iron, steel, metal, or mixture of meials. Dated Oct. 15, 1813. RoseErtson Bucuanan, Glasgow, civil engineer ; for certain improvements in the means of propelling vessels, boats, barges, and rafts, which may also be applied to the moving of water- wheels and wind-mills, the raising of water, the dredging, cleansing, or deepening of rivers and harbours, and the im- pelling of other machinery. Dated Oct. 18, 1813. ——— 1813.) Meteorological Table. 473 ARTICLE XIV. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. ———— BaARoMETER. THERMOMETER. 1813. |Wiud.| Max.{| Min. | Med, |Max.|Min.| Med, | Evap. |Raiu. ——— 10th Mo. Oct. 16} W |29°20|28°74/28°970) 51 | 38 | 44°5 17/S W/|29:01\28°64)28°825| 52 | 42 | 47-0 18IN W)29°55|29'44/29°495| 58 | 35 | 46°5 19} Var. |29°66|29°55!29°605| 50 | 27 | 38°5 20| E_ |29°66/29°50/29°580| 52 | 42 | 47-0 21| Var. |29°76|29°50|29°630) 54 | 43 | 48°5 22\N E\29°89/29:45!29°670) 53 | 40 | 46°5 23} E 129:91}29°86/29°885| 52 | 41 | 51°5 94)\N E/29°86/29°82|29'840| 57 | 45 | 51°0 25\N E/30°12/29°82/29:970} 53 | 37 | 45°0 26\N E!30°12|29°85|29°985| 47 | 36 | 41°5 Q@7\IN__E\29°79|29°77|29'780| 41 | 34 | 37°5 28| N_ |29°90/29°79|29:845|; 46 | 33 | 39°5 29} E_ }|29:90|29°70|29°800| 47 | 27 | 37-0 30| Var. |29°70|29°00|29°350) 52 | 30 | 41°0 31) W_ |29°25|29:00/29°125} 56 | 30 | 43:0 11th Mo. Nov. 1} W_ |29°68/29°25|29'465| 49 | 31 | 40°0 QIN W/|29°83/29°41|29°620| 49 | 35 | 42:0 315 W/{30:32/29°83|30°075) 51 | 29 | 40:0 W |30°34130°32|30°330| 45 | 27 | 36°0 5} § {90°32|29°95|30°135| 47 | 29 | 38-0 6| E |29°95|29°70!29°825| 45 | 35 | 40°0 | 71S W/|29°70/29'37|29°535| 53 | 41 | 47-0 8|S W)\29:42/29°37|29'S95| 58 | 43 | 50°5 9} W |29°62/29°42129°520| 51 | 42 | 46°5 10| W_ |29°60)29-48)22°540) 57 | 43 | 50°0 11/S W/29°65/29°51/29°580} 54 | 44 | 49:0 12| W = |29°49/29°45|29°470) 54 | 32 | 43°0 13/S W/29°58/29'49]29°535| 46 | 29 | 37°5 14] W_ |29°58/29°17/29°375| 43 | 33 | 38-0 | 19\€ Postel lad | _—_ > fi} IS elIRILIPEltlel XS) eS 9 _—— -——— — | —— 30°34!2874)29°625| 58 | 27 | 43-41)0°83_ | 2-14) The observations in each line of the table apply to a period of twenty-four hours, beginning at 9 A.M. on the day indicated in (he first column, A dash denotes, that the result is included in the next following observation, 474 Meteorological Journal. [Dec. 1813. REMARKS. Tenth Month.—16. Fine morning: wet p. m.: lightning in the evening. 17. Showery. 18. Fine a.m.: shower p.m. 19. Hoar frost: fair day, after misty morning. 20. Cloudy: a.m. much wind at E. 22, About half-past seven p. m. a bright blue meteor appeared in the N. and passing to the westward with a steady and rather slow motion became extinct. There were some traces of Cirrostrafus clouds, which increased afterwards. 23. Maximum of temp. at nine a.m.: cloudy, with a breeze. 24. Overcast. 25. Cloudy, a.m.: clear, p.m. During the twilight there was an abundance of red haze, first in the E. horizon, over clouds in that quarter; then at a considerable elevation in the W. Ii ended more clear, and orange coloured. 26. Cloudy at intervals. 27. a.m. Windy. 28. Hoar frost ; which was found, on examination, to consist, not. of spicule attached to the herbage, but of the drops of dew, frozen clear and solid. 29. Hoar frost: Cumulostrati, followed by Nimli, one of the latter approaching from the E.: at four p.m. exhi- bited a double rainbow, on a ground of purple. 30. Spicular hoar frost : very misty: clear at noon: Czrrostratus, and a little rain, p.m.: wet and stormy night. $1. Windy, a.m. : Cirrus, with Cumulus: a shower about four, with a fine bow. Eleventh Month.