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CHEMICAL NEWS 



Axn 



Dr. John 8* BiUings, 



U. 8. Army. 

JOUEML OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE: 



(WITH WSHJH n nrOOXPOBATBD THS ''OBBiaOAL GAZXITB.*^ 



% lournal of |rattital C|cinistrg 



IN ALL ITS APPLICATIONS TO 



PHARMACY, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES 



EDITED BT 

WILLIAM CKOOKES, F.R.S. 



AUTEOBZZED AMEBIQAN BEPBZNT, VOLUME IV-^ANUABT, TO JmX, 1869. 



NEW YORK: 
W. A. TOWXSEND & ADAMS, PUBHSHE^: 



M DOOG LX EX. 



CHEMICAL NEWS 



Dr. John S. BfUin^ 
"^ U. 8. Army. 



JOUENAL OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE: 



(WITH WBMSB a nrOOSFOBATED TEX **OHXiaOAI. eAznTB.*^ 



% lournal of |radkal Clemistrj 



IS ALL ITS APPLICATIONS TO 



PHARMACY, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES 



EDITED BT 

WILLIAM CROOKES, F.RS. 



AUTEOBIZED AMEBIGAK BEPBINT, V0LX7UE IV—JAKUAKY, TO J9M:, 1869. 



KEW YORK : .' * :.'/•// \ '--Vv' 



•..• 



W. A. TOWNSEND & ADAMS, PXJBXJSBSfttSl^^-:'*/ v 



•1 • • • 



M DOOO Ut IX. 



^\v^"'- 



T''-- ^'-^V YC».K 1 

ni&i.i': iiBRART 1 



VOLUIVIE IV., AI03RICAN REPRINT, 



BEma PARTS OF 



VOLUMES XVm, XTX., VIZ. NUMBERS 466-491, 
OF TBB ENQUSH EDITION. 






Tkb New Youc.Pkintinc Coupany, 
New York. 



PREFACE, 



Certain features recently added by its English Editor and proprietor to the London Chem- 
ical News, which will doubtless be continued and improved, give assurance that it will hence- 
forth have place, as in the past, in the very front rank of the scientific journals of the world. 
These appear to a certain extent in the present volume. Particular attention is directed to 
the largely increased attention lately given to Chemical Notices from Foreign Sources, 
and to a new department— Notes on Lecture Experiments — which will hereafter be found 
by itself, in the Eeprint. 

On their part, the American publishers herewith submit their fourth semi-annual volume to 
all interested in science, with the confident guaranty that the Kepbint of the English Edition, 
and the American Supplement, with its original notices of current scientific progress in this 
country, and the American Druggists' Price Current, will continue to fill the high places 
heretofore occupied by each of them, in the esteem of all who consult their pages. 

W. A. TOWNSEND & ADAMS. 
New York, June 1, 1869. 



THE CHEMICAL NEWS 



Aim 



JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL SCIEXCE. 

Volume IV. Januar)% 1S69. 



CtlEMICAL LABORATORIES OR WORK- 
SHOPS. 

'I.i£mi3 used lo nay that when lie went to Giessen, he 
put into a f»lace like a gatdener's tool-house, and 
lat he was expected t43 make dit?coveries smi pre- 
lii? lecture experinietit^. Ilia intiuenee was 8 if- 
.'ient to procure a plea^jint bouse, wiih a lahornlory 
below, and wiih Siveral apaiim> nus; but hb iatije 
I grew until tiiat laboratory became small and triflinjr, 
and a mere plate lor rough w<,»rk attaci ed to thai 
large and famous one which, like h!nv*eir, attracted ?o 
oiaTiy of all countries, and which especially brought 
Kim into connectiou with England and EnilishmfU. 
Now the fine new laboratory is small, whilst not. many 



was a rouph attempt to grasp at science for mercantile 
purfiose?, and the movfrinent has calmed down. Tho 
result, is no trille, but it b* not all that was antieipaled. 
Mofliani« have shown themse!v«8 most prominent, 
and neither tlie Oovernment nor private men bavt* 
done for any brandi of science what Whitworlh has 
done for ineohfiniciati?. It is well to do one work at a 
time. He seldom does good who expends his efforts 
on the human race geneia'ly. Let wa take a smaller 
ran^e and try to do something in relation to the 
science and ihe scientific men that interest us most. 

When Liebig was nnej ging from his ganlen tool- house 
tl.ere were no labonitories tijr studentjs in Lf^ndon, and 
none iu Oxiord or Cambridge, although there were 
eminent cheraisfg. Before the new Giessen laboratory 



Diilca away one hr^a arisen so far unlike a mere tool- i ,vas made, Graham had njude the Arid*TSoninn Institu- 
houae that the Grand Duke himpt U" mi^^hi rejoice iti the i tjon in Gla.<gow more famous ihnn it had ever been; 



libraries, siltinir-roorre, halh^, pipsages, and general 
aspect of the place, if he could not enjoy working in 
the bright &nd commodious student's apartment'^. 

We all recognise thai the world is moving fast, but 
whilst we do so generally some movements are talcing 



aud produced a school, perhaps the earliest issue of a 
numi)er of trained chemists from one place at least in 
Britain. As the flow of thought w.ia towards organic 
themiBtry, and ne<^e8-arily so, the new laltoratory at 
Git'ssen took the Ici.d, altbough the tljcn new London 



pliice with such rapidity that we cannot otiserve until colleges had both kboratori' s for the piofesaors, and the 
the work done has surpuBsed our liope3 and sometimes | Biikbeck wse to a««ist them. 

our »jn<lerstandin;r. The God wh>> made cre;ition is i When i^iebig got hia new work-rooms, he wa<3 not 
explaining his works, and man who is made in hisLiow to seek the ?nnic advantage for others, and b«* 
tma^'e is iniilating the work of creation. We have lub^ured hard to induce the Pnisjsian Government to 
lived without the knowledge of cnation, and ei far ulso provide nccommodalion fur Rotid; but that Govern- 
of the Creator; but fis tijis power becomes revealed to I ment would not bsten, and England was more easily 
U0 in acience, it begins both to delight and t<i awe us in persund* d. We not only took hie plan lor a laboratory 



regions wliichbelbre seemed dark and empty. Scenery 
on the surface of the earth has long pleased us. As we 
go down we fmd new strata of delight. The inlluence 
€f science on man's mind wdl increase, and we can only 
suppose tlint it will move forward as sicadily and con- 
«;t»ntly aa the earth i s If. Already some men are so 
nslnniflhcd at the magnitude of some of the ports that 
Uiey bcl'cve that nothing else can be in existence, and 
ISO Uicy have bo\N ed down. They do ri^dU to worship 
the highest that tl ey know, us a d'og worships his roas- 
ter, even if he be but a beggar and a thief 



but we took the teacl*er he sent, and if not to our own 
fame at lc:)8t to our own «dvnnt'<ge. Ilofmann hns made 
his most famoue discoveries among us. The School of 
ilino-^ had a very limited idea ol ii« duties as regards 
cheni stry when it gave only a corner fi^r its excjcisc. 
and Alanchcstcr lonk the next mot proniising step 
amongst us by building the laborntory of Owen s Col- 
lege. But Germany 5tdl kept ahei<l, and Ihmsen und 
WiJlder at Ileidelber:; and Got in«:en obtained build- 
ing* beautiful and c nimodlous. an<l qtiire according to 
their own miod. f?inco then Oxford and Canibrldge 



We may lik<? ordishkethe movement, although bo!h , have come into the field 
loclings will be spent in vaiti. Tlie knowledge of natu- 1 Germany reviewed this advance, wasdis^atisfipd with 
ral laws will enter into our minds so t! orou^^hly, ihat the constant sliglit increase, and there rose in her (ho 
private, soc nl, and poltical lite will be equally pene- I spirit tl:at had bnilt her |;reat and ^nnmerous universi 



traU'd ; but every one llke'y to read this knows it per- 
fectly well, an 1 why shoald it be repeated V Are even 
journals of ?cici«ce to tell us old tales instead of dis- 
coveries, and stultify their own prophecies regarding the 
pr-^gres^of ti^uth by tolling us only the popular notions 
of the tme? We would answer to the first pnrt 
*' Yea ; we fear they must do so." Although icieuee 
will have much to do so in ruling the world, it is by tio 
means certain that wc, as individua's or as a nation, 
shall huve its full benefit. In all great revolutions 
there are the conqu( rors and the conquered ; the bal- 
loon moves c.dmly even in a storm. ^Ve ha«l last year 
a great congress to discuss technical education. It 
Vol, IV. No. i.-Jan., 1869. 1 ' 

ffiDfUftb EdJtioiv Tol ZTIIt, Vo. 4£6, ^(cUS.^ 



ties, and filled her towns und even villages with public 
build ngi*. There ovtry ortlrer and office has such 
abundance of house room that We wonder much why 
wiih our weal'h wc should be forever trampeil. 

I'lus-ia began with two gre.it buildings in Berlin and 
Boun iibout tlircc years ago, whi'st Leiftzic began later, 
but is finishing hers at the vame time. 

IIow shall we describe that of Berlin 7 Let us take 
Jermyn Street J^chool of Mines, and multiply it by from 
two to ihre •, and probably the total space ocrupied by 
the new Liboratory will be found. And yet the labora- 
tory in Jermyn Street is only a small room in a comer. 
The idea is destroyed that a cellar or any hole may do 



On the AnalyHh of a Green FUrom Mineral from Cathhin. {'"''^JXi^ 



or n Iftborrvton*. T)i:s fs a rasuslon of a nobl<? Iciiid — • 
palace. The idea is dosiroyert tliiit ilit* more menial the 
work \rliich asludeut performs tbe p-reoler lii* success. 
Eyery lielp is given, r.nd lie is left (o do lliat only wLioli 
cannot be done Ky Ics-^ educft'eiJ fterson? It is ajj'l in 
Germany that IIofmaTin has injured the student bv offer- 
ing hinii too many facd.ties in big work, Mid thai when 
he fToes to m;itiurictoric<» in the eoimt«y he is frequently 
indifficuhiee. True, when the pt«deiit leavis tlie uni- 
versity wiih its fini; libraries and its lenrn»d pTofepsots, 
he is thrown on hi'? owji ref^oarce«<, and nnle^^^s he \^ 
soundly ta.iight and of .'onnd mind he will not keep Mb 
position ; hut for a ciieniist to n»ftke his own appiuaUis 
waa never posigibJe, and be is every d-y beconniijg more 
dependent on the inechanical art. No cluraist makeB 
his own balance, alllion^b he ought to onderMand it, 
and mueh Itfs shonld lie lose tinre by tbe 0' tested pro- 
cess of making sniphuicttcd bydrii|irrn il' he can get it 
done for h m. If it is mefily to learn. let bini leart« ; but 
one may na well ask him to diff hisown coal'! out of the 
pit or at ]c'&5t bring ih*in from the cellar. There %vn» a 
time when chemi-^try was begun by tubbing and l;am- 
nierinj:^' in a heavy mortar, and th'S continncl un'il ihe 
rext unfortunate apprentice rune; we huve benrd ti is 
experience from one of tlje niost eminent. As we rise 
K> do<8 the efaLTC of menial woik rise, and we In'gin 
where our forefalhets eni!ed. We uiny be ^dad as well 
a.*? ihe Btddenl when f-e can turn on his !>u!phnrctt< d 
hydrogen by n tip, nnd when be can even do the pome 
with 0T«yi^en atid liydrogen, and when he i« saved tbe 
trouble of an air pump and can turn on a vacuum hke 
Bteam^ Chemista have ceriainly Jived in unwhole.-omc 
atmospheres. We nre glad to 8*-'C the rooms enlaiged, 
and t!)e pii^^agea wide and lofly, ^o that tliey mny fierve 
a=j places to walk in if any ace dent should for a while 
render the air impure, and we can be no less glad to 
8ee the covered sj aces with open sid* ? \\\\\c\\ arc beau- 
tifully fi; ted for work that cannot well be done in a 
fjliy clofcd room. It is intere.sting to see the room for 
■'pectrum nnalyei?^ making a new feattire in a laboratory ] 
but one is templed to think that even thf great new 
bu Idings make this department too smal'. We may 
hve to see that little room much expanded ; we may 
learn a!«o to look on our present mode of filieFing as so 
slow M to be qui'e unen-iurable and the drc of tTessuro 
quite indispensab!e. Ilofmnnn'.H lubornlory is a fine 
iiublic ornament to a street ; the buildings touch it on 
both FideH. Kekul^'s ?t«nds alone like a separate college, 
hard?^ome where most things are beautiful. One won- 
ders if those great halls and magnificent pa.sFagcs and 
filaira will ever see such discoveries as the little holog out 
of wh'ch the directors have got their fl^^t fame ; but on 
Bccond thougbt.s, it appears a poor remnant of an alche- 
mistic prejudice which condemns a chemLst to a build- 
ing less beautiful than those which have been given to 
literary men in lihranes and universities, on which tie 
pkill of architects ho^? been lavi=hly spent. We must re- 
member that althf ugh these buildings appear grand to 
u-^, there are young men entering them this very quar- 
ter to whom they w ill soon appear as the veriest com- 
monplace, and these very young men will begin on the 
let of Novembf^r to strmd on ihe shonhJers of all iheir 
predecefsor?«. They will not idl fall, and when they 
»pek for advance it will be with very lofty hrad?, with 
ft long vision and with a fine step rendered elastic by 
numerotis mechanical aida. 

We remember organic analyses done by charcoal 
furnaces in an unvenulatcd room, which soon became so 
po aoned that the operator fell senseless to the ground 



and was only slowly rettored. It is pleasant to see the 
preparaliortB everywhere rande for working on clean 
benches, where not only no dust of charcoal ia founds 
but even the paa comtiuslion products are carefully 
removed. The laboratory nl Leipzic, under Kolbe, has 
not quite the mnjcFtic appearance of tliose in Bcrbii and 
Bonn; but com parisouf^ ought not to be m.ide of (his 
kind. And when we look at epfential-'? and comfort, it is 
by no m'nns behind, and even accommodates m^re 
Btudent.H, vif.., loo aa workers. Happy mut*tthey be in 
working, one would ih'nk, wl o rejuerabera tbe weary 
time spent over tilters b( fore tlie present quick filtis 
paper was known, whilst they hiVe BunBcn*5 air pret 
sure method driving their work on will) a speed whicl 
U'ill enable theee jouTigsters to do in n day that whicl 
we in our student times, with Fcarcely penrit.us paper, 
could with difficidty have done in a week. 

This is written frcm the outer point of view only; 
we seek to examine the newer mode of making led ui 
experiments, we should be led into long letters ai 
contifts's, so they Bhall be left with this remark that tl 
problem set ms f-raduidly golv'ng; How shall we fiiu 
time to learn so much when knou ledge increase:^ So fa?t7 
The laws of nature which Jong ihoughtonly could luake 
familiar to us become sjnjpl fied by being put into 
operation before our eyes, nnd ihe ( hemist learns niore_ 
I rapidly the complicated fysiem of to-day than he di 

the few facts and prneiplc.s of the previous century, 
. The laboratorits of Berliii, Leipric, and Bonn be( 
I in a few days. 

j We are Ituilding one, — ^narrely, in Glasgow; it \9 
I attached to the new univeisiiy. 'We have heard little 
* of jt. It is to be hoped that it !<; at least twice as larj 
' as any reasonable person could wish for present upe, 
I if otherwise, it will soon become otTensive and anothi 
I will be wanted. It is to be hoped that it will be go larj 
I that every s'udcnt will not be a nuisance to his neigl 
I hour whi'st h's own freedom is diminished, — that he wi| 
be able to work without re.Mraint, and less incommode 
I tlinn a prisoner in his cell. 

We are told of another — and tlmt a fine one— building 
at Kensington, and it is to be hoped that public rumour 
is not conect, but that it is built under the care of an 
eminent chemist, and that it will be in all ihiiigs worthy 
to stand comparison with, if not to sur^ asi<, those that 
have risen in Prussia. 

We bear al>=o of a desire to build a new one in Mc 
Chester, but it is said that it carinot aflord the money,! 
Is it leas wealthy than the town of Leipzic, which pays 
for the new institution there, or is it less dependent on 
manufactures y 

We df> not vi nture at present on a history cf laboi 
toriesin England ; perhaps even our slight allusions maj 
be wanting in chronological exactness; we mean onlj 
tf) bring to mind the comparative slow increasing ofthi 
importance of chemi.stry in the eyes of public bodi< 
There have been long a ftw small laboratorips in ai 
out of London for volunteers. It would be intcrestini 
to receive communications concerning them, speaking 
a time before the rise of the London Universiiy. 



ON THE AN.A LYSIS OF A GREEN FIBROUl 
MINERAL FROM CATHKIN.* 

BT J. WALLACl TOUXG. 

The mineral of which I now give the analysis seei 
to have been derived from the decomposition or aliera- 

• TmnuietiuBs of Ibe Gcolof lc«l ik^etj', Glugaw. 



lEaghah BdltJoo, Tol/ rTUI., Ho. ««, pa^w 1\\ l\ft \ 



i. 



Jan., iita. f 



TbUs on Lemmi-Juice and it^ JJeeomposiiion. 



ftion of Hornblende. It is frequently found in tlie 

trappcttn districts nrotind Glasgow, generally mixed up 
['Willi tnore ur le-a carbouaU of lime.* 

Colour, blackis^i green ; fitnicture, fibrous; of about 
I ihe h»rdn^'ss of talc. The powdered mineral iVels greasy 

when rubbed between the fingers. Gives olT water 
iwhon heated. RB. become-* first whiii;ih, and then 

fnacs on the edges to a black glass. Easily decoij^[iosed 
'by hydrochloric acid. The following is its composttion, 

Xo, t is the wliole mineral, and No. 2 after deducting 

the carbo.iate of Ume. 

DrieJ at loo^ C. 

I, n. 

SUicic Ada . - 5 r '95 333S 

AiauiitiM. . . .. ... .. ...,1540 1610 

.F^irroua Oicide zrio 2304 

'Miignesia 20 95 2 1-90 

Wuier (by dilll'rence) 6 30 6 58 

Ciirboimle uf Litue. . . . . . . 4*30 — 



I030D lOOOO 



)TES OK LEMON^JUICE AND IT3 DECOM- 
POSITION. ♦ 

BY W. W. 8T0DDART, F.O 8. 

PmrjuK giv»is an nnalyais of lemon-juice by Prnuat^ 
sl'iowiii^r fhat itcontuined 177 per cen< of citric ajid, or 
about lb fjrains per ounce. The specific gravity is not 
mc iLioncd. It ia surprisin** that the statement sljould 
have b 'cn introduced into ilie last edition of that work. 

In our excellent **Briti8li PharniaoopOBia," freshly 
pressed lemon-juice h 9ai<i t > have an average apecihc 
gravity of ro39, and an average quantity of 32*5 grams 
of citric acid per ounce. Thei<e two di not agree ; the 
«peciQc gravity is too great for the acid. 

In Muapratt's "Dictionary/' juice crmtaining 7 per 
C«nt or 31*5 qrains n t ounce, in termed very superlur. 

In Mr. WattHs splendid work, 47 per cent, or 20^ 
grains peroane>\ U quoted as the amount. 

Muspratl siys that lemons at an earlier part of the 
Rea^:>n are moro acid, and as tiie season advances the 
water is a percentage or two higher. 

All these gtatements are so greatly at variance with 
the results I have lound, that I am induced to bring 
the subject before the Confcrem.'*^. 

The Board of Trade have fixed very liberally for the 
Tendorj* the specific gravity of fo30 as the standard, 
and 30 grains per ounce ast the le ist quantity of acid. 

On February 25th of this year I bought a lot of lem- 
ons from 5ix different shops, and after mixing them I 
pressed eight, which gave 7 oun»e? i»f juice, hriving a 
fipeeific gravity of fro:n ro40 to 1-046, and yiel ling 40 
to 46 grains pep otmce, or 9-6 per cent of c trie acid. 

The 6|>ceific gravity was taken by one of Griffin's 
hjrdromef-er^. as ordered by the BoanL 

The remainder of the Jomona were put aside till the 
end of May, and again examined. The result showed 
th.it as the lemon? were k<'pt, and the summer advanced, 
the quantity of acid decreased (at first frlowly, but at 
length very rapidly), but the i^peclfic gravity only 9uf- 
f.»red comparatively alight diminution ; the quantity of 
the juice also remained the same, for eight lemons 
yi«dded 7 ounces in May, a** in February. 

On examining the rcma ning fru t in July the curious 
fact was ascertained, that alth mgh the specific gravity 

• B«*d M the Norwleb Me«tliif of Uto BrItUh rbamuuMaUe«l Con- 
f«r«aoo. 



was 1*027, yet there was not a particle of cilric ftcid. 
Analysis showed that it had all split up into glucose 
and carbonic acid. 

Since this, the nitrogenous matter in the juice has 
again set the whole into fermentation. The glucose 
ha^ proluced alc.thul, and the alcohol acetic acid, 
thus: — 

Olac<7«L AlcnhoL 

0„K„O„=4(C,lI<,O) + 4C0a. 
Then, aAcr parsing through the iatcnncdiate stage of 
aldeliyil, 

Alfohol. Acetic AcJd. 

4(C,H,0) +So=4(CaH»Oi,)-f 4H,0. 

On examining a vessel containing a large quantity 
of lemon-juice, the peculiar earthy smell of carbonic acid 
is distinctly perceptibh*. For a clearer proof, a quantity 
of juice WIS p it into a bottle which wasconncoted by a 
glass tube with lime water, beneath which the glaFS 
tube dipped ; nil was hcrmcttca^ly sealed and laid aside, 
when the depositioti of carbonate of calcium became 
Bufficiently evident. 

The decomposition would be expldned thus : — 

Cltrte Acid. Glucose. Carbonic Acid. ! 

3(<\H,0,) + 3^ = Ci,H,«Oi, + 6C0a. 

Th*8 change Is of course one example among many of 
the chemical transformations which take place in iho 
miituration of fruits, and a striking one it is. 

Fies ily expressed lemon-juice is a thin, milky j slightly 
yelbvTish liqtiid, having a specific gravity from ro40 
to ro43j and containing from 39 to 46 grains of citric 
acid per ounce. Should t-ither of these be less, the lem- 
ons must have been kept too long or gathered too kte 
in thf* season. 

Liquor potassa turns the juice a peculiar dark colour, 
well known to those accusiomea to diabetic eatami- 
nations. 

When f e-sl ly pressed the smell is aromntic, but when 
kept for a few day^ acquires th« mo'iMy flavour which 
the commercial juice uaualh* pos^essc*. Trommer's 
and Febling'a t sts give a decided indication of glucose. 

Witli polarised light the ray is turned t; the right. 
Acetate* of lead givei a muddy white precipitate 
(gummate of lead). 

Cido ide of barium, nitrate or acetate of potassium, or 
chloride of calcium shoul J give no prLcipitate, indicating 
the absence ofsulidiuric, tartaic, or oxalic acids. The 
aroma of the pure juice is very peculiar, and diflers as 
much from any artificial componnd as rose-water dis- 
tdled from the petals does from that made with otto. 

The juice from limes is not so acid a.'i that from lemons. 

Through the kindness of a friend I obtained a dozen 
limes from Glasgow ; from the^e I obtained 5I ounces 
of juice. Th's was very much more aromatic and more 
delicate in its flavour ihau k-mon-juico. Its specific 
gravity was 1 '037, and contained 32"32 grains per ounce. 
It urns, the'efore, not so s'r<»ng aa lemon-juice. 

Messrri. Southall, of Birmingham, furnished a sample 
as c<»ming from the Olvestoc plantation in Mont5errat., 
wliirJx h;id a deep 3'^ellowi.sh brown colour; tliis, I pre- 
sum'', was given ai tificiall}*, as tliat pressed by myself 
from the ftiiit was nearly colourless. 

A singidar fact w:i8 communicated to me by D. Davis, 
Esq., Medicid Inspfctor for Briiftol, which was (at any 
rate to me) quil« new. Of course, all chemists are 
aware that when citric acid is fused with pota&sa it is 
decomposed intx> oxalic and acetic acids, thus : — 

CtiHcAd^ Oxalic Add, Acetic Acid. 

aiUO, H- TI,0 = C,H,04 + Cjll.O,. 

But when liquor pot aasie is mixed with common letnoa- 



fEagltMh Editicti, Vol. XYIH., No 466, pa^w 116, 211 .\ 



}on 






juice in tlie cold, oxalic acid may be detected in a few 
davfi. 

T\Ti^n lemon-juice is cnrefullj evaporated it vietda a 
rich brown GXtrnct, which h xery peculiar both in 
emell, la^te, and appfanmcc, so much so that any one 
accustomed to make ihe^ experiments can in otie mo* 
inent ttll whctbrr or not it is a genuine juice. 

An ounce of lemon-juice will average 27 grains of 
dry extract per ounce. After a certain point the extract 
becomes carl>onTsed, havitjg a rich brown colour and 
pleasant smell. This is owinp to ita pnrtial decomposi- 
tion into acetone, carbon, carbonic acid, carbonic oxide, 
and acotiitic or pyrocitric acid. 

CKHe Aelil. Acolone, Aronhlr Acid. 

j(U.H,0,) = c,n«o + 2Cn, + CO + O.H^O, -+-iH,0. 

It seems quito impossible to evaporate the juice to 
dryness without decomposition. 

Ihiring the first six months of the present year a 
great number of sami»le8 of commercial juice were ex- 
amined; some were plainly artificial, a few c^ntnined 
sulphuric acid, but most of them were merely diluud 
with water. The greater number of tho;*e obtained 
from the retail iJjops were ariifirial and in nosinple in- 
stauce stronger than twenfy-fnur grains per ouuce. 

The juice keeps its strength better separated from the 
fruit tlian in it, A good sample may be kept for yejira 
without sensible diminution of it? aci-l, eppecially if 
fort) lied with spirit. 

The cell-structure of the fruit seems to be the chief 
eowrce of the T rmontative matter, especially that part 
of the me^ocarp that forms whnt is commonly called 
Uie whit^ of the rind. 

The iu„'rGcli<nt in the juice, which is the therapeutic 
agent, peems to be a matter of dispute nmong medical 
men. Tho«e wlio advocate Dr. Garrod's views— that 
it resides in the pota-^h — mu-t have a homoeopathic 
idea of its value, and plenty of faith. 

The analysis of many speciniens of ash show only 
3-1 0th f^raiu of potnsh per ounce. Others, with Dr. 
Tanner, and I think with more reason, rely on the 
citric acid «s the cliief means for curing .«curvy. 

The molecules of ritric a^id are very remarkable for 
their tendency to change, especially when sugar or gum 
is present. As remarked before with regard to Icmr.n- 
juice, so a solution of crystallised citric acid cann<'t be 
evapornled to drynes? without Cecomposiiian, even 
with a very gentle heat. 

Like all seaport towns, a great many cases of scurvy 
are present in Bristol, and I have the authority of sev- 
eral of our leading physician'* for ."iaying that fhey find 
the crvstallised c'tric acid as cfticacious a* lemon-juice 
(especially wi h fresh meat and vegetables) in curing 
that diseoFP. 

But as th'S question is more in the sphere of the 
physician than the pharmaceutist, it had better le left 
i»j their hands for solution. 



Mr. H. S. Ev.*yp knew two firms in Liverpool vrho 
imported lemon-juice direct from Mefssina, and tlie in- 
spectors would not pass it unle^? it contained 7 per cent 
of citric acid and 5 per cent ofalchol. He had a good 
deal of experience in the examination of such importcJ 
juice, and had always found from 7*5 to 9 per cent of 
citric acid and 4 to 5 percent of alcohol. But there was 
no doubt that great adulteration was practised, an<i the 
Act ha<l done good by putting a check upon this. With 
reg ird to the case in which citric acid was said to have 
been ussd for fortifying weak lemon-juice, he (Mr. 
J^rsas) was dhposed to query whether a scarcity of 



lemon-juice might not only justify such a procedure, 
but render it neces8.iry. 

The Pbesident- thought tliat leraon-juice freshly 
squeezed was the only sott that shoijl«l be used in 
pharmacy. 

Mr. Deavk said that he laid in a stock of lemons 
when plenti'ul in spring, squeezed the juice, heated 
it to iSo" F.. and boftled ii whde hot in smidl bottles, 
which were ihen tied over with bladder. The jui< 
kept good for many montlis. 

Mr. FcHACUT wondered what became of the citr*< 
acid which had disappeared. 

I'rofessor AtTriELD thougltt that the disappearancol 
of citric acid, by cofivereion into glucose and othe 
bodies, was one of the most important of Mr, Stod- 
dart's observations, and should receive further atten- 
tion. He hoped that members of" the nied'cal profis- 
siou w<»nM institute exi^eriments to Jecidc whether tb< 
citric acid was the efficient Pgent, or the salts of potas-l 
BJum. 

Mr. Groves said that the fruiterers recogniaeil what 
tliey call sweet Irvions, Had Mr. Sioddart met with 
some of ilie^»? He had \ reserved lemon-juice through- 
out the year by abiding »vvo minims of chlorofor 
to a fliiiil ounce of juice. Wht n the juice was require 
for use, warmth was applied to evaporate the chloi 
form. 

Mr. W. L. Scott had fomd acid oxalate of potash 
in lemon-juice in two instances, the amounts being 4 
and 7 J per cent respectiv* ly. 

Mr. St^'Duart sydd that the lemons which pave n< 
citric acid had the appearance of being perfectly fOun< 
He was aware that in Italy there were sweet lemtns, 
of which both the peel and the juice were eti ten. Ai 
to what hecame of the citric acid, he found that ps jI 
diminij^hed the amount of sugar increaael. He had^ 
proved that earhonic acid w.is formed and elirninaied 
through the rnd of the frtiit by means of an air pumn 
and lime-wflter. He had never met with oxalic acid 
in lemon-juice. 



PURIFICATION OF SEWAGE. 

HR. SILLAR'S rROOESS. 
BY PR. FR.XKKLAND, F.R.S. 

TuE following report has been issued from the Rivers*] 
Commission Laboratory : — 

The analysis of the samples of sewage and precipita*) 
ted mud taken during the recent experimen's on thej 
appHcat on oi Mr. Sillar's prnccss to tlie pur fication o( 
the scwiigo of the town of Leicester, are now complete, 
and I herewith enclose the results in a tabulated furm. 

The Leicester sewage, as yon are aware, has for some] 
ycar^ past been deodorized with lime, and f r the car- 
rying out of the experiments whi<'h were shown to vaA 
the plant wa^ so arranged that one-half of the sewagdl 
could still be treated with lime as usual, whilst the re- 
maining half was submitted to Mr Sillar*8 new process. 
In this way I have been able not only to ascertain the! 
extent tn which the sewage was ameliorated by tharj 
new process, but also the comparative effect of the old"] 
lime process when applied to one-half of the same sew* 
age. 

The experiments extended over tliree days. On th< 
first day a sample of the sewage as it arrived at tbft] 
deodorising work? was taken at 1.30 p. m., whibt at 
5.40 p.m. and 6.10 p.m.. samples of the effluent liquid^i 
aflcr treatment by the lime and Sillar |)rc>cesses respeo-j 



[EngUmh Edinon, Fot X7III^ Ho. 466, ^i«» 111 , 5AB.\ 



Cbcvtc.il Nr-wi, : 



Purijivation of Sewage. 



tivelv, were collected, the intervals oF time being thoae 
cjlcolated as necessary for the pa««nge of the stowage 
Uuoii;^'h each of lite two proce:vses. Un the second day 
liourly «amples of the raw sewage were taken from to 
^m. to 9 iMii., hut durjnfr the morning an aci-idont 
hnppened to a portion of I he apparatus which vitiated 
the t'xjkcrimental resulty, and coiiscquently the sample?, 
alVr trealmcntj wore only taken from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., 
in the oas'j oi the lime process, and from 4 p.m. to 
9 p.m. in that of SiUar's pruces^a. On the third day all 
the «;a.tiiple^ were fjikcn hourly from 10 a.m. l<» 5 
».m. AtWr our departure from Leicester on the first 
day the duty of takitif:^ the samples was entrusted <o 
Mr. W. Thorp, the principal assistant in ihi::i laboratory. 
Before proo4'oiiine to interpret the results ol* the an- 
alysis, it is neocs-sary Ut premise that the strenfftli of 
•ewago, ofi rej^ardF disitolved constituent-*, is detrrmined 
by two analytical estimations — viz., •* total solid impu- 
rity." and ** total combined ni rogeii," A comparison 
of the numbers under these he-idjs, obtained fron the 
samples of raw sewage, collected on each of the 
three days of the experiments, and on the occasion of 
our previoui vi-it to Leicester (May I3lh, 1868), shows 
Umi the sewage of this town is much beluw the aver- 
Birenj^'th, and that it does not seem to vary in 
IDgth between very wide limits. 



May 13- July 30. 
It>a. iW 



Aoe. I, 
loS'o 



2103 2229 2014 



Total f^l''' i -"■"-' i- i'l 
loo.o-:- 

TotAlcOi.: ;U * 

100,000 lbs. of eywagc. J ^"^ 

But although the strength of the seinrage aepivrated 
from ftu^pendud inatu^r was thus tolerably uniform, it^ 
quality on the laat day of the experiments differed wide- 
ly from thiit which it po-ses?ed on the previous occa- 
8 0^9 ; the organic matt(*r, in the sample L-oUected on the 
third day, Kavinp: become so much decomposed tliat a 
large prop jrtion of the nitrojrenoua constitnenla had 
become converted into mineral componnib. This 
anomaly in the .sewag^e of tlic 1st of August is clearly 
seen from the follow injr comparison of the organic car- 
bon and nitrogen contained in flie different samples of 
raw sewage afUffiltratou from suspended matters: — 

Mav 13. July 3a Jalr 31, Aua. 1. 
lbs. lbs. lis. lbs. 

*"r"^rT^r^.'~:°r[ »o,7 3 745 3536 .75. 

""'l ;o" :".'":!"{ -"^ °-^=' °-'^' °»3 

The purifi<'ation of sewage may be conveniently con- 
aidered undertwo head.s— t!*t, clarilictition, or the re- 
moval of suKpcnded matters, so as to make the result- 
ing liquid more or It^ss clear and transparent; and 2nd, 
removal I'f matters in solution. Tlie suspended master* 
contained in sewage are well known to undergo rapi(i 
putrefjiction and ti) Itecome very offensive ; conse<pient^ 
ly their removal cither by filtratirm or chemical treatment 
con^titut-oa in it>*H|f an important amelioration in sew- 
age. But thi^ liquid so elarified contains in solution 
much nilrogenons organic matter, which is prone to 
become putrid iven when mixed with a conaiJerable 
Volume of river water. 

In regard to clarification, the experiments at Leices- 
ter i^carcely establish a decided superiority for Mr. 
SUIar's procesy over the method of treatment by 
Hm'- ' ►■' ti.,. first day the efiluent liquid* were nearly 
ptpi : on the si-eoiid day the limed scwago was 

nil -rlnr III fM r!r.il; whilst OD the third dav 



th© sewage treated by the new process was much clearer 
than the limed liquid. Thc»*c« staemeufs rest on the 
fullowing comparison of the qu.m itiea of suspended 
matter rema ning iti ioo,ooo lb?, of the effluent sew- 
age a? well OS upon ocular obdervation,'* made during 
the three days' experinicuts : — 

ScsPEXDED Matter. 



Aftt'r Liioe T*roce«a. 

ifit day 6*00 

2nd " 2-84 

3d " 656 



After Slllnr's Process 
6*12 

4*3^ 

276 



Of the soluble constituentA of sewage, the nio«t im- 
portant are tliO-e given in (he acc'om])anying analyncal 
results under the heads ** Toi.'d Solid Impurity," '• Or- 
ganic Carbon," and " Organic Kitrogt-n," and the fol- 
lowing table shows the manner in which the towage is 
altered in tljigc three respects by being submitted to 
the two processes. The numbers all reior us usual to 
100,000 lbs. of sewage. 



IriTAL POUO 

InrirRiTT. 



OUrtAKie 



OKflAVCIO 



tbd. 
Lime Pbookss. 
ist day 23*0 

2d ",,,..,,♦...... 22 O 

3ni " iro 

8ttLAti^8 PnoTssa. 

tstday. ,,.. — 

2nd " . . . ., , — ■ 

3rd " 



A(l«it'd. Remored. Kemnved. Addrnt. 



IbB. 



Ib». 



lbs. 



Ib«. 



— 1 J'O 



— -056 



— •»93 



The numbers show that, whilst the lime process con 
eiderably reduces tlie amount of dis.solvei impurities in 
sewagr, Siliir'a proces* markelly augments it. The 
explanntion is obvious : in the limepioces*, which biu 
fact an apfdii'Ation of the late Proles or Clarke's inge- 
nious metliofl of softening water, all the material ad<!od 
in solution L« ag^in precipitated in the solid form ; but 
in Sillar's process considerable qumtities of dissolved 
chemicals are addel whicli arc not aI'torw»u*ds preripi- 
tated. It is al*o pobable th.it in both processes cer- 
tain con-tltuesiits pr«."sent in the susiiended matter of 
the raw sewage are dissolved, whibit other const itu« 
enta already in solution are preci[»itnted ; there is thua 
finally left in soltiiiott & balanci* of Hulid matter which 
in the case of lime is less, but in the ca«e of a new 
material greater, than l^e itmount present in the raw 
sewage. 

Boih processes have the effect of diminishing tho 
organic carbon, nnd on each of tliO throe days the dini- 
iniit'on eOecl' d by 8ilUr's proci-s^ was markedly in ex- 
ce-^ of ihal brought about by the lime process. 

The material, however, whieh it is of the greatest im- 
portance ti remove from the dissdved constiluent« of 
sewage, is nitrogenous organic matter, bei!ause it ia 
chiefly this kind of organic niattL»r which ent-rs rapidly 
into putrefaction, and h>efOtncs an a^Hive agent in the 
p >llution of river*, This n^utr<rial is represented in the 
antlytital resubs by organic nitrogen. It fs precisely 
here that both ]uocesses signally fail (;dthough tho 
lime is slightly superior ui the now process) in accom- 
plishing such an amount of puriGcaton ns would ren»'er 
the sewage adintsjiiible into an 3pen waiter-course. Tho 
Taw B^'waeo on the third day was. as already meniion- 
cd, very far advoncd in decompi>a tion, and the effect 
of both processes upon this sewage was actually to in- 
crease tne amount of or'2:ft,uw U'^UQ-jtiTv vcv »*i\\\\>.cs^v\ 
t'jaT i-, ihe amouni q^ ot^Wft c viXtcv^iKu ^\£sr^\x<;C\. k^. 




•AgUih EJItfos, Vol X7Sn.^ Wa. 435. pai«i21ft, IW.^ 



Purlfieatioii of Sewage. 






the suspended niatler of the raw sewage wna greater 
ihan Uiat precifiitatt?'! by ihe ehetnical reagonli* added. 
Leaving out of considerauon this result, whieh niuat be 
reg^irdfd as abnormal^ the following table shows the 
amelioration tffccted by the two procci^ses : — 

Pesoextaqe op OuGAiJic KrruoaiMr Behoved. 

lAtat ProcctA. Slltar'« Pni^eM. 

1st day 6579 5S'S6 

3ad day. , . ..... ..54*48.. 50 07 

It may be staU'd, there fore, in. round numbers, that, 
fifi regards putrescible organic mailer, the apphi atioii 
of either procesj? would render it poFsiltle to double Uie 
amount of filtered sewa'/e admitted into a river with- 
out increasing the pollution. Although this is by no 
moanft an unimportant rt'Siilt^ yet it falls far short of 
what h required to restore our sewage-polluted rivers 
to a satisfactory degn*c of purity. 