—1. Hoar frost. 2. Granular hoar frost: very clear sun-tise: clouds at noon: rain, p.m.: very windy night. 3. Sunshine, a.m.: wind N.N.W.: a shower, p.m. 6. Calm clear weather, with hoar frost, these three days: the wind now rising. 7 Small rain at intervals: a solar halo, p.m. of large diameter. 8&8. Fair, a.m. Before four p. m. dark Nimbi, and rain beginning; being on the south side of London, J was surprised with a flash of lightning and a sharp peal of thunder: about half-past six had a glimpse of a meteor passing to the W. It was said to lighten after this time. 8, 9. Windy. 11. Stormy night. 12. Windy and cloudy : p.m. wet. 13. Hoar frost. 14. The same, with crystallized rime on the shrubs. RESULTS. Winds Variable: the Easterly prevailed in the former, the Westerly in the latter part. Barometer: Greatest height.......... 30°34 inches ; ee Wes are ee ee .28'74 inches; Mean of the pericd ...... 29°625 inches; Thermometer: Greatest height ..........58° Wiese he ee os oie eee or Mean of the period ......43°41° Evaporation, 0°83 inches, Rain, 2°14 inch. Totrennam, Eleventh Month, 17, 1813. L. HOWARD. INDEX. A. CIDS, use of, in cases of urinary calculus, 64. Agate, action of, on light, 148. Aikiu, Mr. Arthur, on a bed of greenstone in Staffordshire, 67. Albumen of the blood, 200. Alcohol, on the freezing of, 63, AT1 —state of, inspirits, 231 —effect of, on breathing, 336, Alcohol of sulphur, 315. Allen, Thomas, Esq. on Pomel 389, 47). Alumina, subsulphate of, 238. Ammonia, on the nature of, 276, 357. Anhydrous carbonate of copper, 464, Animal fluids, on the composition of, 19, 195; 37T. Antimonial acids, 60. Ardea argula, glands in the gizzard of, 230. Astronomer, travelling, instruments necessary for, 102. Astronomical observations at Hack- ney Wick, 52, 138. Atmometer, 46. Atomic theory in chemistry, history of, 445—explanation of, 446 —diffii- culties to which it is liable, 447, Atoms of chemical bodies, weight of, 41, Axley, Mr. his theory of electricity, 65. Azotane, account of, 150, 227. Azote, on the composition of, 63, 176, 276, 357. B. Barometer, daily rate of, at London, . Paris, and Geneva, 408, Bats, Indian, list of, 66—table of, 303. Beaufoy, Col. Mark, astronomical and magnetical observations, by, 52, #38, 225, 301, 387, 454—de- travelling astronomer, 102—~on the stability of vessels having a well on board, 355. Beauvois, M. de, on the pith of plauts, 72. ; M. Palisot de, on grasses, 15. Bell-metal, composition 6f, 209. Berard, M. on the specific heat of gases, 123, 211, 279, 369, 426— on the properties of light, 161. Berger, Dr. account of the Isle of Man, by, 155. Berwickshire, on the agriculture of, 184, Berzelius, Dr. Jacob, on the compo- sition of animal fluids, 19, 195, 371, 415—on the antimonial acids, 60—on the oxides of tin and tellu- rium, 61—on the nature of muriatic acid, 254—on the nature of azote, hydrogen, and ammonia, 276, 357 —on ulmin, 314—on the oxides of gold, 3l4—on bile, 377—on sa- liva, 379—en mucus, 381—on the humours of the eye, 385—on the cause of chemical proportions, 443, Biddery ware, account of, 260, A71. Billardiere, M. de Ja, ou the plants of Syria and Libanus, 75. Bile, chemical account of, 377, Black jack lode, what, 68. Blagden, Sir Charles, on vision, 233. Blood, constituents of, 19 —Human, 203—form and size of the globules of, 115. Boletic acid, 469, Brande, W. T. Esq. on the use of magnesia