An inspection of the anulytical tahle shows that the 
elBuent sewage, after treatment by th'.^ new proct'S', 
in variably contains more ainniun'allian the raw sewage; 
thus, on the first day 100,000 Ib^. of sewagL-i conta ned 
1650 lbs. of ammonia bt-fore Ircatmentf and 2 lbs. alter 
treatment ; on th^? second day, iS lbs. bt-fore and 2'5 lbs. 
after treulment; whilst on the third day, it contained 2*25 
lbs. before and 2 "5 alter treatment. The origin of tliis 
additional ammonia isnot difficult to understand ; in the 
first place, alum enter? largely into the compo.'ition of 
the material used in the new firoccS'; but as nearly all 
alum now manufactured is animoniu-alum, containing 
37 per cent of ammonia, it is probable thar this is one 
fonrce of the additional quantity of llie ammonia ; but it 
cannot be the only source, unlaws we are to assume 
(he uae of such a large proportion a« would ren- 
der the process economically improctioable. The auc- 
ond, and probaltly the chief source of the additional 
animouia is to bo sought for in the action of the chemi- 
cid rengenta upon the nitrogenous orgarjie matters con- 
tained in the raw sewage, partly in suspension and 
parUy in solution. The poijsibility of such a liberation 
of arnuionia Is S' en in tlie case of tlie limed aewage of 
Uie firgtday ; here no ammonia was added in the reagent ; 
nevertheless there w«s an increase of '475 lbs. iu each 
100,000 lbs. of sewage. Such an addition to the 
amuunt of dissolved ammonia has little significance aa 
regards the pollulion of rivers, but it has an important 
bearing upon the appHcability pf the process to the eco- 
nomical production of a solid myuurc, because it indi- 
cates not only that the ammonia already in solulion in 
the raw sewage ia not precipitated, but also that some 
of the suspended nitrogenous matter \& decomposed 
with tlie liberation ot ammonia, represr-nting so much 
valuable matter abi-traeted fiom the aalid manure. 

Notwithstanding this loss of nitrogenouii orgaTUc 
matter in [irocess of dcodorisalion, the new method of 
treatment still yie!i* a solid manure of much greaier 
value than that obtained by tlieliujc process— a circum- 
stance which is explained, to a great extent, by the 
mud from the new frociss being add, whilst the lipie 
mud is alkaline; consequently, in drying, the latter 
loses ammonia, whilst the former, if still further acidi- 
fied, cannot sufler th s It ss. 

Both samples of mud submitted to analysis were first 
dried in the sun, with free exposure tj the air, so as to 
imitate, a^ nearly as may t>e, the process of <lrying such 
manure usually employed on the large scale. By ana- 
I^slf, fJjo h-l}i>ww^ results, expressed in percentage 
m/mberSf were obtained : — 



J>rr Mud Dry Mad 

frnm flrom 

8lllar*s I'roMM. Lime I'roc««a. 

ifiaeral matlpra 54772 37*4 '3 

Organic and other volatile niattcr3..45'228 d^'S^? 

Carbon .24 9«>| 18 865 

Phu.sphoric acid '496. ..,.-. '147 

Total nitrogen ^'94'i '^49 

Aminouia ...... , -185....... "ogo 

It is thus evident that in the three valunble constitu- 
en<s of manure — viz., iu ammonia, in other forms of 
Combined nitrogen, and in phosphoric acid — the manur© 
obtained by the new process is prfatly superit)r to that 
resulting fn m the ireaiment with Urae. Unfortunately 
Fome doul^t is thrown upon the source of tlic increased, 
amount of phospljoric acid present in the manure ob-| 
(ained by the new process, because bone-black in, to^ 
mc, utjknown quantity ent^-TS into the composition o€ 
the precipitating materinl used by ^Ir. Sidar, and thus 
a certain amount of phosphoric acid is added to that 
which is acturdly derived from the sewage. 

I estimate the value of the two manures aa follows :- 

V<er Tod. 
£ a. a. 

Manure from lime process. 013 6i 

Manure from SiUar's process i 13 cf 

The value of the solid manure obtained by treatinj 
the Leicester sewage with lime has already been esti- 
mated, from the analysis of Votlcker and Versmann, bj 
Ilofitiann and Witt, who give the following nutU' 
bers : ♦ — 

Vootckcr Yemmann. 

ft. d. a. d. 

Value per ton ,....15 5 17 o 

That these vjdues exceed ray estimate is partly due 
the circumstance that Ilcfmann and Witt asgignrd a va 
ue of X I a ton to non-nitrogt^'nous organic matter, whil 
I ngard it as wor, bless. Such is the value of these de- 
posits as estimated from chemical analysis; but ex- 
perience has warned the manufacturer of tliepc fecblo 
manures that the value indicated by chemical analysii 
ciinnot be counted upon in the market. Thus the 
Leire.-ter mud is actualM sold for is. per ton, although iis 
ind'ciited value is 135*. oid. 

In conclusion, the results of the experiments may bo 
thus summarized : — 

1. The Sillar and lime processes remove to a great j 
and nearly equal extent the suspended matters con- 
ta:ncd in sew.'ige. 

2. Sillar*.*? process increases the amount of dissolved J 
solid impurity in sewape, but reduces the quantity of 
putrescible organic matter. The lime process reduces^ 
both the amount of dissolved solid impurity andthi>^ 
quantity of putrescible organic matter; the reduction ol 
the last being about the same as that cflTccted by SiUar's 
process — viz., rather more than ono-balf. 

3. Like all chemical methods hitherto invented, both 
proccsat/a fail in purifying sewage to such an extent asj 
to render it admisBible into running wat^r. It still re-, 
mains a fact, that no chemicai process is known which 
even remotely approaches irrigation in its eDBciency 
a purifier of sewagf. 

4. For the manufacture of Folid manure from «ew9ge,, 
iSiilar'i proce.<?a is gr< a»ly superior to the method of] 
treatment by lime, although it fails lo extract from Ums 
liquid more than a very email fraction of its valuable 
constituents;. 

* Kerun-t un Uio Mnin Untnage of ItiO MelropoUa, bjr Uoiaiaun and I 
Witt, iHs7, t«k3« ^h 



[EagUjh Elition, Vol. X7UI., No. 4W, pn«*^^* ■ 






Dr, L<t]uby oi Food, 



ra 

m. 



ON FOOD.* 

■T DB. tETDEDT, ICA., M.B.J tC. 

{C<>Dtintted from Am. C«pr., D«e. i863, pftje 344> 

thtuiruciiont 0/ Dt>Ur{es : Preparation and CuUnary 
TVratment 0/ Foods. 

Tttfc conatruction of dietaries for particular puqioses 

tkS far tmining, for developing muscular lisaue, Ibr pro- 

►tluoin^ fat, or for reducing it^ ia beyond the st'opc of 

tht'»«' 1*' iiir s- but it maj be pcaerally said that, as iu 

trA. 'ject is to form muscular tissue, to give it 

[gTv:. ice of action, and at the s-ime time to re- 

Idii'^c tli.i weight of the body, it is accoTiplished by tbe 

i«ijo of aitrojjenous food, with but little fat or farina- 

raattcr, and as little fluid aa poesible — so that 

:ular ti&$ue may tAke the pla* e of fat and w.iter; 

in4 by constant exercise, the endurarice and 5lrenpth 

" tlie muscular tissue is increased, and the proportion 

[ciF water iu the tis-ues is reducci King, in training, 

■18 aaid to have tak*'n for his breakfast two lean mutton 

fchopa, goincwiiat underdone, with dry toa'it or stale 

bruadj an) a single cup of tea without ^ugar; for din- 

[fier, I lb. or H lb, of beef or mutton, with toast or stale 

[1*1 ead, a^^d vt-ry little potato or other vegetable, and 

half- a- pint of old nle, or a f^\itsA or two of sherry; for 

r«a, a singlo cup of u!i8weeU»ned tes^ with nn egg and 

«onie dry loasL; and for supper half-a-pint of oatmeal- 

|»-'rri'lge or h;ilf-a-].iiit of old ale. The effect of this is 

produce only a short-lived istate ofeCTectiveneas; for, 

rned a little beyond the ap[>ointcd time, it leads to 

lase; and even after tlie tr,aU there iFoft^n, as in the 

L*te of Heenati, terrible prostrati m of the systeui, and 

■<css\ly for returning iuimediately to an ordinary 

l«et. 

Foretnost among the foods for developing fatty 

trssiie are fus— as lat ofmeit, butter, cream, Jkr,; next 

to these are farinaceous matttrrs — as .irrowroof, starches, 

and the various meaLs ; and afler these are sugar, nlco- 

liol, dec: 8> that in an attempt to reduce the bulk of the 

' ' 't of tiicmj hut especially the fi.sf, shoul I be but 

used. Conversely, however, the u-e of fatty 

» u rui u:w:eous foods has a ton den cy to produce fa^, and 

jto ft" so with ferm'i'nfed liquors^ as be».T and port*<i — the 

last having a high character for* its capabilities of furm- 

iug milk when drurik by nursing-women. 

in assooia ing different articles of diet, so as to se- 
*viro ibe right proportions of tlie pevi ral constituent-* of f 
ti» >d — fat, sugar, or »{tarch, and nitrogenous matter, we 
find tint we may not only rely on tlie a.mnd indicatiuna 
of science, but may also trust, and tru^t salely, to the 
unerring juilanci of our instincts — provided i-hey have 
not been viliatcdby fa'«hion oi* perverted by evil hibits. 
Science teaches us thiit the best proportions for the 
common wantu of the animal ty?tem are about 9 of Ibt, 
23 of tlesh-forraing sub^itauce*, and 69 of starch and 
sugar; and experience clso shows that tliese are the 
very proportions which we are constantly striving to 
maintain in our tlaily d etarie*. Borrovvitig Inrgely 
roni the graphic illustrations of Liebig and Johnston, 1 
ay state that, whenever one kind of food is wanting 
1m rtny particular con^tituenfs we invariably associate it 
wirii another that cjontains an excess of its CV-rtaiu 
' f- f>r example, which are deficient of fat are al- 
ii wiih Bubstarjces that are rich in it — bacon 
jiU^d with veal, with liver, and w^iih fowl, or we 
ciipon the latter, and thus increase it^ natural fat We 

* Tha CaaUn' LoctortiS, iloUvcrvil tie/are tba 8ocl«tjr of ArU. 



use melted bufcer wltli most kinds of fish, or we fry 
tbom iu oil ; while tlic herring, tb«5 &aImon, and tbe eel 
are uaunlj fat enough in the;uselvcs, and arc dre?eed 
iiud eaten aloue. It in with a vioTV to aaimilar adjustment 
that we mix eggs and butter witbaag<», tapioca, and ritt* ; 
l:hat we add oil and the yolk of an cig 10 salad; that we 
boil r.ce with milk, and eat cheese with nja<:caroni. The 
same instinct has determiurd theu-e of vegetables with 
tne&t anil butler, with bread. Bacon and greens, or 
beatis and bacon, like pork atid peas-pudding, is a con- 
junction of viands which does not, owe its popularity in 
old habit or the mere tuste of tlie epicure ; and so with 
a dish common in Irelaml, ur>der the name of Kol-can- 
non; the potato, which in p<;H>r in gluten, and tl^e cab- 
bage, w^hich is usua'Iy rich in thb ij)gredieot, are mixed 
together, and thus they approach the compos'-ti^n of 
wheafen bread, but boh of these substancei' are deficient 
in fat; add, therefore, a little bacon or fat pork to the 
mixture, j,nd you have a Kol-caniion which has all tht« 
(.ood qualities of the best Scotcli oatmeal, nnd to many it 
is more savo jry and pa'atubl'. Again, the mixture 8<:» 
usurdin Ireland and Alsace, of tlie butter-mi'k or cui- 
dled miilk and potaroe,% and the combinations of rice 
and fat which make the diet of Eofitern nations; even 
tilts little dab of better upon the poor man's potato, 
and the bit of chucs-' t?iat he cats with hi^ dinner, are 
matters not of luxury but of necessity, and ihey show 
h tw by long expericiici we have tit last learnt U) adjust 
the proximate constituents of food, so as b.at toniata* 
tain the health and vigjur of the body. 

An I then, again, the limes for taking fooJ, and the 
proper distribu[ion of it in appropriate meal^, are ques- 
tions of considerable impur aiio^', notwithstanding that 
they hiive ever been influent.ed by the caprices off!«ah- 
ion ani t!ie artificial habits nf society. How much thcj 
have lo do with tlie modification of the human species, 
and even iho extinction of whole races of men^ is an 
etiological problem of much interests 

Man, in iiis savage condition, feeds with great irregu- 
larity, for when he finds that food is plentiful he eats 
from morning till night, and knows j,o other pleasure 
tlian eating and drinking and sleeping; but when it m 
more scarce he is content with a single meal a day. In 
botli case , however, the quantity of food consumed h* 
exceS8ive. We are told by travellers that the Hotten- 
tots, the Busljraen, and the inhabitants of South Africa, 
who feci in this manner, arc enormous gluttons 
'^ Ten of them/^ says Barrow, " ate^ in bis presence, au 
01, all but the hind legs, in three days; and tho three 
Boyjesmen that accompanied hs -waggon, devoured a 
sheep on one occasion m lcs« than twenty-four hours." 
Party, Hoss, and others, have also given tho movt 
astonishing accounts of the dietctical capabihtics of the 
Eisqutmaux. Captain Parry once tried tlie capacity df 
a young lad scarcely full grown, and in twenty-lour 
hours he had eat^'ii 4 lbs. 4 t>zs. of the raw hard-fVozcu 
flcjih of a sea-horse, the s^ame quantity of it boihd, 1 lb, 
12 OM. of bread and bread-dust> Ijesides a p nt and a 
quarter of rich gravy-soup, a tumbler of strong grog, 
three wine-glasses of raw spirits, and nine jiinLsi of 
water. According to Sir John Koss, the daily rations 
of an Esqtiimaux are 20 lbs of flesh and bhiblrt^r. But 
the most marvellous example of gluttony ia given by 
Cajilain Cochrane, on tlie Biitliority of the Russian 
Aehiiiral Sarit heff, who was told that one of the 
Yakiiti had consumed the bind quarter of a targe ox in 
twen'y-Ibur hou &, together with 20 Iks, of fat, and a 
proportionable quantity of melted butter. To te*il the 
tT'Jtli of iUhf he gave him a thick porridgv of r.ce 



[£astiib EdiUoa, YoL rTIlL, No, 456, fft^M 22D,aai\ 



8 



/>/*. Lf'th-ehy on Food. 



) Jan., ISCf. 



boiled down with 3 Ib.n. of melted butter, weighing 
t >petlif r 28 lbs. ; althourb tbe pliitton had nlrfady 
breakfaMed, yet he snt down U\ the meal with jrrcat 
eagerness, and consumed the whole without, stiirln^ 
from the spot; and, except that his stomach betrayed 
more than ordhiary fulness, lie showed no sig^ of in- 
convenience. Captain Cixdirane further adds that a 
pood calC weif^diinp: 200 R\«., will jn>jt serve for a Uieal 
for four or five Yakuti; and ehnt ho hns hinL«cir seen 
three of them consume a reindeer at a meal. Liebig 
accounts for this by saying that a nation of Iinn'ers, 
especially when they po naked and are exposed to 
preat losses of U^mperature, must cotRume larj^e quan- 
tities of resiiiratory food; and if it so happens that the 
food ia in its le^st eOeetive form, as lean flesh, Uio 
quantity disposed of is enormous. 

Amonp civilised nations, and ar.til comparatively 
r'M'ent times, there were hut two menls a day — viz., 
dinner and supper. Th(^pe wete the meali^ of t!ie 
Romanj^ — the [irandinm or dinner boinpr for the mopt 
pirt a li.!ht refreshment, eaten while standin*?, at about 
n'ne o'clock in the morning; and it trcnerally 1 onsistcd 
of the cold rema n^ of yesterday's supper. It was 
commonly tajjen without wine; and, m fact, there 
wus so hltle ceremony nbmit it, tlinl Plautus. in his 
comedies. ha.<» facetioaaly called it cnninuvx prandium. 
The preat rneal oC the day was the supper, or ccena, 
which wo-^ taken about three or four oVIock in the 
afternoon, and to which friends wcri- invited. Thi«i 
was the ceremoniMus meal for whicli the wealthy and 
liigh families of Rome exhausted the rcaourcea of 
luxury and art. It atwavR consisted of three pnrts — 
the ipiftus or nntfpn.st, wlnVh was intended as a mere 
«mft<'k or relish to whet the appetite. Then came the 
itiaiu part of the feast —con rL^ ting of many courses, 
with a chiiT dish, or cnput cwnfTf. and when in thrifty 
families it was thf oiily d'sh -w liich went the round of 
the fru;>al bonrd, il was aptly termed the cmna avihuhins. 
After thitt there came 'he aecf»nd course, or mensa 
itf^uridu, composed of fruits and pastry, like a modern 
dessert. 

The sum<! of n^oney expended by the wealthy 
Romans on thi« meal wen' of en ruinous. Vitellius is 
said lo have spent as much bs 400 sestfrtia (about 
3,228/. of our money) on hifi daily supper; and the 
celebraU'd fcnst to which he invited Ids brother Lucius 
wost no IcBS limn 5,000 sntfrtia, or 40,350^. .«iterlins-. It 
consi-^ted. according to Suetoniup, of 2,000 diirerent 
dishes of Csli^ and 7.000 of fowls, wilh otlior equtilly 
numerous meaf.«i. His daily fund, pay-* OTir classical 
writer, was of the most rare and exquisite nature, the 
deserts of Libya, tlie shores of Spain, ihe w.'vters of the 
Tarpathan Sea, and even the coa^t,*; and fore-,(s of 
Britain, were dilij^ently searclied f-r dninliej; lo supply 
hU table; and had he reijjned Innp he would, Fays 
♦ToaephuR, have exhausted the grofn'. opulence of the 
Romrtn Empie. j551iiia Yeni.9, another of tt)Ose wor- 
thies, was hardly lesa profuse in tbe extravagance of 
hid! suppers; for it i3 snid that a . single entertainment, 
to which only about a dozen puests were invited, cost 
above 6,000,000 se^cnres (6,000 aeMffrtta, or near'y 
48,500/.) ; and we are told by hi''t>ri»ns tliat hia whole 
life was waited in eating and drinkinjr — bt-ing spent m 
the voluptuous retreats of Daphne, or ehe at the luxu- 
rioua banquets of Antioch. i^o profuse, indeed, was 
the exiravagr-ince of those timea, that to entertain an 
emperor at a feaat was to enc <unttr nlmriBt certain 
rtnancial ruin — one dLsh alone at 'he table of Hclioj^a- 
balus has been known to cost about 4,000^. of our money ; . 



no wonder, therefore, that these imperial feastfi were 
hnirthened out for hours topethtT, and that every 
artifioe, oUeu revolting in the extreme, wa.s used ta^ 
prolong tlie pleasure of patinp, or that Philoxeni 
should have wished that lie had the throat of a < 
with a delicate palate all the v\ay down. 

Mardly less extravagant were the dininff propenaitic 
of our own forefathers, who in every way ccipied 
closely the luxurious habits of their Rom/tn conqueror 
In fitct no circumstance, as ifr. "Wright oV'Scrves, 
more reninrkable in ancient his'ory than the read'.nei 
with which the pec'pl>» who came under the sway and' 
influence of Rome, abandoned their nationality, and 
followed tbe hixurious habila of their rulers. Even s 
late as the lime of Holinshed, the famous chronicler 
the sixteenth century, the jnanners of iheEnplish wer< 
the subject of aevere comment ; for he t^lls us tin 
•*in nundwr of dshes and changes of meat, the nobiUt] 
of Enffland (whose coi»ks are for the most part musical 
headed Frenchmen and foreigners) do most exceed [ 
sith there is no day in manner that p.'isseth over Uieii 
heads, wherein they have not only beef, mutUn, veal 
Iamb, kid, pork, cnny, capon, pi?, or fo many of thei 
ns the season yieldeth, but also some portion of the 
and follow deer, beside great variety of fish and wih 
fowl, and thereto sundry other delicntes, wherein th< 
sweet hand of the seafaring Portingale is not wanting- ; 
so that fir a man to dine with one of them, and 
taste of every dish tliat standcth before him, is rather' 
to yield unto a conspiracy with a great deal of meat 
for the speedy suppres-sion of natural health, than th< 
use of a necessary meal to satisfy himself with a coni« 
pctent repast to sustain hia body withal." He addsj, 
too, •' that gentlemen and merchants keep much aboul 
the saniC rate ; ^nd when they niake thtir ordinary or^ 
voluntary feasL*, it is a w«»rld It see what great provi* 
ei<»n is made of all manner of delicate meats from every 
quarter of the country, wherein, beside thnt, they aro 
often f'oraparable herein to the nobility of the land ; eo^ 
that they will sehlom regard auytlirng that the butchei 
usmdly kilhth, but reject the same as nol. worthy 
come in f>la^e. In such cases, also, geliffes of 
colours, mixed with a variety in the representation 
sunlry flowersi, herbs, tree*, forms of beasts, fish» fowU 
and fruits; and thereunto march-pane, wrought w: 
no small curiosity, tarts of divers hues and s-undry 
denominations; conserves of old fruits, foreign and 
home-bred ; sufketp, codiniacs, marmalades, sugarhread,, 
gingcrbn-adj florentmes. wild-fowl, venison of all sorts,! 
an«j sun<!ry outlandish contVctiufjs, alto;: ether seasoned 
with suga^, besides infinite dcvicc*^j nol possible for mo 
lo remcniber." 

The learned Cains, also? in 1 is " Counscill ngainst the 
Sweat " of the same century (1552) comments in severe-i 
terras on the gluttony of his time, saying ihxLt the reaa^i 
why tlie disease attacks the Esighah more then othei 
is, that th< y have " so moche sweating stufTc, fo n 
euille humoures laid up in store, fro this displcMsant** 
feareftil, anr] i>csti'ent disease, cause of their euiU* 
diet, whit:he destroy more meates and drynckes wiUi- 
oute ftl ordie, convenient time, reason, or ue<H'fcsit©, 
the either Scotlandc or al other countries under i\m\ 
sunne." 

fiiadually, too, as the dintier got to be later in tl 
day, and reached noontime, there was necessity for 
liirht early meal, or break fas te, as it was called ; and 
the dinner beimme latter and later still, a fourth met 
was added — the lunch or luncheon, which literalb 
meant a slice of bread. In process of time, also, will 



tSngUMb Edition, Vol, rTIIL, Mo. C66, ii«se»M\, 222 \ 






Di\ Lethehy on Food^ 



th- '-' ' ^ tion of tea and coffee into England, there 

Ci ineal; but all a'ong the dinner was the 

grv,.. 1 .»-i m| the dftv ; and the rule in usinp it was 
pretty much as Dr. Kitcheaer, in ]ii^ time, advieed — 
Tiz., to eat until there was a sense of sail cty, tliestirau- 
luf of every fre-^h dish hein^ but a« a whip to the api>e- 
litc^ 80 that the sense of s^atiety nnt.'i>t come and tro a 
dlosen times. '' It is produced in u-^," Bays Christopher 
NorUi, "hy three pktefula of hotch-potch, and lo (he 
eyes of an ordinary observer our dinner would seem to 
be at ftu end ; but tjo— Btrietly Fpcakinpr, il i« just going 
'to beffin. Abour, an hour afi^o did we, standinj? on the 
very heautiftd hrid{.<:e of Perth, eee that identical ?almon, 
with his hack fin jn8t vi»;jble above the translucent tide, 
arrowing up ihu Tay, bcdd as a hrideeroom, and nothing 
doubting that he should sjMjnd hia honeymoon amor»g 
the gravel-beds of Kinnaird or Moulenearn. or the 
r«X!ktf sifiifi of the Tutnmel, or the green marble couches 
of the Tdt, What has now become of the ponse of 
Wkliety 7 John — the castors I — mustard — vinegar — cay- 
enne—catsup — peas and potatoes, with a very Httle 
butter — the biscuit called '' ni&k "—and the memory of 
the hotch-potch is as tlint of Babvlon the groat." Sense 
of satiety, indeed I — " We bare seen it for a moment 
«xistingon the diauppearanceof the hotch-potch — dying 
on I lie anncarance of the Tay admon — once more 
O' the last plat'? of the noble fiah melted away 

— led suddenly by the virion of the veni?on 

—again ffU lor an Inst^mt, and but for an instant, for a 
bra^e and a Ijalf of tis fine grouse vn< ever expanded their 
voluptuous hosoraa to be devoured bv hungry love," 

Wp sndle at the accounts given of the gormauflizing 
powers of the natlvei of Arctic regions and the 
savages of Sou'ht'rn AlVica, but our own habits in eating 
AOtl diiuking are scarcely less preposlerous. Look at a 
iDod*jrn dinnf^r; beginning with soup, and perhaps a 
f\x^ of cold punch; to be followed by a piece of ttir- 
bot or A slice of salmon with iobafei-sauce ; and while 
the ^xpxii ecencs, the venison or »South down, i<* getting 
reAd>\ we toy with an oyaU'r patd or a bit of sweet- 
bread, and mellow it with a bumper of Madeira. No 
»«oner i« the vcnifon or mutton disposed of, with its 
n^vcr-failing accompinimfnt,^ of je'ly and vegetables, 
than we set the whole of it in a ferment with cham- 
pagne, and drowrn it with hock or sauterne. Th«'8i? are 
quickly toUowcd by the wing and breast of a partridge, 
or a bit of pheasant or wild duck ; and when the stomach 
IB all on fire with excitement, we cool it for an instant 
with a piece of iced pudeling. and then immediatelv lasli 
it into a fever with undilutv^d alcohol, in the form of cog- 
nac tir a strong liqueur ; after whirh there comes a 
spoonful or so of jelly as an emollient, a morjel of ripe 
atilton or pat<5 de foie-gras aa a digestjint, a piquante 
aatad to whet the nppetite for wine, and a glass of old 
port to persuade the ?<tomach, if it cm, into quietness. 
All the«e are more Itdsurely succeeded by the menaaae- 
eufuln, or drsaert, witli if,s ices, its preserves, iU bake- 
mcats, its fruits. it« geUUe'?, codiniac?, and Buckets, as 
Holinshcd would call them, and lis strong drinks; to be 
iiJWward« muddled with coflToe, and conii>licat«d into 
a rare mixture with tea, floating with the richest of 
cream. 

As a modest example of this sort of thing, and nn in- 
dication moreover of the kind of rtovelties yet in ptore 
for u". let me read to you the menu of a late dinner nt 
the Liinghara, where horse-flesh was the principal ri- 
nnde. It is very appropriately prefaced with a httle 
bit of French philosophy — '^ Ln iircjngh soni desmnlit^ 



" i\>teye»— Consommd de cLeval. A la pur& de 

destrier. AmoniiUado, 

" Poissons — Saumon u la satice A rnbe. Filets de soil 
ii Vhuile hippophagique, Yin du Rhin. 

'^ Hor9 (Toi'Wt'Jw^Ternuea de foie maigre chcvalines. 
Sauc'sons de chcval aux pisiat'hes syria/jues. Jitrh. 

" i?e/eit^»— Filet de r<?gase roti aux pomuies de tcrre 
h la crcme. Dinde aux chitaignes. Aloyau de cheval 
farci k la centimre aux choux de BtuxcUes. Culotl*.* de 
cheval braisi^o aux chevaux-de-frise. Champarjue gee, 

'•£wirc«— PcutspAtcsH la moCdle Buc^phale, Krome- 
skya 4 la Gladiateur. Pouleta gartiis a Thinpogriffe, 
Langues de cheval i^ la Troyenne. Chutmu Ptraipit. 

"second SKRVICK. 

^^ RoU — Canard.^Rauvages. Pluviers, Tolnetj^ May- 
onnaises de homsrd a I'huiie Rosinoate. Petita poia i 
la FranQaise. Choux-fleurs au parmesan. 

^'Enirements — Gel(5e de jneds de cheval au mnraiquin. 
Zephir^ siiut^ il I'huils chevaleresque. Gateu vet(5rinttire 
a iB Ducroix. Feuillantines aux pommea dea Hesperide?. 
SL Prray. 

" fi^Ztw-M— Crome aux truffes. Sorbets contre-pr^ju- 
g^»«s Liqueiira. 

" De*»eTt — Vins de fins Bordeaux. Madere. CafiiJ, 

"iJu/V^—CuHared horse-head. Baron of horac. Boiled 
^vithers." 

Even put into plain English all tiiis would sound re- 
markable, and taken, ns it iseaid to have been, without 
shying or gibbing. although, perhaps with a Utile bolt- 
uig, it must have puzzled the stomach ; and, like all our 
modern dinners, must aho have severely taxed it? 
powers in selecting from the complicated mess, the right 
portions of fat and flesh, and farinaceous matter required 
for the sustenance of the body. 

Nor is it right to content ourselves, Hkosavftges, with 
a single meal a day, as was the custom of Dr. Fordyce, 
the celebrated professor of chemistiy of the last century. 
Studying the habits of carnivorous animals, and reflect- 
ing on the principles of chemistry and physiology, he 
came to the conclusion that man required but one meal 
a day for all his physiological wants, and for more than 
twenty years his daily dinner was as follows r — Regu- 
larly at four o'clock of an afternoon he would present 
hinwelf at *' Dolly's Chop House," and take his Beat at 
the table ros-Tved fur him. Iramcdiately on his arrival 
the cook would place a pound and a half of rump-steak 
upon the gridiron, and while it was cooking the doctor 
would amuse himself with some such trifle as half % 
broiled capon, or a plate of fish, nnd a glass or two of 
brandy — his regtdar allowance being a quarter of a pint^ 
Then came the steak with a full accompaniment of broad 
and potatJ?, and it was always served with a quart 
tankard of strong ale. This was followed by a bottle 
of old port ; and, when the dinner was finished, as it 
invariably was in an hour and a half, ho walked leisurely 
to his rooms in Essex Street in the Strand, where he 
inr»t hi* class and gave his lecture on chemistry. 

But these are not habits of the great bulk of mankind, 
and although tlicy may have been practised for a while 
with impunity, yet they serve not as illustrations ot 
what ought to be done in the way of eating, but rather 
as examples of the wonderfully accommodating power 
of the stomach under the most'disadvantageous circum- 
stances; for cxpeiience tnachca us that three meals a 
day, of the simplest quality, are best suited for our 
wants — breakfast to supply the want of lone: fasting,^ 
and to restore tlie waste of secretion during the night ;^' 
dinner in the middle of tlie day to support tho systnm 



IJiBgUah edition, Vol. ZTIIX^ No. 406, ^at« TQS^ 



lO 



Dr, Leththy on Food. 



ICiijirtCAi, Krtrt, 
Jan., t5£». 



durinp; tJie fatigue of ordinary labour ; and a light meal 
at night, in the form of tea or an early supper, to carry 
on the functions of repair ami secreiion during the nighf. 
AccDfdinj^ to Dr, Edward Smiih, the dnilv distribution 
of the food, supposing a physiological diet of 4,300 
grainif of carbon, with 200 grains of nitrogen to b« 
taken, should be somewhat in this manner : — 

Carbeo. Kitrogto. 

grs. grs. 

For Breakfast 1.500 70 

For lUnner. , . , i,8oo 90 

For Supper 1,000 40 

Total in the day . . . , . 4,300 200 

So that about one part should be eaten for supper, one 
and a half for breakfast, and about two parts for din- 
ner. 

It is hardly neceRsary to say, that in constructing 
dietariea, the foods should be associated in such a way 
aa not 10 offend the appetite or burden the digestive 
powers ; and that th»;y should also be varied A-om time 
to time, not merely in their kind, but also in their tr**at- 
ment, as in the manner of cooking and flavouring tbem ; 
for the best descriptions of food will, if eaten in the same 
fashion day after day, occaaion disgust, and be wa3ted. 
This ia often the case in the badly-arranged dietaries of 
workhouses, and on sbip-board. It wiis once so with 
the dietaries of the Engl sh army, when the same daily 
rations of boiled meat were provokingly served out to 
the men, while they listened to the tune of *' Oh tiie 
roast-beef of old England." All this ia easily provided 
for, and it is true ecououjy to do so, by varying the food, 
the mode of cooking it, the manner of flavouring it, and 
by serving it, in the case of dinner, with different kinds 
of vegetables. In couatructing dietaries, therefore, the 
main considerations are the due supply of the ri^ht pro- 
portions of nitrogenous and carbonaceous matters; for 
when these are not adjusted in a proper manner, the 
health is endangered, and the constituiiun maybe slowly 
undermined. To use the words of Liebig— " there is 
a law of nature which regulates thrse things, and it is 
the elevated mission of science to bring this law horae 
to our minds ; it is her duty to show w ny man and ani- 
mals require such adralicture in the conslituenta of their 
food for the support of the vital functiona, and what the 
influences are which determine, in accordauca with the 
natural law, changes in the admixture. 

** The knowledge of the law elevates man in regard to 
an important function wiiich he possesses in common 
wiO-| tlie lower animaln, aliove the level of tHoee beings 
which are dentilute of reason, and &uj)plies him, in the 
regulation of those bodily wants which are essential to 
bis existence and prosperity, with a j»rolection which 
the lower animalsj do not require, because in tliem the 
comminnds of the instinctive law are not opposed or 
overpowered by ihe alluremenla of sense, or by a per- 
verted and resit^ting will" 

The recognition of this law, and the practical appllca- 
lion of it to the dietaries of a community, are obviously 
of great advantage, for not only would they tend to in- 
crease the health and strength of the population, but 
they would also effect a great economy in the general 
use of food. That there are ditBcultics in the way of 
such an application cannot bo doubted ; in fact, the 
natural peculiarities of individuals, to say nothing of the 
differences of occupation, and the ever-var^^ing quality 
of the food itself, are enough to create a doubt as to the 
posaibihty of \i& general application until the progress of 
science has gone far beyond it£ presentposiiion. Never> 



theless, there are certain well-acknowledged fac^s at our 
dist)ORal which niay safely serve as a guide to practice. 

The diseaa<:'B which are incidental to an abuse of the 
law can hardly be diseu&sed \n this place, but it may be 
said, in general terras, <hat too much or loo little of 
either of the main consiituentfi of food will soon bo fol- 
lowed by marked derangcmf n-s of the animal body. 
Ad excess of respiratory food not only promotes the 
growth of fat, but actually interferes wiili the nourish- 
ment of muscular tissue. Those who feed largely on 
rice, oa potatoes, or other farinaceous food, or who 
indulge loo freely in malt liquors, have commonly a 
bloated appearance, and have no laculty for sustained 
exertion. The brewer's drayman, for example, is a lad 
subject for the ward of a hospiial ; ati*l although be some- 
times look^ strong and muscular, yet in reality his vital 
power ia feebl»\ and his tifcsties are fuHy rather than 
nmscular. 1 he same i^ often the case with animals in 
the Zoological Garden*, when too large a quantily of 
respiratory food has been eaten, and their flesh baa 
undergone a kind of fatty degeneration. 

On the other himd, when the plastic elements of the 
food are in exci-j-s, the system becomes excited, too 
much blood is formed, ami diseases of a plethoric <:har- 
acter are induced. According to Liebig and Im follow- 
ers, an excess of force is developed, which nianifests 
iiself in irritability of temper, and in asavage disposition. 
How far this may be concerned in the freqinmlly un- 
governable conduct of our over-fed convicts may be 
deserving of consideration. A nation of animal feeders, 
says Liebig, is always a nation of hunters, for the use 
of a rich nitrogenous diet demands an expenditure of 
power, and ala'gc amount of physical cxeriion, and this 
IS seen in the resthss di:<posiiioa of all the camivora of 
our menageries. 

A deficiency of food, however, is quickly followed by 
a general breaking up nf the animal frame. Pbgue, 
pestilence, and famine are always as.^^ciated in the 
public mind; and the records of every country show 
how closely they are related. The medical history of 
Ireland is remarkable for illustrations of how much mis- 
chief may be occasioned by a general deficiency of food. 
Always (he habitat of fever, it every now and then be- 
comes the very hotbed of its deve!opm_'nt. Let there 
be but a femalf failure in the usual imp«frfect supply of 
food, and the lurking seeds of pestilence bursit into 
frightful activity. The famine of the present century 
is but a t^jo forcible illuBtration of this, for it produced 
epidemics which had not been witnessed in th;s genera- 
lion, and it gave rise to s^-enes of devastation and m sery 
which are notsurpassed by the most appalling of the mid- 
dle age. The principal form of the scourge was known as 
the contagious famine fever, and il ppreaJ, not. merely 
from end Ui end^.f the country in which it had originated, 
but, breaking through nil boundaries, it crossed the 
broad ocean, and ma^^le itself painfully manifest in loca- 
Hiies where it was previously unknown. Thousands 
fell umler the virulence of i(s ac!ion, for wheresoever it 
came it .'it ruck down a seventh of the people, anvi of 
those whom it attacked one out of nine peristjtd. Even 
tlio«e escaped the fjital influence of il were left the mii- 
crablo victims of scurvy and low fever. Another 
example, not le?s striking, of the terrible consequencca 
of what may be truly caUed famine, was the condition 
of our troops during the early part of their sojourn in 
the Crimea. With only just enough of Ibod t^D maintain 
the integrity of the system at a time of repose, and at 
ordinary temperatures, they were called u|>on to make 
large muscular exertiona, and to sustdu the warmth of 



[Eagliah Edition, 7q1. XTIH., Ha ice, pa£«m 322, 2SB.\ 



tii« aystcm in the midst of Severe cold. What could be 
expected but that ihesoourgci which wnlt upon famine, 
ve fever, diarhoea, djaentery, and scurvy, should make 
their appearance in great force, and that the soldiers 
should [icri^h by thousands. With an av»:'rage strength 
of 24»ooo men, the deaths from sickness alone, in the 
courftf of seven mouths, were at the ra'e of thirty-nine 
per cent^ and in some cases it amounted to seventy- 
tbi-ec. " Never before," says Colonel TuHoch, " ia there 
record of a British army having- sustained go fri2:htful a 
loss in so short a time." Duriitp ihe Peninsular war, 
though tf»e troops occasionally suffered much from sick- 
nrss, the loss from that cause did not average above 12 
per cent for a whole year. Ev^en in the ill-fated expe- 
ditioD to Walchereii, which threw the nation into 
mourning, the deaths amounted to only about lo^^ per 
cent for dm halfyear; and here^ in this great city, with 
all the aggravating circumstances of want, vice, infaniy, 
ohi ape, and disMse, it did not reach 2 per cent during 
the time that our strong men were dying by thousuids. 
yLrmii-S have perished by the sword, and have been 
^helmed by the elements, but never, perhaps," 
Colonel Tulloch, " since the hand of ^he Lord smote 
the host of the Assyrians, and they perished in a night, 
has such a Ioj^s from disease been recorded as on this 
occasion." May the lesion of so great a calamity be 
wisely appUed in the future. 

The c 'Huection of s^.urvy with improper or iusufli- 
cieot food is a matter of me<lical history, and it« pre- 
vention by the use of fresh ve^L'e tables, especially po- 
tAtoes, ifl *i0 well known that it has often been the sub- 
ject of legishiiion. Rarely appearing in the cabin, 
where the dietary is good, it is a frequent visitor to the 
forecasile; so that half (he men of our ?ea-going vesaels 
Are found to be sullering from ihe disease when they 
return to port^ As many, indeed, as 70 jjer cent of a 
ship's crew are not unfrequently disabled by it; and 
there is no saying liow many of the disasters at era are 
cauB^d by tlje inability of the men to work the vessel 
in times of severe weather. The legal supplementary 
allownnce in emigrant ves.-els of 8 ozs. of preserved po- 
tato, 3 oz«. of other preserved vegetablea (carrots, 
turnips, onion?, celery, and mint), besides pickles, and 
of loraon-juice for each person weekly, ia found to 

[a perJect prophylactic of the disease, so that the one 
ktial cause of it is evidently a privation of vegetable 
food. 

And flot le^'S important arc the morbific re^ts of 
much or too little saline matter in the food, I have 
^ ly spoken of the salutary elTect of certain calcare- 
am salts in the waler we drink ; but according to Dr. 
Grange, the presence of magnesian salta in the water 
of 4 qistrict may have something to do with the devel- 
opment of those remarkable forms of diaea:?e which are 
known as goitre and cretinism. In France, Germany, 
EngUmd, Sarduiia, among all cla&*es of people, of all 
habits, and in every variety of cUrnate, tho^e diseases 
are endemic where the Roil i^ composed of magncsiau 
rock, and the water c!mrged witli magnesian salts. 
TTow far the connection extends is a chefnico-physiolo- 
gical problem tliat hns yet to be determined. 

In |}»e treatment of VLgetable foods it ia moreover 
of* importance to remember tliat all corky and 
woody ti*3ues, as the skins of fruits, tubers, and ce- 
reals, arc quite indigestible, and that inconsequence of 
their irritating action they hurry food through the ali- 
tuentary cnrral, and so occa>ion wnste. It, is neces- 
sary ,>, that all such tissues should be removed 
M '- ,. us possible. 



When it is required to obtain the starchy or farina- 
ceous matters of vegetables, one or other of the follow- 
ing processes is followed : — 

(a). The material is pulped or crushed, and diffused 
through B considerable volume of cold water. It is 
then 8traine«l and allowed to stand until the farina or 
starch subsides, 

(b). Or it i« allowed to pass into a state of putrefac- 
tive decomposition, whereby thie albuminous matter, as 
the gluten, &c., decay and leave the starch untouched. 
(c). Or it is subjected to the action of a weak alka- 
line solution, generally of caustic soda, which dissolves 
the gluten and allows the starch to subside. The gluten 
thus dissolved may be again recovered by neutrah^ing 
the a'ka^ne solution witii acid, and collecting the pre- 
cipitated gluten, as in the processes of Durand and 
oUiers. 

I have already explained that in the treatment of the 

ground meal of wheat and other grain tlie bran and 

I coai"8er kin<i8 of flour are sef>arated by sieves of different 

, degrees of fineness and that in this manner about eight 

or nine varieties of product are obtained, as biscuit flour, 

best or fine households^ seconds, tails, fine sharps or 

, middhngs, coarse sharps, fine pollard, coarse polkrd, 

and long bran ; the proportions of these from ordinary 

I brown meal will Viiry according to circumstances, but 

j proccsse* have been invented, as by M. M^ge Mouriesi, 

I M. D'Arblay, and others, whereby the yield of fine 

I flour is increased to 86 or even to 88 per cent of the 

grtiin, and by which the quantity of gluten is also 

regulated. 

Whm the flonr is rich in ghiten, as in the case of the 
hard wheats of Sicily, Ru'sia, Sardinia, and Egypt, 
they are well suited for the manufacture of certain 
granular powden* find dried pastes, which are known 
tvs Semola, Semolina, Soujec, Manuacroup, Maccaroni, 
YermicelU, and Cagliari paste. The last three are 
generally imported from Naples or Genoi, where they 
are made from a highly gUitinous wheaten flour, by 
kneading it into a thin dough or tenacious paste, and 
then forcing it tlirough holes or slits In a metalhc plate. 
In this way the several varieties cf pipe, celery, and 
ribbon maccaroni are obtained ; and the fancy forms of 
it, called Cagliari paste, which are in the shape of stars, 
rings, Maltese cro^se?, &c., are produced by stamps. 
All these viir ietice of raw wheaten paste are cooked by 
boiling or baking, and are associated with soup or beef 
tea, or milk, or are mixed with eggs, cheese, &c. 

The best variety of flour for brend is that which con- 
tiins lees gluten than the preceding, as from S to 10 per 
cent of it instead of from 12 to 14 or 15. Dantzic fiour, 
and Boft Spanish, as well as the American called Gen- 
esee, are the best examples of it, and are highly es- 
teemed by bakers on account of the fine quality of 
bread which is procurable from Ihem ; the richer varie- 
ties of hard glutinous wheat being used only to impart 
strength to weak and inferior descriptions of flour. 

Bread, which ia the most important preparation of 
flour, 0WC6 its value as an article of diet to a good and 
eciuablo vesiculation of the dough, the vesiculation be- 
ing effected by the diffusion of small bubbles of carbonic 
acid gas throughout its substance ; and, as this vesicula- 
tion can only take place in a proper manner when the 
gluten of the flour is in sufficient quantity, and of good 
quality, it is, to some extent, a test of the goodness of 
tlie meal Those flours which contain too little gluten, 
or gluten which is deficient of strength, cannot be yeai- 
culated into br<>ad. This is the case with almost every 
descripUon. of ftour, eTtct^\\\x^ ^iv^\. <iC "^Vv'fe'^V «eA t^%. 



[BaetiMh Edition, YoL XVIII., No. 466, inis«* 223, 224-, TSo. 4fi&, 'sai^k^X.^Aa^ 



12 



on Foods, 



Jaf^, nm. 



The most common, and also the mogt ancient method 
of vesiculating bread is by fermentation ; and the pro- 
cess is not very different from what it was iu vcrj early 
timtta, when we wnre t<j>ld that " a little leaven leaveneth 
the wLole lump," Yeaat of some aart — ^as brewer*'* 
yeast; or patent yea-*t, prepared from infusion of malt 
and hops ; or &erinaa yeast, which 18 the soUd residue 
of the yea?t produced by the forrneutation of rye for 
making Hollands; or baker's yeast, which is made 
from potatoes and flour; or leaven, which is old dough 
in a state of fermentation, is mixed with the flour or 
dough, which soon bepina Ui ferment by the action of 
the yea^t fungug (mio/derma ctreciaicE) on the sugar of 
the dour. Carbonic acid is thus produced; and by be- 
ing diffuse i ihrou;^h the substance of the dough, it 
vesiculates it, and causes it to rise or swtdl. The most 
Uiual practice with the baker is somewhat as follows: 
— A special ferment is prepared from mealy potatoes 
(technically called fruit) by boiling them "iu watt^r, 
mashLng them, and allowing them to cool to a U.-mi>era- 
ture of about 80' Fahrenheit. Yeast U then added to 
them, together with a little flour to ha4teu the fermen- 
tition. In three or four hours, at a proper temperature 
(as from 80^ to 90" Fahr.), the whole raa-s is generally 
in a state of active fermentation, with a sort of cauli- 
flower head. It i? then diluted with water and strain- 
edj and is raijced with sufficient flour to make a rather 
thm dough, which in about five liours risea to a fine 
eponge. This is again diluted with water containing 
salt, and is worked with the necessary quantity of flour 
into dough, and allowed to stand for two or three hours^ 
when it rises, and is in a fit condition to be baked into 
loaves. 

It cm hardly be said that the potatoes are nn adul- 
teration in this case, for ti»ey do Dot ever amount to 
more than 6 lbs* to a sack of flout', which makes about 
3.S0 lbs. of bread, or 95 4-lb. loaves. The salt is added 
to the extent of about 4 lbs. or more to a sack of flour, 
the proportions being reg^ulat^Ml according to circum- 
Btances, for the obj./ct of it is to improve the quality of 
the loaf as regards whiteness, firmuea^, and flavour. 

There is, no doubt, a slight loss of nutri ive matters 
by this made of vesiculation, for a small portion of the 
sugar of the flour is converted into alcohol and carbonic 
ftcid, but the quantity is so inconsiderable as to be un- 
desorvinj* of notice. The advantage cf the process, 
however, is that it is an excellent test of the quality of 
the flour; for weak flour, or flour that has been injured 
by germination, or by keeping, will not stand the ac- 
tion of yeast, but will be either ropy, or sticky, or 
heavy, when baked inU-) bread. 

Another method of vesitnilaiion is to generate car- 
bonic acid in the dough by the action of an acid on 
bicarbonate of soda. Dr. Whiling's process, which was 
patented in 1836, was to mix the carbonate of soda 
with the flour, and then to act on it with a proj>er f»ro- 
portion of muriatic acid odded to tho water, lie used 
from 350 to 500 grains of carbonate of sotia to 7 lbs, of 
floar, and to this he added 2} pints of water chiir^.'ed 
with from 420 to 560 grains of muriatic acid. Other 
proportions are used by bakers who make unfermented 
bread ; but in all ca^es tlii? pronorlions should be Fuch 
as to form common salt (whicn is the product of the 
action of muriatic anid on carbonate of soda) — tho car- 
bonic acid being liberated in the substance of the 
dough. Care should be taken that the mutiaitic acida 
pure, for that found in commerce is generally highly 
lohorgcd with arsenic. 

Ja j84j^ another add was patented instead of muria- 



tic — viz., tartaric; and the various preparations called 
baking-powders, custard-powdcri», egg-powdi-rs. &c,, 
are nothing but mixtures of tartaric acid and carbonate 
of soda, with a little farinaceous matter, the common 
proportions being 1 part of tartaric acid. 2 of carbonate 
of soda, and 4 of potato-flour or oilier dry startih, with 
a little turmeric powder to give it a rich yellow liai. 
When this is mixed wJtli flour and welted, it'eflervesoe^t 
tt3 in the cise of a common aoidlitz-powder, and so dif- 
fuses the carbonic acid through the (JuU;j:h. 

Very lately Mr. McDougall has projiosed the use of 
phosphoric acid a? a more natural constituent of food 
than the preceding, and this, with an alkaline carbonate, 
forms the preparation wliich is known as phosphatic 
yeast, 

A third process, which is now exlonsivily u-iied in 
the vesicutation of bread, is that of Dr. Dauglish, and 
by which (he bread called aerated bread is ol>t<uned. 
It consists in tlie addition of a solution of carbonic 
acid in water to flour under preariure. The mixture la 
made in a closed uir- tight TLSSel, in which the dough is 
well kneaded by macliiutfry, an<l directly the outh.'t of 
t!ie vessel is opened and the pressure thus removed, 
the gas e-capes from the water, as in the case of an 
uncorked bot'le of soda-water, and expands into little 
bubbles within the substance of the dough. By it^ ex- 
pansion, also, it forces itself out of the mixing chamber, 
and rises into a spongy dough. 

In all coses, liowevor, where carbonic acid is gener- 
ated within the dough by other proces'^es than fcrmen- 
tation^ the dough must be baked immediately, or it 
will fall, and the loaf be heavy. Various contiivances 
have been suggested for helping the process of knead- 
ing, which is laborious, and somelimei^ not altogeliier 
cleanly work. Mr, StcveDs' hand machine ai)pear8 tn 
aixomplisli this very well. It is in use in the Hoibarn 
Union, where about 5,633 lbs. of bread are made every 
week by one man and two boya; and they conirive to 
make ninety-six 4-Ib. loaves out of every sack of flour 
(2S0 lbs.). The materials useJ on the average of a 
whole year being as follows :— 

Proportions Per Week. 

tbit. 

Flour.... 4,129' 

Cones 1 ,p 

Potaloos. , ids 

Halt 6S 

Malt..,, 13 

Hops.. i\ 

The potatoes, the malt and the hops, are for the pur- 
pose of making the yeast or ferment for Uie bread, 

But^ by wlmtever process bread is male, it is neces- 
sary to observe certain precautious to ensure the pro- 
duction of a good loaf 

isf. The flour should be from sound grain, sufficiently 
rich in good gluten. 

2nd. The yeast should be sweet, and should show a 
lively action in the sponge. 

3rd. The dough should be well kneaded to ensure 
the thorough dilTuHion of the gas, and to give tough- 
ness to the gluten. 

4th. The salt should be used in such proportion as 
to regulate (he fermentation, and give firmness to the 
gluten, whiteness to the bread, and a good flavour. 

5th. The baking should be so managed as to ensure 
the lhi)rongh lipating of the loaf lo the temperature of 
at least 212^ Fahrenheit, in order that the insoluble 
Starch may be changed by the heat into soluble dcx- 



Which produce 5,633 lbs. 
of bread, or I ,,408 4-lb. 
quarlem loaves. 



[EngUah BdiUan, VoL 



,ptgMau,^v 



Jun„ \U9, 



"iyon 



13 



tnnc; and the crust shoaM be light-coloured and thin. 
This U best cQ'tJCted v^ ben loaves are baked sinfjly, as 
on tho Continent, and not in butches, os with us; for 
in the last cnse, iho top and bottom crusts are thick 
and hard, and are frequently scorched while the iulerior 
of <he loaf is doughy and underdone, 

Specimens of the difierent kinds of bread of England 
and the Continent are upon the table; and you will 
notice tlie dark colour of the rye-bread ol Europe. I nm 
indfdited f.»r these illuatrntions to the kindness of Mr. 
Twining, who has liberally pla<'ed the valunble collec- 
tion of fooda in his muse<iui, at our disposal. Here, 
also, is a sample of rye-bread supplied by Mr. Willi am 
Ray Smee, wlio, in the it.t<rest of I lie poor, bmj hnd it 
mad^i a?Gordifir^ to t!ic formula of the Board of Agri- 
culture of 1795. it consists of one part of rice and 
four parta of rye, ground together and sifted in ihe 
usual immncr. TheLineal ig (hen madr into douf.,di with 
yeast; and when fermented is baked in the form of long 
rolls. The breal is very dark, like all ryc-bre.id, ami 
has a cloae texture, but it is aj^'ret-able to the pnlate, and 
jjB Tcry nufritious. The great recommendation of it is 
'v% cheapnt^ao, for it can be miide at le-s than a penny a 
pound, and ia therefore a very suitable bread for the 
poor. 

Those flours which do n*>t contain 8ufli<'i<'nt gluten of 
the proper quality for fermentation or vosiculation — as 

rley-meaJ, oatmeal, Indian-meal, and th*? flour of 
and lentils, are best coked by baking them in the 
of cukes or biscuiiR — a practi«.e which is as ancient 

tijc time of the Patriarch .^ when, during the Pasa- 
over, they were commanded to eat unleavened brcatl. 
Tht chief food of the common people of Rome was a heav}' 
kind of unleavened bread, hke the prest^nt polen'a of 
the ItftUans, which is roade r»f Indian-meal and cheese. 
As in former times, biscuits and urifermcnted eakeaare 
made fiom meal or flour mixed wi:h water and baked; 
but the texture of the suK^tance is clo e, and it is not 
easy of digestion unless it is thorougely duuntcgrated. 
When bipcuita nre Ifghtrned by means of egg and sugar, 
with a little butler, tlicy a'c much more digestible: 
and they are gtdl more so when they nre vee'culatea 
and puffed up by means of a small quantity of c.irbon- 
ate of nmmonia, as iu the case of cracknells and Vic- 
toria b'scuit^. 

The so-caled farinaceous foods for infants are only 
bujced flour, nometimea sweetened wiih sugar. The 
flour muet be bakerl until it acquire^ a light-brown 
colojf, the temperature being about 4ck>' or 450" Fah- 
renheit. Th^' granulvs of starch nre then <lisinte;rr.it< d 
and converted into a soluble eubstancp, namfJ dextrin 
— which, by a further process of c^tokingor boiling, as 
in mf»king pap, forms, when pi onerly swt>etencd, a very 
exce'lent Ibod for cUldn;n. Tops and botioms owe 
their value to ihe same circinni^tanco — viz., tfiat the 
Jarinaccous matter, whit?h is bo indigestible with infants, 
U broken up by baking into soluble dext in. 

All varieties of meals and arrowntota are easily 
cooked by stirring them into boiling wafer^ or boiling 
milk^ unt 1 they have the consistency of gruel or busty 
pudding, and ihen boiling for a few minutes. In tlic 
c*«e of Indian-meal, rice, split-pea?, lentils, and han- 
COti», the bo ling should be continued for a coneidmable 
titne^ and the whole grain should be previously st-i-eped 
in water for many hours ; for the starch and cellulose of 
these vegetables are not digestible unless they are 
llioroughly disintegrated by cooking. It may be said, 
ind€ted, that all vegetables with den>e tissues require 
prolonged boiling to cook tliem, for cellulose ia not 



capable of digestion by man unless it is broken up by 
the action of heat — even siarch is likely to pass through 
the alimentary canal unchanged, if it be not rendered 
soluble by fermi^ntation or cooking. It is an important 
question, whether in uril sing starchy foods, it may not 
be advantageous lo help their transformation by allow- 
ing the grain to germinate to some extent, as in tho 
process of malting, when the starch is chiinged into 
sugar. Mr. Lawes has examine 1 this question, ajul baa 
concluded, from his experiments on stock, that in iho 
case of pigs and bullocks the fattening eflect of the 
grain is not incie.^sed; but it may be different with the 
human stomach, where the liani=formHtion power is not 
nearly so active as with lower animals, Ilcre, in fact, ia 
an example of it: — The food which Liebig recommends 
for infants is a preparation of malt with wheatt-n flour 
and milk, to which a little bicarbonate of potash has 
been addrvl ; and tlie reputation of it in Germany, as an 
article of diet for chiMren, is considerable. The prepa- 
ration is made by mixing i oz. of wheaten flour with 10 
oz. of milk, and boi'ing for three or four minutes; then 
removing it from the fire, and allowing it to tool to about 
90'. One ounce of malt-powder previously mixed 
with 15 grains of bicarbonate of potitsh, and 2 ok", 
of water arc then stirred into it, and the vts.^el being 
covered, is allowed to stand ^ov an hour and a hall", »t a 
temperature of from 100" to 150'' Falirenheit. It ia 
then put once more upon the fire, and gently boiled lor 
a few minutes. Lastly it is cnr« fully slriiined, to re* 
move any particles of husk, rmd then it is lit for the 
chfld's food. The conijiosition cf the !bod according to] 
Dr. Liebig is as follows : — 



Foods. 
10 07!. milk . , 




Plnstic 
niniter. 

.0'40, . . 
.o'i4. . . . 


rarb«ma' 
coMij* inatu-r. 

OI5. 


Jl oz, wlifUl 


-flour 

uiir.,. .,,,,,,. 


C'7i 


1 oz, nutll H 


,007.,. . 


05S 



0-61 =32 

The relation of the plastic to the carbonaceous being 
aji I to 3 8, which is the right proportion tor t!»e food 
of cluhlri.'n. 

The otluct of the malt-flour is to tran5ft'nn the starch 
Into glucose, and thus the mixture gct^ ihinnrr and 
Bweeer as it stands; and the bicarbonate of i>o|:ish 
is addt-d to facilitate the ch;»nge, and to ntutraliso 
the acid constituents of the flour and malt 

Li'-big's extract of m;dt is another such preparation 
for a quick ::sginiila'ii>n of starchy matters. 

Vegetable substimces are occasionlly f' rmcnttd, either 
for the purpose of increasing the rdiitive anjonnt of 
glutinous matter, or lor the purpose of rendering them 
acid. Potatoe.", for example, as well as barley, wheat 
a:i*J ryr% leave a residuum after fei mentation, which 
contains more gin ton than the original snbjjtanc^, in 
consequence of the transformation of BUgar and starch 
into alcohol; and jdihough t e rt'siduum is conr-e, and 
is hardly suited for human consun»ption, yet it is an 
excellent Ibod for cattle; in fact^ in Germany, itia ofteo 
c:iten by the poor. 

When the proce^B is carried still further, and the mnsa 
at*qutrc3 an acid property in consequence of the Ibr- 
nation of a<:elic, butyric, and Inctic acids, variors sour 
proparations are obtained, which are no doubt useful in 
resisting tliedigest'on of other foods. The ancient Ro- 
mans had many such fernicnred Fubslarices which were 
not unlike the sauer-kraut of the Germans, Thit*, as 



[Bnghth BiJitloo, Vol. XVIIL, Wo 4C«, pat«» 14^> ^*^^ 



Dr. Letlulif on Food, 



{ CiTKinCAt. Nsws« 

1 /an., lde». 



you know, is made from tlie leaves of cabbng^es, gather- 
ed penerallj in autumn, and from which tha stem and 
midrib are removed. They are cut up into Ihii slice?, 
and are plac*?d in a tub or vat, alfercaiely with hiyem 
ol" sjilt, until the vessel ia fu^L It h then suljccUd to 
pro<»sure, and allowed to stand five or six weeks (acoird- 
ing to the temperature); the lactic ffrmontftlion is tliui? 
set up, and the mass becomes sour. Il is ro-jked by 
stewing it in its own hquor with bacon, pork, or othrr 
fut meat; mid certflin Cuniliments, a-* dill or carra^ay, 
are added to improve its flavour. In Pinssia, and in 
many parts of Germany, there is a similar prepariition 
of fermented bvans ; and in Holland aul the south of 
Europe cucambe-rs are fermented. We aho have 
our pickle<] vegetables in which acetic acid takes the 
place of latrtic acid. All these preparations are no doubt 
aids to digestion, especiallv when the fibre of meat is 
tough, and contain* tendon, or hardened cellular lit^Rue. 
This is especially bo with salted me it, and, therefore, a 
Iittio piclcle is always a good and palatable drddition to 
cold boiled beef. 

Vegetable aub-stanees, as tea, coffee, mat<5, cocoa, &c., 
the infusions of which are used aa bc-verupes, arc pre- 
pared for commerce in nearly the same mincer. When 
taken from a tree, and while in a fresli condition, they 
are allowed to undergo a moderate kind of fermen- 
tation, and they are I hen dried and roasted. In the 
case of tea, the roasting opcfiilion is Tier'orined during 
the process of drying and curling, by heating the leavis 
upon wire sieves held over a charcoal fire, but cocoa and 
coffee are roasted in metallic cylinder?, which are kept 
revolving over a clear fire— <^offee being roasted uniil it 
is partially charrt-d, and has lost from 14 to 20 per cent 
in weight. By this means ihe aroma or vohilile oil is, 
in oacli case, produced ; and there is a'so an enipyn-u- 
matic change in the astringent aciifs, the sugar, the gum, 
and the starch, whereby extaictive malters, raiying in 
amount and quality, accordin^t I" the di'greo of hvat, 
are formed, bhraler lja* exa?nin»*d the subject in reSj ect 
of coflfee, and ha<< ascertained ihat thu following are 
the proportions of the several cor-stituentd of raw and 
roasted eoQ'eo : — 

Peculiar coffeo principle . . . i/'SS ....... 1 3 50 

Gum and mucibgo 3*64 1 0'4C 

Fatty matter and resin .... .0*93 2'oS 

ExtTrtcrtivo 062 . . ^ J?0 

Woody tissues and coUulose 66'66, , 6875 

Mixture, Ac, 10*57 1^5 



Infusions of tea and coffee should be made witli boilin;? 
water, but they should never afterwards be boiled, lor 
the aromatic principle is very volatile, and would be 
thus lost; besides which a decoction of tea or coffee is 
disttgrceahly bitter on account of the solution of tlie 
co.irse forms of extriictivo matter. Soft water ah^o ei- 
tracU these matters, and, therefore appeal^ to give a 
stronger infusion than moderately hard waters, but it 13 
always at a sacrifice of delicate flavour. Excellent tea is 
made in London with water of 14 or 15 degrees of ori- 
ginal hardness, and of al>out 5 degrees when boiled. 
Thii was a subject of investigation by the Governniert 
Chemical Commi sion (Profes*»nrs Graham, Miller, and 
Ilcfmann), who were appointed in 185 1 10 inquire into 
the cheni cal quality of the water supply of London ; 
and they reported that in their expcn-nents ihey fuund 



th'it lea made from the boi'ed London water of 5 dcgn 
of I ardnes-t could not generally be diitingut.shed frO( 
tea made wiih water of 2^ degrees o'dy, okhough 
delicafu paUt*? would recognise a slightly increased bit-j 
tirnees without any enhancement of Ilavour in the] 
luLter, It would seem, indeed, that moderately haxdX 
water m&kc5 the best flavoured tea, pro\ided it ial 
allowt d to ^tand upon the tea sufliciently l.ing. In tlie 
case of the Grrenwich, pensioners the tea was niajl©] 
from water of 24 degrees of hiudneas before boding, ^ 
ur.d I So degrees a'ter; but the infusion was mnintAia-' 
ed for half an hou." l>y sunoun<ling <he vessel with a 
st.-amcase; and thus an excel'etitly -flavoured tea was 
obtained. The Comtnisj»ioners indeed truly remark, 
that '' where any great lots ofstrengt'j of Ua intusioa., 
has been ob:HTved in pasijing from a soft water to a{ 
harder, it may be probably referred to the circumstance j 
that the mode of infusing il had not been properly! 
adapted to the li&rd water; anl tlien ()>ere is dottbt-j 
less some waste of tea,'' L.ike waier^ have been agoodj 
deal extolled on nccount of their softnexa «nd suppu 
fitness for making tea, solely because they happen to, 
produce A deep-coloured ^^olution, which conveys a false | 
notion of strength ; but, in reality, flavour is alwayi 
sacrificed for ihe mere look tiflhe thing, the; being n< 
increa.se of physiolo;jical or tlietetical pro] c ty. 'JTiel 
Chinese, who are very good authorities on this subjectjj 
never use either very soft or v»;ry hard waters, for theiri 
rule is to take the waters of a running stream — " best 
from the hill-^'ide. and next from a river." We mayj 
conclude, therefore, tfiat wafer of from 4(0 7 de^'reesor 
hardness after being boiled, is befit suited for infusion! 
of tea and coffee; for such water dissolves the aromatic 
nnd physiological constituent-, witiiout extraciing thn 
disagreeable bitter principles. In the ea^e of coffee, ini 
fact, a little acid, as a portion of lemon-juicfij improve! 
the flavour, notwiihstantiing that it adds to the hard- 
ne-s of the infusion. Experirnenlally, it is fou ^d thafcl 
infusions of tea and coffee ate strong enough when iho] 
h»rmer contains o'6 per cent of extracted matter, aujj 
the latter 3 per cent, so that a moderate-sized cupj 
(5 oz.) should contain about 13 grains of the extractor 
tea, or 66 grain :J of coffee. These proportions will be 
obtained when 263 grains of tea (jibout 2^ teas[>oon- 
fu's). or 2 ozs, <*f fresidy roasted coffe?, sire inftsed in a 
pint of boiling wa'er; and the amounts of the sevet 
cons'Jiuents dissolved are about as fallows : — 

T». CulToe. 

ConalUarntg. gia» gra. 

Nitro^ooua matters 17*2. 440 

Fatty rnutlor — 3*0 

Qi\m\ sugar, and extractive . . 317. ..... . 103*2 

Mineral matters <jm 22'8 

Total extracted 58 o 1 73*0 

So that tea yields to a pint of fresh water about 22 per j 
cent of its weight, and coffee about 20 per cent. Leh- 
mann found that only 15I percer.t of tea was dissolvedj 
by water; where.is Sir Humiphrey Davy estimated itj 
at 33 J per cent. No doubt t^e quality of the water, 
well as tliat of the lea, affects the results, for di^til*ed'' 
water will extract from 40 to 44 per cent uf black tea, 
and nearly 50 per cent of green j but for all this, about 
22 per cent is a good average. 

Tea is generally mci.Bured into the tea-pot by (ho| 
spoonful, and Dr. Eiward Smith has made a curious in-' 
quiry into the average weights of a spoonful of different] 
kinds of tea. The results are hcc shown : — 



(Sn^liMt SdlUon, Val ZYIIl , Ho. 46B. tn««^l^^^\ 



Jai^ ISC*. 



I/r. LetJithy on FooiL 



15 



Bhch Tens, 

39 

»>u (inforior) „5; 

►werjr Pekoe. .„62 

icbong 70 

(fitie>}, . , ., S7 



WnoBT Of A Spoonfui, of Tea. 

Grftn Trot. 

Hyson . , 66 

Twatikay 70 

Fine Inip<?riaL . , 90 

Scented Caper 103 

FiuM Gunpuwder* . . . fjj 

which it would seem that from thr'^e to uovcn 
teajpoonfti's ofbla-k ten, or from two lo four of green, 
are required for o pint ot infuson of the strtngih al- 
rea*iy given. 

Cocoa is beer oiftde by boiling ihc mixture fur a little 
while, fur it nearly always contains a Inrge proportion 
of starchy matter, which has hem Jidd< d to dilute the 
rich fat of the cocoa. Indeed eoco.i contains so much 
butt^T or solid fat (from 48 10 50 per cent), tiiat it is 
nece?*{iry u:» reduce ir with some efisily-dipo.-til»le sub- 
startc, as starch, lentil powder, cara^'een mos?, Iceland 
moss, sug-ar, &ic. — hence the various preparations of it 
called g;ranulated cocoa, sotuble cncoa, cbocolate, Ac, 
the proeeeses for making which I will iifiiHy deB< ribe. 
When the berry ia ror!St<.d and i'^ cold, it is [RS-^ed 
through a macliint' called a " kibbling-njill/' which de- 
prives it of it^ husk, and of the thin t^kin which sur- 
rounds the kernel or nib. If the nibs thus < leatted 
ore ground in proper milh tlipy form the variety of 
cocoa called flaked coeoti, but if otlier preparations are 
to bo made^ the nibs are grouiid between lu'atod rollers 
or othiTwtpe, until they form a smooth paste, wheu 
tfte diluting 8ubstances> are mixed with it and Are 
thorotjghly incoiporated. If soluble cocoa is to be made, 
the diluting material is sugar with some kind of arrow- 
root,, as touslcs-mois, maranta, curcunia, &c. If choco- 
late is require<l, the diluting materi 1 is sugar only, 
with some flavouring agent, as vanilla ; and if fancy 
preparaiioPfi, as caragt en mo 8 cocoa, Iceland moss 
cocoa, lentil cocon, &c., are required, tlien these sever- 
al substances are incorporated. Granulated cocoa is a 
preparation of cocoa, with sugar and Suarch so ground 
as to form a coarec powder, in which the particles of 
broken cocoa are covered with a layer of sugar and 
E'arcli. It ia obvious that wlienevrrthe mixture con- 
fiists of starch or other farinaceous substance, the solu- 
tion of the cocoa preparation must he boilid ; but when 
sugar has been used, as in chocola'e, which is the mo.*t 
ancient preparation of ir, t)ie combination is «jch db to 
require no culinary rreatmeni, o"*, at most, the action of 
boUlng water or boiling luilk. 

It in remarkahle that, although cocoa h much less 
used than eiUier tea or coflfce, yet it was known In Eu- 
rope a century before either of the others. As ea-ly, 
indeed, as 1520 it wns brought from Mexico, by Colum- 
bus, whoffiund it the common beveiago of the people ; 
and when Corte;* was entertained at the court of the 
Aztec Emperor, Montezuma, he wtis ircated to a sweet 
preparation of the cocoa, called chocollatl, flavnured 
with vnnlla and other aromatic sjiics, and served io 
him in a tT'Iden vessel The Spaniards thus acquired 
A knowledge of the brrry and of its chief preparation. 
whi h they kept secret for many years, selling it yQYj 
pronubly aa chocolate to the wealthy and luxurious 
c!a&s«-S of Europe. It was, however, an expenrnve 

{>reparation, and did not come into general use until 
ong after the public colTee-houaea of London were cs- 
tabli.-ihcd. The earliest notice of it, accord ng to Hew- 
iit, L* in Necdhtmi's Mn-curhts PaHiievSj for June. 
1^0, whtrein it is stated that " chocolate, an excel- 
Ifiot Wc«t India drink, ia sold in Queen's Head Alley, 



in Bishopsgftte Street^ by a Frenchman who did for- 
merly --oli it in Graccchureh Strcetand ClcrncDt'e Church- 
yard, being the first man who did eell it in England f" 
unrl its virima nre htghly extolled. This was about Ove 
ycarft after the Lotidon coffec-housfs had been estab- 
lished — for the first of them is said lohave been open- 
ed in 1650, by a Levantine named Pascal Rossee, in St. 
Michael's Alley, Cornhil! ; and a year after thoy were 
opentd in Pari.-! and in HoUunK In 16G0 they were 
«o much frequf-ntcd, and colfce was so brgily drunk, 
that they w* re mndeasourctj' of revenue, a tax of 4d a 
gallon being levied on all llie coBee drunk in them, and 
three yea's later thty were regularly licensed at the 
(Quarter Sessions like common taverns. In l(i68, when 
Ray, the dinfing'ii.shed natural st, pub'ishedhis "Histo- 
ry of Plants," he tells us they were as numerous in 
London as at Cuiro ; and at last they become so great a 
nubanre, on account of their political a^'.H iarlon.% tliat 
iti 1C75 ChatliS tlie Second endeavoured to suppress 
them by proclamation, calling tbeni seminaries of sedi- 
tion ; bi;t the keepers of them were suflieiently power- 
ful to malie lira revoke tlie prohibition. The history 
of these honses would forma curious chapter in po!i»ics 
and litciaiurc, for they are associated uitlj the carlivat 
development of free political discussion, and with the 
greate.^t names in English literature. Among the oldest 
of them is the "Grecian," where Shakespeare and 
Rure Ben wore freauent visitors ; and hardly la? an- 
cient is ''WillB,'* where Dryden held forth wjih pedan- 
tic vanity, and where the foundaliori was lai<l for that 
cr tical acumen which soon became a di^itihguish ng 
feature in English Literature. J n the city, too, there 
was " Garrawny's," where not only was Um first sold, 
but where, in D< foe's time, *' foreign brmguiers," and 
even m ni^^ters, resorted to drink it. " Robins " and 
*' Jonathnti*,'' and the " Cocoanut Tree," in St. Jara«« 
Street, were also famous, and bad their distinguished 
followers. 

In the treatment of animal food there are«everal points 
fur con?ideration. In the fir-^t place it is always hcsl to 
prepare the animal for the shambles by fasting it for a 
few hours before it is shuighfered, <»s partially digested 
food, and the food recently absorbed into the system, 
quickly pass into a stale of putrefactive decomposition 
and ta nt the whole carcas* ; bcsidei which, a day's 
repose is often necessary to quell the excitement oc- 
cusioned by the journey or voyage which the animal 
may have made on its way to a place of slaughter. In 
the second place, it is proper to remove as much blood 
from the body a«5 possible at the time of killing, as th a 
also ia apt to pa«s into a state of decay. The regula- 
tions of the Jews in this particular arc most effectual, 
and are derived from very ancient statutes in Leviticus, 
which ordain that no manner of blood, whether it be of 
fowl or of beast, fihall be eaten by man; and with tlie 
tiew of letting as much of it flow away as possible, the 
practice is to slaughter every animal by cutting i( 
throat with a ?harp knife. There are, indeed, the mc 
precise rules for tfn'apurpcse. In some countries, bow- 
cvt-r, the bUjod is rc-garded as a very nutritious part 
:hc aninial, nnd great pains are taktn to prevent ila es- 
cape. Dr. Liv ngstone says, tliat mnny of the South- 
African tribes kill the beaat by thmsting a javehn into 
the hearty so as to prevent the loss of blood. But in 
these cnsea the meat i?i never kept, but ia eaten direct- 
ly afler Uie ani nal is slaughtered. A propoaiuon haa 
al?o been made in this country for killing an mala by 
letting air into the pleural cavities, whereby ihe lunga 
colhipse, and so cause almost instant death by asphyxia 



[EugliMh Edition, 7ol. XVIII. No. 468 [OEe^iS; Ho. 469,^l«2Sl.\ 



Dr, Leiliehy on Food. 



Tdrmical Ntwa, 
Jan., 19(9. 



witbonl lo^s of bloo'1 ; but the practice h objcctionahle, 
Uut merely because of tLc liability ot" aucli meat to quick 
putrefuJtion, but aUo because of" the difficulty of discov- 
ering disease in it. 

In rhe third place, it ia proper thaC the careii?s of the 
aiiim.d should be allowed to cool and set thoroughly, 
bolore it is [tacked for conveyance to the market. It 
this i.^ not properly attended to, it soon decays. It 
should aiao be p;n.ked loosely, or even exposed tVetdy to 
the air, as the colouring ninttir of the blood and muscles 
continue to absorb oxygen, and to breathe, as it were, 
for some time after destb, and while this goes on decay 
is arrested. 

Lasily, all meat should be kept a litile shrirt of dc- 
conipo4t'on before ii u cooked, or even until docompo- 
aition has juai commenced, as tim tissue then becomes 
loo^e, and lender, and very di^estib'e. 

In the culinary treatment of ivuimal food, the objects 
are fourfold : — 

I St. To coagulate the albumen and blood of the tia- 
Bues, so a3 to lender the meat aprei^ible to the slight. 

2ikI, To develop flavour?, and to make the tissue crisp, 
Its Well as tender, and therefore more easy of luastica- 
t-on and digestion. 

3rd. To secure a certain tempernture, «nd thus to be 
a means of conveying warmth to the system. 
4th, To kill parasites in the lissues of the moat. 
Now, as thi! nsearches of Dr. JlcMumont and others 
have deuioiifttraLed that meat is always rendered more 
and more indigestible in prop irtiou to the prolonged 
BCtion of heat, ii is highly necessary ihat the tempera- 
lure should not be continued beyond the point riece>sa- 
ry to accomplish t'lesc objects. Liebg says that a 
t/eraperature id 133' Fahr. will coagnlat<L< albumen, and 
that the red colouring matters of the blood and hnisele 
nre cojgirlatHJ and dcKtroyed at fr m' 158' to 165' 
(■iay 170 ). He therefore advise:* that all r<»oking op- 
erations, in respect of meat, should be limited to 170". 
Mia ihreetiona are that, in boiling ment, it •■hould be in- 
troduced into the vessel wlien the water is in a .«!tate 
of brisk ebullition, and that tlie boiling should be kept 
up for a few minuet. The pot is then t* be pltw'od in 
a warm situation, so that the water is maintained at 
from 158' to 165 . Till* t-ffoct of this i«< thai the boil- 
ing' Water coagnJates the albumen and iho rispuo upon 
the furface of the niie;U, and to a ceitidn depth inwards, 
and thutt formi a crust which do s not permit the juit'e 
of the meat to flow ont> nor the water to penetrate 
into the meat. The fleih, lh«.Telore, reb-dn^ i'.s savoury 
constituents, and is not too sodden ; but if, on the other 
hand, the meat be set upon the fire wiih col I wjiter, 
aid then slowly Jjcnted to boiling, the flesh undergo** 
u loss of sohible and savonry niatttM's, while thi* soup 
becomes riclior in them. The albumen in fac^, is gia- 
dually dissolved from the surlTice to inc centre; the 
fibre loses, more or lf?8, its quiility of fihortness or Un- 
dernesi, and becomes hard and tough. The thinner 
the piece of flesh i', the greater Ls its loss of savoury 
constituents. 

This explains the well-known observation that lliat 
mode of boiling which yields the bjst Foup gives the 
driest, toughest, and most viipid meat ; and that, in 
order to obtain wcU-riavonrcd and eatable meat, we 
must re'inquiijh the idea of making good soup from it^ 
If finely-chopped fiesh be s'owly heated <o boding 
with an equal weight of water, and be kept boiling for 
a few minutos, then s' mined and pressed, we obtain tlie 
very strongest and btst flavoured soup which can bo 
.made from fle.di. When the holing is longer contin- 



ued, some little additional orgrtnic matter is dissolvcd^j 
but the flavour and other propcrti»?s of the poup ar< 
thereby in no degree increaRed or improved. Uy th< 
action of the heat on the fibres ot meat, a cerlaii 
amount of wat<Tor juice is always expelled (irom them 
whence it happens that ibe flesh loses weight by boil- 
ing, even when immersed m water (as much"some-j 
times as 24 per cent of the weight of raw flesh). Ii 
larger masses tbh lo-a is not so great. 