in cases of urinary cal- culus, 64—on the state of alcohol in fermented liquors, 231. Brewster, Dr. experiments on light, by, 1!48—on the properties of light, 232, Grodie, B. ©. Esq. on the influence of the gerves on musoular motion, 464. scription of his compass for ascer- | Bucholz, Mr, on the separation of taining the daily variation, 9G— on the instruments necessary for a | manganese froin iron, 287, Buprestes, 308, A476 Cc. Calculus from a hog examined, 59. Calculus, urinary, remedies for, 64. Calorimeter, description of, 211. Camphoric acid, 313. Capley veins, what, 63. Carbonate of iron, native, 287. yee of manganese, account of, 178. Carbonic acid emitted in breathing, 328. Cassini, M. on the style and stigma of compound flowers, 75. Cassowary, long legged, glands in the gizzard of, 230. Casuarius emu, glands in the gizzard of, 230. Cater, Mr. on the Gregorian and Cassegrenian telescopes, 64, 464. Cerium, volatility of, ascertained, 147. Cheese, 425. Chemical proportions, on the cause ef, 443. Seana , their relation to Berthollet’s theory of affinities, 443, Chiidren, I. G, Esq. magnificent gal- vanic battery of, 147. Chlorine, on the theory of the com- position of, 13, 122. Chyle of the horse, analysis of, 220. Clovelly, on the rocks at, 69. Cold produced by sulphuret of car- bon, 152—by rarefaction, 462. Collingwood Main Colliery, explo- sion in, 284. Colouring matter of blood, proper- ties of, 21. Colours, changeable, 191. Combustion during combination, 312, Commercium Epistolicum, 402. Compass for ascertaining the daily variation, 96. Coniferous plants, flower of, 73. Conybeare, Rev. I. L. on the recksat Clovelly, 69. Copper, sulphite of, 61. Corals, 305. Cornwall, mineralogical observations on, 247, 346—veins of, described, 67. Cotes’s theorem, application of, 228. Cotton, specific heat of, 27. Crawford, Dr. his table of the spe- cific heat of gases, 135. Cryolite, situation of, in Greenland, 471. Crystals, on the elementary particles of, 29: Index. Cube, structure of, 149. Cuvier’s comparative anatomy, 305, Cycas, flower of, 74. D. Dalton, Mr. John, on oxymuriate of lime, 6—on the specific heat of gases, 137. Daltonian theory of definite propor- tions, on, 32, 109, 167, 293. Danaide, 413. Davy, Sir Humphry, on his theory of chlorine, 13, 122—von azotane, 150, 227—on fluorine, 152. Delaroche, Dr. experiments of, on the radiation of heat, 100—en the specific heat of gases, 134, 211, 279, 369, 426. Derbyshire, account of the structure of, 153. Diallage rock at the Lizzard, 250. Diamond, matrix of, 236. Dimstone, what, 70. Drigg, on the sand tubes at, 67. Drying power of different bodies, 461. Dumas, M. on chronical diseases, 392. E. Echinodermes, 305. Electricity, theory of, 65—singular effect of, 292. Elm, concretion on, analysed, 59. Elvan, what, 350. Eriometer, descriptien of, 118—sub- stances measured by, 121. Evaporation, Leslie’s discoveries re- specting, 459. Eudiometer, description of, 57. Exercise, effect of, on breathing, 335. Explosion in the coal-mine of Fat- field, 353. 