Even in roasting meat the beat must be stronpest 
first, and it may then be much reduced. The j«i<: 
which, .^s in boihnp, flows out, evaporates, in Ci<re'' 
roasting, from the surface of the meat, and gives to 
the dark brown colour, the lustre, nnd the strong aroma-] 
tic taste of roast meat. It isdouhtful, however, whetli-l 
er ihe heut of 170" is su&lciently iiigh to enbure th© 
destruction of the parnsitea of meat, ntid therefore I 
would advise that the temperature should be as nearly 
as possible 10 that of boiling water (212 )^ 

Of the four methods of cooking whieh arecommonlj 
practised in thiscounlry — viz., boding, baking, roosing, 
and ftying, the former is undoubtedfy the most econo- 
mical, and produces the most digestible food, but 
(he flavour of tlie meat is not well dcv doped, and il 
ia quite unsuited for many descriptions of meatj I 
ficsh of young animals, lor example, consisting 
an undue proportion of albumen and gelatine in thaJ 
ti-sues, will boil away to a large extent, and so will| 
loose fattv tis5=ue, Uke that of American bacon; and, in- 
deed, unless the process is well managed, there will 
always be considerable los?, as I have juat stated, from 
th? escape of albumen, sjline master^ and the alkaloida 
of the meat into the wat.r, amounting Fomeiiniea to 
from 16 to 24 per cent of the weight of the joint; and 
that these are valuable constituents of flesh is proved 
by the exi)erimeut5 of the French Academ clans, who 
found Ihat when a dog was fed daily up«-n half a pound 
of boiled flesh winch had been previonsly soaked ixi 
water and pressed, it (juickly lost weight — as much, 
indeed, as one-tl.urth of its entire weight in forty-three 
days ; and in fifty-five days the cmat iation was extreme. 
(Jfcoui-se these obscrvaiions do not apply when the 
liquor in which the meat is bo led is eaten with it, ns 
in the case of hashes, stewfl, &c 

Dr. Pereira 8ta es that at the Wapping Workhouse, 
where mutton (chiefly fore-quarters) and beef (consist- 
ing of the brisket, thick and thin flunky leg of nmtton 
pieces, and c^oda— all free from bone) were boiled, the 
average loss in weight was only about 1 7 J per cent ; but 
this is under the common prctportion. and sh<«ws that 
the meat was from old and lean animals. The ordi- 
nary loss of weight m cooking is about as follows in 
every 100 par^s: — 

D'iltrtg. Biitdug. RoiullMg. 

Beef generally. 20 29 31 

Mutton generally ao 31 35 

Legs of mutton 20 32 ^^ 

Shoulders of mutton 24 32 34 

Loins of mutton 30 n 36 

Necks of ditto 25 32 34 



Average of all 2:3 



31 



34 



But, although the loss of weight in baking and roast- 
ing is greater than in boiling, yet it is chiefly !rom evapo- 
ration and from iIih melting of the fat. Flavours also 
are developed wliich give a pleasant reU-h to the meat ; 
but there are many disadvantages to these methods of 
cooking, as that the surface of the joint is often over- 



[Eaglith Edition, Vol XVIIl , Ko. 460. pa^M 051. 254\ 






lh\ Ldhehy on I'mnl, 



17 



dan« wlien the interior Is ftlmost raw; and ilmt the I In making aoup, the object is to extract, as oompWte- 



ACtioQ of tlifj heat on tlie supTfioial fat frequently 
pro Juco!* »'ir»d compoim'ls (consij*ting of acrolein and 
fkttjr Bcidist whch are very distressing to a sens tive 
stomach. This is always the case when meat in, fried 
or grilled, and is thuaaabjectcd to a temperature of 600° 
Of more; in fact, a'l baked and roanted fatty foods are 
apt. on litis account^ to disnprrec with du'licjvte stomachs; 
ftnd it is often remarked that, althong^ b-^end and but- 
ter, boil' d pnddint^, bailed fiih, or boiled poullry can 
he ca*<»n frnij-ly without discomfbi t, yet t^oaat and butter, 



ly as possible, all the soluble con-^titnentfiof the meat or 
bone, and when tlie latt^T is used it should be chopped 
or broken into small pie 20s, and boile<l for a consider- 
able lime — not Icv^a fhan nine or ten hours. Shin-bones 
will then yield about iq per cent of their wcij^ht of fat 
and Rclatsnc — tl»e soup being, according' to Dr. E. 
Smith, very nutritious, so that 6 lbs., of bones will pro- 
duce a soup that contains the nutritive power of 2 lbs, 
of meat as far as carbon is concerned, and of 1 lb. of meat 
in respect of nitrogen ; but although th s may be so sa 
and pastry, or fried fish, or roasted fowl, 1 regardd the actual quantities of carbon.iceoua and uitro- 



with the stomach. Ttie pmctice of cover- 
ing |ifmirry and g'ame with lard, or oiled paper, *jr thin 
•lou^h, or even with clay (feathers and all, ns is the 
Indian custom), and then roasting', is no doubt advan- 
tageous, as it modifii-B the temperature and prevents 
'w formation of acrid fatty conipounds. It was by 
le such device as this that Aristoxenes wa* able to 
^e up a pig apparently boiled on one side and roasted 
the oUjer — the savoury cracklin;^ beinf; su ted for 
.rou^si'T stomachy while the more delicate side of it 
I adapted for weaker digestion^, 
•cid ng, however, on the proper method of cook- 
i:ig A joint, reg-ard must always be hail for t!ie kind of 
flarojr thit is to be develnpe 1. ^Shoulders of mut- 
ton and fre^h beef are rarely boiled, because of their '\n- 
Btpidi^T. The same Ls the case with game and poultry, 
r»r th^ bani-door fowl and turkey ore nearly the only 
examples of the latter wliioh can be boiled, and there 
••e n'» such examples among the fttrmer. Wliat should 



tve think of a boiled pheasant? A story is tuld l>y a 
writer in the ,S''>n*«(i/*yof*rn'i/, of a poHcher who wislied 
to 4edtic-i a bumpkin new poacher by a practical ilhis- 
tration of the fine flavonr of g^ime, and calling' at hi^ 
t'Oltage one day, he left for him a hare, warm from the 
chase, telling him to cook it, and to try if it wam't a 
nice dinner for nothing. A week after he called again, 
and a^ked him how he Uk^'d his dinner. ** Di In'l toike 
if at all,*' c:iclaimed the recipients " Well, man/* says 
tho p ►acher, ** how did e cook en?" '' \\ by, biled en 
in tannuts, t> be »ure." I won't attempt to describe 
the disgust of the poacher. The same is the case with 
vonison, although it may be boiled, especially when it 
is rather high, for about half the time necessary for 
cooking it, yet it must be roasted, im order to develop 
its flavour. Hunters in the wild prairie? of America are 
accustomed fo cook the fle-h of the deer by brittling it 
in th.-* CoUowing manner: — They strip off the ^ong mus- 
cles from each side of the spine, both above and biliw, 
and tiri them up in a roll, after well sme iiing th -m 
witix oil or fat ; they then roast them, and bdSte them 
perseveringly with oil. If opportunity permits, they 
xprinkle them with lemon-juice, before they are oilenl 
and ma<ie «![• into a roll, the flavour of roasted meat 
and it-i grateful effect on the sense of smell must have 
been recogni.^ed in very early times, for burnt offurio^^^s 
are frequently spoken of by Moses as ''a sweet .«avour 
unto the Lord," and particular accounts are given of 
the manner in which these offerings of the lamb and tlje 
kid, Arc, were to be made acceptable, not merely to the 
Lord, but also to Aaron and his sons, who were to 
cat of them. How far back in history tlie flavour of 
toa^t pig was eulogised I know not, but it is immorta- 
Ueod in the essay of Charles Lamb. A^ for the process 
of baking meat, it is not nearly so refined as that of 
roasting, althoui^h it, has one advantage, in the circum- 
stance that the temperature can l)e more easily regula- 
ted than with rc>astine^. 
Vol, IV. No. i.— Jan,, 1869. 2 

[EagUab Edlrl^n* Vol. XVIH., Wo. 4)5 \ p*;e»l&i,«&,\ 



genouB matters present, yet it is very douhrful whether 
they arc equally nutritions, f ^r in the renowned exper- 
iments of the French Gelatine Commis-sion it waa 
r)und ih:il the soup or je!ly from boiled bones woukl 
not support the life of dogs, although raw bones, in like 
proportion, would. 

Ox -tail soup is much richer than that from bones 
alone, as it contains the saline and other * onstituents of 
flesh. It is now a favourite and rather exjiensive soup, 
although lit one time it was the humb'e tare, niid almost 
the only n trogenous food of the poor Protesumt French 
refugees of Clerkenwell. Prior to the year J689, or 
thereabout, the butchers of London Iffl the tails af- 
lachel to the hide.^ which were sent to the tanners of 
Uermond^ey, b it tlie poor French relugocis, in lUinr 
extremity of want, bought the tails for a mere iriflf, 
nnd convtrted them into soup, which was soon found 
to be of exeel'enc quality. 

Soup made from meai should b • obtnined in the way 
already described— that is, a given weiglit of meat, 
chopped fine, shouM be allowed t«j maceratte in its own 
weight of cold Wiiter, and should lh« n be gradually 
heaterl to the boihng-point. aflor which it should be 
strained and pressed. In th'S way about 3 per cent of 
the nutiitious matter of the meat us di -solved, besides 
the saline coiistituentp. If the soup be simmered with 
the meat for some hour.*, a larger proportion of organic 
matter, chiefly golatiin', will be di>solv.d; and a good 
soup thus made from shin of beef wiU contain about 
600 gTain=« of poid matter in a pint, and of this about 39 
grains are saline. 

L<'Bn meat CJUtains about 25 percent of solid mnfter, 
the T' at being water, and of this from seven to ten 
parts are soluble iii coltl wa'er; rather m-re than half 
of this ia albumen and iniochrorae (ro!ouring matter), 
which are coagulntrd by heat, and thus, if the cold solu- 
tion of fle^h be boilt-d, it contains only from 3 to 4 pi r 
cent of the meat; and when evafioatrd to drjness it 
constitutes tise txtractum cnrnis of Liebig. It can hard- 
ly be said, however, that the nu rJtive power of this 
eirract is very gn at, for hs chief constituents are cer- 
tain ac:d-», lactic and inoiiic, with enosite, creatine, 
creaiinino, and an indefinite colloidal organic substance 
of a brown colour nnd syrupy consistence; beside* 
wliioh it contains ihe soluble saline matteis of the meat, 
ms pho?phate and chloride of pota^viurn, with a little 
cU'oride of sodium. Analyfcs of tliis exlnict, as found 
in commerce, have furnished from 41 to 60 per cent uf 
wftt<?r, from 22 to 41 per cent of organic matter, and 
from 8 to 16 per cent of paline mi.t:er. The extract ia 
always acid ; and it should be of a p.-Ue Vfllowis b brown 
colour, with an agreeable meat-like c'dour and taste. 
It should also be perfectly soluble in c.dd water, and 
should rot contain albumen, fat, or ge'a inc. 

False views htive been entertained of the nutritiw-c 

power of this extract, for, as i lb. of it represents the 

j soluble coastituents of from 30 to 34 lbs. of lean me^l^ 



Dr. Lcihehy on FocuL 






or from 45 to 48 lb«, of ordinnry butehera* meat, it has 
been asisuiiied that its nutritive power ia in fhis prop^r- 
tbn ; but Licbi^' haa taken care to corect this en*oi-, by 
showing tliiit the extract, whin properly prepared, 
merely represents the soup or bot*f-t<.a obtaiuable fro;n 
tbat quantity of meat: amd, as it is dtifidt-nL of ali.u- 
mcn, it must be conjoined |o subi^tani^es which are rich 
in this mijterial, as beana nod pejv. No doubt tlie phy- 
fiological action of the extract ia tltie to the alkalord^ 
which it c«n tains; an J v^a th« former of these arc of lea 
and coOee (theiue or caflo nc) in lluir effects on (lie 
body, it mu8t be conchided th.it extract of meat is 
morij of a viud restorative than a nutriiious food. It is 
fronj this point of view that Parraentier, Pi oust, tind 
even Liebi^' h:m>eK. arc disposed to regard the pliysi- 
ological 1 ffects of tiie preparattoni'. '• In the supplies 
of a body of troops," ?ays Parmentier, " extract of meat 
would ofl'er to thi; severely wounded soldier a means 
of iuvigoration which, widi a Utile wine, would in- 
•tantly re'^tore his powi-rs, exhauilcd by great loss of 
blood, and enable him to bear being trauspoi ted to tlie 
nearest Geld ho-pita';" and, in a'most ihe S4ime lan- 
ffuage, Prou.^t remarks that *' we cannot imagine a more 
fortunate preparation undor the^e eircuuiBtanc* s; for 
what more uivigorating remedy, what more powerhd- 
ly-acting panacoa than a porlion of genuine ix'ratTt of 
meat dis^*'Jlved in a p!a?s of noble wim^? " 

As in the ciise of soup and beel-tca, its nutritive 
p.-wcr must be ass'sied by ve^Tjetables and other sub- 
stances which are rich in nitri^gt.nuua matters. Con- 
joined, then-fore, with "whenten flour, wi h peaa or 
leniils, or eve'i with the gluten obtained in the manu- 
facture of starch by Durand'tJ proi-eas, it may be made 
to have I he nutritive power ol meat. Already there is 
a preparation of it by Messrs. Peak, Freun, and Co., in 
which the extract is m'.xed with baketl flour and press- 
ed into small biscuits; indeed, as Lr back as the year 
T85r, Mr. Borden, jun, obtained ft patent for combin- 
ing extra«?t of meat with flour, tarina, or meal, and bak- 
ing it in the form of biscuits. In this manner, by ut^iuj^ 
the extract of 5 lbs, of meat with i lb. of flour, he juo- 
duced biscuiis which conlained Z2 per ccntof tdtrogcn- 
0U3 matter; and i oz. of the biscuit grated into a pint 
of waer, tbMi boiled and fiavoure 1, made a good soup. 
In the case of Liebij^'s extra* :t of meat, 1 lb. of the prrp- 
ar.aion is sufficient, Wtth the usual radons of potatoes 
nnd other vegetable:?, to make soup for 130 men ; and a 
strong bruth i-J made by dissolving a teaypoonful of it 
(about 150 gains) in ha'f a pint of builiu^' wa er, and 
flavouring with s-ilt and pepper, 

A aiill m'>re nnrnt'ous bniih, containing the albumen 
of the meat, Is obtained by infusing a third of a poimd 
of minced meat in 14 oz^^, of cold iroft water, 10 which 
a few drops (4 or 5) of muriatic acid, nnd a litile salt 
(from 10 to J 8 gridns) have b; en added. After digest- 
ing for an hoar or so, it should he strained through a 
sieve, nnd the residue waiihed with S ozs. of water and 
pressed. 

The mixed liquids ihus obtained will fumi.=ih about a 
pint of Cold extract of meat, containing the whole of 
the s<»luble constituents of the m*'at (rxlbumen, creatine, 
creaiinine, &c.), and i' may be drunk cot<l or slightly 
wa med — the temperature not being raided above 106°' 
Fahr.. for fear of coagulating the albun»en. 

There are miny questions connecterl with the econ- 
omy of Cooking which 1 have nd time to discuss, but I 
may state that this Society has done good service for 
(he community in obtaining valuable information as to 
tttt airapleat and cheapest apparatus for the purpose. 



Foremost among them is the cooking-pot of Csiptail 
Warren, It ii a eort of double saucepan, and is ea'^dj 
made by fining a sinuU-covered tau^ep^n into a larger 
one. The inner ve-sel contiins the joint or other thinj 
to b? cooked, and the outer one has a little water in ii 
Ro that the temp ralure in cooking can never ex- 
ceed 212°. By this means the joint is co<»ked iti it* 
own v-ijiour Without coming into eoniact with wa* 
or steam, an i thu4 it cannot lo.^e its soluble cousti* 
tuent-!; and if it be desired to improve the flavour 
ihe joint just cooked, it may be afterwards ro^u-ted L 
a Fhort lime befoie ihe fire. The lo-s in weight undei 
lhe.se circumstances ia not n('arly so great as in lh< 
common way of cooking, and the flavour arad teudti 
ness of the meat ate consi lerablv itjcrea-ed; be?id( 
whicli, iheri! ia the eertainty of C' okiug the \v 
equally ihroughou?, without over-dressing it. Mori 
over, by the adui»tation of a s^te.nier to the outer vessel, 
vegetables may be also cooked at the same lime. 
When the meat is boiled by this process, there is lit 
or no loss of weight, and even when ii is afterwarc 
roasted, f r the purpose of improving its flavour, tl 
toss b not nearly so great as when a joint i» roasted 
the ordinary way. In one experiment it was fouj 
that 15 lbs. of meat roastud in the usual manner, in th 
kitchen of the Cambridge Barracks, lost 4 lbs. 4 oj 
iu w« ight, whereas the meat cooked in Captain Wa 
Ten's put, and then roa.stef, lost ordy 2 lbs. 15 ozs.. h 
thai there was a gain of l Il>. 5 ozs. 

Another apparatus of very great ingenuity is a c-iok- 
ing-pot from Switzerland, where the saucepan contain- 
ing the jo ni and a liit'e water is, after boiling for 
short lime, placed h\ a box hned with felt, and thus leff 
for an hour or two to cook, tlie conducting power of 
the felt being so bad that t'e heat m retained iu 
mo^t perfect manner. The apparatus id not onb 
economical, but it is also excellently well suited 
picnic parties or for soldiers on the march, who ma] 
thus secure a hot dinner, cooked while on the journey^ 

The coi'king appliances of the poor are very tmper 
feet, and hence they resort to tlie cook-shopKi of tl« 
neighbourhood; but even then their meals are scant] 
and wretchedly cooked. In the poor distnc s of L<jn- 
don tliree-hallpencc is the u«uftl expenditure for a din- 
ner by children — a penny going in pudding, and th 
hnirpeiiny in potatoes. If they i>ay twopence they sri 
idlowed to sit down, and have a little gravy with 
Everybody has henrd how (he p >or of Paris dine a 
squirt, where the tin soup basins are nailed to ihe tabh. 
and where the attendant Leonoras draw up the seeth- 
ing soup f. om a hidden e.-mldron by mca'is of a hug< 
syringe, from which it is driven out into thecustomei^ 
basin. The price of the me d (4 sou.*;) mu.st bo itistanllj 
paid down, or the callous handmaid sucks up the soupl^ 
again into the motihter squirt. Scenes like this, andj 
even worse than this, in the abodi s of the poor, 
uigtd pltilanthrop-sls to seek a better means of suj 
plving their wants, without trespassing upon thai 
dangerous ground of charity. In Paris, an enterpriaingj 
widow (Madame Robert) conceived the idea of givinj 
a poor ninn a good dinner lor twopence. Her didl 
bill of fare was cabbage-soup, a slice of bouilli (beef/, 
a piece of bread, and a glass of wine; and tlius, in the 
neighbourhood of the Marche des Innocents, did she 
daily provide for some 6,000 workmen, who took theirJ 
ditme(S in the open air, hut sheltered frotn the weather j| 
and she gained a farthing by each guest In this coun- 
try a like benevo'ence has «^et 011 foot, wiih more or 
ka? success, in different place?, mlanrania for the poor. 



fSngliMb Edition, IToL XVin., Ho. 469, pa^M ^t56, 2Jfi.) 



/?«., JSCO. 



} S^feetram Obaervaiioiu and t/w IteciiU J'Jdi^se of the Sun. 



19 



In Ql«ftgt>w» n^r example, the worlcing-cl;iss dhimg- 

[fO(«jui, wh'oh are f:ir above tlie rude ac'comrao'lat'on nf 

fifadmie R.tbcrt, a-^e established to prf*vid<' a sul>stintiaj 

pnner for 4!. ot 5d. Lan^ago the specinl oorresp nd- 

wtdfthe Daily Telegraphy in writing about them, said 

kt he obtiined a capital dinner of good pea-soup, 

)ifed beef, 10 ozs. of potatoes, and pudding— more 

'lliito he could eat — for the s im of 5id * and a writer 

fn \^\t} Times also stated that for 4id. he had ft pint 

^v-aoup. a plate of hot m:nred collope, ft plate 

c: ?«, and 8 o?a. of bread; while hi? compan'on 

bad, for ihe sanio sum, a pint has n of bri>th, a pla e of 

w!d beef, apl&te of potatoes, and a dice of plum-pud- 

all excellent in their quality, nnd well cooked. 

Tactice in tliese pUc /e is to provide dt\\\y av!\riety 

• Jood^^ — as soup, broth, potato '8, rice, cabbage, 

ijg. tea an I cotfee — braides bread and butler, cold 

• 1 beef and ham; nnd every ration, except meat, 

ipjiortioned a^ to bt: sold at the uniform prict; of a 

peTjiiy, The meat costs three-half penee; and, with 

the view of dearng off the remainder of Ibe s^up after 

?^- — '1- r dinner hour, so that a fre^h quantity may 

t very day, it is the prat^tir-e to sell ihe soup 

Ai. . .:.,...., !it half pric^, from flix o'clock to tigh» o'c'ock 

in the eveuin^', and then lo give the remainder away. 

All the ariic'.cB are of the best qua ity. and are wdl 

■d. Th' y are bought by contract at whole-ale 

-; and, although they are sold 80 cheaply, yet 

yield a small profit, and so g^ve the system the 

' (y of a commercial enterprise. 

Very recently, tor>, Mr. Riddle ha^ proposed, in a 

pamper which wa« real bef" re thi? So< itJty, th .t arratige- 

menrs miihl he made f)r cooking dinners on a large 

aca'e^ and sending them out to the ho»]8e8 of the poor. 

p-op^Dses lo prepare, daily, good rations of roasted, 

iked, and boded meat wirh vegetab'e^, and to send 

out in 2 lb., 4 lb., or 6 lb, tin canirt'er-^, all rernly 

imm'*diale u-e, and kef»t w.irm in liltl*t comj»art- 

•^ '1 properly -constructed cart. There would be 

y about this, and the meat m ghi be delivered 

CA. i t-nt condition and with great punctual ty. 

tone but tho^^e who are acquainted with the utter 

-Iplessness of tlie pnor in the ma'tcr of cooking food, 

who kno-.v the difficulties of even better classea of 

■rsons in rhii? matter, can form imy notion of the 

l^eo^^ucb a proposition ; and I should be glad toac-e 

lie 1. 

(To l»e ecDtlnaei! ) 



SPECTRUM OBSERVATIONS 

CONNECTED WITrt 

THE RECENT ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 

• 

T»E French Minister of Pubbc Tns'ru-tion baa re- 
►ived the following report (rura M. G. Ratkt, who 
[amined the protuberances spcctnisco|iic;dly during 
total eclipse of the sun ol Augu-t iStli, 1868, on 
peninsula of Malacca :• — 



CenlrimotreB in diameter, motjnted equatorially for the 
latitude of the s'tition, a^d of a dirnct vi-ion spec ro- 
se* pe. The latter inHtrumeiit, farmed of three very 
dispersing pri.<!ms, was arnnged of short length and lo 
give much liu;ht. 

" Spectrum of the //orn.f.^The slit of the spectro- 
scope having been arranged so as to cut at right angles 
the image of the narrow hiiuinous arc which would re- 
main some seconds before total obscuriy, I first ex- 
amined tlie light f om the extremity of the horns. On 
the ground of a spectrum with very sharp black tines 
formed by the diffused atmospheric li>{ht, was seen a 
mu''b more lumipou" band, wh ch was the spectium of 
the light emitted by t'le exttetnity of the horn. What- 
ever was the width of this part, nothing paiticular 
could be noticed in ii ; the rays had hh appearduce iti 
resp^'ct to width and inteusi y idemical witli those of 
the ordinnry solar spectrum. The olservation of the 
horns was interrupted f»ome seconds before totality, in 
order to remove the diaphragms from the telescope, to 
elighfly open the filit of the spectroscope, and thus be 
prepared to exatnine (he protuberances. 

" Spcftrum of the Prvtuberanceji.—Al the instant of 
to'al nbscurily, the sMt of tlie spectroscope having been 
brought on to the image of the lon^- protuberance, 
which became visille on the eastern edge of the sun, I 
immedi.ately saw a series of nine brilliant hneSj which, 
by their arratigemeut in the field, their relative dis- 
twnce, their colour, and ihetr general effect as a whole, 
app-ared to be related to the principal lines of the solar 
spectrum — D, D, K, 6, an unknown line, r, and two lines 
of the group, a. These lines posa»'Ssed great brilliancy, 
and appe red strongly roUeved from tlie ashy grey very 
pale grounil, 

** Tlie protubrr.mces arc therefore je^s of ittcandescet^t 
gaeous m Uter, the flumes of a chemical phenomenon 
of extreme energy. It may also be remarked that the 
light of the corona is very faint in comparison with 
that oJ the protuberances ; for whilst the light of the 
latter gave a very vivid spectrutn, the corona, in spite 
of the rather hirg.? opening of the slit, did not give any 
appreciably coloured spec t mm. 

'• During the preceding observafions, the slit of the 
spectroscope was parallel to the principal leng'h of tli* 
protulHTancc. Thus the luminous lines were even in 
the anparatus of a length in proportion Ui the height of 
the protuberance ; the slit having been turned 90** 
round, the rays af peared reduced to the appearance of 
brill ftn( poinis conesponding to the slig'if width of the 
luminous horn; no error of ohservaion is therefore 
poRsiV>le, and tbo brilliant lines actually represent the 
spectrum of tlie light of the protuberances. 

" The spectroscope being in the first position (tie 
slit parallel to the lengih of the protuberance) the very 
brilliant linc=* corresponding to d, e, and r, were pro- 
longed beyond the mean length, by a very fieeble 
luminous tract, the spectrum preseu'ing the appearance 
given in Liu' accomp:mying diawing. A Ovrtain por- 
tion of the ineande.^eent gaseous ligtit which forms the 




apparatus which I used at Wah-Tonne for the j protubtrancoa therefore spreads into the solar atmos- 
.'cal ex;imination of the light of the prutubetances, pht-re beyond the Umils which the eye in general 
sled of a telescope with a silvered glass mirror 20 ( signs to tluse espansious. 



{English EdlUon, Vol XVllU Nq. 469, |»ge 256 ; No. 467, pa^Q 73n.\ 



20 



Spectrum Ohiffriafiam and th^ Recent Eclipse of the Smu 






] 



"The exam'TJflfioti of this first protuberance being Photoginphic Kfw$, animadverting on the misnmn 

finiRhed, I (iirect»*<J die t-lit on to the large luminous ri;- ment which had catLsed rhe tlnglisb attempts to pholo 

gfon which was at tlie west I'f the 8^lu. Th g !ime, graph the (Ellipse to he a coraparative tailore. It is 

also, tlic ppectmm wag seen lo coii'^ist of brill ant lines ?onie consolation lo find Ibat the German pholoprapliic 



artajigf'd as in the first case, with the exi^eption of there 
being only o :c violet line. Therefore all ihe protuber- 
ances do not appear to emit identical ]i|ihi.'* 

On the 24tli of Ociober, the Minister of Public In- 
tttiuction received the Ibl-wing Ittter, addressed to 
liiiu by M. Ja.vssen, who was eommisaionod to examine 
the phenomena of the eclipse : — 

" Cumnada, PfptMubi^ t^ 1868. 

**Sir, — I have tliis moment come from Ountoor, in 
the interior, where I olgerved with a fine sky the 
l^reat eclipse of the tSth of August. A messenger 
ararling for Bombay, I take the opportnti'y rf sending 
ipiickly to you my view?, reserving ii more detnflrd ac- 
count for the next s'eamer. The hospitrdity of tiie 
PJiigli^h has been worthy of \\s reputation. Lotd Na- 
pier had me taken fiotn Mndms to Ma'^ulipatam in a 
etenm-boat b^lon^'ing to the state ; another ^^team-boat 
1)03 been placed at my disposal in the Godavery, and a 
Kul>-rol!ector, Mr. Griiham, wa^ attached to my mia- 
hion to remove all (he diflicultics which I might en- 
counter in the interior, chiefly on account of the quan- 
tity of luggage which will tollow me. The station of 
Giintoor is undonljiedly mt:^t fivorahle; the sky was 
bfautiful, especially dnrmg thi- totnUty, and my power- 
ful teleBcopes, of netirly three inetreg offocu*, have en- 
abled Tne to make an annlyti&d ^tudy of al? the pheno- 
mena of the eclipse. Immedintely nfler the totality 
two magniticent priHitberances made their iippearnnce ; 
r,Ooeof ihem of more ihnn ihrce minutes in hei^iht siicne 

itli a splendour which it is difficult to imagine. An 
»i»nalyKis of it« light showed me directly thit it was 
lormed hy nn immense column of iricande'cent gas, 
principally composed of hydrogen. 



expedition wna eminently succestsiul, nnd the following 
graphic nocotint, from the pen of Dr. Voobj,, the 
photographer in chief, will how Ijow well s^ucccfifi wa« 
earntMl : — 

'^* At the day of the eclipw we n^Hc at four o'c'ock in 
the morning. It was the tflsk rf the North German 
expedition to mnk^* a phot(^gr'^piiic view of the eclipse 
during \\s totality. I' or this purpose we had a k 
telescope with u lens of 6 inches, with- ut difi'erence 
focuF, and with n focal distance of 6 feet. This le 
construe' ed by Stemheil, afforded a solar image of three 
quarters o^ un inch in diameter, which was takrn upoo 
a pl»o'ogiaphic plate by means of an ordinary sliding 
chejst for two iuiage?. 

" The toUdity of the ec'ipee at Aden was about three 
minntts long (in India five minute?); neverthelefts, we 
liad c'losen Aden for our Stat on because lh<re were 
{dready photographic observers in Itdi/i, and hecanao 
the totality ap[»eared at Aden about an hour earlier 
thaii in India. Therefore a comp3ris<5n of the difteretit 
rrsults would enable us ^^^ decide the question, if the 
protuberances appearing at a total eclipse of the sun 
were changing in the cours*? of time or not. 

" Our ta-k was now to get wiihin these three minutea 
ns many views of the plienomenon as possible. For 
this purpose we had previously exercised ourselvej in 
the employment of the |hotographic telescope, like 
artillerymen with their gi n«. 

*' Dr. Fritst^he prepared the pLitcs in the fir?t 'rr^V 
Dr. Zenker put th* FJiding chests into the teU 
Dr. Thiell exposed, and I myself developed i 
second lent. 

We stated that it was possible in this way to 



The analysis of th 
regions surrounding the sun where M. Kirchhoff places j six images (three plates of two images) during thl^ 
ibe solar atmosphere has not given roc results conform- ' nuniites. 
able to (he theory prescribed by this illustrionfi physi- 
cist. These read s. it appear-* to me, should lead to a 
knowlidge of ihe renl cunstitntion of ibc solar spectrum. 
Hut the most jimportant result of the=e oLac'rvalions is 
the discovery of a m thod of which the principle was 
conceived during the eclipie itself, and which will al- 
low of the stu ly of proiuber.mces and of the regions 
surrounding the sun at all rimes, without its being ne- 
cei'sary to h.»ve recourse to the interposition of an opaque 
body before the aun'a dbc. Thi^ metljod is foufid- 



I 



cd upon the spectra! propertli s of the light of the pro- 
luberanotrs — liglit which rcs«»lves itself inlo a Bmnll 
number of very luminous prncils corresponding tjo the 
obscure rays of the solar sjiectrum. The day after the 
ec|i|v=^e the method was apj)liod with sncress. I was 
enabled to asast at a new eclipse, as it were, which 
lasted throughout the entire day. The old protube- 
rances were greatly modifn-d ; ihern remained scarcely 
any traces of the gre *t protuberance, and the di-tribu- 
lion of the gnseona utaiter wits very different. From 
this day to the 4th of September I have cons' antly 
studied the sun from this pomt of view. I have made 
picrtures of the protuberance", which demon'strate wiih 
what rapidity (o'tcn in smic minutes) ihos« immense 
ROjsieous masses are broken up and displueed. In con- 
clusion, during this period, which lia^ been like nn 
eclipse of seventeen days. I have collecJeil a greaf num- 
ber of facts on the physical constitution of the sun. — 
(SisTied) .Tansseu." 

In our last numl er we gave an extract from the 



" When tlie docisive moment was fa-t advancing, the 
sky, lutherio covered with clouds, .«-howcd some open- 
ings, throngh which the sun, alrrady covered pariially 
by tlie moon,, was to be seen. The landscape around 
was illnmitiated by the atrangiist li^cht, a medium be- 
tween moon and sun light, 

*' The chemical strength of light was exceedinglr 
weak. A proof plate gave a wholly exposed image of 
the cloud after fifteen seconds. The.^TJn crescent became 
sm:dler i^nd smaller, and the opening in tlie clouds 
seemed to incri*ase. 

'^Thc la,«5t minutes before the totality (wh'ch began 
at tw<-nty minutes pa.st six o'clock) went lapjiily away. 
Dr. Fritsche and mysc'f crept into the Unts, wh« re 
we remaijied, consequently we have setn nothing of 
the toialiiy. Our work began; we exposed the first 
plate five and leu tecond^, in order to know what wb« 
the just time. 

"* Muhammed, our black servant, brought the first 
attempt into my tent. I poured the iron developer 
over tJie pla'e, eager to know what was to Pom«\ At 
this moment my light M'as extinguished. I called for 
light, but nobody heard me, as all were about their 
task. I atretcheii my right hand out of the tent, hold- 
ing the chest in the left, and happily ca'ight a email 
oil lamp, which I had previously prepared. As d now 
I saw the image of the sun appearing on the plate. The 
dark margin of the Bun was surroimded by a series of 
peculiar elevations, the other side showed a strange 
hook ; ihe phenomenon being exactly the same in boi" 



IKnghMh £ditioiv Vol. XTIII., Ho. 467, Ya«M22n,%2a.\ 




tAt HPW%, 




\ Spectrum Ob^rvations atul tlie HdcetU Eclipse of Q^ Saiu 




rw«. MjT joy was great, but there was no lime for 

'tae.itn I sooQ rcHit'ive^l the second^ nnil, after 

^r minute, the third plate. 'The sun is coming 

exclaimed Dr. Zenker. The totality wua over. 

i to have been don*' in & moment. 

V eloped the st^ond plalo I petceivod 

--_. ...,;; tracoa of an image. The cloud* h.id 

the sun at tlie very moment of tlie exposure 

i'.I iriliii- trave two brilliant vicw>, with prutube- 

wer niargiii. Glad to Jiave reached bo 

-d, tixcd, and vamiahcd the plitoe, and 

ktelv took some copies on jil«'=8, whicb were to 

Itched to Europe separately/* 

tJie day of the eclipse Major TefTjcAHT wiote from 

to the Aiitrononu-r Kiiyjil fts follows : — 

**Thiu morning was very promising, and if it had fol- 

low^'l tlip course of it^ predecesstr we shouhi have had 

•nt clear sky, but it clouded o\*er the east 

■ ufnulostratj, which, while hardly stopping 

interfere very much with the photngraphio 

/ ; and the result was that itvery aegativL* was 

icr-expose'l, and we have 1 ttle more thati very d«.Mi8£r 

kis ehowiug the protuberance^:. The six plates 

rf'd for were duly exposed, hut the heat go r^n- 

ilrated the nitr.itc of silver solution that, besides 

\% hat faint trwea of any corona, fhey are all 

" With spote. Still wc may make ^omcrhing of 

L And will try, 

yaptain Branfi!! reports the protubcancea unpo- 
si, and the corona strong'y pohu-ise<l evoryw^here 
a p ant" pajisiug through the centre of the nm. 
/' Complernentarily, I have to rejwrt a continuous 
fcLniin from the corona, and one olbrifrht lines from 
pr Muincnce I examined. I am, I believe, safe in 
ring that three of t!»c lines in the spectrum of tSc 
►tubtTance« correispond to c, n, and &. I savv a line in 
green near f. but I had lost so much lime in'findinjr 
►tuberiince (owing to the finder having changed 
itrnent since laet night) that I lt>t;t it in the sun- 
fore measuring it, and I believe I saw fruoea of 
in the hhje near a, but to see them clearly involves 
liiri^e change in the focue of the telescope, whicli 
oat of the question then. 
" I cuncludc that, my result is th.it tli'' atmosphere of 
aim 16 mainly of non-luminous (or faintly luminou'*) 
At a short diata loe from the limb of th a sun. It 
Y have had faintly luminous lines, but I had ttv open 
jaws a good deal to pet what I could see at first, 
coneeqiicntly, the lines would be difTuficd somc- 
atill I think I should have seen then*. The pro- 
Itience I examined wa3 a very hig^li narrow one, 
tost, to my eye, like a bit of the Buti through a 
in brightnesfi and colour (I could see no tinge of 
I, and Bouiewhal zig'^agged like a l]a«h of light- 
\, It must have been three minut<!!S high, for it 
On the preceding eide of the sun near the vertex, 
was a marked object, both in The last photo-plate 
St before tlie sun reappeared, and to the eye. 
'* Ca[itain Branfill saw the piominences coloured, as 
two other gentlemen ; but one in my observatory 
tc myst'lf) only saw it white. I should, however, 
that fur long I never saw c* Orionia markedly red. 
»r Antnres, and I may not catxjh red soon, though I 
\\t conceive this being so. 
conclusion, I may note that the darkness was very 
and the colour not half »o gloomy as in the e^dipse 
1857, which waapiirtial a?, Delhi, where I whs then. " 
2 days after wriling the above, Major Tennaut 
to Dr, Warren De la Rue as Ibllows: — 



pro! 



rhai: 



^lottr), 



tbt, 



**I did myself the plensure of sending Mr. Airy a n- 
port, such as I could hurriedly make, upon the iSth, 
of what we had seen and done. Since then we have 
been enlarging the phot<.^graphff, and I am very well 
satisfied. Tlie clouds reducei the a'.linism very much 
and very unequa'ly, bni. that has shown new things I0 
me. ist. There is very little corona. 2nd. The cloudy 
structure of prominences is very marked. But the most 
remarkable thing i'j a great horn, whicli seems to have 
been 3' 20" nearly high. I have, as I told Mr. Airy, 
clearly seen in i's spectrum, c, d, and h and I btdieve 
I saw F, but did not idei.tily it Now tliis shows boUi 
in No». I and 3 (photographs) as a ribbon of light, 
coi'ed spinilly round a semi- transparent centre. It ie 
very beautiful, and marked in 3, which was taken two 
minutes aft-er the (cotnmencemetit of> trttnlity, and I 
am doing my best to keep this feature (to retain thi« 
feature) in the conies. !No. i was Uken apparently 
before the last of llie s jn went. Phillip? (one of hiK 
assislants) says it was, and there is u ppot of fog euth 
as would be tlK* result. There id a One line of light 
seen tlirough all th s fog much brighter than the corora, 
Tl«ia, too, I a»Ti keeping on enlargjng. We have got six 
enlarged poisltives about z\ inches in diarat^ter f om 
ertch negative. Every one of these shows tlie Binie 
remarkable spiral structure in the great, horn, I find 
there are traces in a drawing which Dr. Jansiicn got 
made of th.it prominence (mentioned in the first pjirt 
of his letters aa invisible (o the eve) of which I spoke. 
Tt.e positive c<ipie3 I will enlarge t > nine inch&s." 

The following communication w.is ttddrcss»*d by 
Lieut. Joii-M HKRgoHEL, R.E., to Mr. Huggins, F.R.S., 
and is dated Belgaum, Aug. 25 tb : — 

" The week preceding the event had quite prepared 
me for disappointment. There Reenis to be an annual 
cloudy and rainy season at Jamkandi, wh'ch lasts 
about a fortnight, and was said to be Sf^mpwhat later 
and mire marked than Uiiual this year. The mnrning 
broke, however, 8« usual, clear, but the dr'vlug mon- 
so m clouds soo.i «^h wed the kind of sky we were 
to expect. Ahout a quarter of a minulc before totali- 
ty a thick cloud obscutvd the sun. I had placed the 
slit (of the spectroscope) so as to cross the ctu«ce» t » t 
about the vanis' ing point of the limb, and was watch- 
ing the narrow sol.r spectrurri grow rapidly nariower. 
You may conci-ive the sUitJ of nervous tens'on at th « 
moment. Whatever the roro-ia wascompelent to ^how 
must in a few seconds have been revealed— unlef?s, in- 
deed, it should so happen thai a prominence should l>c 
situated at that prfci^c spot^ in which case the doulih* 
spectruin would be firesented, But the s<»lar apcctruni 
faded out while it had sttll Bppreciable wilth, and I 
knew a cloud was the cause. I went to the fnnlcr, re- 
nmved the d;irk glai^J, and waited — in that lever of phi- 
losophicfil impatience which recognises the futility of 
irritation, evi-n wliile it chafes under the knowledge of 
fleeting second-i — how long I cannot .say, perhaps half 
a minute, I can well recall the kind of frenzied temp- 
taiion to turn screws and look somewhere else, checked 
by the calm tickmj of the clock telling of a firm hold of 
the right p'ace, cloud or no cloud. Soon the cloud 
hurriod over, following the moon's direction, imd there- 
fore revealing first the upper limb, witii il« radiating, 
and, as I fancied, scint Ilating corona, and tlien the 
lower limb. Instantly I marked a prominence ne^ir 
the needle point in the finder. A rapid turn of the 
taufjent screw covered it with the point f'f the medle. 
Those few Seconds of unveiling wtre pr^ictically a'l that 
I saw of the eclipse as a speclalor. With ll 



[EagliMb Edition, Vol X7Z1L, Ho. 467, irtLj** QBB, a2a."\ 



tSjJt^ 



oUfyi'vaUons and the Heceni Eclipse of the Sun. 






>f a hurried glance into Hie fintier at a later period to 
rat* h for ftno:li<T break, I was the whole time engaged 
\t the 5pLCtr.»»cope, I have not the remotest idea from 
nctaal esperience of the li-xtemal pheiiomena which 
were preheat to Uje thousands of upturned faces whoso 
voices I heard outside. I might easily hive lifled the 
curtain and looked out while the cloud-f were obstruct- 
in*,^ That I did not do so '\» only to be explained by 
the absence of mind, as regarded all else, pro<luced by 
the concentra'ion of attention on the problem before 
me. To return : the instant the prominence was under 

needle point I returnerl to tirie spectroscope. A 
ingle glance solvod the problem in great measure. 
Three vivid hncB — red, onmge, blue I No otiiera, no 
trace O't a continuous spectrum. I think I was a Uttle 
excited about this time, f »t I shouted quite uflnecps- 
i-ari'y to ray recorder, ' Kid, grc n, yellow.' quie con- 
acioud of the fact that I meant orange and blu«\ 1 lo»t 
no time in applying myself to mea-ureraent. And here 
I hesitate; I liave no idea how those five nijnutea 
passed so quickly. Clouds were evidently' passing con- 
inually, for the lines were only visible occasionally. 
[•he red must have been less vivid than the or- 
ange, for after a short attempt to mefiSire it I p!i3->tfd 
on to secure ihe orange, and, aucceeding to my salis- 
f.ic'ion, tried for the blue line. Here 1 was less buc- 
ce*sfu'. The {rl:mp:;ea of lii^ht were rarer and fcebhr, 
the line iself growing shorter and furtlier Irom the 
cros'. I did, however, place the cross very near the 
true position, and got a reading just as the re-illumina- 
tion of the field of view informel nie that the sun had 
reappeared on the other limb, I consider tliere can 
be mt qnc.'^tion ihat ihconinge lino wns identical with 
n (sodium), 80 ffir, at least, as the instrument is compe- 
tent to establ b)i an identity, I also consider that the 
identity of the bhie line with f (hydrogen) is not es- 
tablicihed ; ou the eontr.iry, I beheve the Jbmier ie less 
refracted th:m r, but not much. With respect 10 the 
red line, I ht?siiate much in asisign'ng an apjiroxiraale 
place. It might have been near c { hydrogen). I 
doubt its being so far as n, hut there would be its iJm- 
itt*. The corona may have projected a spectrum of 
Borne kind, but 1 saw none. I theref<jre conclude it was 
a faint solar spectrum, a conclu ion in accordance with 
other characteristics of the phenomenon, but especially 
with the (flickering?) radiiting apf>eaia:x'e, and with 
tlie Ratiafacl()ry delermin:itlon by Lieut^'nant W. M. 
Campbell, R,E., of the comiitions <<f po'aiisation ob- 
taining in the corona. At present it is fiulhcient to 
st.ife that ihe^^e oh-ervations leave no doubt that tlie 
light of the corona is p»»lari8ed in pli.ce? passing through 
the Fun',-? centre. I Lave had no communication 
with any other observers Mnce the event. I am curi- 
ous to Ifam how far our results will corroborate each 
oth.r." 

Captain C. T. Haio, R.E., who observed the eclips^e 
ai Be^'japoor with a hand spectroscope, has forwarded a 
communication to the Pnaident of the Royal Society, 
from which we extract the following r — 

"I may state at onc<' that I observed the sprc- 
tra of tivo red flames rli>se to each other, and in their 
spectra two broad bright bands quite sharply defi-^eiJ, 
one rose-madder and the other light gnkJen. These 
spectra were Boon lo.st in the spectrum of the moon's 
edge jupt before emergence, which had also two well 
d» fined bright bonds (one j^recn and one indigo) iibout 
a quarter the width of the bands in the spectra of die 
Dames, th 8 spectrum being again soon lust in ihebrgiit 
hu alight. 



"While tlie obacutalion was increasing, Captain Twn- 
tier, during the few peeps we got nt the ecli[ifie, made 
drawings of the sun's spots, and sketcheil the nt'>untain3 
on the moon's ed.ye, of which there were tv\o pLdnly 
visible even with my suiall tiieodolite, The darkness 
increased very slowly t:h just before totality, when th«j 
increase was verv rapid and sudden, and a g^nenil 
ppontaneoi.s exL-lamutioa *Ohl' frorn all of us gave 
Mr. Kero Laxi.man th<i time of beginning of lolidity, 
which he recorded as 9h. im. 49s. The eclipse waa at 
that time compk-tfly shut out from our view by the 
clouds — uiuibi low down being carried past by tlie high 
wind ; wc therefore fidt at leisure to make our rema^k^<* 
on tlie degree of the darknes?, which we were surprised 
to find so far fsoni total. We could easily writ<^, rca<l 
our writing, and read the swonds of our wa'ches wiih- 
oat the aid of artificial ligliL We were all lamenting 
our misfortune in not being able to observe the ecUpse, 
and had givtn up alt hope of witnessing the phenome- 
na we bad come so i'nv to see, nnd Ciiptain Tanner had 
just noticed the faini reappearance of light in the 
west, wheti, contrary to all expectation, and to our in- 
tense salisfiictiun, a t-udtlen openirjg in the nimbi show- 
ed us the eclipse through the tirrocumul'. We were 
each at our ttilecopes in an instant. I immediately 
8%M' thiou>;h the naked telescope of ihe sn:all tiieodf 
lite that red flames were visible, and at once poini 
the spectro-cope, using the theodo'ite tolesqop© 
re-t. Very fortunately I directed the spectroscope 
with its * refracting edge' tangent lo the moon whe 
two red flames were protruding j^eparate from c-ach 
other l»y a small interval; so that their spectra, whicU 
were identical, -were extended over the dark bi 
giound of the moon's disc, and stood out in most m 
ed and brillianr ctmtra-t with the feeble but con:ii 
ous spectrum of the corona ; »ind in their :?pcctr«m th 
Were the two broad bright bands I have above 
pcribed. Mi stfo tunately also, these red flames w( 
on the part of the sun which fir^t reappeared ; so ll 
just before or just Miemergeiice tht-re appeared at 
very part I wa* intently obseivii g one brilliant wide 
spectrum with the ^Teen and indigo bands before de'- 
^cribed, remaining visible for im interval ju^t loi 
enough to enable me to make qnitesure of the posil 
of the t-ands, whiuh were thenobliterjited by the bri[ 
light of the sun. Of course, ohg. rving with the epec- 
trOFCopc alone it would liave been impossible lo say 
whether the spectrum with the green and ic<Hgo bands 
appeared just before or just after emergence: but' 
think it nnist have been just belore, because Lapl 
Tanner called out when totaliiy was over; and I ; 
mediately remarked that I thought he was rather h 
but he was quite confident about the accuracy of 
observation. What struck me aa being very remail 
ble was the circumstance that though the light of 
red flames was 1,0 the naked eye so feeble a.s to be 
shone to exiinction by that of the corona, neverthtl 
when viewed with the spectrosc* pe, the spectriim 
the corona was very weak, and that of the flanries 
raarkably briliTant. On tiie first glimpse of the eclij 
before looking through the telescope, tlie corona 
pearcd so bright that it gave me the tnomentary 
pression (aa it did to Captain Tanner) of its being 
atinulir eelipse. We are divided in our estir 
the length of the interval during which we obsei 
the totality. It appeared to me very short — so mi 
so that when it was over I was quite taken by surj 
to hear that both Captain Turner and Mr. Kero 
uman had taken sketches of the Games; and 



[tngUah Edition, Vol X7IIL, Wo. *67, y»V» 22», «».\ 



} Spectrum Observations and ifie Recent Eclq/sc nj ike Suii. 



[•'retchea, both as fo position ami a'ructure, were, wilh 

ODC ftligjjt exception, rtrmarkably c^Jmci1iL•^lL From 
the time of iiij Grst pointing the spectroscope to the 

*burstin<; our. of tbe sun's liglit I nerer once withdrew 
my eye, though it hftrl b?en my intention to ahitl the 
pnsnx-oap o\\ to the {cle>cope of the theodohte as soon as 
I shoutJ have carefully n «ti'c! tho spectrum of the 
fljimes; but whrle I was iriiently cazing on tUe two 
bri/ifht hand* t<i impress tfieir colour well on my 
memory, a new apeelrnni of the rn xm'a m\\*M 
appeared, so that I was under tlie impres-ion that the 

I length of the I irue of ohaerva*ion was ver}' abort, f)n 
the other h,in I, Captnin TunnrT. judging from the 

intnoxint ol' work he did in ihe timr\ e!4tim:ited it at a 
minute. Mr. Kero Laxuman estimftted it at 40 or 45 
seconds. Immediately afli-r the totality was over we 
»U thrt- e made rongh notes of our observations; and 
Captain Tannet'a and Mr. Kero Laxuman'a notes agree 
together wonderfully in their descripUon of the struc- 
ture of the flames." 

'* Thc^ following is an extr;»ct from Captain Tanner's 
notes, taken almost immediaiely after the eclipse: — 
* I at fl St saw thr<:'e promineucej* — one long curved | 

I pointed tongxie, and two close together, straight but , 
flat-topped, abiiut tw-i-thifd^ the height of the forra»T. ' 
They were of a rose-madder oolour, and were deciddUy I 
more likr flames than anything eb'e, not only iii their 
general appearance aidtolour, but by tlieir being com- 
jK)8ed of smaller tongues of flame parallel (or nearly so) 
to the general axis of the Uame, so tlxat they had a 
streaky af^pearanee, and a ragged edge. At llu- firat 
glance, when the sun was s^jmc what obscured by cloud:*, 
I thrni jfht they were hoinr>gt*neoui^ and had hard edges * 
but this idt^a w:is at once dl-^pelled when thf clouds 
cleared olT, The two pofuberances, wbi^^h were elo^e 
together, were not, as far as I could see, joined hy any 
smaifcr shots of flame. I afterwards observed one 
Fmall protuberance, and marked the position nf it in my 
sketch, I dill not obsrrve that it was streaky, &■< the 
others were — perhaps on account of ita being ao small, 
»nd pf-rhaps because I had m>f suflitient ttme t.> exam- 
ine it properly. As regards the cnrona, wh«n we first 
l»egan to see the eclipyo through the clouds, I \va.s nn- 
der fh-ii impression that the im Ijpse, instead of lH.Mng 
tital W.1R only annular, 8> bright was the corona nenr 
the m »on*8 limb. I could not detect any irngidariti a 
in t!.e structure of the corona, but the light appeared 
lo be irriidually shnled off all louiid. 

** * There is a curious coincllfni-e which I may here 
mention, though I imagine it can only be regarded a.s 
pujely fortuiiOi'F, vij!., that thfllatnis were almost ex- 
actly or»pofli(e the ypots on the pun's di^c' " 

J. N. LocKTER, E'ii)., ha.s foi-warded the folowing 
letWr to the Secretary of the Royal Society : — 

"OctobwM. 1868. 
"Sir, — I beg to antic'pntc a more detailed communi- 
cation by informing you that, after a number of failun.^, 
which made the attempt s -em hopeless, I Ijare th a 
inorning perfectly succeeded in obtaining and observ- 
ing rwirt of the spectrum of a solar prominence. As a 
resulr I have established the existence of three blight 
linea in the following positions : — 

I. Absolutely coincident withe. 
IK Nearly coincident with f. 
III. Noar D, 
" Ti>e third Hue (the one near n) is more refrangible 
than the more r<-^frangib]e of the two darki-st lines by 
eight or nine dejjireea of KircIihoR's scale. I cannot 
Kpeak wi^ exaetDe^^s, as this part of the spectrum re- 



quires re-mapping. I haTe evidence that ttie prom:- 
nr*nce was a very fine one. The instrument employed 
is tht'solac spectroscope, the funds for the onstruction 
of which were siapplied by the Government-Grant 
Committee. It is to b* regroHed that its constrnction 
has been so long delayed. — I have, &c., J. N^jrman 
Ltjckyer/' 

Mr. B. Stewart, writing to the Athenoenm, speaks of 
ibis discovery as fuUiiws:— 

'' Pl few days since I received the following note fi om 
Mr. Lockyer, dutcd the 20th of October, who had alrea- 
dy ccmmunicaied his discovery to the Royal Socif^ty : 
' Got a prominence wiih the new spectroscope : got ttje 

f positions of three lines; one corresponding 10 c abso- 
utely, one to r very nearly, one eight, or nine degreed 
of Kirchtioff 'jt scale more refrangible than the most re- 
frangible D line.' Ilucogn'ising the importance of this 
announcement, I immediately sent an account of it tii 
Mr. De la Rue, who was in Pai is, and who communi- 
cated the notice to the Academy of Sciences. M. De 
Lann ly, to whom the communication was madn imme- 
diately replied as follows: *l th^ink yuu for ihe new 
and interesing observation which I have just received, 
and which I shall be happy to communicUe lo the Acad- 
L'xny of Sciences at their next meeting Some mitmtrs 
aftir I received your note a letter reached me from M. 
Jang^sn, who went to India t'> observe the eclip^ of tfie 
iS(b of AuguBj from the spectroscopic point of view. 
I will commimicate his lettt-r to the Aciidemy also sc 
tlie next meeting.' 

" Here, then, we have a very marked iusfa ce of 
two obsorvtTS, quite iDdependinlly of each other, ob- 
serving the same fact witlt cetain tliffercnces, M. Jans- 
sen, it will be noticed, declarea for hydrogen, butnani»^a 
no lines; he consider:^ the bright lines bs coincid nt 
with the d^rk lines of the spectrum. Mr. Lockyer, 
how ver, has not obta ned this coinciilence — in fnct, iu 
a further communication ri'« eived from hira, he lays 
stress on the want of c«imp!ete coincidence except in 
one case, wjtliout in the meantime atttrnpting to in- 
terpret the cause. Probably hia spectroscope is more 
powerful than that t'f M. JansM n. But for this point, 
and doubtless niimy others, we must wait lor the prom- 
ised dit.'oled communication to the Royal So -ieiy. 
The=e differences of fact, while they render the problem 
of great scientific interest, are not the only differencea 
which o'^ght to be borne in roii>d. Abhough the pri- 
ority of observation is due to M. Jansson, yet the pa.s- 
sibility of the di-covery was suggested by ^Ir. Lockyer 
more than two years ago, and lo my knowledge he has 
been working at it since ttjat time; whereas M. Jans- 
son f ankly acktiowledges that the id^.-a only occurred to 
him during the erlipse itself This fact was very nobly 
reft^rred toby M. Faye, at »he dtscus<-iou which followed 
the announcement of the di-covery at the Academy of 
Sciences." 

The following remarks conden?ed from tlie Saturday 
Reiiew, give a few more details of Mr. Lockyer'a dis- 
covery : — 

" Another stride in advance has to be recordcnl in solnr 
physics — perhaps at this moment the most progiessiv? 
department in .«o cnce. Thou;^h much more detailed 
knowledge probably remsuns lo be reached by prolonged 
obsfTvation, we may say broadly that the SfKictroscope 
has now rcTealed the nnture of snlur prominences — the 
red fltimes of the eclifi8e*-just as two yeiira aao the 
same beautiiul metliod solved the sun-spot problem, 
and not long before settled the Texed question of the 
coDstitulion of nebulte. Solar science beloags essen- 



[EvgllBb rditlon, Vol TVni^Vo, 4CT,^i««2"Mi,XM.\ 



H 



Hpecirum Observatiaiis and ffie Recent Mcllpse of the Siui^ \ ^^*S^SS^ 




lially to our own time. The aadcnt faith that the 
great luminary was a sphere of inconceivable bright- 
ness and epotli 83 purity wns, it \& true, rudely dis- 
turbed two centuries and a half ago, whi,*n Galileo and 
his conteijipoi ai it 5 ob^iervcd that the *Bolar disc waa 
subject to crupuons of dork spota long supposed to be 
opaque clouds or solid bodies hiding a portion of the 
incandeecont surface. But nearly 150 years elapsed 
befure Wilson's discovery that the spots were cavities 
in tlie phot<>s()heni (a discovery nuw absolutely con- 
firmed by the modem observatiouit of Mr. De la Rue 
iind others), and tlien another century paa?ed before it 
was ascertained why these cavities looked dark, and 
>vhut was the nature of the dist^jrbancea wiiich produced 
them. Thi+ has been the work of the laat few year,*. 
Two rival theories for a short time strug^le<l for pre- 
eminence, one of ih &e, due tfj M. Faye, explained the 
pheuocneuon by supposing that the ma»3 of the sun was 
composed of nebulous matter too much disorganized 
by ita excessive heat to shine with much brdliancy, 
while the hglst waa duo to the partial condensation of 
the vaporous gurfuce into incanJesccnt particles in the 
roolei' photospliere. A spot, according to this view, was 
produced by an up-nish of the superheated and le»! 
brilliant vapour through the photosphere. The other 
theory was aupporied by three English a&tronomers — 
Mr. De In Rue, Mn Balf^iur Sewart, and Mr. Loewy — 
who had been making diligent aohr observationH at 
Kew. Their theory wa3 based on tJie established fact, 
tliat wliife the briglit photosphere fuU of incandescent 
rarticlts envelops the sun, the photosphere itself ia in 
itfi turn surrounded by an absorbent atmosphere; and 
they held that a j^pot was produced by a down-rush of 
this atino8ph(!re into the region of the photosphere. 
Partly by displacing nnd partly by obscuring the photo- 
K|*hert% the whirlwind of Jitmosphere, according to tliis 
view, darkens the cavity of the spot. Much evidence 
was accumulated in favour of the English theory, but it 
was not conclusively established untd the year 1S66, 
when Mr. Lockyer applied to the investigation the 
name method of spectrum analysis by the aid of which 
Mr. Huggtns had a short time before ascertained the 
constitution of nebulae." 

In the same jjaper iu which Mr. Lockyer announced 
Ilia solution of the sun-spot difficulty, he sug^'est^d the 
pertinent quosiion whether the spectroscope might not 
afford U6 evidence of the red flames w^hich total eclipses 
had revealed. The question was not a mere barren 
conjecture, fur Mr. Lockyer employed the spectroscope, 
whicfi he had mounted for the examination of bud- spots, 
in diligently sweeping round the edge of the sun in 
search of such special spectrum as the prominences might 
give. From the year 1 866 these observations were con- 
tinued without result, and another observer, Mr. Stone, 
who afterwards commenced a simdar search, was equal- 
ly u.T successful ; but at length, in the early {>art of the 
present month, a spectroscope of much greater power 
wa-? mounted, and Mr. Lockyer was soon rewarded by 
a sight of the prominence-spectrum, which, so far as the 
observations have yet gone, appears t-* cons at of three 
bright lines — one CJireRponding exactly to the dark line 
c in the red portion of the solar spectrum, which is com- 
monly couaide cd to be due to hydrogen ; anolher 
tioarly coinciding with the line r at the confines of the 
blue and green, which is also ascribed t» hydrogen ; and 
a ihird at a little distance from the conspicuous sodium 
, lines D, bat clearly distinct from ihem, and, curiou-ly 
ugh, witliout any corresponding hnc which has yet 
D noted in tlie solar spectrum. 



" Before this result was achieved bsd communicated 
to tlie Royal Society, tlie ec'ipse had taken place, and 
severul observers ha<i gone to India and other places 
within the region of totality, armed with apparatus for 
the examination of the prominenct-spectrnm. All of 
these observers had reported that they got a spectrtim 
compo.^d of bri^'ht hues alone — the evidence of bunj- 
ing gas ; but, either from the necessary hurry attendant 
upon observations during the few minutes allowed by 
the period of total obscnratiut,, or from some other 
cause, the most remarkable discrepancies appeared in 
the positions as-igncd U> the line?. Captain Herachel, 
who represented the Royal Society, reported three linea 
— one absolutely identii^al with n, another not quite 
an-recing with r, and ttiC third Bomewhere near b or c 
Major Tenn'int, who wont to Gunioor, in India, ou 
behalf of the Ruyal Astronomical Sjciety. rejiorted 
three lines, 0, d, and b —this last being ia a rc;.'ion where 
no other observer excofit M. Rayet saw any line at all. 
M. Rayet, who wa'i yt Wah-Tonne, considered that ho 
detected as many as nine lin*^8 — b, d, e, 6. anoiher un- 
known hue, two of the linos about r, and the line 0. It 
will be observed that liearly all the linea named by 
these observers are given as actually corresponding 
with known solar hnes. M. Janaseu, who repre.*5ented 
the Academic iles Sciences and tiie Bureau des Longi- 
tude;*, reports the hydrogen lines as the principal line.«. 
As yet the detailed accounts from these obarvers have 
not been received ; but it eocms probable, from the un- 
certainty with wlilch the position of some of the lines 
is spoken of, an*! the \side discrepai cy between the re- 
sults of different observations, that the linen were de- 
termined, for the most part, rather by estimate than by 
measurement. Although, therefore, the echiKse obser- 
vations had removed all doubt as to tlie gaseous natura 
of die prominences, and thus amicipated the rtsuli ob* 
tained by Mr. Lockyer, the di8::overy tliut the spec- 
trum of the prominences might be observed at any 
time rendered It possihle to ascertain the exact position 
of the lines with a precision which was far from being 
attiiined in the ohs- rvations made during the eclipse. 
Scarcely, however, had it become known that the aci.rch 
for the prominences bad at last proved succ sslul, when 
a letter arrived in Pari^ from M, Jans?en, slating that, 
while making his eclipse observations, it occurred to hitn 
that he ought to be able to see the pri>minence-spec- 
trum without calling the moon in aid to relieve him 
from the brightness of the sun. Ac^^ordingly, befure re- 
turning from Guntoor, he ha 1 made the attempt, and 
succeeded in getting several views of the prammt«nce- 
spectrum some weeks before Mr. Lockyer had aehieved 
the same result in England. It hjia often be n r«marked 
how frequently Siieitiftc discoveries are made hy in- 
dependent observers at the sauietimp, anil perhaps ihe 
coincidence waa seldom closer thati in thi» instance. 
The French obrerver was the lirst wlio actually ca«g|jt 
sight of the coveted object, but the Englisliman had 
been the first by a year or two to suggest and com- 
mence the seareh, an J was the first to publi.Hh \m dis' 
covcry. His results were announced lo the Royal So- 
ciety, and by Mr. De la Rue to the Aeaddmie dea 
Sciences, before tlic arrival of M. Junssen's letter, which, 
singularly enough was delivered to the President of the 
French Aca lemy a lew minutes after a moro detailed 
announcement of the EngUali discovery li&d been r6-> 
ceived by him, 

" M. Jan^sen's letter, which appeiretl in tho Moniicur 
of tho 25tb instant, stales that the promiaenccsare prin- 
cipally composed of hydrogen, a result which, as to tlte 



^ 



[EogUMh EdJtion,^VoL XVUI^ Wo. 4(Sr7, ^a^eaai,^ 



^^^^^SS™" } JM^Mmr 



n of Silicon J trraj}hite, Man 




and Steel 



U le c, entirely a^ees with Mr. L jckvcr's. We aha*I 
wait with ifjtir.rost t-o a^e whethci- on thu receint of t'»e 
^ rcpjft which M. Jansscn as well a'* Mr. 
lis. '8, his conclusijna will be foutid in 
to agree absolutely with thoae of ibe 
lomer; but it is scarcely likely, from the 
' ' -:• lii LJi- process, that there should be any discrep- 
uLicy. One ob-erver may, possibly, by devoting liim- 
too exclusive!y to one part of the spectrum, miss a 
li another detects ; but, with the ujetlK>d of 
ration devUei by Mr» Lookyor, a line which is 
seen cunuot well be a&sigtied to a wrong place. 
r*pectro?copo be'ng directed, to the edge of the sun 
ihowa in the field of view a narrow belt of the true 
fipeotrum, and beyond th's corner the fainter epec- 
of the sun'a atmo^ipliere, in which the prolonga- 
of the dark line« is visible. When a prominenee is 
?a<rh<.H!, a>s the instrument Rweeps round the sutr, the 
right, line flashes out, somciimes overlapping both the 
rum of the sun and that of the atmosphere, and at 
tiraes entirely within, audihen af^'ain al some dis- 
beyoa I, the edge of the sun ; these variatiooia de- 
Liig of course on the form and position of the pro- 
fnec, and afF.rdinjr, as both M. Jansscn a:id Mr. 
♦kyer at once pointed out, the means of tracin;^ an 
outline of the pirominerjce observed. Whenever, 
tore, a bright line ia seen, it shows itself saperira- 
upon ihe actiuil ?oUr scale, and any error in as- 
ig its p>o-ilLon would be inconc'eivable. Where the 
jtUftUy corresponds lo a <lark line it appears aome- 
iS a£ atrikitig out the black line from the bright 
r SjMJCtrum, at others as prolonj^ang it with ahne of 
ight. Both these appearances were strikingly exhib- 
ited witli the line c, when we had the privilege of ob- 
srving the gpiectrum through Mr, Lonkyer'a inslru- 
icnt; and the extreme c!earne»is with which the line near 
b cADje out disposed in a moment of the idea, apparently 
entert^iiiiod by some of the observers in India, that 
ie two were i lentical Whatever this bright line 
lay be, it U certainly not a sodium line. At present 
la not cjertain that all the linos of the new sptcirum 
iVQ been fixed, and it is just concivable that one 
iromitience miglit be wanting in a lino disclosed by 
lothcT at a diflerent reginu of the ?un. But there 
reasrin to believe that the three lines already ea- 
hed for.n, at any rate, tl^e principal pai-t of the 
•urn. and that thoise were the tliree lines in fact 
by mojt of the observers, .although their positions 
50 diderently estimated Whether M. ttayet's nine 
in«« will ever be confirmed by the more exact and de- 
ibenite mode of obsrorvation now:*hown to he available, 
seems doubtful. It is not, however, worth while to 
«I>e:ulate on matters which a prolonged course of ob- 
jnration will traiislat^ai into the region of ascertained 
and we may be sure that the prom-nencc-speo- 
rum — now that it has once been cauglif — will not be 
ifl alone lill it has given up all the knowledge which it 
to communicate, much of which we hope to hear 
about at the next meeting of the Royal Sod.ty." 



>N THE DETEIIMINATION OF SILICON, GRA- 
PHITE, AND MANGANESE IN IRON AND 
STEEL. 

BY PROr. V. EaaKRTZ, 

K^nooi. OP Hiiia, PAOLDH, swn»tt« 

J?Ukon,OraphUe.—To 4 c.o.of sulphuric acid are add- 
30 CC of water in a beaker of J 00 c.c. capacity, 



and when the heat produced by the combination of the 
water and the ac'd has entirely disappeared, 2 grammes 
of pig-iron tinely powdered are shaken into the diluted 
acid and boiled for half an hour, (For st<;el and 
WToughi-iron not less than 3 grammes should be taken, 
and the a id for .solution added in tl»e proportion shown 
above for pig-iron.) The Rolution is then evaporated 
until it measures 18 cc, allowed to cool down the tem- 
perature of 50* C, and 4 c.c. of nitric acid sp. gr. 120 
added, boiled for a quarter of an hour, and allowed lo 
I'vajKnate on a water bath, until, on holding a watch 
pla88 over the beaker, thcTc occurs upon it no percep- 
tibit) contlensation. To the dry mass add 30 c.c. of 
water and 5 c.c. of hydrochloric acid sp. Rr. ri6, boil 
for a quarter of an hour, and add more hydrochloric 
acid if there appears to be anything besides silica and 
graphite undissolved in the solution. The iosoluble 
sdica and graphite are thrown on a filter, which 
h:w been dried at 100* C, and carefully weighed, 
washed with cold water until the wa&hings give no iron 
reaction when tested with li&rrocyanidc of potassium ; 
then washed with holing water containing 5 per cent 
of nitric acid, taking care not to allow the a»jid water 
to enter (he filtrate in which the manganese is to be 
estimated. Tlie silica and graphite are then dried on 
the filter at 100' C, and weighed, ignited in a porcelain 
crucible, and the weight carefully taken. The differ- 
ence between the weighings before and after ignition 
give? tlie amount of thp graphite. After ignition the .«ilica 
should appear quite wliite, any trace of red colouration 
showing it to be contaminated with iron. The percen- 
tage of si i'On in the silica is 48. 

MatiQanest. — The filtrate from the silica is diluted 
with water until it measures 400 c.c, and accurately 
divided into two portions of 200 c.c, eat.'h, one of which 
is set on one side, and in the other the mnnganesg w 
estimated in the following manner. (In the case of 
wroLiglit-iron and steel, where 3 grummes are taken, 
the solution is diluted to 200 c.c, and the manganese 
estimated without dividing the solution.) A saturated 
solution of carbtmate of soda is added to the manganese 
solution until it becomes nearly neutralised, appearing 
of a deep brown culour ; water containing 5 per cent of 
carbonate of soda is then added drop by drop until a 
slight turbidity occurs in the solution : and if on stand- 
ing in the cold this turbidity rather increases than di- 
minishes, sufficient soda has been added (if too much 
soda has been added^ and a precipitate is thrown down^ 
tlie excess of »oda must be nentralised by hydrochloric 
acid): to the slightly turbid solution i^ c.c. of hydro- 
chloric acid ia added, -and heated on the water bath un- 
til Ihe solution becomes^ dear; dilute with about half as 
much water as the volume of the solution, and add 30 
c.c. of a saturated solution of acetate of soda, boil for a 
quarter of an hour, allow tlic precipitated iron to settle, 
and decant the clear liquid through a filter, washing the 
iron by decantation with boiling water containing^ per 
cent of ftcetnte of soda; finally throw the iron on the 
filter, and continue the washing until bromine water 
gives no reaction, showing that all the manganese has 
passed through the filter : evaporate the filtrate down 
to 400 or 500 c.c, and at tne temperature of 50' C. ; add 
a few drops of bromine to precipitate the manganese, 
and keep it about that terajierature for twelve hours, 
stirring occasionally with a glass rod ; the solution after 
addition of the bromine becomes of a yellow or brown- 
ish colour, but should be perfectly colourless before 
filtering. The mnngane.se is now thrown on a fil- 
ter which has been dried at 100" C, and occurately 



[EDgiitOi Edition, Vol. ZVIIt^ No. 467, pa£«a 231, 13a.\ 



26 Strychnine.— -Molyhd£7ium and Chramtum. — Oermau Ttachin-g. 



CnniTrAl. Kuwi, 



weighed, washed with cold water containing I per cont 
of liydrochloric acid, dne t at io:>' C, and w^-iged. The 
precipilate is a hydrated oxide of manganese contain- 
ing J*/2i per cunt of msiiigftnese^ or precipitate? may 
also be ignited in a pjici.dain crucible at a wlntt< hrat, 
ftud is then auhydmug oxide of mftngiiuese contiuning 
72*05 per cent of munganeae. — Eiiginet:rinQ. 



ON THE PRODUCTS OP THE ACTION OF 
SULPHIDE OF AMMONIUM UPON STRYCH- 
NINE. 

BT PROFESSOR BOW, D.C.L., WINDSOR, NOVA SCOTIA. 

A PAPKR, by Dr. A. W. Hofraann, announcing the ex- 
istence of a compound of persulphide of hydrogen and 
strychnine, was given iu ab^stract in this journal (No. 
453, August 7, 1S6S, Ayn. Repr., Oct. 1868, page 180). 
My object in referring to it is to point out that some aub- 
etantie is probably formed in the reaction by wliich the 
corap mnd is obtained wUicli has not yet received ex- 
amination. The process employed is <>tie by which, as I 
showed in 1855 i^^if^- A^«'<' P^*^- Jo'irn.^ Jan. 1855, p, 
47), the hyp'isulphites of some of tlie alkaloids are 
readily formed. It consists in d jjesting the alkaloi4ls 
with sulphide of ammonium with free access of air. 
In conducting this operalion with strychnine, I found, as 
first raenlioneJ in 1854, in a paper '* On ihc Artion of 
the Halogen Compounds of Ethyl and Aruyl on some of 
the Vegetable alkaloids ''(Tran*. Royd Sac. Bdin., xxl, 
p. 33)f that a substance was produced evideiztly ditTer- 
ent from the hyposulpliite of strychnine, a white Bait 
crystallising in ri*ombo:dal plates, formed at the same 
time. It was d'^iubiless. thi* compound recently exam- 
ined by my illustrious master, and po.saibly I should have 
made out its nature had I remained in an utmosphere 
more scientific than th;it into wh ch my fate led uie 
Boon alter my account of the hyponlph tes referred to 
above was written. Ihe compound, 
C„H„N,0.,H,S,, 
of Hofraann, is described ns giving beautiful needles, of 
an orange colour, completely insoloble in water, alco- 
liol, ether, and sulphide ofcaibon. In my notos of the 
experiments relating to the hypo.sulpbit s, I find men- 
tion of "stars of yellow crystals," and "yellow red 
«tars,"^being deposited Mn the wal's of the vis^el con- 
taining strychnine, alcohol, and aqueous sulphide of 
ammonium. There can be very Uttic doubt oC tlie body 
alluded to by myself in 1^54 being identical with the 
compoimd in question, for the I'nnwledge of whose 
composition we are indebted t> Dr. Hofmann. It does 
not, however, appear that this is the only product of 
the reaction besides the hypoj^ulphiie of strychnine, for 
I find in the same notes mention of a yellow suVwtance 
which " dissolved in hot rectified spirit and gave a semi- 
crystalline deposit on cooling." Again, in the descrip- 
tion of the action of sulphuretted hydrogen on the car- 
bonate of ethylo^trychnine, I atstto {Edin, Xew Phil. 
Journ,, Jan. 1855, p. 55), "hyposulphite of et)jylo3t.rych- 
nine may be obtained by pissing sulphuretted hydro- 
gen into ilie carbonate of the base, and allowing the 
liquid to stand exposed to a moderate hent. It is, 
however, in this case accompanied by a product which, 
to ju Ige from appearances, is the same as tliat formed 
by the action of sulphide of ammonium ujion strych- 
nine. This substance has a yellow colour and is of ci- 
trtmo sohibihty in spirit, and nearly insoluble in water." 
Hence it appears that there are two yellow bodies 



formed, on** only of which Is as yet ful'y made out. I 
mention this btecausc some chemist may V>e induce 1 to 
take up an investigation wliich prornis'S inieresting 
results, I may add that, 1 began to examine the action 
of su'phkle of ammonium on stryclinjni?, as mentioned 
in one of the papori? referred to above, in the hope of 
asccrtiiining the function of the second atom of nitmgen. 
I was rewarded by makin;? the acquaintance of the hy- 
posulphites of the alkaloids, indeed, but by no definite 
results on the point in question ; such as I oVjtained 
arc now given, and I wish success to nny one who 
chooses to take up a problem which I shall moat proba- 
bly never again attempt to solve. 



ON A MODE OF EXTR.\CTTNa THE METALS 
MOLYBDENUM AND CHROMIUM. 

BY J. ENED LOUGHLIK, M.n. 

MoLTBDEKCTM was first prepared by Hjelm in ihe year 
1782. lib raelhod consisted in heating the tiloxiUe of! 
molybdenum in a porcelain crucible for two or three 
hours. Several other metliods have since been used, 
prominent among them being that of heating the aci«i 
molylKlate of potaBsium: also the reduction of molyb- 
date of ammonium by heat, or the reduction oftriox- 
ide of molybdenum by carbonate of soda. Molybde- 
num is described as asilvir while metal, not altered by 
contai.'t with air at ordinary temperature. Sp. gr. 8-5; 
not attacked by chlorhydric af^id or dilute snlphuric acid. 
Strong sulphuric or nitric acids, on the c^mtrary, act 
very powerfully upon it with evolution of sulphurous 
aci 1 and hyponilnc acid. Having had occasion during 
June, (867, to use some molybdemim, I tried thcmeth-1 
ods above stated ; they were all very satisfactory as 
regards the yield of pure metal, but the time was rath- 
er h'ng. I then had recourse to the reducing action oTJ 
cyaniiio of potjissium. Molybdic acid was preparetl 
and tested according to Fre<enins. The result being 
atisfactory a* regarded the purity ol the molybdic acid, 
10 grains of molybdic acid thus [repared were niixei 
with 15 grnins of tyanido of potassium placttd in a 

f>orcelain cnicible, wLicn porcelain crucible with the lid< 
uted was placed in another crucible, then surrounded 
by powdered animal charcoal and exposed to a whitel 
heat for twelve minutes. At tliat tiuje the cruciblea 
were removed, allowed to cool, and examine d ; the por-| 
celain crucible was found lined with a brilliant silver- 
white metal of a sp. gr. 8*56, which was not attacked ; 
by chkiihydric acid but violently atla' ked by niiricacidJ 
with evolution of hyponitric acid fumes; it reduceJi 
oxide of mercury and oxide of silver when triturated^ 
with these pubstances. An analysis of tins showed it j 
to consist of — 



Molybdemum ... 

Impurities, SiOa, C . . 



.9S7 

100.0 



By the same process, using sesquoixide of chromiuni! 
in place of molybdic acid, chromium was obtained, pos- 
sessing a sp. gr. 6*2, The best results were procured 
by using a reducing mixture of cj'anide of potassiuni. 
and animal charcoal. — Amerkan Journul of Science,^ 
July, 186S. 

A GLANCE AT GERMAN TEACHING. 