1 Farey, Mr. account of Derbyshire, by, 153, Feburier, M. on the sap of plants, 70. Fibrin, properties of, 20. Fixed stars, north polar distances of, 230. Fleuckan, what, 350. Flookany veins, what, 68. Fluctions, controversy respecting the discovery of, 401. Fluorine, experiments on, 152. Food, effect of, on breathing, 33%. Index. ' Fountains, reciprocating, theory of, 56. Freezing at a distance, 230. Fuci, on, 76. G, Galvanic battery, large one, 147. Gases, specific heat of, determined, 134, 211, 289, 369, 426. Gastric juice, 309. z Gay-Lussac, experiments by, on the specific heat of gases, 136. Geological Society, meetings of, 67, 153, 466. Germination, on, 74. Giesecké, Mr. travels of, in Green- land, 389. Ginko biloba, on, 76. Glands of the gizzard of certain birds described, 230. , gastric, coagulating power of, 231. Gleries, on, 194, Gong, analysis of, 208, 315, 472. Gossany, what, 68. Gough, Mr. John, theory of recipro- cating fountains, by, 56—on sum- mer birds of passage, 58. Gowan, M. on the ginko biloba, 76, Granite ef Cornwall, account of, 348. transition, 253. tors in Cornwall and Devyon- shire, 69. Grasses, work on, 75. Greenland, mineralogical remarks on, 389. Greenstone at Walsall, account of, 67, Greenwich, church steeple at, struck with lightning, 313, Gregor, Rev. William, analysis of a tremolite, by, 154. Greywacke of Cornwall, 249. Grierson, Dr. James, mineralogical observations in the Highlands of Scotland, by, 28—on transition rocks, 103. Growen lode, what, 68, ~ H. Hardwicke, Col, on Indian bats, 66, Hatchett, Charles, Esq. on the sepa- ration of iron from manganese, 343. Heat, evolved during inflammation, 26—intense, method of procuring, 99—radiation of, experiments on, 100—specific, of cotton, 27—pro- duces the elfects of light, 162—of 477 the solar ray, 163—absolute, cal- culation of, 434, Heliostate, 163. Henderson, Mr. William, on Sir H, Dayvy’s theory of chlorine, 13, 122, Henry, Dr. description of an eudio- meter, by, 57—on uric acid, 57. Herschell, I. F. W. Esq. on an appli« cation of Cotes’s problem, 228. Heyné, Dr. Benjamin, on Biddery ware, 266. Higgins, Mr. his discoveries respect- ing chemical proportions, 445, Highlands of Scotland, mineralogical observations en, 28. Home, Sir Everard, on the squalus maximus, 65—on the glands in the gizzard of certain birds, 230—on the coagulating power of the gas- tric glands, 23l1—on the tusks of the narwal, 234, Humours of the eye, on, 385. Humphreys, Col. on a new variety of sheep, 231. Hydrates, composition of, 168, Hydraulic machine, new, 412. Hydrogen, on the nature of, 276, 357. Hydrosulphurets, observations on, 60. _Hygrometer, 460. 16 Jameson, Robert, Esq. mineralogical observations, by, 345, Jarrold, Dr. Thomas, character, 55, Institute, Imperial, labours of, for 1812, 70, 303, 391. John, Dr. on Manganese, 172. Tron in the blood, 195. ——., how separated from manganese, 343. Irton, Mr, on the sand-tubes at Drige, 67. Irvine, Dr. his theory of heat refuted, A317. on national K. Kann, Swedish, size of, 39T. Keill, Dr. gives origin to the contro- versy about the discovery of fluc- tions, 401. Killas, what, 249, 349, L, Lactic acid, account of, 201. ATS Lagrange, M. de, biographical ac- count of, 1. Lamouroux, M. on the fuci, 76. Larkin, Mr. on the structure of the cube, 149. Lavoisier, M. biographical account of, 81. Lavoisier and Laplace, experiments of, on the specific heat of gases, 135. Lawson’s geometrical problems, 58. Lead, peroxide of, singular produc- tion of, 238. Lectures, 235, 311. Leslie, Mr. John, experiments of, on _ the specific heat of gases, 135— account ef experiments and instru- ments depending on the relation of air to heat and moisture, 457. Light, physical and chemical proper- ties of, 161—properties of, 232. Lime, oxymuriate of, on, 6, Limestone, remarkable vein in, 67. Linnean Society, meetings of, 66, A65. Lode, what, 350. lucas, M.. account of his book on