It is possible to exaggerate the value of laboratories, 
but it is also clear that fine work cannot be obtained by 



[EngUsb EdttioD, Vol XVUL, Wo. 4C7, pagw 232, 233 , Wo, 4fia,^t^l^^,\ 



eo&rsa machinery. A friend tells us th;it the finest — 
i. t^ most practical — laboratory he ever saw was in a 
kiml of Fhcd bu It hy Dr, Bosweli Reid, in Edinburgh, 
bat we kuovr- how ibe Scots admirt* tbetr own. To us 
it sei.'mrd that it Wi-s Litbig'a Dew laborato y that took 
us fairly out of iLc' liabits of the alchemistic age. Even 
jfcf^cr it was built, llfjd< Iberg ha'i it^ rhemist, a man of 
the Ijighest celebrity in Liij department, workinj«[ in a 
spot so rurnlslied with black farnaces, heavy hoods, 
crucibfe?. and other fire machinery that students from 
the iK'wer builJing scarcely could imiigine what work 
could be there done; and if they had road poetry and 
romance it wa^^, at first figlit, Faui^t, Auet bach's Keler, 
And necromancy that came mure readily into their 
minda than chemical apparatus. But if they approach- 
ed the aiudy, thcsf d stant times aoon disappeared. 
The master sat in a clt^ar and bright well-ordered apart- 
ment; usk him a qiustion oo any subject connected 
with chomislry, and before atiswfring lie goes to ono 
of the numerous pigeon-holes on the wall and t^ike^ 
outlijose leaves, each coutaininj^ extracts from the latost 
publicut ons. He himself sat us judge on all that the 
cbem cal world studied, (iraelin was a fine type of 
•man diligence in the study, Liebig showed a rarer 
of qnaUties; lie wrote, he worked, and he ttimulat- 
With Gmeh'n in the baud-* of ew-ry student, and 
example of Liebig driving them forward, tiie later 
impulses lo study chcmistty began, and have continued 
W4thout ceas ng. Thi:< i;^ ^aid in full apprt'dation of 
the brilliant chemists which Fratice then had, and we 
roay say has always had since the science bcg;»n, as 
well as of the fact that Berzchu.> was alive. liut there 
was a f jrce at that time, as tljcfe is siill, peculiarly ad- 
vanoi'ig in German action as well as thought. At id 
even when iier ideas did not lead, there was a vii^our 
in her sy&tem of education which turned ad eyes to- 
wards her. We may therefjre be excused Ibr taking 
her ns our chief standard oi comparison for our present 
purpo-e. On hi^tily reviewing the grov\ th of labora- 
tories of late, it set-med as if England were always 
stepping lorward, a]thoU;>h keeping behind Germany, 
and this even when we did not take the numbers into 
consideration. Few men have visited all tlio universi- 
ties of Germany, and none, probably, have seen at! her 
higher schools where science i> taught; but many fter- 
Bons have seen several of ihese, and none have seen 
tlicm without wonder. The political division of Ger- 
many has produced many peculiarities!, amongst others 
the many centres of education. 1'he cause lay partly 
iu the extent of the country, united with the sktw 
And dilficiilt travciliug. The'dcsire for politic.d union, 
the new impetus to the study of science, and (he be- 
ginning of railways seem to Lave acted on the nation 
Bimultaueously, and there arose the love uf wealth und 
a determination to do at least as much as Englmd hud 
done. 

The wealth of Germany thirty years ago was very 
slightly developed; even twenty years ago the people 
were not out of the traditions of the middle ages in 
great towns, and even now in small towns one may 
almost live as in the times of Luther. But within li n 
years there has been a growth of nianufiicturing indu?- 
try suiEcicnt to have altered the featun s of many 
place?, and the natives do not require to visit Birming- 
ham for chimneys, or even the black coimLry for 
dreariness. The wealth of the country is wonderfully 
increased, and liberty, pohtical and personal, has fol- 
lowed education. Some poUucians will reverse the : 
order — and sucli may have been to some extent the case I 



in our country: but it is also very clear tliat without 
education no hberty can be < omplete. 
I The change has been preparing for a long time. The 
preparation has been made by attending most minutely 
to a!l details of miinagement. The government has 
been like a kind but strong-willed father, that was de- 
termined to bring np every chid well, but was ready 
also to lay his hand heavy npon him if he diverged 
from the proscribed route» The consequence was a 
certain sameness and littleness if we looked at few 
parU«», but the extent was great The mode of educa- 
tion suited the national mind, which was slways 
tentive to small objects, even when attempting great.! 
We find in their ohl books as much formality as in tho 
present bureaus of the officials. 

One see3 it at the first moment of entering a hot 
where literal exactness is \ isible, and you are wi 
down. If you enter a university you mu^t underj 
still more ; you must have your certificate of birtli an( 
of confii'mation, soiuetirnes your certificate of vaccina- 
tion and your passport; and the German who leaves 
his home goes carefully preserving them through alL 
the world, as if by a kind of witchcraft he died withi 
Ilia description. The amount of writing everywhere 
done is strange to behold. If we enter still fnitlier 
and see his inner thoughts as displayed in his books, 
we find an attention to detail tlujt surpasses iho com- 
prehension of most of «!B. In describing a scene, we 
can imagin" him speaking of each object sepurately if 
time would permit; but he is obliged to be conU^nt with 
every species and variety, giving a fullness to bis work 
which makes it a mine of wealth to tht se who search 
for delnl. How far can we imitate him ? We thi 
never do exactly as he does ; but for a nation like ot 
selves, rather apt to rush to ends without making a 
beginning, an indtation to a large extent would be a 
fine training for our youtlis, Germany has been a 
slave to its details— why shall we be the same ? If it 
has been a slave it has been for the good of mankint 
It is the intellectual miser among nations — and what 
glorious run we can have amongst tJieir wealth — which 
they have supplied in amounts greater than weliave 
been able to squander. 

Let us try another illustration. The German intel- 
lect is farll est removed from the Irish — the first is 
conscious of every istep in reasoning ; the second leaps 
over a dozen, and often misses its way. The power of 
L'aping and flying arc gloriou.s power*. Ore may go 
tlirect to die top of the mountain without touching the 
sloughs below. The German crawls through the 
slouglis, but he leaves behind him a good substantial 
road, which only requires to be illuDnnated to become 
the raueh-desired object — a king's hiphwiiy to learning. 
It would be exceedingly pleasant to follow this out into 
the history of science, and to observe what Hashes of 
I'ght have gone from varioua nations ; hut it wotdd 
equally surpiise us lo Fee tliat the German will not be 
behind even if he have nothing to collect for his fire 
but Virushwood ; he will heap it up until it becomes 
grand by quantity. 

And how shnll we apply these remarks to ourselves? 
If we diifer from the German?!, why should we imitat-o 
their modes of education ? There is a mode of training 
every animal, but not one mode for all. Bome will 
say then, if the German i"? so fond of details, let him 
be' fed upon them ; if we Hke conclusions, let us have 
them, and waste no time. But this conclusion is too 
hasty. It is the weakness of the German to be io 
fond of detail, and it is his strength to be so well ftO- 



[EagllMh EdlUon, VoU XVm., Ho. 46B, VH« ^^\ 



28 



Spectrum Observations of the Sun. — PhospJuit^iH iti Agriculture* \ ^"jSSi 






qnainted witb de*ail ; it is our weakness to dislilce il, 
aiid it i8 our strength to ovorleap it Among these 
apparent can tradl -lions it seems hani to steer our 
c jurse, LqL we may begin thus: — A trained man can 
be (icwnded upon so far ; an untrained may do better, 
if he haa getiius ; and who can Idl what he may have? 
We cannot train mt-n to bo niarvela, and it' they were 
tlioy must siill submit to some extent, and the only 
ivsource left to us in to yield to the inQuenoe of plod- 
ding in eilucition, carinjj, Lo\VG\*erj to observe if any 
of the young thinking maehini^s tliat we arc polialiing 
t-'hew any peculiar movement which shall be indicntive 
of progress beyond the teucher's inicntJon. These 
spasmodic wilful movements may talcc place amongst 
our youths more rapidly than among- the Germans ; but 
it no losd bpcoun s us to look for fundamental frainin;; 
iu the direction whore it has bi en most successful. If 
our youth become weary sooner^ it ih well that we 
slmuid Reixc on them bs early as possible. It is from 
our Teuton friends that we have received models of 
careful teaching from their kindcrgartrn upwards. 
Those infant ec"l»ools were a st p beyond ours — intro- 
ducing prnctical lessons; their laboratories are the same 
idea carried out. Let a man touch and liandle if he 
will learn. Let our youth be taught, natural laws by 
Bering them in action, nut aa aba! ructions only, 

Tlie first thing that will occur to many people to say 
18—*" Thia is exactly (he method of the practical Eng- 
lish nation : the opp 'site has been the custom of the 
dreamy Germans," True we sent boys into practical 
life to pick up principles at random ; and those who 
tijought enough made systems for themselves. Thi^i 
apprenticeship method was good when principles were ' 
on the surface ; but when they are so deeply sunk that 
generations have b<!eu required to find tiietn, and when 
IJie phenoniL'tia theuiselvea are not superficial, the me- 
thod falls to the ground. No man can learn his duties 
in a clieraical wi'rk by apprenticeship, or by the imita- 
tion of the actions of others. 

The rapid development of the teaching of physical 
sciences in Germany was tlie result of previous train- 
ing, and the rapid development of manufactures fol- 
lowed immediately. 

But we must lake the privilege of Englishmen, and 
rush through intermediate stages to a conclusion. That 

sems to be that in Germany the army of labour in or- 
'l^niKed aa carefully as that for fighting. The unanim- 
ity is complete, and the determination to invade our 
matkels is stronj^. Every chemical work lm.<i at least 
one trained chemist, and the training is careful. With 
us it is frequently considered needless to have one for 
works, as they can go hy themselves, and small 

rorka cannot afford one. We know very well that thia 
ia not universal, but some of the exceptions are more 
apparent than real, and at any rate we shall defer 
speaking on that f>oint. 



SPECTRUM OBSERVATIONS OF THE SUN. 

In continuation of our account kst week {Am. Repr., 
Januuri/, tS(x),pnge J9), we have to report further diis- 
coveries on this subject. The Rev. Father Seechi, writ- 
ing to (he Abb^ Moigno from Rome, says: — 

'* Two words, in haste, to tell you tliat I have been 
able t-o satisfy myself of the reality of the discovery of 
Mee^irR. Janssen and Lockyer, on the luminous rays of 
iwlar protuberances, in full sun thi-^ morning. Yea- 
lay I received your copy of Mondes^ nud I set to 
rork this morning. As if by magic, alVer having di- 



rected the spectroscope towards the apparent upper 
edge of the sun, I hit upon a protuberance perfectly de- 
tached from the sun's border. 

^' The line, c, shone in the middle of the spectrum, 
and so as to render njiatake impossible, it was pro- 
longed above and below by the conUtmution of tlio 
black line. 

*' At one point about 45' from the apparent northern 
edge towards the a{>parent west, I found a second bril- 
liant ray, c, which encroached on the edge of the sun. 
At about 160" I found a twinkling protuberance, tliat 
is to say one which wa.H visible at intervals, and tljcn 
disappeared. Not trusting to my own eyes, I called 
my assistantB, and all, to tbe number of four, saw these 
cur'ous phenomena. 

" Returning to the first proful eranee, I distingushed 
the ray, f, but not so long; bcttidcs, I saw a brilliant 
ray beyond n, on the side of tlie blue, shine with great 
brilliancy, similar to that which separates the two 
widest rays of magnesium. 

" A very apparent fact, and one which shows the 
abundant presence of hydrogen, even where it does not 
shine as a protuberance, is that the ray, c, vaui-his al« 
most everywhere aruund the sim at the Fame time that 
the ray f becomes much enfeebled. It appears that in 
these regions the direct light has no other eflect tlian 
that of paralysing the absoiption of the i*est of the en- 
velope. What coiisefpiencca may we not expeet to re- 
sult from this discovery ? I wiE leave till another time 
the studies which I have made to lacilitate these obser- 
vations, I may say that I have seen all this by reduc- 
ing the aperture of my large glass to 8 centimetres; I 
feaied to endanger my sight by employing a larger 
aperture. The spectroscope is one of Ilofmann's, with 
two heavy flint pripms." 

Mr. Lockyer has made some additional observatioiiff, 
which are briefly described in the following extract 
from a tetter which he has written to Dr. Warren De 
la Rue :— 

'• Since my last communication the instrument which 
I used has been completed ; when I commenced, it was 
in a very imperfect state. I h.mve been able to re<'0g- 
nise that tlie protuberances are simply local accumula- 
tions of a gaseous envelope wiiich completely surrounds 
the sun, for in all parta of the circumference of the star 
I perceive the characteristic spectrum of the protuber- 
ances. 

" After aU there is something important in my com- 
munication of 1 866, It is a pity that in the s-arch after 
triiih we depend so much on the minute adjustment of 
our instruments. 

" The thickness of the new envelope, which I hope 
yo'i will pubhsh on my bthalf, is nearly 5,000 miles; it 
is marvellously regular in its contour. At the pole, ns at 
the equator of the sun, the spectroscope reveals its ex- 
istence at a sensibly equal distance from the disc of the 
star. 

" la a communication to the Royal Society I ahall 
point out how we may determine the temperature of 
this new envelope." 



PHOSPHATES IN AGRICULTURE. 

Mt'cn attention has been given of late in France to the 
treatment of coprolitea and other bodioa containing 
phosphates applicable as manures ; and an agricultural 
writer, M, Adolphe Bobterrc, has given, in the Journal 
de I AgricuUure^ of Pttris, an account of the methods in 



[Ea^Uat BdiUoo, Yol. IT^IIL, No. 468, pacoft^^, %iO*l 






Phosphites in Agi^i culture. 



29 



" ■•' ^ experimenla in conncctio:",with this import- 

from tropical regions," sftys 3if, Bobierre, 
■ - from the pampas of Central America, plios- 

Elt A ap.ititr,«s fVom Spain and Portugal, copro- 

tes ttnd nodtj'e^s from the early Unie3tt)ne Ibriimiion, 
the refuse of aufjar-housis and rcfinerit's, gelatine and 
butU^n innnufactork'P, ever)* tiling in la<;t which contuiriis 
phosphoric rcid in any quantity, is now the object of ] 
feerJous and generally piofitable ftppli-ation. Guano ia , 
obtained from the giddy heigh Is ol tlie mountnin peaks ] 
in sight of the coast of Bolivia, while in the Ardenne? 
•it is lonnd worth while to remove sixiy or more metres 
of argillaceous earth to obtain a ton cf phospha'ed no- 
dele«t wh eh, when washed and pulverise i, rival bone- 
black. 

The writer recognises the preat activity of Etiglish 
ebemist^ and Agr.cuiturL>ta with respect to pliosphates 
wid the product ion of superfthoaphafes, and the im- 
jnense services wliich lliey have rendered ; bui adds 
thai tlie manufacture of superphosphate-! csinnot be said 
to be perfect ?o long as tlie sulphuric acid ia lost 

With respect to what has been done in France, M. 
Bobierre gives some iutereeting examples. The nodules 
of phosphate of lime have been larfjely em]>loyed in 
Britlany, in the culiivation of the hindeii, in the place 
of bone-black, which has been uaed largely for ihirty 
or forty years ; this has created a very important em- 
ployment, and we are told that many of the dealers in 
manure htve entirely given up the sate of bone-black 
for that of pulverised fossil phosphattg. A I tempts have 
been made to separate the phosphates from the 30 per 
ct*nt or more of siUceous mu'ter with which they are 
•ssociated, and also, on the other Iiand, to produce 
mixed manures, in which the activity of the phosphoric 
«c;d fthotdd be brought out in the most eiTfCtive nian- 
jier; ihese desiderata have been rea'ised with con:?ider- ^ 

>le succea*. One processi is to treat the rough phos- [ 

hates with chlorhydric acid, and to recover the ucid i 
ly evaporation. Another process mentioned i^ to con- ' 
vert the nodules into metallic phoHphitfs by calcination 
in a bliist furnace, in contact with iron ore, and then to 
transform the metallic phosphites into alkaline phos- 
phates by I he action of chloride of ^odium at a high lem- 
peratjre. A third method is to attack the fossil phos- 
phates by means of chloride of manganese with an ex- 
ccjisofacid, obtained from the manufactories oi'chtorides 
for bl^achifig and other purposi s ; and, laifitly , the fos- 
sds are Fometimee simply calcined with gas-tar or oiher 
similar substances. 

The writer says that the results of the above methods 
nnd experimentis have confirmed him in a previously 
expressed opinion, that if the nodnlts be reduced to a 
powder and the powder exposed to the action of the 
uir, and applied to soil requiring the application of 
|»hosphorie acid, the fossil phosphates are perfectly as- 
wmilated; and further, that a mixture of fossil phos- 
phato^ with ordinary manure yields the most aflmirable 
result:3j even in the CJise of old cultivated lands. "Let 
farniers only adopt the habit of throwing fossil phos- 
phate? under the animals,'' aaya llie writer; " nothing 
more i-; TL-quired." 

M. Bobifrre seems to consider the treatment of no- 
dules by means of acids as scarcely called for, but re- 
commends this process strongly in the case of pliospho- 
rites, apatites, and certain phosphatic guanos found al- 
mo!*t in a vitrified condition. 

With respect to France, the writer obeervos that 
within m short distance of the coasts of Spain and Por- 



tugal where the tribasic pho?phatef», containing 70 to 90 
per cent of phosphate, may be obtained at the r/jt« of 
2s. 6d. to 3s. 4d. per cwt., enormous quantities of hydro- 
chloric acid are wasted, and worse tlian wasted, by 
being a'lowed to vitiate the air; the town of Mar- 
seilles, which eonverts laige quanlitii s of sea-salt itito 
sulphate of soda, i> destined to waste annually 50,- 
ooOjOOO of pounds of hydrochloric acid, which could, 
with very liitle tiouble, be made to dissolve the natural 
phosphates. 

In connection with the above may be n>entioned a 
communication made by MM. Dusart and Pelouzo to 
the Acjidemy of Sciences. One of these gentlemen, in 
a work entitled '* Researches on the Asjuimilaiion of 
Phosphate of Lime," showed that, when acted upon by 
the gastric juice and very diluted lactic acid, jihosphiite 
of lime underwb-nt partial decomposition, yielding a 
mixture of lactate and acid phosphate of lime ; this KmI 
to experiments on the action of carbonic acid on phos- 
phate of lime, with the view to throw Bome light on 
the obscure subject of the aj^similation of phoj*phate nf 
lime by phints. In 1S64, M, Dumas noticed that car- 
bonic acid was a solvent for phosphate of lime, by the 
eflect of 9 Itzer water, in sof cning ivory and abstracting 
all the calcareous phosphate therefri>im. Other cheni- 
is's have re^'arded this action as merely a solution of 
the salt by the carbonic acid, but MM, Dusart and Pe- 
lo'ize are of opinion that the action referred is of a more 
roinplicaled chara< ter, and that tlte acid absorbed givei 
birth to new products. 

These gentlemen treated gelatinous phosphate of 
lirne witli water, hatnraied with carbonic acid, and 
found that after some time the acid had partly T ; 
peared, and the phosphate itself had notably dimiii 
the transparent liquid obtained by filtration depo.HH> n> 
heat a crystalline precipitate composed of phosphalo 
and carbonate of lime. A seres of nice experiments is 
then detailed to prove that bibasic phosplfate of lime is 
produced, either by the action of carbonic m id on tri- 
basic phospljate ot lime, or by that of acid phosphate o^ 
Hme on the carbonate. On this principle, say MM. 
Dusard and Pelouz •, we Lave been able to produce it 
by the followinj? economic practical method, in s.jch a 
state of purity ihat^ compared with superphosphate, it 
contains double the active power in an equal volume. 
The matter 10 be dealt with — natural phosphate?^ cop- 
rdites, bones or animal charcoal — are placed in wooden 
va*s lined with leud, communicating with each other 
and covered with a mixture of water nnd acid ; any acid 
wiU effect the transformation, but we prefer hydro- 
chloric acid or the weak nitric acid, which is waited in 
so many works. When the ocid hag macerateil in othi 
vat, we remove it into a second, and if necessary a 
third, and ihe clear liquor is finally treated with pul- 
verised carbonate of lime; effervescet.ee is produced, 
cnrbonic acid la thrown off, and a precipitate of white 
crystalline bibasic phosphate of lime is thrown down. 
When sunieient ca bonate is used the liquor is deprivrtl 
of all the phosphate that it coQtains, and ibe precipitate 
is easily dried and washed. 

These fiwta enable the chemist.=i in question to form 
the following hypothesis concerning the manner in 
which nature enables plants to rake up phosphates. It 
is evidently in thu soluble form tliatthe platit uses them 
for its nutrition; the common phosphate ofhm«' 
pletely insoluble ia wat4!'r, should therefore be le.. 
soluble. Carbonic acid dissolved in water per|Lirra.i 
this first transformation in the same wny tho* 
stomach of an animal renders it f' 1 ' ' ' 



lEn^Uah Edition, Vol XTHI , Ho. 4GR, pat^M MA, MV^ 



30 Purificatk > of Tin Ores from Wolfram. — Chetnical Apparatus. | ^""aji! liJ"' 



' 



it into fti?id phosphate ami lad ale of lime. The enor- 
mous quariLity oi 8upcrp!iospliu(e of lime employed in 
l!lcii:rlaivJ, a practice novr nd«pted in France, is quoted 
i:i support of the above theory. The aupcrpliospl^aio, 
wliK.h, according to th<'se gentlemen, is only an impure 
ar:i(t phospha'e of lime, when introduoi d into the soil 
Jitt^ivks tlic carbonate of lime, under tlie influence of 
humidity, and is thus tr-msformed into a bibaaie pboa- 
phak', A5 it is impof^ible to imag.ne that any substance 
can be entirely ahaorbetl by plan & durin*:; the first few 
d.iys' oFita being spread upon ihe ;;round, if the sup<r- 
p < do noL undergo this tra:.sf<»rmat ion, which 

d .. tlieir too great soliibiiity, they would cer- 

im'y be carmed down 10 the sub-soil by the first 
ravy ruin, and part of their value thus lost. Tho t%^ 
cility with which bibxnic phosphate of lime can be pro- 
iluced in a state of ^reat purity renders it a promising 
subtilitute for common phospliate, and even for sup»*r- 
phosphate, which is always mixed wi h a large propor- 
tion of otlier matters, which have no value n& manure, 
Hnd of which the cost of cnrriai^e is, therefore^ at any 
ra'e, a lo.^ to tSe farmer. — Journal 0/ the Society of 
Arts. 



ON ms 
rURIFICATION OP TIN ORKS FROM WOLFRAM. 

Br ROtlKBT OXUAXn, F.0.8. 

TiH ores are rarely found associatoil with wolfram, 
but when this asaocianon does occur, the proportion 
of wolf'rj»m is frequently Viry large. It latmot be sey- 
arul- d from I he tin oxide by the ordinary processes 
of cafcination and washing in water, because it is not 
afFccted by heat aloiio, and its F[H?cirjc gravity bein» 
reaier than that of V e tin ore, it rcuiain"^ mixed with 
in spile of all washing. It can be separated by di- 
gestion in muriatic acid without any very gieal diffi- 
culty, but it is ditne more easily by the agency of soda 
ash, (he crude carbonate of soda, or by salt <ak(\ the 
crude sulphate of 80<la. The proportion o( woltram 
a^Srciated with the tin ore having been determined by 
analysis, poda ash is mixed with ihe drv ore in such 
quant ty as to supply an equivalent of soda for t' e 
tungstic a*'id presents The mixture is calcmcd «t a 
dull red heat in a reverberatory furnnco, of which a 
longitudinal section and a plan at the level of the work- 
ing bed is shown in the annexed sketcthes: — 



which the fire passes from the fire place on to the back 
' bridge and down into the flues under the bed, and lheDC« 
away to tlie chunney. The use of tlie cas'-ir<^»n bed is 
all-iraportiint in order to preVent the combination of tho 
soda with silic.i and with rin. With proper manage- 
ment a charge of 10 cwtjs. of tin ore can be workinl ofT 
in four hour*, so that 3 tons of ore per diem may be 
operateJ 0:1 with a consumption of less than loowK of 
coal. 

The object of the process is t4> cause the decomposi- 
tion of the wolfram by making the timgstic acid com- 
bine with the BJda, at tlte same time t » convert the 
basic protoxides *»f iron and manganese into peroxides, 
for the purpose of rendering them as light as possible 
to faciliUite their subsequent separation by mechanical 
Mashing. This calrining operation is thert'fore essen- 
tially an oxidising one, and th-,' fire, should be worked 
accordingly. The charge drawn from the furnnce should 
not cake. While hot it is thrown into one of a series 
of lixiviating cisterns partially filled with water, which 
is thereby runderod boiling hor. Afier standing a i=hort 
time Llie liquor is nm slowly off from the hot om of tlie 
vat bright and clear, and if of suffici-vii strength is set 
aside to crystallise, otherwise it is boiled up lo stnn^rh 
before it is put irjto the crystallisM?rs. The wi&ker 
liquors are used instead of water for lixiviating fiesh 
charges of the calcined ore, Tr.ic<.'8 only of stannate 
of soda are to be found in the liquor if the operation bo 
properly conducted. 

Salt cake may be advantageously employfd when 
skilled labour ia obtainable; ii is mixed with the ore in 
p'opoitions ind cate I by the quunfity of wolfram pres- 
ent. A quantity of ccal dust slighily in excess of the 
quantify necessary for the deoxidatiori of the sulphuric 
aci I of the salt cake, is mixed with the charge, and the 
whole is exposed until red hot in the furnace lo the 
deoxidising flame. After this ailear fire and an ox'd'S- 
ing flame arc maintained until the tungstic acid ha«, Vty 
combination with the sodium, drivt-n off the remaindtrr 
of the sulphur. The civuge takes about an hour lonsier 
in the furnace ihao is necessary for the soda ash mix- 
ture. 

The charge drav\n frotn the furnace is lixiviated ia 
the same manner as before, and afier all the aolubld 
matter has been ri'moved, the remainder of the charge 
is thrown out from the vats and subjected to a series of 
washing operations without any stamping, but occasion- 
ally with a small amount of srnibbing, whereby the 
peroxides of iron and manganese are washed off. Tho 
Iai.t traces of the^ie oxide-^ may be removed by digestion 
for a few hours in muriatic acid, leaving the binoxide 
of tin, or black tin oi the Cornish miner, nearly pure, 
capable of ptodu' ing, by smcltTng, the finest quality of 
me allic tin. 




In the plan, the dotted lines show (he form and di- 
rection of the flues beneath the cast-iron bed. over 



CHEMICAL APPARATUa 

BY W. P. DEXTER. 

Gas lAtmpsforthe Ignition of CrucMti,&c. — The or- 
dinary Bunsen burner is known to iict upon the surface 
of platinum vessels brought into contact with thte inner 
line of the flame ; the metal loses its poli-h, becoming 
superficially pi-rons and spongy, and requires the use of 
the burnisher to bring it back to it« original state. This 
alteration of the surface I have found to be attended 
wiih a change of weight, so that for some years I have 
U5ed a lamp of d fforent construction for tlie heating of 
platinum crucibles in analytical operations. Sueh a 



lEagliMb Bditioa, Vol. XVllt, No. 469, p«c« 340 ; Ho. 4W, pai«15l \ 






EdittutJioii of Phmphoras contained in CuM-Iro/i. 



lamp Kiay be ma le by removing the air tube of a c -m- 
mon Bansen lamp and ptjtdng iu its place a somewhat 
one of glas^s or iron of about 12 millimetres in- 
Lidumeter. The paa jet should have ft ainf^Te cir- 
srtiarv, And bo in proper jtroportion to lite dia- 
Df the lube, which may be held iu any of the or- 
clft'Tip Bupp»»rts, Tlie tube being raised suffi- 
above ihe jet lo allow free* 1 n trance of air, and a 
•nm •-•f pft«t let on, a '* roaring" rtame ia produced, 
r^-riof blae cone is pointed, sharply de- 
! fs only libout half an inch from the top 
[uLie, A poliaijod platiiiurii tjurfacc is nut acteJ 
liiis flame provided it he not brought into contact 
■ 1 cone. In the Bunsen burner, as usDully 
y of airdepeuils upon the diameter < if the 
II' II' I > at its ba?e beiiifj more tban suificient to 
the dranglit. With the wider tube it is ntces- 
limit the admi si^n id' air by depressing the tube 
JC lamp when the ioree of the gas is fliininia'unL 
rise Uie proportion becomes such that an explo- 
iture ia Ibrmed ; for this reason it ia more con- 
to use an arrarigemeut iu wbioli the ace lss of 
alf can be rei^uhitrd by an fxterior tube sHiiing ob- 
qut ly downward over the air apertures. The paa jet 
1 be on A level wit'.i the top of the^e aperturts, 
a must be much larger than those of the ordinary 
Buuscti's burner. 

On account of the liabi ity to explode and burn at the 
j<»l in-'idc, the laiup is not well adaptid for ordinary use ; 
bm fiir ignition of crucibles, working of g'ass, etc., it 
hiS proved efficient nnd pnictkrab 

Oaa RegnlatoT. — Now that gaa is universally used ».- a 
source of heat \i\ Iaboralori«'.>:, it is desirable to have a 
means of keeping the pressure constant, and indepen- 
dent of the changes which take place in the ruaitja. 
By the re^iilator of Kemp a uniform temyjeratiire ran 
be kept up for any len;^th of time ; but tliis app^iratus 
is a lit'le difficidt to adjust, is not universally ap[>licable, 
and can be u^ed in but one t>p^ratic»n at a time. IJy 
legulating thL* prcs^ire of llie ^-as, on the oth r hand, 
^ con-itant supply of Iteat 14 furnisheH, but the tenipera- 
ire is not so exactly maintained in f onseq'ience of Uie 
_ lore or less rapid abst' action of heat by change of 
teminefftture of the lo^-aliiy, and from cuneuta of air. 
It U, however, as constant a^ it can he kejtt by a spirit 
lamp, which we are at pre-ent ofen obliged, from the 
vaiiAtiojis of prej^Bure, to Mibsiitute for jra-*; whde the 
re^ibtrtr may be c<>iineeted with several bumeia, or 
eTf;n itic'ude the whole laboratory, if ilic i;as pipes are 
Fidficicntsize. 

The arrangtment whicli I have ha I in ua^ for the last 

consists of a common ga>omt.'tcr, made of zinc, 

lout 9 inches in hdght and diameler. The float- 

-II is connected by a jointed rod with a btopcock 

lie pipe by which the gas ent- r*. When ih».' bell 

^5 from the pressure of the grip, it g^radmdly c'oseij this 

:k, and thus cuts off the further supply. The gas is 

len unt^er a constant pres-ure depending upon the 

reight of the bell; as ga^ is consumed the bell sinks. 

" opening the cock allows more lo 11 »w in. The 

"^ ice of weight of the b.dl from its greater or less 

ion in the water ia inappreci.ibl' j a very slight 

of pn 8S«re, hardly prrceptible witli*>ut a 

►pc, \» observed w hen one of tlie outlets is snd- 

fy thrown open to its full extent, and is due, prob- 

lo the friction of ihe gas in the lube-^, whicij should 

lercfore he of considerable sise. 

The ap kanttus should not be poistted, as oil is acted 

m by w kter, which has been long in contact, with 



gaa> Assphaltura varnish seems to answer better. — 
American Journal of Science^ Jiilji 1868. 



HESEARCFTES ON THE ESTIMATION OF PHOS- 
PHOHUS CONTAINED IN CAST-IRON. 

BY M. V. TANTUr. 

It ia well known that the presence of a very em all 
quantity of phospliorus in cast-iron does not produce 
any sensdile modification in its properties ; it nevcrthe- 
livsii loses it^ most t sseiitial qualitie? when the proportion 
of contained melalloid amounts to some thousandths; 
the importance of ascerUuning the exHct proportions of 
pho3|iht»m3 in cajst iron is, therefore, self-evident. Al- 
most all the methodc* hitherto proposed consist in treat- 
ing cast-irou wiih oxidir^tng agents in such a manner 
im to cause tht! phosphorus to pass into the conditoa 
of phosphoric uc.d, wliich is dcpos'tcd as a mngnesian 
compound; several source-; of error aro hdicrent to this 
method for the following reasons: — 

ist. Tart of the phosphorus escapes the action of 
the oxidising agents, and evolves as a hydrogenised 
comfionnd. 

2nd. It ia necessary to work upon very dilute liquida 
in order to avoid an udmixlure of oxide of iron with the 
ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate ; under these condi- 
tiona it i^i d fficnlt to collect the small quantity of phos- 
pliatc disseminated uj 00 the fides of the vc8,-el in wh'ch 
the precipitation takc^ pla'.e, 

3rd. Any ar?enic which may be contained >n the 
ca=t-iron wjII be discovered in the precipitate aa an ar- 
seniate, whose insolubility is equal to that of the pbos^ 
phate. 

When seeking the means 1 f avo'ding these Eonrceaof 
error, I concluded that the bent way of bo doing would 
be to use a prcciisely contrary method, namely, by lib- 
erating the phosphorus as an hydrogen compound ; but 
one objection naturally arose — would the totality of the 
pho**pho! ua p:ifi45 into the state of a gaseous product? 
I may s;ifely allirra that I have never been able to d'S- 
cover the lejist trace of phosphorus in tlie residue aHer 
the complete at tat k of thec«-^t-iioa by chlorliydric acid, 
whi« h fict i^ not surpri^ng if it be consitlered what 
strong affini ies phosphorus has to hydrtigen. The 
phosph de of hydiogcn proluced by the uctiou of chlor- 
hyd> ic acid uptn casi-iruu i< almoet always aecotnpanied 
by ^ulphuretteil, hr-eniated, andcarburc ted hyilrogen. 
In order to e&Vct the Fep»raiion of th<^»e gasn-s 1 firt-t 
pftSi! them into a Woulff's tiask containing a solution of 
polish, which absorbs the sulphuretted hydiogcn; the 
other gftses are then m^ide to traverse a folutiotj of ni- 
trate oJ i^ilver, whi.'h transforms the ur?enia'ed hydrogen 
intoap?=eniale of silver soluble in ihe liquid, which ha-? he- 
come sightly ftcItJ, whihit the jiliogfthuretted bydrtigen 
precipifjies tlie eilveiy solution and forma an insoluble 
phoFphid**. The plusphons being thus comph tely 
8epara'c«l from the sulphur and ar-enic, its estimaliin is 
effect' d in the s mplest manner, the phosphide of ailvcr 
ia rre ite<l wiih aqua rc^in, and thus translorraed into 
chloiide of silver and phosphoric i^cid, which is precipi- 
tated in the stite of ammouiac't-ma^nesian phnsphate; 
this precipitate when calcined gives a weight which 
serves to ca'culale the proportion of pho phorus. To 
ascertain the amount cl phosphorus coubiired iu caet- 
iron, the following precautions are indispensable, 

ist. The cast-iron must l>e atf^i* kod very sluwly, or 
part of the phosphuretted hydiogcn may traverse iho 
aohit on of nitrate of ailver without being ab«'*''- * 



lEBgUsh Bditioa, VoL XVUl, Ha 469, pmcm TAX, 1SL\ 



Mildtw in Cotton Gooth, — Fove'uja Science, 






2nd. Whea the attack of the caat-iron ia finished, a 
current of hydrogen, previously washed in acetate of 
lead. must, be pas:jt.'tl throujih ihc trough. 

The solufJou of piitiah will contain all the sulphur in 
Ihe matrer iiudtT au-dyKis ; if tlii^ body U to be e^^tima- 
ted, the solution nmsl bo trcnti^d with acetate of 
lead. Til'* proclnitnte first formed is a mixture of oxide 
and sulphide of iead, but the oxijle aoon re-dia*oIves, 
ami thvr.' remains only the sulpliide, PbS. Tiii'* prt'- 
cipititte in C'»lhx;U'd on a tancd filter, washed with di.^- 
tilleJ WftttT, conip'ctely dried at too', and weighed. — 
Comptci Jiendu.'i. 



MILDEW IK COTTON GOODS 

Mr. J, C. Lee has sent a communica'ion to the Man- 
chester Guardian on the above suViject., of which the 
following: is a condensed account :— 

It appears to ma that only a few me.ins are requisite 
to almost, if uoL completely, prevent mildew in cotton 
good.s orj .>;hipbonrd. In tbo first p'aoe the size should 
he perfectly fresli — that is, not tnadc; from mouldy flour, 
nor permitted to become either mouldy or ?our bcrore 
U3<\ This is absoliuely necessary to prevent the f.»r- 
raa'ion or d^'poait of the spores or genus o( inild-w. It 
should also be free from exfraneoua mmeral ruatter.-;, 
and especially deliquescL-nt subsUmce*, which, liowev- 
«r pood the aixetiuy be ia otlu-T rospect*, woulil attract 
moisture, wnd thereby contribute the only requ'site (alt 
Others bring presen') for the dt?velojimeiit of fungi or 
mildew. In the second place, the compartment of the 
vessel in which the goods arc stored shou'd be well 
ventdated and heated. 

Shipper:* can, I believe, obtdn from the seller a guar- 
antee of the purity of the sixe. If not, however, they 
have an ensy retnedy in their own h.indfi. Any atmlyt- 
icid chemist can with facility in compririson with nn 
equal we pht of a standard piece of c'oth determine tlie 
purity of another piece. This can bo done in a simple 
anil aim '8t malhcraatlcalty eo:Tect niannefj and. there- 
fore, reliably for commercial purposes, by thoroughly 
drying say 50 grains of the cloth, and noting the I0B5 in 
weig'it, that ig moigtur**, then igniting, and wei;3hing 
the Bsh. Indeod, for all practical purposes, merely ig- 
niting, weighing the ash, Jin 1 comparing it? weight 
with ihu of the standard would be sufficient. Tiie m- 
oreaw over ilje standard mnltipUed by two would give 
the percenta,'e of mineral adulteration of the 5izc. It is 
true ih' re are certain sills, as chloride and sulphate of 
ammonium, ^c , which, being volatile, would be driven 
off by ignition, and would not, therefore, be found in 
the ash. But they are too expensive to add to sijje, 
and their presence being eisily rfcognis^-d would in 
my opinion preclude the pos,^ibtlity of their atlmixture. 
With respect to Tentil.»tii>n and Ijeating. tlie former re- 
quires at most a Utile mechaniial contrivance i^uitable 
to the po5 tion of the goods or cmsiructjon of the ves- 
sel. Heating could be elTected l>y m?ans of plpps. 
ManufacMirers would bo very glad to adopt any Bafe 
and ri'Uable gui c to ass Bt tliem in the purcliaae of 
fto jr, but very few of these gentlemen are chemidts, aid 
hence they are liable to dece[>ti'jn. I am pcrsjuaded 
they are too often blamed for using bad s ze, when they 
have done their best to procure the beat quality of 
flour. I beg to suggest fir t'leir use also the tost I 
have proposed for yam au 1 cloih— comparison to be 
made as before witli the ash of say 50 grains of any 
samj>le and th«» ash of 50 grains of a standard quality of 
flour. The d fferenoe in weight multiplied by two will 



give the percentage of admixture. If it would not bo 
consiilcrcd too todiousit would be well to shaki up a 
couple of ounces of the flour with a pint of water, leave 
it to settle ten minute, and dip into the solution a leaf 
from a litmus book, or de* ant the fluid ond shako it a 
few minutes with a few drops of tincture ff Ji'tims, an<l 
compare the residt with that of a similar ( xp-. rimcnt 
on a mod-! or s andard sample. It U neiilie.-<8 10 say 
anything of the importan<:o of the colour and Buiell uf 
llou". I almost forgot to slate that if ilh. of yam or 
cloth wtre work -d u few minutes in just sulUcienf rnh\ 
water to cover either, left to uteep half ati hour 
wrung out, and a three or four ounce whil4? gla*s '■ 
cf the solution shaken up thn e m nules wih a ftw 
drops <jf tincture ol litmu% in cise of an impurp np 
mouldy size having been used, the rea':;tion won' ' 
very different from tliat resulting from Hmilar t 
ment of yarn or cloth to wliich pure .sizi? wa- appijeo 

Within tlje last f*'W days I have, on inquiry, been in- 
formed by m inufaclurers that magnesium sulphate or 
Epsom ?alt is re^jularly sold fcr size admixture. I have 
also been apprised, on credible authoriiy, ihal 150 tons 
of this sub-*tancc are disposed of wi'ckly in Matichcsfer 
fur this purpose alone. This is a ponderousi quantity, 
and its statement will, I think, bo advantigcou.'i t^ thoke 
who arc financially interested in the mater. Commer- 
cial raignesium sulphate, moreover, contains 51-21 per 
cent of water, while, owing to its contamination wi h 
foreiqn salt-*, it ia deliquescent, or atiracla moisture 
from the atmosphere, without which fungi or mildew 
cannot exist. There are mineral substances that can be 
adopted with safety, and if siy.e adulteration must pre- 
vail tliey should at once, at least for India good*, be 
substituted for Epsora salt. 