mineraiogy, 14]. M. Macculloch, Dr. on a vein in lime- stone, 67—on the granite tors of Devonshire, 69—on staffa, 70—on the geolosy of certain parts of Scotland, 153, Magnesia, use of, in cases of urinary calculus, 64. Magnetic declination, on, 92. Magnetical observations at Hackney Wick, 52, 140, 226, 301, S87, 454. Man, Isle of, geological account of, 155. Manchester, Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of, 54. Manganese, dissertation on, 172, 263 —reduction of its oxide, {74— properties of, 176—action of car- bonic acid on, 177—action of sul- phuric acid on, 181—of muriatic acid, 267—salts of, 271—hew sepa- rated from iron, 343, Mannoury-Dectot, new machine, by, 412. Marcet, Dr. method of procuring intense heat, by, 99—on the cold produced by sulphuret of carbon, 152, Mark, M., la, division of animals, by, 304, experiments hydraulic 2 _ \ ! Index. Martin, Mr. William, on the rotten stone of Derbyshire, 54. Measurement of minute particles, on the, 115, Meteor, luminous, account of, 456, Meteorological journals, 79, 159, 239, 319, 399, 473. Micrometer, single lens, described, 234, : Microscopic fallacies, 190. Miers, Mr. on the composition of azote, 63, Milk, 424. Mineral species, new, admitted by Haiiy, 142. Mineralogical observations, 345, Mines of Cornwall, some account of, 350. Mirbel, M. on the flower of coni- ferous plants, 73—on the flower of mosses, 74-—on germination, 74, Mosses, en the male flower of, T4. Mucus, account of, 381. Mundicky veins, what, 68. Muriate of manganese, 267. Muriatic acid, on the nature of, 2544- N, Narwal, on the tusks of, 234, National character, on, 63, Near sight, observations on, 228, Newton, Sir Isaac, biographical ac- count of, 241, 321, 401. Nitrate of lead, 276. Nitric acid, on the composition of, 276. Nostrils of quadrupeds, new organ in, 306. oO. Oak, on the ulmin from, II. Oxalic acid, analysis of, 449, Oxide of manganese, how purified, 172, 271, 287. of tellurium, 61, of tin, 61. of zine, 410. Oxides of manganese, 272. Oxygen in water of various dépths, 66. P. Patents, list of, 76, 157, 316, 472. Peachy veins, what, 68. Perspiration, fluid of, analysed, 415. Photometer, 460, Philips, Mr. William, on the veins of Cornwall, 67, Index. Picrotoxine, 468. Pictet, M. representation of the rate of the barometer in London, Paris, and Geneva, 408. Pith of plants, use of, T2. Plymouth, nature of the rocks. at, 248. Polychreite, 468. Pend, John, Esq. on the summer sol- stice, 228—on the nortly polar dis tances of the fixed stars, 230—on the winter solstice, 234, Prout, Dr. on the carbonic emitted in breathing, 328, Pryary veins, what, 68. Pyrodmalite, 467, Pyroscope, 460. acid R, Renney, Mr. account of a meteor, by, 456. Resin of Highgate, account of, 9. Rotten stone in Derbyshire, remarks on, 54. Royal Society, meetings of, 64, 150, 463, 8. Saliva, account of, 379. Salt from Vesuvius examined, 151, Salts of the blood, 200. Sand tubes at Drigg, account of, 67. Sap of vegetables, on the direction of, Scale of chemical equivalents, 463. Schubert, M. on the flower of coni- ferous plants, 73—on the flower of mosses, 74, Schubler, Dr. experiments by, on the magnetic declination, 92, Scientific books in the press, 78, 158, 238, 318, 398. Scotland, geological observations on, 28, 153. Secreted fluids, account of, 266. Serpentine at the Lizzard, 250. Serum of the blood, 200. Sheep, new variety of, 231, Shillat, what, 70. Singer, Mr. George John, on @ singu- lar effect of Voltaic influence, 292, Slate of Tintegel, 153. Smithson, James, Esq. on a salt from Mount Vesuvius, 151—on ulmin, 229. Solstice, summer, observations on, 228—winter, ditto, “U4. Sparry veins, what, 68. 