FOREIGN SCIENCE. 

Paris, Nov. 4, iS6$. 
La tri of Dovhle DecompomfioTh — J/ii nga n^m nianfft 1 n t> 

Fluoride. — Erupt ice Ihckt. — Ozone Free from Ni'-)\niH 

Vompoiindn. 
Bbrthollet wishing to give an exphnalion of the law bear- 
ing his nmne, slated that when two sails formed of ditTen-nt 
acids and basoa encounter each ot)ior in ttie atirne ft')hition, the 
liquid will contJiin ulso ui a cerlnin proportion thu two ollief 
salts resulting from the double decomposition of 1 he first. In 
the case of an acid nttd a salt, or a \hmms and a salt^lie atgted t|i 
efft'ct, (b»t after aohjtion, the liquid should cout/di}. bus 1.^ 
the two bodies dissolved, tlio acid orlhobaaeof the shU Im i 
free state, as well as the salt resulting from double de oiniHi. 
siiion. M, Mdhay has experimented upon this subji-ct witii 
the aid ot an ondoamometer. The vessel waa circuhir. awiX 
the active surface a sheet of parchment paper, which reuiaine*! 
the same for all the triaia; tlieae experimeiit.s wero ull mndo 
at sensibly tlio same temperature + lo"" C 

In a iirsl oxperimont, ther*; were placed in the endosmome- 
tera half litre of liquid, containing 203 alknliraelric degreoa 
of sulphuric acid, or 10 grammes of monohydrntcd acid, anti 
an equivalent quantity of chloride of magnesium, wjncli we 
may also represent by 200 degrees in equivalent sulphuric, 
acid. The ondosrooroeter was placed iu a reservoir contain tng 
I litre of disiiilled water, and the experiment left to itself for 
an hour. At the end of this time the water of exo.%nu>Sf was 
eollueled and submitted lo ordinary unalytieal processes Thw 
following results, which are still expressed in equivalent de- 
grees, were obtained :— Free acid, = 2500 ; sulphuric ncid, = 
7*50; chlorine, = 1 9'i5; magnesia. = 260. Evidently, from 
iheae figure."?, the water of exo^moae contained in the freo 
state a portion of tiolli the adds; in fact, the qujintity of 
chlorine found being 1915 de^^es, and that of roagnefiia 3-60 
only, this liquid coatalua at the least (19*15— 2*60=) r(S'55 Of 



[Engiiat EdiHoa, 7oL ZTIIX., Ko 409, pac«* 2SZ, 253; Ho. <06, ^a«« 224.\ 




irr* r.var>niloric ncid Likewise, witU the autpUurio ncid a 
mlaiinovi of (7 50—2-65=) 485 deicreea. 

Tbo exifdutticu of ilie-^ ■ '■" '•• '^"- ""roo state in ilie water 

of excdimucM hciiijr tfn) y c<juclude tluit ihese 

twt» t*f«iic5 cxtstinl iJs*. 11 the solution experi- 

Bu>nt«<<l iij»on. But Uiw suiplmric aciU and the in»gnet*io bt* ihg 



Ihi'rr in e^i 
acii I". 



il t^\< 



■rllL'r^li 



nts, it 19 evident Uuit if a purt uf thL» 
an equivalent q'lanlity of roagneaium 
I chloride. From the preaeivce of free 
I' -luritun that of an equividout qurm- 
!i -. I :i 1 ne inferred. The exactitude 
li Uiua demonstrated for IIiih ease. 



> - nhod above was repeated, cmplojiniif in 

t IS jood(?^reea of hydrochloric acid nrid 300 

duc'ct^a oi .>»iilpliale of nmgiieaia ; in the water of exoBinotie 

lh« qifiiniitii«« .it" tho componenla were sensibly the same as 

UiOMi . ' , ih© converse experiment, viz., free ocida, 

= 24 ' jrlcacid, 740; chlorine, 19*20; mugnesia, 

2'45, • 'f of the sails in solution may bo cuusid- 

cfxrd In (ises. If in the trial previously made. 

t^i>< H'l of tnagneaia remaining constant, the 

f jric acid bo atiginented, act'ordinj^ to 

i y of chloride of inajfnesium, and conae- 

r iiy uf free sulphuric acid, should auji^eut in 

1 IJydroKjhlorio acid exerting only a feeble 

•' ve power of sulphurio acid, the amount 

< water of exoisinoAO should increase 

Hiilt has been obtained by ex[>eriment. 

> acids ditTer little in enert|[y, a sutne- 

j^crits itself. In repealing the exp€ri- 

ai li tbu cn^d^>■,[lllomet<■r upon a mixture of sulphate of 

"td horaoic notd, the amounts of Hodiuni and suiplmric 

'.^'alor of exoaniose were found to be jd equivalent 

A similar result was obtained with act-tic acid 

<» of soda, or .Hulphate of majrnesia, II Alehay 

I this ca«e it is oecesaary to admit that chemttsal 

nat take place, or at leant that the quuntitieij of 

bora Le or ao^-t^ite formed are inappreciable. 

A I ofn< f»f the recent meeting* of the Acadeony, M. N«ckl«b 

I memoir on *' Manganoso-manjfanic Fluoride." 

peroxide of mangaoe^ is treated with hydroHu- 

' J llucnianganous acid, the solution some- 

. by an abundant brown crystalliAition ; 

. ... . . , . . :j produced when operatiug with a warm 

Ju M. N ickl-'H separated some of these crystals, which 

;iaa]ysis pive fiumbera oorrespondiog with the fonnulu, 

MnFl + Mn,FI, + loHO. 

ao^noso-mfingaulc fluoride is soluble in water, which be- 

coloured brown ; it is decomposed by much water like 

nganitet", jii^iving rise to a brown deposit of oxide; with 

ilino carbonates it produces effervescence, oxide of 

<XM9 bcinfir dofMJsiled. With liuoride of potassium, a 

.' .To is forraed. Like liuoraanganoua acid, 

• ited with silver foil or powder, the so- 

J .^. ,.. -vea this metal, at tho some time paasiag 

sUte of protofluoride and becoming colourless. 

less, the scilution always coniAinsalttlle oiatiganeae, 

do of potassium causes a precipitate which contaitis 

mftugftoeso, silver, and polaiiaium in very variable 

uns. In general, manij-anoso-manpanic fluoride reacta 

uittuoride and perfliioride of manganese. M. Nicklos 

■ ■— '• -t'itt'd that while MnFh reserables MnClj by its 

1 ifers in properli>?8, t>eing more stable than 

i playing frt-ely tho part of sn acid After 

to (ind It uniting to UnFl, forming a Huosalt capable of 

ng with 

Mn,Ot = MnO + MoiO,, 
oot AStonialdng. Here is titon, siys M, Nickl^s, a freah 
" " ' - t the tendency already recognised by him in the 

ids of chlorides, of compounds being pro- 
I i to the lowness of tho equivalent, and of ] 

t itjlily in the same proportion. Analogous 

r n obtained with iron ; M. Nickl^ promises 

L> 0.JUUUUIUUMI0 them to the Academy shortly. 
Vol. IV, No. t.—JAH., 1869. 3 

[EagUsh Editioa, Tot XVJU^ No, 466, pa«<tt 224, 225 



Piiiis, Nov. iStji, jS68, 
Sirto Uwt for Mica. — tnjluenf« of Colound Ray& on the Ik- 
composition of Carbonic Acid by Ptanti. — NapTdhal'me 

Pew uses to which mica can be placed havo bwn found 
lip to the present time. 51 Puscher hitely drew the atten- 
tion of tho Industrial Society of Nuremberg, to the Sibo- 
rian mioa, which occurs in very fine plates, and indicated 
BO mo now purposes to which it could be applied. When tlie 
thin platos of mica are cleaned with oonceutruted sulphuric 
acid, and silvered in tho same way as glass, they take a 
lustre similar to that of silver, and being pliable they can 
bo employed in tho covering of various omametits. By 
he>ating tho thin phites, and afterwards exposing Diem for a 
very short time in a muffle heatod to bright redness, an 
aspect of matted silver is given. It is necessary to avoid 
heating the mica too long or too powerfully, ainti in either 
case u yellow shade is comniunieaU^d, ns well as great brit- 
tleue.«;9. The silvery substance formed is di.stingnished from 
metah bj the property of rcHiatiug nearly all reag:0nts; it is 
not in the least altered by sulphuretted combinations, by tho 
sun. water, air, concentrated acids or alkalies. 

M. Cailletet has published a research '' On the Influence of 
Various Coloured Rays on tho Decomposition of Carbonic 
Add by Plants." In the experiments here recorded, M. 
Caillctet made use of covers or bells formed of plates of 
coloured glass united to each other by plates of load. It 
was established in tho first plac^ to render the results com- 
parable, that leaves of the same plant and of equal liiurfacea 
decompose sensibly the same volumea of carbonic acid 
when thoy act on identical gaseous mixtures expojjud to the 
same luminous source. Coloured leaves, which nearly 
always contain a certain quantity of chlorophyll decompo^ 
carbonic acid equally, but slowly, while the entirely whito 
parts of the leaves of the AfpidiaLa etatior^ and several 
other plants, arc without decomposing action. All greea 
plants do not act with the same energy on carbonic acid ; 
there arc very sensible dtlTerotioeB whit-h havo alroatly boon 
signalised, but not completely examined. The absorption 
of carbonic aciri and the dtpongagement of oxygen more or 
less mixed with nitrogon appertain exclusively to the parts 
of the plants which ct^ntain the green matter; but it is in- 
dispensable that these organs be intact, for in scraping or 
even nibbing them this property is permanently destroyed. 
A leaf may, however, be cut carefully into very small 
pieces, and atiU each piei.'e, containing ail tlio anatomic eio- 
ttients, posaess the dexKiinp«53injr property. A little apparulua 
was constructed of two vessels soldered at the base, and 
having an opening at the top where a concoutrated sohition 
of iodine iu bisulphide of carbon could bo introduced. With 
this disposition, the solution being permeable only to the 
obscure rays of heat, carbonic acid mixed with air suiTers 
no decomposition, notwithstanding tho prolonged action of 
aolar ray!«. The divers coloured rays have, on the contrary, 
a &[)ecial action, more or lesf poworAd on tho dissociation of 
carbonic acid. An examination of the tabulated reculta 
obtained by VL Cailletet shows tliat the cailorifie raya as well 
as the chemical rays ate without action oa the dissociation 
of carbonic acid by plants. It would aeein^ from an inspec- 
tion of these results, that the colours the most active iu a 
cliemical point of view (in regard to the colouration of chlo- 
ride of silver, c. g,) are those whitdi favour the dotximpoai- 
tton of carbonic acid the least. Yellow iuduces tho largest 
decomposition, and red next ; violet and blue affect il tut 
little. With green light, whether from the colour ooutaitiod 
in vegetables, or from solutions of coloured glass, the action 
is peculiar. Under this inthienee tho decomposition of the 
carbonic add is »</, a new quantity of this gas is on the 
contrary produced by the plants. 

A new colour, uaphtlialine scarlet, has been obtained by 
II. Schicndol. After producing nitronaphthalmo, by -.u-u^,,.' 
upon naphthaline Avith nitric acid not stronger thai 
tho cold, he trunsformed it into naphtliylaiuine bjr «i 
nary reducing method. Among other 



Ho. 4fiB, pai«« IM^ aV1.\ 



Acadtmy of Sen 



Chkmicai. Sn^ 

j0%^ vm. 



tried zinc in irapolpAblepowdor hi the presicnt'ti of an alkali; 
iyini\\ the naphtliylamme funu-^heU by this reaction, 31. 
" » ' ohtaiiioti a new colourinj]^ naattcr which the other 
1 1 lines do not givtv Tliis point eatahliahed, ho 

i i to isolatci the new alkaloid, which give? birth to 

the colMiiriug matter. Frac^lional distillation g;tive it in an 
ahnost state of purity. It ia a liquid, crystallising some- 
where about o"; it distils at a higher temperature than 
naphtliyhinino. The baae is oxygeuatod aud can form 
salts. The method of operating to obtain the naphthaline 
eciirlet ia as folio wa: — 

1, The oily alkaloid ia heated with nitrate of protoxide of 
mercury, aa in the preparation of nitrate of rosanUine: 
there ia thus fomiod a brown colouring matter which i.s 
iaolatetl from the mercury and tarry products formed. 

2. Thia brown colouring matter ia uflarwards mixed with 
n proportional quantity of naphtliyl amine, and heated until 
the fawn tint is completely changed. The red colouring 
matter has then to be purified by the employment of the 

iinary meana for aniline oolours. In the pure state the 
'eolouring matter is solid^ reflecting liglit brilliantly, and 
soluble in alcohol ; it dyes all fibres. No detailed method 
can be given i unifortunately the production of this alkaloid 
is uncertain, soonetimea eren none ia obtained. 



Paris, Nor. 25, 1S68. 

The TcsHntj ofCohuiing Maltrrtt. — Glycerine Bath. — Xeic Vol- 
taic Battery, 

Ik technical chemistry, a useful contribution lias been mode 
by M. Houaeaiij — -we refer to hia paper entitled "Obaerru* 
tiona on the Mode of Tealing Colouring Matters, and particu- 
larly Extract of Logwood." M. llouzeau remarks that aa 
hmgaa the colouring matters sent into commerce are adultera- 
tes! with inert matters, such as aand, exhausted tar, sawdust, 
molasses, Ac., suocesaive exhaustions fumiish tlie required 
indications. When, however, substances of less commer- 
cial value, like Fumac, extractor chesnut, Ac, are added^ this 
is not the case. For while these ingredients, added to the 
colouring matters to lower their price aa much as possible, do 
not poaae&s colouring power to any extent in the proportions 
employed in dyeing, Ihey nevertheleas, when present in ex- 
tract of logwotMl or madder, ^xalt very notably the tinctorial 
power of these important products. Thua, logwood mixed 
with 10 per cent of chesnut, though it contains leas hnmaline 
or bK!matoxy]ine than the genuine extract, yields with iron 
and aluminous mordants, richer shades. It is therefore evi- 
dent that, by adulterating ilie colouring mattera of commerce 
with perfectly Inert aubetances, and correcting the diminution 
of strength by a determinate amount of certain aalringeut 
priDcij'les, aa extract of aumac or chesnut, the usual exami- 
nation will not delect the fraud. Some other simple means 
of testing are rendered necessary. Any adultemtion of mo- 
;!]}vsaea is of covjrso easily detected by the exaggerfltod propor- 
tion of glucose present in the suspected extract. But it is 
considerably more difficult to detect the astringent matters, 
and especially the chesnut. The diflSculty of aeparating the 
astringent principles, and distinguiahiog those which exist 
normally in the extract, led M. Houzeau to adopt the follow- 
ing method : — I gramme or i decigramme of the su.spocted 
extract, previously dried at no", is entirely exhausted with 
absolute ether, and the weight of soluble matter noted. The 
reflidue is tlien treated with abaolate alcohol until completely 
'exhausted. A comparison of the results thus obtained with 
those funiisbed by a genuine extract treated m the same way, 
furnishes a very good indication. For example, joo parts of 
extract gave— 

Matimi M>]ubla M»tt«r* ndnhU 

tnethor, iaalcolioU 

Genuine extract 87 i. i4>3 

Sujjpocted extract. . ,76 9 ig-^ 

These figures indicate the weight of the residue obtained by 
evaporating the solution, and comprise consequently products 
of the oxidation of tbt) alterable matters. Extract of ohesnut 



scarcely yields anything to eitier, while it is sensibly solul 
in alcohol It ia therefore natural to find iu tin su.ipecti4;. 
extract more principles aoluble in alcohol than in the genuine 
extract, A further knowledge concerning the principle* 
present may be obttiined by testmg the dyeing power of tha 
alcoholic and etijorial extracts. For the same weight, the 
producU aoluble in alcohol and ether of every extract nhoutd 
dye, in a similar manner, the same surface of calico if they 
have the same c*.imf)oeilion ; Ihia is the result of experiment. 
In tl)o aamplo above cit^d, the same weights of the products 
saluble in ether of the genuine and the suspected excmct 
have tinted equaUy the same aurface of mordanted tissue, 
while equal weights of the mattera soluble in ether have fur- 
nished totally different results. 

M. Vogcl recommends the subalitmion of glycerine for oil 
when constant temperatures above 100^ C. are ref)uired. 
Glycerine of 1*25 density boils at 128^. A mixture of gly- 
cerine water, in equal proportions, boils at 102" ; glycerine 
1 50 parts and water 100 parts, at 106*; and glyceriuo i 
parts and water 100 parta, at 109°. The inconvenicncea 
the oil bath are thua unnoce^Miry. 

A new arrangement for furnishing currents of electrioity 
has been mnde known by M. Ney. It is composed as fol- 
low : — (i) a vessel filled with solution of chloride of ammoni- 
um, containing a plat© of amalgumatod stinc; (2) a porous 
cylinder filled with carbonate of copper, into whieh a plate of 
copper plunges. To maintain the battery in aciiou, it is only 
ncceasary to add solid cliloride of ammonium from time to 
time. In military Lelegrapliy, where the pile should be capa- 
ble of transport, the outer vessel might bo filled with sand aal- 
uraled with a solution of chloride of ammonium in the 
phico of the solution. This arrangenient roooramenda itself 
oa the score of cheapne^'S, for native carbonate of copper 
auawera sufficiently well, and it Ukewi.'e only requires attea 
lion while in actual u.se. Carbonnto of copper ia insoluble 
a solution of chloride of ammonium, but upon closing 
current, the chloride is decomposed into hydrochloric 
and ammonia j the hydrochloric acid coll«?cl3 at the zinc pole, 
tbo ammonia at the copper. The carbonate .of copper bo- 
comes soluble, and its reduction givoa ria© to a aeoondary 
current having the power of a Danietrs element This form 
of battery ia perfectly constant. 



ne 

i 



tten- 
l6i^ 

m 



REPORTS OP SOCIETIE3S. 



ACADEMY OF SCIENCE! 

Paris, Sept. 14TH, 1S68. 

.Vew CombinaiioTU of Orcine. — Researches on the Com- 
bustion of Oil. — Auahjsi's of a Meteorite. 

ThB only paper of chemical interest communicated to the 
Academy on September i4ih was '• A Note on a Process for 
obtaining Pure Hydrogen without Odour by the Action of 
Clilorido of Ammonium on Zinc," from M. Delaurier, At 
the meeting on the ^lat, M. Tenzach informed the Academy 
that he had discovered microscopic aquatic plants iu certain 
rocks termed eruptive j M.Vf. L'Hote and St. Edrae addressed 
a note on " The Generation of Oxone in Oxygen and In Air 
influenced by the Klectric Spark of Condensation," and 
Comniaille a note ** On Phosphoretted Hydrogen, and on 
error it may occasion in the Determination of Oxygen." 

MM. L'llote and St. Edme, in connection wiih the appli' 
cation of ozonised air in ventilating large buildings, have ex- 
amined the character of the ozono obtained in paasing air 
through Ladd'a condensing apparatus. They find tho air 
leaving the apparatus to be l>ee from nitrona compounds. 

On the 28lh, M. de Luynes communicated a momnir "On 
some New Combinations of Orcine," and MM. Scheurer- 
Kestner and C. Meunier " An Account of their Further 
Research^ on the Combuation of Oil; " M. Pisani communi- 
cated '* Tho Anatyais of a Meteorite which fell at Orans on 
the nth July, 1868." 

Orcino combines directly with picric acid to form a definite 



Air I 



iEBgtUb Edititm, rol ZVUL, No* 468, page 247 ; Ho. *», ^t« 05**, »•. 4<«, vk|,« oafc^ 




Jan.. ;bC». 



Chemwal Society, 



ifipounrl wiiich is prepared io iho following maimer: — 

icric Acid is placed iti a porcelain dish with n quaMtlty of 

rater iEtsufficieiit to dissolve it, and the mixture hcaicd lo 

kbultitioti. ITie uiidis8f>lved picric acid formfl an oilj layer at 

le iMiilLim of the dtsh. On adding orcin© graduully, each 

•ot iH observed to dissolve, forming a red tint, at Ihe 

tirno that Hie proportion of undissolved picric acid 

jiahed- At a certain moment the qoautity of orcine 

abided ia sufficient ty great Tor tlie whole oi' the picric acid to 

be disaoUed. For 20 grammes of picric and 100 grammes of 

rater, iz or 14 prammes of cryatalliaed orcine are required. 

►u cooling:, crystals resemblingin colour bichromate of putaeh 

lake their appearance. The crystals are drained quickly aud 

>laced in vacuo; they become yellow in drying. The com* 

ind thus obtained i.s very deliqaescent ; it is ^(jluble in al- 

voJ and in ether. Benaot deatroya the cornVnTwilioii. 

[Jented on ptatiimm, it fuses and burns wilh a bright (iume. 

\tiulyaia gave results iwregpouding with tbo formula — 

CsH.fNOaOj, c,*n,o, = Cj.nnNjO,,. 

The compound thus containa equal fquivalenta of orcine 

and picric acid, and may bo ranged witli the products that 

(crio acid fornu with carbolic acid and certain bydrocarbotia. 

'ha aqueoug solution dyea silk in the siinie way oa a solulion 

io acid; orcine might puesibly servo to facilitate the 

>n of picric acid. 

fyrogallic aci J in presence of picric acid and water behaves 

imiUrly to orcine ; it forma a compound crystallised iu hirfre 

>l«tes, blackening sligiitiy ia tlie air, and coutaiuing picric 

icid and pyrogallic acid, 

Orcine combines with nicoliae. Wlien aqueoua solutions 

orctiie atid nicotine are minted, an oily matter is prfct|»i- 

ited, which ealiecis into slighlly pink drops. This compound 

<i in an excess of nicotine. Pyrogtillic acid gives, 

same circuinitanoea, an oily product gradually 

L.-... .....^' in the air. M. Wurtz ha* shown that in certain 

oxide of ethylene comports itself towards certf^in salla 
fAaatase; thua it di»placea mdgne.<)ia from chloride of tiiag- 
[jieaium. Oxide of ethylene appears to combine with orcine, 
Like organic base& On introducing a piece of solid orcine, 
>a»ly fused, under a bell jar full of gaseous oxide of 
le, the orcine gradually liquefies, at the aame lime the 
M abundantly absorbed ; i gramme of orcine absorbs 
more Uian 400 c.e of oxide of ethylene at ordinary teniper- 
Bture and pressure. By contact with solid potash the gas 
is iet at liberty. The aqueous solution of orcine dissolves 
roianiline^ becoming of the intense coloor of an alcoholic or 
acid aolulion. Fioully orcine seems to combine with chloride 
of sodium, 

M. P'laanl in his analysis of the meteorite which fell oo 
'July Iith. 1868, at Urnana (Doubs), after the complete anal- 
lysia gives the followiug numbers for the proximate constitu- 
ents: — peridote, 75 lO, unattackable silicate, ! 5'26, iiickelif- 
lerous iron, 1-85, inaguetic pyritoa (Fe,S«), 681, and chruroi- 
'feroua iron, 04. He remarks that the proportion of peridote 
tu this meteorite is much krgerthan in any other known. 



Paris, Ocrr, sth, 186S. 

ivB Power of Ganes and Vopour8,^Faets serving ia 
\pUit (/«• HuV:>ry of the Bodies of ihe SUlbic Series. 
)ii t/u MijUurcs 0/ Ooid OTid Sdver from Kongahtrg. 

At ibo Btanceat the Academy on the 5th of October the 
following memoirs were communicated : — *' Researchea on 
the Mec5inJC9 of Atoms," by M. Lucas; " On the Dispersive 
Power of Gu308 and Vapours," by M, Croullebois ; *' On 
some Pacts serving to complete the History of Iho Bodies 
of the Stilbic Series." by M- Ziniii; "On Isoprnpylcarbyla- 
mine and Isopropylamine, ' by M. Oautier; '* Observations 
rekUro to the Preservation of Wood," by M. Boucherie; 
" On the Mode of Testing Colouring Matter?, and especially 
Loaned, by Dyeing," by M. Houreau; "On the Mixtures 
of Oold and SUver from Kongsberg," by M. Hiortdahl; 
, ♦• Note oa % New Element of the Pile," by M Key; " Note 



on the Geolt^ical Conatitution of the Neighbourhood of 
Thebes," by M Dehinoue; and ' Remarka on the Fossils 
from the neighbourhood of Thebes, and Closaificaiiou of the 
Beds coQtaining them," by M. D'Archiac. 

M. Zinin states that chlorobonidle heated with water in a 
sealed tube lo i So" C. U completely decomposed into benjiile 
and hydrochloric acid— 

CMn,oOa,-f-H,o = CmH,<,o,-»-2Hcl 

Heated with alcohol, it is decomposed more easily at a 
lower temperature into benrllei, chloride of ethyl, and hy- 
drochloric acid — 

C,4H»,0C1, + C,H.0 ^ C^H.^Os^HCJI^a+Ha 
Chloroben/.ilo heated to 200' withun equivak'nt quantity of 
penlachluride of phoBphorus, is converted into a body 
having the composition C,ilrlioCl,. This quadriehlorinated 
compound is only slightly coluble io ether and alcohol, and 
insoluble in water, it is diflienlUy nttacked by nitric acid, 
a nitrogenous product being the result. It ia not converted 
into beoaol by the action of superheated water and alcohol. 
1 u boiling alcohol it is casnily decompu.?cd by godium amal- 
gam and converted into a hydrocarbon, the composition of 
which is expressotl by the formula CiiHii,. No accessory 
products ore formed, the reaction is simple — 
OMH,oCl«+4Na=C,,H,o^4NaCl. 
Clilorobenzile dissolved in alcohol and submitted to the action 
of zinc and hydrochloric acid, is soon transformed into 
nearly pure desoxybenioio ; the reaction is expressed by 
the equation — 

C,in,«0Cl, f 2na+2Zn=Ci«Hi,0+2Zn01a. 
Tlie preparation of dcaoxybenzoin by the action of reducing 
agents presented some diflicallics ; now after having found 
BoconvcLient a reuetion, M. Zinin haa lieen enabled to pre* 
pare this body in aufRciont quantity to continue his research- 
es on its metamorphoses. Among other results, M. Zinin 
has found that by reacting with sodium amalgam upon the 
product of the action of pentachlorido of phosphorua upon 
desoiy benzoin, slilbene ia obtained. The reftctjons are 
expressed by the two equations — 

CMH,,o+pci.=CnH,,ci+poa, + nni. 

CMHnCl+2Na + H.0=GMH„ + Naa+NuH0. 
If the oily product obtainod by the action of pentachloride of 
pho.xphorus upon desoxybenzoin be treated with potash 
and distilled or heated to ebuUition, crystals of lolatio 
(CtiH,,Cl) are obtained. Thus M- Zinin remarks, by a series 
of reactions easily understood, one is enabled, in separating 
the benzf>in, to form hydrocarbons which can serve as the 
point of departure for forming benzoin, and conscqaently 
all the bodies of the stilbic Ecriea. 

The native silver found at Kongaberg always contains 
a Uttle gold, the proportion of which, according to numerous 
analyses, varies tVom 0002 to 3 per cent. Rich mixtures of 
gold are actually very rarely found. According to the ro- 
searches of M. IliortdabI, it seems probuble ilrnt these 
mixtures occur in quart* veins of a different cJiaracter to 
the ordinary argentiferous veioa, which are filled with 
catcspar as the principal mineral. Ab to the composition of 
the mixtures of gold and silver from Kongaberg, M. lliort- 
dahl can only find a single indicationin mineralogicui litera- 
ture, au analysis by Fordyco in Brooke and Miller's " Miner- 
alogy ; " the gold ia there given at 28 per cent. The follow- 
ing results for similar mixtures are those of M. Hiortdahl in 
coQJuuction with &L SamuQleen :— 

PereaaUn 
Locdlty. ]Lllac«. ol «old. 

Bestaftdige liebe 531 

Louise Augusta sco 

Froken Chn>tiane ..... , 45 x> 

Incog . , (Fordyce's Result) 28 x> 

Blaarud .Christlaae 27*0 

Froken., ,...,.., " 26*9 

Although the differencos in the analytical rraulta would 
flcarcelj suggest perfectly definite chemical combinatious. 



[BtigliMh Editiaa, Vol. XVUl^ No. 46^ pas« 225; ISo. 4fi&, pB.^«t 1A1, Mb.\ 



it may at the same tirae be remarked that the p— • o-*if.v?» of 
gold iadicat^d Hcoin to rt'lat<.> to two distinct )2Tm m h - 

ing in oompasitioD AuAgr nnd AuaAp:^. The r.i md 

by calculation for these two combinations arc 47*6 and 26*7 
per cent TbesK? mixtures have a different composition 
from others of tho same cla*8 at present kuowHj and whicli 
always contain more gold and loss silver. The silver which 
comes from the workc Bometimea contains a litllo moro gold 
ilian the analyaia of the argtutlffroua mineral indicates. 
The cause of this is that a certain part of the ore is smelted 
with pyrites containing a Httlo gold, which ooUects in the 
melted sulphides (muttes). In thcBC pyrites the gold is prob- 
ahly coaibiiied with teleninm and tellurium, the presence of 
which in the mattes ia easily proved, in quantity about 0*05 
perwnt Act-ordiugto M. S;unvicl8cn, the Kongsherggold 
contains 5*5 per cent of platinum and a trace of pulladium. 



Paris, Oct. istu, 186S, 

on (he Bleaching 0/ Tisstu^j. — Ghromifermis Iron, — 

Tnehlorinieikd Acetal from £thyl atid the Ibmicdion 0/ 

CfUoml 

Tar. following mcmotrs were eommuulcated to the Acade- 
my on the 12th Octol>er:— "Re6eurche« on the Bleacliiiig of 
Tiasues," by M, Kolbe; " Tomperaturo of thi> AtbnticOcean 
compared with that of the Air, and witli the t>xouometric 
condition from St, Nazairc to Havanal^" by M, Poey ; " t hro- 
mites of Iron," by M, Ciouet ; *' The Triehloriiiated Acfjtal 
IVom Ethyl, and on the Formation of Chloral," by M. Pa- 
lerno. 

M. Ciouet has anulysed a epecimcn of chromiferous iron, 
which has the composition Cr:0,,3FeO. In analyainn: epe- 
dmens of this mineral from various localitiea, he has always 
obtained a constant relation Ixjtweeu the oxides of chromi- 
um nitd iron, when taken from the same locality, especial 
care being taken to select for ar>aly!?i« tlie samp'es differing 
un)8t in appearance. Chromites of iron are easily produced 
artificially. For this purpose a concentrated aolutioii of 
sulpliate of protoxide of iron, and solution of aeaquichloride of 
chromiimi, are mixed in the proportion noceBsaiy for tlio com- 
bination it ia desired to form, and uniinonia added in slight 
excops. The prec:pitate is filtered as quickly ns possible, 
and heated with a little carbonate of ammonia and borax in 
a platinum cnicible to bright redness. Ail the physical 
and chemical characters of the oorrepjwnding native chro- 
miferouB iron are posaeased by the artificially prepared 
chromiie : der.»ily, insolubility in strong aud boiling acida, 
(»Iour, and metallic lustre. By calcining the mixture 
CraO,,2FeO with borax, the compound may bo obtained 
crystallised in octahedra, 

Liehig first obtained chloral m 1S33 by the action of chlo- 
rine on alcohol. Two years later, M. Dumas established 
the exact composition of tliis body, and endeavoured to ex- 
plain its formation. He wbh led to conclude that in the action 
of chlorine on alcohol, acetic ether ia first formed, and that 
ihis other afterwards producoa chloral, by the substitution 
of 6 atoms of chlorine for 6 atoms of hydrogen. More recent- 
ly still, M. RegtiQult, considering the formation of aldeJiyde 
in the flrat period of the action of chlorine on alcohol, sup- 
posed tho chloral to result from the action of the elJorine on 
the aldehyde; and he considered this body ufi the trichlori- 
nated aldehyde. This hypothesis, which made chloral from 
trichlorinatcd aldehyde, eeeroed coui3nne<l by the tranafor- 
nintion of this body into trichloracetic acid effected by M. 
Kolbe, But on the other hand, when M, Wurtz dcmoiislra- 
led that, in the action of chlorine on aldehyde, chloride of 
■oetyl i» formed, from which chloral eanuot be derived, this 
teemed altogether improbable. Professor Liebon, in 1868, 
Investigated the action of chlorine on aqueous alcohol, and 
found that, in this case, tho products formed are ehiedy the 
chlorinated derivatives of acetal. He concluded from this 
that probably the chloral results firom the decompositiou of 
the trichlorinated acetal, under the influence of hydrochloric 



monoclilorl- 



acid, and he expressed tho tmnsformatlon of alcohol into 
chluml by a series of reactions, tho reaiilt being in auocea- 
sion, aldehyde, acetal, monochlorinated acetal, bichloi 
acetal, triehloriuated acetal, chloral Thus — 

ClI.O-Ma-sHCl-hCH^O, aldehyde. 
Cai.0 + 2an.0:-H.0 + C«H. I f^-^^^ I u«?taL 

<^«^'^i { SShV =ci=Ha+ cn.ci. \ ^g;}}; [ ',tf^, 

OJJCl, |^^^{|»-f2na=3(C«H»Cl) + C,HCl.D, cWo: 

The discovery of M. Beilstein that aldehyde la obtained 
treating acetal by acetic odd, and pMrticularly rV * * ^V^l 
served by M. Palcnio of tlie production of bi- 1 

aldehyde by means of bichlorinated acetal, are ii 
mcnts in favour of Lieben'a theory. To demonstrate thi 
theory completely, it was at the same time necessary 
prove that trichlorinated acetal exists amongst the pi 
ducts resulting from the action of chlorine on alcohol, 
that this IxKly c^in Iw converted into chlorul. This M. Pa* 
lermo pro[K>sed to himself to verify by experiment. 

Triciilorinuted acetal, together with bichlorinated acetal 
ia obtained by the action of chlorine on alcohol at iJo* 
Wiiter is added to the product, and tho oil which collect 
at the bottom of the vessel washed with potash and diatiUc 
Trichlorinated acetal is contained in tlie portions which pasi 
over above 185'. To isokte it, these portions are djj»tUled1 
in A current of steam, the hist quarter being collected sepa-j 
rately ; the portion thus scjwratcd is redistilled in the sai 
wjiy. After this opc^ration baa been repeated several time 
the last portions biuag always separated, tho ste.im com- 
mences to carry over a substance which cryslalUges npor 
reaching the receiver. This substance, compressed betwoei 
folds of blotting paper, distilled, and crystallised from ale 
hoi or ether, const itutos pure triclilorinated acetal, M. Pn 
lermo separated from 5 kilogrammes of alcohol, lognimme! 
of trichlorinated oeetal with difficulty, \vhile he olKtained a< 
tlie same time nearly 1 kilogramme of bichlorinated acetal 
Trichlorinated acetal cryatalliees in brilliant needles, resem- 
bling in aspect caffeine; it melts at 72% and boils at 23o\ 
decomposing a Uttte. Alcohol aud ether dissolve it easilyii 
The following analytical results were obtained : Carbon,! 
3210. hydrogen, 4*87, chlorine, 4792; theory requlringj 
32*05, 4-96, and 48*05. When trichlori nated aeet:d is heat 
ed to 150' vrith ordinary sulphuric acid, a liquid, which ap»' 
pears to be idenlical with chloral, distils. But tho quantity 
obtained was not aufflcie at to enable it to be purified for 
analysis. These ex|»rimonts were mado in the laboratocy 
of the Universitv of Palcrrno. 



CIIKMICAL SOCIETY. 

TJiursday^ November 5, 1868. 

Dr. W. a. iliLLEit, r.P.B.S, dbc, Vice-PresidiM', w 
Chair, 

The minutes of tho previous meeting were read amij 
conlirraed. Among the donations to the library which wera) 
announced was tho valuable present made by Mrs. Waring 
ton of eighty volumes from iliu library of her lamentedj 
husband, tlie late Professor Warington. They consist ehiefljr | 
of works wltich belong to the history of chemistry, and not 
the least im|>ortant of Uiom ia a copy of Agricola'a cekbmtedj 
treatise " De re Mttaltic*," 

The following names of candidates for admission into th^ 
Society were read by the secretary; — For the first time — ^ 
Mr. E. G. Tosh, Ph.D., Mr G, R. tiowland; for the second 
time — Dr. W. J. Balmer, lurgoQU to the Bengal Army. 



[SnglUiCHditioa, Vol XVUI^ J7o. 468, paRe fltf ; No. 469, p%K«« Z&9, 260; Mo, 49T, pace 233.] 



The CiTAiRif A.v, then addressing ilie Society, staled tliat ih© 
counoii hn<l lur ijutne ttnie been desirous uf iikirreoainiic the 
nonvber of Fellows who look pari tu the busine&s of Ihe 
Society, but Ihftt ihey hnd met with some difficulty from the 
reslriclious impOBed upon them by the charter, which Hmiled 
tho ijunil>er of the council Uj iwelvo, Tliey founds however, 
thnl the charter did not dcftoe tho number of the vice- 
president^ nnd ihej therefore suggested that the list ofvioe- 
pre»identa should bo increased by two. 

For the purpose of discussing this proposal and altering the 
5th nnd 7th by law, Ihc chairman sumtuoned the Fellona of 
tlte S«x.'itly to a general meeting to bo held oa Tlmrsduy, 
November ujlh, at eight o'clock. 

Tho first paper read was by Mr. W. H. Perkin, *" On, the 
ITydri<k «/ Buhjro-Solicyl and Buf^ric-Voumaric AeidlJ^'' 
This pnper ia published in full hi the current number of tho 
Society';? journal, and wo may Ihercron? content ourselves 
wilh a britf abstract of it 

The aulhor'a previous commnnicoliona hnd shown thut hy- 
dride of uceto-saiicyl, H|,CiH40,C.^HaO;0, is an inlernicdiat* 
StAge in the formation of couninrln from acetic anhydride 
arwi hydride ofsodiuai-salicyl. By the stibstitution of other 
anhydrides for the acetic, he had obtained homologuca of cou- 
marin, and he now describes the bydiide of butyro&alicyt, 
which furros tho intermediate st^ge in the tynthtna of 
butyric coumarin, a3 hydride of aceto-anlicyl does in that of 
ordinary c<juraarin. 

It 18 an oil boiling at 26o''-27o'C. Hj'dnite of potUR^iuin 
decomposes it into hydride of potassium-s/ihcyl and biity- 
rateof potassium, and i» yields with acetic anhydride a com- 
pound (CuHbOj^C^HsO,) perfectly paraltel with those pru- 
dnoed by the action of the anliydride on the hydrides of ethyl- 
Mi I icy 1, aceto-eal icy 1, kc. When boiled with butyric anhydride 
and butyrate of sodium it yields butyric conmarin. 

By tiie nction of hydrate of potassium, butyric cowmarin 
yields butyric coumaric acid, a true homologiiio of ordinarj' 
cftumnric acid, and like it capable of yielding only luono- 
iMtoJllo derivallvee. 

" On the Ai*pHcaUon of Chlorine Goji to the Tougluning 
and liefniHg of Cold,''' by F. B, Miller, F.C.S., Assayer in the 
Sydney bmnch of the Royal Mint. 