479 Squalus. maximus, anatomical obser vations on, 65. Stabihity of vessels haying a well, on, 353. Staffa, account of, TO, St. Michae’s Mount, structure of, 252. Style and stigma flowers, on, 75. Subnitrate of lead at a maximum, 278—intermediate, 280—at a mi- nimum, 282, Sulphate of manganese, 182, 263. Sulphates, composition ef, 294, Su'phite of copper, account of, 61. Sulphite of manganese, 266, Sulphuret of carbon, cold produced by, 152. Sulphurets, composition of, stated, 109, Summer birds of passage, remarks on, 58. ef compound Swedish agriculture, 397. T. Telescopes, Gregorian and Cassegre- nian, compared, 64, Tellurium, oxide of, 61. Thalassio-phytes, what, 76. Thenard, M. observations on hydro- sulphurets, by, 60. Thomson, Rey. James, on the agri- culture of Berwickshire, 184. Thomson, Dr. Thomas, on the resin of Highgate, 9—on ulmin from the oak, 11—on the heat evolved during inflammation, 26—on the Daltonian theory of definite pro- portions, 32, 109, 167, 293—ona concretion found on the elm, 59— on a caleulus froma hog, 59—ana- lysis of the gong, 208—mineralogi- cal observations on Cornwall, by, 24T, 346—mistake in his Swedish travels corrected, 397—on the composition of the oxide of zinc, 410—on anhydrous carbonate of copper, 464, ‘ Tin, peroxide of, 61. Tondi, M. distribution of recks ac- cording to, 145, Transition rocks, on, 103—in Corn- wall, 247—in Yorkshire, 148. Tremolite, variety of, analysed, 154, Tunn, Swedish, size of, 397. Turnip husbandry in Berwickshire, 185, U~ Vaccination, report cn, 391. 480 Vauquelin’s analysis of the chyle of the horse, 220. Veins of Cornwall described, 67. Ulmin, new variety of, 11—from the elm, 229—observed by Berzelius, _314—pure, properties of, 395— from the horse-chesnut, 396. Uric acid, on, 57. Urine, analysis of, 416. ; deposite from, 419. WwW. Ware, James, Esq. on near-sighted persons, 228. Webster, Mr..account of a fresh- water formation in the Isle of Wight, by, 156, 466. Wight, Isle of, fresh-water formation in, 156. ‘Wildbore’s demonstration of Lawson’s geometrical theorems, 58. Index. be eis, very fine, method of drawing, 33. Wollaston, Dr. W. Hyde, on the ele- mentary particles of crystals, 229 —on amethod of freezing at a dis- tance, 230—on drawing very fine wire, 233—single lens micrometer, by, 234—Letter from, 316—scale of chemical equivalents, by, 463, Wood, vinegar from, 236. Worm in bees, 308, as Young, Dr. Thomas, on the measure- ment of minute particles, 115, 192. Z. Zinc, on the oxide of, 410. END OF VOL, Il. ERRATA IN THE FIRST EDITION OF VOL, L. P. 47, line 9, for ‘* Alumina 3°500” read “ 2°136.” P. 48, line 6, for ‘* Nicke) 3°623” read ‘* 7:305.” P. 51, line 16, for ‘© Deutoxide of Nickel 5-623” read ‘* 9°3052? P. 51, line 11, for ‘£ Peroxide of Nickel 6°623”’ read ‘‘ 10°305.” P. 338, Exper. I. and If. dele ‘* Example of oscillation above-men- - tioned.” P. 338, Exper. IV. line 4, col. 3. for * 3:00” read ‘‘ 4-00;” and after “ Example of oscillation above-mentioned,” add ‘* p. 336, note.” P. 340. line 4 from bottom, and p. 341, line 7 frem top, for ‘in a given time,” read ‘* at a given time.” P. 343, line 23, fer ** one per cent.” read “ one-tenth per cent.” P. 344, line 9, for ‘‘ three or four pints,” read ‘* three or four parts.” ; C. Baldwin, Printer, New Bridge Street, London. ew