The methods now in use for etTecling the above purposes 
are all more or Icfs un!*fttisfuctory, and the author line there- 
fore devised a process which appears to satisfy all the require- 
ment? of the ca.se in a single operation. 

A French clay crucible Is ealurated with borax by im- 
mersing it in a hot stvUirntcd Bolution, and drying. The gold 
l« then nieUt'd in this crucible with a little borax, and a 
filrerm of chlorine gag is allowed to pass tlironyh it by 
means of a clay tube (a tobacco-pipe stem waa found suit- 
able). The chlorine generator iR Stted with a safely lube 7 
feet long, and i;s connected with the clay lube by a caout- 
chOQc lube. In a few hours tho whole itf the gilvcr ia con* 
verltd Into chloride, which Hoata on the gold. The borax 

vents the absorption of the chloride by the crucible, and 

ita volfttilisfltJor, except in very minnie quantities. As 

* the gold has bcoorae solid, the still h«]Uid dilarido 

'silver 13 poured ofl', and the gold ia now found to have a 
tvefs of i»ay 903 iiflris in 1,000. The apparetit loss of gold 
is vcf)' little greater than is found Id ordinary gold melting — 
being 5-9 parts in 10,000— whereas in the ordinary process 
it is 2. A small sample of the gold is removed from ttme 
10 time during Ihe operation by means of a piece of tobacco- 
pipe used as a pipette^ This is rapidly nssjiyed approxi- 
mately, and thus the progress of the operation is judgt^d of. 

The fused chloride of silver obtaiiicl as a slab after tho 
operation, is reduced by placing it between two plates of 
wroughi-iron in a bath of dilute sulphuric acid. The spongy 
silver 8«i obtained contoios gold, which may be separated by 
nilric nciil. The nitrate of silver can of course be precipitated 
ns chloride, and sub-iiequently reduced. The gold appears to 
!«o present in the chloride of silver in the form of a double 
, chloride, and the author has succeeded in separating it directly 
from thi« combination by precipiitntion by metallic silver. 



The Chairman, in proposing a vote of tiiaoka to the 
author, remarked upon the great importance ot the new 
process. Much of the gold imported into this country con- 
tained 60 or 70 ounces of silver in 1000, which could not 
at the prci^ent time be proUtuhly extrncted. The new method 
would probably be soon adopted by Kngliah assay ers. 

Mr. Forbes had listened to the reading of the paper wi.h 
great pleasure. It hnd hitherto been sup[)Osed that the 
volatility uf chloride of iiilver was t<.*o great to allow of such 
a method of p<^poration being adoptc'd, but the author's ex- 
periments seemed to Uave no doubt that borax would prevent 
the volatilisxition. 

ProfesHor Fo.ster remarked that the action of borax in 
this case probably consisted in its ahvttting out the atmoa- 
phere. The chloride of silver could not evaporate without an 
atinoHpheru into which it could diflbse itself. I>r. Matthies- 
sen, in some of hia experiments, made use of fused paraffin; 
for the same purpose — via, tuwavoid evaporation. 

" Noteotilht Sj/ecific Gravity and Binhnfj-jHHiit of Chromyl 
Didihridc^" by T. K. 1 horpe, iJaUon Su}>ol»r in the Labora- 
tory of Owen's College, ilnucheetcr. The author prepared 
the liquid by distilling an intimate mixture of 10 pnrm sodium 
chloride and ij parta potassium dichromate with 30 parts 
strong pnlphnric acid. lie removed the fred chhirino by 
repeated distillation in an atmosphere of carbonic acid. The 
speeiflo gravity of the liquid sr> obtained was, at n tempera- 
lure of 25*0., i"92, Wnlter, whose previoua dtlemnnation 
{9 quoted by the author, found 17), but this number ia 
rendert'd impo8.*ib!e by the fact that the pure liquid sinka 
wh<»n dropped into strong sulphuric ncid. 

The boiling point, al a pressure of 733 miUimelrea, wa.s 
found to be 1168, Waller, nt a pressuro of 760 millimetres^ 
found 1 18"^. Allowing for the dilference of pi esaure, ihe^e two 
obgervntions agree completely. The dichloride cannot, how- 
ever, be distilled wiUicmt some slight dewmpusition. 

'* Annlyniff of the Afhes of a I'i^euted OrnuQe TVer (CiVitjji 
Attrantiumy by T. K. Tliorpc, 

Hie orango plantations along ihe south -eastern coast of 
Spain, and in the adjacent Batenric Isles, have P^cently been 
visited with a severe epidemic, the rapid progress or which 
was nalumlly viewed with no little anxiety by the people, 
since the culture and exportation of orangi's cnnsiiiulo one 
of their principal industriej*. The origin of the disease is in- 
volved in complete obscurity, and as yet it has balDt^d all 
attempts at remedial measurt^ The first symptoms are ob- 
served ill the leavea, which turn yellow and drop ofl'j a most 
disgusting odour exhales from ihe root,*, and in a lew daya 
the tree succumbs. The violence of the disease is dow, 
happily, much abated. ar»d it appears to be dying out. 

Professor liunsen, who visited the Balearic Isles during 
the summer vacation of lust year, collected sfMecimens of 
varioua parts of tlie diseased plantit, and Die aiuhor has ana- 
lysed the ashes of them under hig direction in the laboratory 
of the University of Heidelberg. 

The method of analysis va Brat described. The cauatic 
bases were first converted into carbonates by treatment with 
CO, in a stoppered glass cylinder, tho whole evaporated to 
dryuesF, treated with a groall quantity of water, and the in- 
soluble separated from the sohiblo portion by means of a 
weighed filler. Separate anahses of each were made. The 
phosphoric acid in tho insoluble portion was estimat*^ by 
means of tin. The highly concentrated nitric add aoluiion 
was treated with fuming nitric ncid, warmed^ and digested 
with tin foil till the latter was fully oxidised. On fiUration, 
the whole of the phosphoric acid remained in the precipitate. 
This precipitate was dissolved in et>n cent rated potash solution, 
diluted, sfiturated with sulphuretted hydrogen, treated wiih 
very slight exc-ess of acttic acid, and the tin sulphide Hltered 
off l>y means of Bunsen*s filler-pump, the use of which ia 
absolutely neoesHary, The lit(rnt«« whs omcent rated, filtered 
from the tin sulphide which hud precipitated during cvApora- 
tion, and tho phosphoric aotd thrown down in the UHual 
way. Tho llltrate from the tin oxide was treated with 
sulphuretted hydrogen to remove foreign melala, such as 



iBnglith Edition, Vol XVUI, Wo. 4CT, pa%»»*». 11\\ 



Cheinieid Soeidy, 



Jan., 180». 



lend and copper, inlrothiced by llie tin, and tli« remaining 
raetuls deteniiiued in the usuni manner. 

The portion smUiVilo in water was ihiroduced into a weighed 
flusk wilh a btenjl lube by wU.ch aliquot ptirta o( the 
weighfd liqviid coutd bo removed For Beparate procesats. 
The only one of these which presents any peculiarily is the 
process to which the plalino-chloride oruodium was subject- 
ed. It wna Ibuud impossible lo remove all traces of tnag^tie- 
sium from tlie alkaline clilurjdes by the use of ammonium 
cnrhonuto and ammonia. The filtmte from tlie plutino- 
chlorllo of potassium wua therefore exposed to direct sunlight 
in a tlatjk tilled witit hydrogen^ the alcohol having been 
previously removed by evaporation. The platinum is quick- 
ly reduced, and the magnesium can then be estimated in 
tlK! usual w«y. 

We have no space for ll» details of tlie analyses which 
follow. Tublea are given which show t!ie percentnjie coro- 
poaillon of I ho nsh of the rooLs, stem, brfmehes, and fruit 
and the resulla are compared with the analyses of the asii of 
healthy plants mudo by Rowney and How, and by Dr. 
HichnrdsoD. Tlie mo«t remarkuble diflerences observed iti 
the comparison are shown in the following table, ahowiiig 
the perceuttigfS of lime and phosphoric add : — 



The Society then adjourned until Thursd«y, iho I9lh insl., 
when, ia accordane© wilh the PresideniV summons, m gener 
meeting will be held at eight o'clock. 



Lima. 

Boot of disused plant 61*82 

Stem of ditto 70-67 

Root of healthy plant 49 89 

Stem of ditto 5513 



Phnniiborio Acid. 
.. fS7 

.. 2()6 

'* 13-47 
.. 1709 



The phosphoric aetd ia thus aliowu to be in deficiency in the 
diseased plant, and the lime in excess. Similur dillcrences 
cannot, however, be traced in the ash of the fruit. 

IVofesaor W'u.i.»a«sos asked whether any fellows present 
hfid tried the use of tin in soparHting phoaphoric acid. Con- 
aiderublo doubta had been entertained as to its value. 

Mr. D.vvii» FouJiKS hod found the results obLnined by the 
use of tin most uns^itisfactory. Some oxides, especially that of 
iron, went down with the tin, and the whole of the phosphoric 
acid was not precipitated. 

Professor Yok(.('R£R had also tried the tin process but 

l!d make nothing of it With reference to the question 

the compositiou of the ashes of pinnta in disease, he re- 
marked thni we wanted data a» to the composition of plants 
RTfiwn under ditlerent circumstnnees. The composition In 
health varied extremely wilh the nature of the soil, Ac. 
Potatoes, for instance, exhibited the greatest variations of 
composition in diflVjrenl samples. In the determination of 
lime, it was not uncommon Uy (ind diflerencea of from 10 
to iS per centf atid Ibis in healthy planta The speaker 
considered that too much reliance must not be plucetl on 
comparisons of this sort. 

T>r. Attfiei.d had made many analyses of the fl.«ihes of 
healthy and diseased potatoes and other meraben? of the 
genus SoldiiiDth and had been unable to observe any constant 
difrercnces of com position. 

Dr. Okmxg remarked thnt the diflvrencea in the percen- 
tages of lime record»rd by Mr Thorpe might be explniued hi 
the manner suggested by Professor Yoeleker, but that the 
variations in phosphoric acid, supposing the analyses to bo 
correct, were startling. 

Prort.>?sor Williamson*: With difTorent methods of analy- 
siiii, chemists seem to get very different reaulta. (Laughter.) 

The CiiAlRMAV enquired wlifiher any of the Fellows had 
obtained good restilts with the molybdate process. 

Mr. Forbes believed it to Ije the most accurate which had 
yet been sugi^ested. It was neccss-iry to lake some precau- 
tions, in pnrticular to allow the liquid to stand for a long 
time — 25 to 30 bour8--80 aa to become crystalline, before 
Altering it. 

ProfoiBsior KfiiXEn and Dr. Paul hnd both experienced 
great difficulty in wnshing the precipitate. 

Professor Voeixker found that If siJica was pre sent in the 
solution, it went down with the molybdate, and was aub- 
sequenily dissolved by the ammonia. 



Thursday^ November 19, iS68w 

Db, WAttREK DB LA RtTE, F.R-S., Presldtnt^ in the 

In accordance with the u'ttice given at the lust meeting, &n 
oxtraordimiry general raeetiog of the society took place at 
eight o'clock. 

The President, in introducing the busines? of the special 
meeting, observed that it w&s eonveued under the pron?ioaa 
of Law I J, which permitted the convocation of such am 
log when any question arose which required the cone 
roQoe of the entire society. Their object on the prese: 
ooeasioD was to discuss certain propo.«ed Alterations in t 
bye-laws, by which a greater number of Fellows would 
adraitlcd to a share in the government of the .society. Tli 
council had long felt anxious to efltx't this object, and fin 
ing that the charter did not permit them to increase t' 
number of ttie council, they now proponed to raise the nu 
bcr of vioe-preaidenta who had not tLled the chair, fVoi 
four to six. This ftlteratiou would, it was felt, infuse »oi 
new blood into the governing body. 

Formiil alterations in the bye-laws to provide (br the pro 
posed chajige were then put to the meeting by the Preai 
dent, and were carried unanimously. 

The meeting was then resolved into an ordinary one. 

After the forroal buslnosa, the following certificates wei 
road ; — 

For the first time, Mr. W. W. Stoddart, Mr. Jo! 
Hughes, Mr. T. Rowan; for the second time, Mr. K 
Toali, Mr. G. Gowbnd; for the third time, Dr. W. J, Bahner, 
Calcutta . 

The lust-nameil gentleman was then balloted for, and was 
declared duly elected. 

The Pkesi'den't then aunouuoed that a change in tho ar 
rangementa for tho meetings hutl bfeomo neceasary. He 
had just returned Jrom witnessing the demolition going 
in Paris t© flud himself in siintlar quarters here. The 
rangcnients with tlie Royal Society had, as the Fellows 
were awure, fulleii through, and their pleasant toa a: 
lacf ting waa no longer possible. The Linnean Society 
kindly accommodated thorn for that eveniug, and 
would be taken to make freah arrangements for next 
meeting. 

Mr W. H. PEUKiy then made a communication " On tfte 
Adion of Chloride of Lime on Anilint!.'' 

About twelve years since tho aullior, when cx|>eriment- 
ing upon the process of converting aniline into aniline pur- 
ple by means of a salt of aniline and a bichromate, also 
made experiments upon Range's well-known reaction 
aniline, to see if the colour of t!)e solution obtained in thia 
manner was due to aniline purple or not ; liia results, ho 
ever, were decidedly in the negiitive. But two or th 
years after the French manufucturers begjin to oipcrimcu 
upon aniline purple, and succeeded in obtaining it by em- 
ploying ciiloride of hme as Hie oxidising agent. 

These o[)posite results could not at the time bo accounted 
for, but upon repeating his eiperimenta lately tlie author 
has found his conduaions to be perfectly correct. 

Reference was made to the name Runge first gave to ai 
lino, which it wHIl be remembered was kyaool or blue oil, 
account of the blue or blue-violo4 colouratiou it gave w 
chloride of lime; and by perfomiing lUmge's expcrimeat 
was shown that an indigo-coloured fluid is obtained, a] 
pearing ratbtT dull, because slightly turbid ; it may be reo 
derod ■ perfectly clear by the addition of alcohol, and then 
presents, by transmitted' light, a brilliaat colour not unlike 
ammouiaeal sulphate of copper and not at all like anilino 
pie. Moreover, silk iramcrj?ed in the coloured Huid obtalni 
by this reaction ia dyed a dull blue-hivendcr shade. 

Experiments were made to isolnte this colouring of Runge 
and were tolerably successful so that it wa.*) obtained iu 



He 

?on 1 
t ar- 
lows I 

•^ 

-ext ' 

nt- 

lur- 

llfiO 

for 
hia J 

cut^n 



fSngliMb Edition, V<tl XVHl Wo. i«7, page* 234, 135 •, Wo. 4A9, ^i.l«* 4!A,^S1 \ 






Dublin Scietitific Cluh, 




Bolid condition, and was found to dissolTO iu cold alcohol 
with X l>liio colour, and when ovaporntod spontaneously left 
t' ■ *!!.? matter as a solid, poasessinga coppery colour- 

irliig matter the anthor proposes to designato ns 
lue." It appears to be the salt of an organic 
ti ;iig enturel/ in its behaviour witli caustic alkali 

ffuui b «alt of mauveine, as its alcoholic solution gives with 
poUwh a pale reddish brown colour, a salt of mauve ino pro- 
dudag under the same circumstances a solution of % violet 
colour. 

RungQ'd blue djcs silk a blue or bluo-violct shade, but does 
not take on to the fibre so readily as aniline purple. 

Thtii question as to how llie manufacturer produces aniline 
purple by oxidising aniline with chloride of lime, seeing the 
result of that oxidation is the formation of Runge'a blue, 
waa non oonsidcred, aad showu to be the rceuU of proooed* 
ing^ a step further. 

It 15 found that Riinge's blue when boiled with water 
n'/i'jniated with acetic acid, is entirely decomposed, yielding 
n,. I , .. r.„r|^le, and thia ia the additional step taken by the 
■ r. He boils hifl product with water acidulat^sd 
acid for the purpose of extracting the aniline 
[Mtrplt,', but by performing this operation ho not ojily gets 
his colour in solution, but actually forma it. 

To show that this ia not a process of purification, silk was 
dyed with Ruuge^a blue, and in paste exposed to the action 
of steam for a few raomeuts, when it was seen (hat the 
parts subjected to the action of steam were changed from a 
uiuo or blue-violet to the ordinary shade of aniline purple. 
A similar effect is also produood by the inflluenoe of he«t 
ilonci. 

An alcoholic solution of Range's blue was found to be very 
rapidly deoompoBod into aniline purple by boiling, and 
by adding a few drops of sulphuric acid to the boiled pro- 
duct j oryvtalfl of sulphate of uiauveine were deposited on 
oooling. 

The same decomposition aleo takes place in the cold in 
tho course of a day or two. This colouring matter does not 
iippear to decompose so rapidly when in Ihe soUd state 
and when applied to silk its deenrnpctsiiion into anQine 
purple takes place very slowly. The instability of tliis 
Bubatanco has prevented the author from establishing its 
(brmulii. 

From the ahjove results it was clearly shown that the 
colouring matter obtained by Runge is an entirely diflerent 
pubatance to aniline purple,' but that tt is capable of yield- 
ing it when decomposed by heat. 

Mr. Perkin also exhibited some beautiful specimens of 
benzoic and phlhalic acids obtmood from naphthaline, and 
so chloroxynaphthalic acid and some of its coloured salts 
hich are manufactured on the large scale by Messrs. De- 
uilly. Fr^rcs, of Paris. 

The Pbksidext eould not avoid recalling the time when ho 
first saw Dr. Hofmaun perform Uunge'a t-iperiment of treat- 
ing aniline with chloride of lime. He remembered saying to 
him, •' Now, Hofmann, if you can Ei that colour tliere is a 
fortune for you." It apjjeared, however, that it wnst not the 
right colour after all. The colour exhibited by Mr. Psrkin 
seemed to offer an advantage to bodies who wore fond of 
IVt'tjuent changes in their costume. A lady would merely 
^liave to stand near the fire in a ball-room and her lavende 
k dress would soon become a purple one. 
Br. MuiiLER enquired whether Mr Perkin had made any 
experiments upon the oil which Maripnac obtained by the 
action of potash on chloride of ehloronaphthaliue. This snb- 
stanco WBA very much like chloropicrin, tliough of course 
different from it. It would be very interesting to ascertain 
by comparative experiments wlietlier the formula now 
given was correct. The action of nascent hydrogen npon it 
should UkowtBo bo studied, for it ought^ under Uiese cir- 
cumstancea, to jrield methylene-diamine. 

Mr. Pkbein had made no experiments in the direction 
indioated. 



Dr. Odlino remarked that it would confer a great benefit 
upon science if chomista would follow the example of Mr. 
Perkin and publish the results of their repetiUona of pre- 
viously published, but little known, proeesscs. The primary 
object of the society was, of oour»e, the publication of new 
discoveries, but the Immense number of Uie now processes 
which were published, rendered it impossible in repeat tliem 
all, and henoo the records of cnnfirmatorj experimenta were 
of tlie greatest value. 

The PRESfDENT enquired whether any of the chloro-oiy- 
naphthalatcs exhibited, some of which, and particularly the 
sine and copper salts, had a very beautiful colour, had been 
tried as colours. 

Mr. Perkix said they had, and had been found to be very 
3toble. This observation was confirmed by Dr. If uller, who 
stated tliBt the great objection to their use arose upon the 
score of expense. The President suggested that thia would 
probably be only a temporary difficulty. 

'* Analysis of a Mtieorite from South Africa/' by Professor 
Church. 

Tlie meteorite in question was seen by a native to faU at 
Daniel's Kuil, a place about two days' journey N.NE. of 
Grigua Town. The native said that it was warm and 
smelt of sulphur when ho picked it up. He offered it to 
the Rev. James Good, a mlssionoty in Grigua Town, who 
declined it, and recommended htm to take it back to the 
place where he found it ! Instead of doing so, he gave it 
to a Grigua chief, Captain Nicolas Waterboer, and from his 
hands it passed into those of Ifr J. B. Gregory, of Russell 
Street, Covent Garden, and ia now iu the liritit^h Museum. 

It was small in size, of an irrogular oblong form, weigh- 
ing 2 lbs. 5 ozs. It was covered with a dark grey crust, 
speckled here and there with reddish brown spots, these 
spots arising from a partial oxidation of the ferruginous ma- 
terials of the stone. Its density wna rather low, namely 
3'657 and 3*678, as found in two determination.''; but it is 
probable that the iron * outained in the stone is in larger 
j proportion in some parts than in thoeo analysetl, and 
therefore, were the density of the whole meteorite to be 
taken, it would very likely be as high as yS^ or there> 
abouts. 

The following was given as the analysis of the mete* 
orite: — 

Nickel-iron contauiing 5*18 per cent oickeL .2972 

Trt»ilite, FeS 602 

Schreibersite , , i -59 

Silica and SUicatea, chiefly oliviDC and labrado- 

rite. 6»"53 

Carbon, oxygeu, other constituent', and loss 114 

loo 00 

The iron -nickel was dissolved out of the ftone 1 y long 
digestion with dilute hydrochloric acid, the tw ructala be- 
ing separati^d by the barium carbonate prooess. The sul- 
phur was determined by oxidising the troilito with potafcsi- 
um chlorate, and nitric aciiL 

Tlie 8chreil»erpite, a somewhat undetermined species, 
was approximately estimated by multiplying the unoxidiseU 
phoaphonis in the stone by ten. 

The compositioti ol" the meteorite was not quite tinifonn, 
one fragment yielding 392 per cent of nickel iron, and an- 
other only 48*99 per cent of silicates. 

" On tiu: Action of Suit on Chessytife^^ by Professor 
Church. 

The author bad. in 1^64, commenced a series of experi- 
ments with the view of elucidating the formation of nta- 
cnmite by the action of sea water on copjHT ores. The 
following was the only really suoccssfid experiment : 2 
grammes of very pure eliessyllte, having the compositjou — 

2CuC0„CuH,0,, 
and a very pale blue colour, were immersocl in aco tc: of 
a 10 per cent solutioD of pure salt The blue colour glowly 



lEngUah Edition, 7oL XVin.,llo. 4», ^ita Ml , .^l».^\ 



Manchester Liierary and PhiloHophical Society, 



Cbkmicai. NrwB, 



, chnnged to pale procu, and by October of the pregent year 
*tlie whole of the COj of the iniD< ral had boon dispUioed bv 
chlorine, »ad remained in the sohition in the form of aodium 
cflrl«OR)itc. The mineral was uow found to have the formii- 
k 2CuGU,gCuIbj0.j,3aq. It was, therefore, analogous toataca- 
mitc, though it did not exactly conespond vrith it in com- 
position. The water which it contained was not given off 
at too'. 

Tlje PhesipeKT remarked on tho length of time retpiircd 
for the completion of exiM>rimeut<* of lliip kind. With re- 
Gpcet to the raotoorite hecuquircd whether the carbon found 
could be assigned to any other constituent, or whether it 
existed in tho form of groplate. 

Dr. MiriXBK enquired whether a direct determination of 
the carbon hud been made. The abseneo of carbon in me* 
to<3Tiies was «o general that many were rejected because they 
were found to contuiu that element. He believed, however, 
that a few undoubted instances of its occurrence were 
kno^Ti. 

Professor Church pointed out that the minute quantity of 
carbon present, not exeeedinff *i per cent, together with the 
flmalhie.«a of the fnt^mcnt^at his command, hod precluded 
him from estimating its quantity. He had only been able 
to ascertain iia prescnw qnalitfltively. 

The PRESTDEST reminded Dr. MiiMer thai be hod seen at 
his house a meteorite, the lall of which, at Moutaubiu in the 
centre of France, had been witnessed. It contained a very 
notable proportion of carbon^ and others of a similar kind 
had ainec been traced It was evident that the presence of 
carbon offordod no reaKou for doubting the meteoric origin of 
■Sroa. Meteorites from diflcrent regions of space might have 
very different compoaitious, which rande it the more remarka- 
ble, that no new element had over been obtained from one. 

Dr. MtTLLKB endorfed the observation* of the President, 
and added that distinct traces of a hydrocarbon had been 
found in one instance. 

The Pbesident then descriljed briefly aome experimentJ? 
which he had recently seen tit the house of \\\& friend Mr. 
Gassiot with a Ijattury of J?, 600 elenienta of zinc and carbon 
char^'ed with mercuric chloride. This battery was able to 
transmit the current through vacuum tubes without the in- 
terposition of a coil Ho tOf)k the opportunity of testing 
tho electro-motive force of the arrunifement in order to com- 
pare it with that recently sujjn^stcd by Dr. Hugo Miilier 
ani himself The latter instniment compared very favoura- 
bly with the far larger one of Mr. GasBiot. 

The Society then acyourned until Thursday, tho 3rd of 
December. 



MANCHESTER LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY. 

Ordinary Mating, November yd, 1S68. 
J. P. JooLR, LLD,, FRB,, A<^ Prctrident, in the Chair. 

'*ifenjarfr» on Mr. BnxendeWs Laws 0/ Aimoijiheric Otonf,^^ 

by Professor W. STANLEY Jevoxs, M.A. 
In reading the remarks of Mr Baxendeli ou atraoflphon<i 
oaone, it L»ccuri to me tliat a very flimplo explanation can be 
given of the connectioa he detects between the height 
of Hifi clouds and the amcunt of ozone at the surfni-e, 
two facts which seem nt first sight enlirely unrelated. 
The quantity of ozone which reaches the eurCace will de- 
pend on three circumstancca : — 

1, The thickness of the current of air ioucliing tUo 
surface. 

2. The proportion of oxone existing thereln. 

3 The degree in which this current is rendered unifonn 
by constant mixture, 

Tlie balloon observations of Mr. Glaisher proved what 
was prcviout'ly inferred by meteorologists, that the atmos- 
phere usually consists of several strata of «ir whieh are 
separated by distinct boundaries, and do not freely mix 
rHeoee it is only tho osone in the lowest stratum which is 



usually available nt the Furface. and tta quantitv will be 
proportionc*d cakris yaribus^ to the thtckne.'^H of that stra- 
tum It is the height of tho first layer of clouds which 
usually defines the up^wr limit of this ftratum. For dur- 
ing my^ own obgervations, both in Australia and England. I 
have often noticed that smoke from a great town or from 
extensive bush fires rifieB only to a definite height, and 
seems to form the basis, as it were, of the cumulous clouds, 
which are the upward terminations of ascending currents. 
Now, BS in May. the height of this stratum, according to 
Mr, Crogthwaite'a obBervations, greater than in any other 
month, there will bo a larger mass of air which cau suc- 
cessively come in contact with tho surface and furnish 
oxone. But we lihall only have the full benefit of this ozone 
when an active process of mixture is going on. At night 
the sir in contact with the earth is cooler than that 
above, and therefore leud.>< to lie in a stagnant layer whicb 
can often I>e detected by the mist or smoke which it con- 
tains. This Inytr will be rapidly exhausted of ozone, and 
will be filled with tho organic exhalations from the earth. 
Hence oriHCS the comparatively unhealthy ehoracler, and in 
some climates the poifonouA nature of night air, and it 
may constantly bo observed that a moderate wind may bo 
blowing above our heads, as showni by the motionw of the 
clouds or the wind felt on a mountain top, without breftking 
up tho stagnant layer ou the surface. This is one rcasou 
w hy the air is calmer at night than in the day. But dnring 
higii winds the guats penetrate to the surface and prevent 
any stagTiation, w> that» as I apprehend, during fclormy 
weather the deficiency of ozone in the evening would not 
be observed. 

In tho daytime, on tho contrary, the sun's heal occasions 
a perpetual circulation or convection iu the lowest mai^s of 
air up to the level of the cumuli. Every portion of the air 
ia thus fiuctjessivcly brought to the surface and organic 
subscanoea are carried off and oxidated. 

During my own observations on ozone I felt strongly the 
imperrecliou^ of the method of measurement alhnlcd to by 
Mr. Baxendeli, and I thoroughly agree with him that the 
mystoriou.s variations of ovme will not Vm) understoo<l until 
not only the quantity of air brought into contact with the 
paper bo raeapured or regulated^ but tlie varying source and 
mutrnitudo of supply be considered. 

Mr, E. Bowman, M.A^ exhibited and explained Mr. 
Barrett's modification of Professor Wheotstone'a Kaleido- 
pbone. 

Professor H E. ROSCOK. F.R,S., drew attention to tho 
important di.^covery, made independently by M. Janssen at 
Guntoor in India, and by Mr. Norman Lockjer in London, 
of the visibility of the Bpectral lines of tho red solar prom- 
inences under ordinary circumstimces. Hitherto these pro- 
tuberances or red llamea have only Iwen Bocn during total 
eclipses of the f*un ; but by the application of tho Bjiectro- 
scope in conjuncUon with the telest^pe, the peculiar bright 
Hues which these promineuces exhibit, Inditrative of the 
presence of glowing gas, can now be obfierved whenever 
the sun is visible. Although the priority of this interest- 
ing discovery is due to M. Janssen. who flrst observed the 
protuberances the day after the eeJipae, the raetliod having 
occurred to him whilst observing during the eclipse, yet Mr. 
Lockyer had suggested this particular method of examina- 
tion no less than two years ago, and had sui^ceoded in bis 
endeavour before he become aware ef M. Jaussen's prior 
observatious. From the accounts as far as lliey are yet 
published, wo learn that the bright lines npfiear to beidenti- 
tad with those of hydrrnren. 

Mr. Baxekdell atjited that tliis discovery would give a 
great impetus to tlio progress of our knowledge of solar 
phenomena, and that the importance of observations on 
this plan could not be over-estimated. 

Professor H, E. Rosooe, P,R.8 , exhibited and explained 
Carre'a apparatus for freezing water by its own evaporation, 
and by means of whieh a pint of water was frozen in a 
few minutes. 



(EagUsb Edition, Vol XVHL, No. 469, page 258-, No. «B, <^Kem 2A&, ^»ft.\ 






Ch^mkal ybtices frotn Foi'eign Sonrceg. 



41 



DUBLIN SCIENTIFIC CLUB. 

Tii: :'ti^ of tins club was hold in the Leol lire 

TL 1 1 Dublin Societj, Professor Ball Rave 

liV»^MMiiiH;ii ni'ij Oh Lord Ro^Sf'a New Prnwiiij? of the 
ila io Orion," Mr. Tioliboroe pave n verbal description 
'tn " Anomalons Reaction observed in connoction with Ni- 
trites present in WcU Water." Other coromunications were 
rocc;vr:l np follows:— Mr. Tbomtoii "On Peculiar Nodule* 
in "^ : " Mr. YeatoB, ^* On Sprenp:erB Air Pumps ; " 

Mr Stoney, *• On Muggins's Resenrches on Side* 

rcu V * (see Proceedinij» of ftat/til Sot-Jcty^ No. C05) ; 

Dr Rc-rnolda, "Oa Sdhdnbein's Test for Frusaic 

Aci^ ... c?ame gentleman (rave a verlxil dcseriplion of 
some experimouta, which ho ahortlj intends to publish, viz., 
" On the holation of ftnlpliur U'roa " jfsulphocarbaniide). 
T*T. Reynolds seems to have formed this substanoe, which 
hithert<i hn!» not been known in nn isolated condition. In 
hU if ion in L-onnectiou wifh sulphoojaidde of am- 

iTii li has extended over somo considerable time, 

ho n lifn'fn^ that .'iubatance for some time to its 

Bfi' : r I citritctiug with «leoho!, he obtained 

V ^ iulLs:iL:t' substance, which^ on a naiyais, au- 

to the formnla of sulphur urea ; — 



CN 
NH. 



N.. 



The cause of failure In forming Uiis substance roust have 
beea from tlie fact that stdplioeyanide of atnruonJQm was 
either heated to too high or to too low u tempfrattire. 

The following compounds were also described: — 

1. Gdd compound — 
CH»N,8) 
GH.N.SVAu. 

Cl) 

2. Platinum compound — 

3. MersMirJol compound — 



N,0. 



CIl.N.S } llg O, 

cn,N,« 



GLASGOW PHILOSOPHICAL tOClKTY. 

Chbmicm, Section* 

The opening meeting of the ^esfion took place in tlio Socie- 
ty's roomi^, Ander^onian Buildinga, on Monday, the 9th inst. 

Dr. AxPKOiSoy, the l*rc8ident» delivered an addre.«*s on 
"Tho Present Asficcts of Chemistry, and its Relations to 
the Ana." lo tlie course of his romarka he referroii more 
particularly to the modem theories relating to chemical 
Chung*-?, and discnsaed at soma lonjurth tho views of Sir 
Benj'miiiii Bro(be, an set forth in his " Calimlus of Chemitjal 
Uperntioiis." He also alluded to the progress of chemical 
scicuco on the Continent, and eoiitrastod the splendid new 
Iftboratories now being established in Germany, with the 
comjKirrttively iudilTcrenl faciUlies At present exiyling in this 
country f«>r rho prosecution of chemicul study and researcht. 
He lion to the fact that many of the manu- 

fai t y carried 00 on the Continent appeared 

rob- iui,,,., ,K.i...o in Kngland, and referred this cia^im- 
stance to the superior tochaical training and skill of conti- 
nental workmen. 

A vote of thanks was given to Dr. Anderson for his ap- 
prourUttti and interesting address. 

The Annual Genorul Meeting was hold in the SoL'iety's 
Rooms, Andersoniao University Buildings, on Monday 
evening, the :3rd inst. 

The following gentlemen wore elected oflloo bearers: — 



Thomafl Anderson^ MD., P.BS.E, Professor of Oliemistry 
in the University of Glasgow. 

Vice-PrtsidenU — 
Dr. Wm, Widlnci*, P.R.S.K. 
Alexander Whitehiw. 

Tffmurer — 
William R. Hutton. 
^erretary — 
Robert R. Tatlock, P.C.Sv 

Council — 
James H, Bald. 
James Oow|>pr. 
John Fergn.^on^ M.A. 
John Jex Lou}?, 
William Macadam. 
James Mactear. 
John Parnter, 

Edward *G. C, Stanford, F.O.S, 
Blr. James Mactear, F.C S.. gave an interesting descrip- 
tion of Gay LuBsac's apparatus for absorbing the waste ni- 
trous gases of vitriol chambers, and experimented very suc- 
cessfully with a working nio'lcl of the arrangement, lie af- 
ler^vard.s detailed the various methods used for denitrathi^' 
the nitro- sulphuric acid produced. In answer to an ecquiry, 
Mr. Mactear stated that tlie question, whether ihe vitriol 
maoufacture Is more economicaUy conducted with or with- 
out the adjunct of tho "Gay Luesoc" dejicuda upon the 
market price of nitrate of soda, and other circumstances. 

Mr. Bald aflen^'ards exhibited some efflorescent and deli- 
quescent crj-'stals, preserved by a coating of paraffin. 



CHEMICAl. NOTICES F'ROM FOREIGN 
SOURCES, 

Ketone of Formic Acid.- R Mulder. Assuming the 
ketone of formic acid to be identical with formic nldeliyd, 
this interesting compound may bo expected to be formed by 
thnt reaction which is used for tlie preparation of ketones 
when applied to formic acid. On beating calcic fonniate and 
condensing the products of distilhition at a very low temper- 
fllure. R liquid w.ia obtained which had all the properties of 
HofmnnnH formic aldeliyd. — {Zfitxchr. CA., A'.F. iv., 365.) 

EMtlmalloii at Cobnlt lu Presence of Ar^onlc* — C 
Winkler, The metliod for the volumetric delerminalion of 
ctihalt in presence of nickel, as proposed by the iiuthor some 
years ago {Z Anal Cftein., iii., 265. 420), was found lo be 
inapplicable in cases where oxvgeo compomtda uf cbiuriue, 
sulphur, arsenic, and prosphorus were present ^^^e metln«J 
conaisted in fin^t mixing with the solution lo be tested mer- 
curic oxide, and then adding a standard solution of potasaic 
permangfltmte. The injurious action of arsenic and phospho- 
ric acid may, however, bo ensily avoided by precipitating 
them as araenintea and phoapliatea of iron, by adding a pro- 
portionate qnantity of pure ferric chloride, an excess of which 
ia removed from tlie solution by the gulwqnfnt addition of 
mcrcnric oxide. Sulphuric acid is renwved by moans of baric 
chloride. The solution does not require to be filtered before 
tiiration. — {Z. Anai. Chcm., vii., 47,) 

Gliding: ainmu — W. Wernicke. Tlie foHowing are lli© in- 
gredients required: — isL Solution of gold : pure gold (free 
from silver) is dissolved in aqua regia. the solution evaporated, 
and the residue taken up with water, so that 120 c.c. cont4Jin 
I gramme of gold. 2nd. Solution of aodio hydrate (which 
need not be absolutely pure) of j'o6 fp.ftr. 3rd. Reducing 
liquid : 50 grumraes sulphuric acid (monohydrate), 40 
grammes alcohol, 35 grammes water, and 50 grammes f»ow- 
dered manganic peroxide, are distilled into 50 grammes water 
until the bulk of the latter is doubled — 10 grammea cane sugar, 
inverted by dissolving in 70 c.c. water and boiling with 05 
grammes nitric acid of ap. gr. 1-34. The distilled liquid, the 
inverted sugar, and 100 c.c. alcohol are mixed together, and 
tl»e mixture diluted lo 500 c.c. 



[EngHsh Edition^ VoL XTJU., Wo. 468, page 246; No, «», ^a^* ISd \ 'Ro.>^> ^^** ^*-\ 



42 



Notices of JSooks. 



SKU Nbw%1 



In using tlieso solutions i volume of tho Bodio liydratc 
>lution is Qiixed with 4 volunaea of the gold aoKition, and to 
this mixture in added from i*3Stli to 1-30II1 volurae of Iho 
reducing liquid, llio object to be gilded in placed on the top 
of the solution, having the surface intended to be eontod 
turned downwards. The temponituro of the bath should be 
below 60' C. Glass surfaces must be cleaned with a aolu- 
lioii of aodic hydmte and alcohol; cleaning with acids would 
prevent the fllm of gold from adhering firmly. — {PoQg. Ann.t 
ctxxiii., 183.) 

C'hloroua Arid and N^aphthflletie.— TIl Hermnnn. 
Ou udding pola«aic eblorato to a ratxturo of moderately con- 
oentr&ted sulphuric Hcid and naplitbaleno, chlorous acid is 
gencrrtted, wliicli, acting ufwn the tiaphthalene, causes the 
K>rmattoii of various products of addition, subatitution, and 
oxidutioti ; of the last are phthalic acid and carbonic anhy- 
dride. As a prodtict of addition an acid of the composition 
<7ibII,CI©», is obtained, tho formation of which beiug rep- 
resented by the equaiioD — 

e,ji.+(ciuo,)j=ei,n,cie,+2CiH+Hae. 

This acid is soluble in water, and on evaporating the solution 
Reparates in oily drops. U if* gradually decomposed by water, 
more readily by baric hydrate, chlorine being substituted by 
hydfoxyle, and a new dibasic acid formed. Tho tatter acid, 
which is amorphous like the former, is readily solublu in wa- 
ter, reduces an ammonincal silver solution, and forma a 
soluble precipitate with plumbic acetate. 

Further products of the reaction are dichlomophthalene, 
which is obtained in large quantkies, and a sulphoacid which 
is obtained as a potassic salt of the compoaitioo t::^iitll« 
KClSOn, This salt crystallises in small brown crystals wljich 
dissolve in water, producing a dark red solution. When 
subjected to dry distillation nnphthtoquinono, besides other 
cwmpouDda, is formed. — (Sifzng^k d. Get. z. Ikf. d getf. yafurw. 
2., Marburg, 186S, 48). 

Beozojrle-Paraphenotitulphiirle Acid. — A. Engol- 
hard and P. Latachinow. The acliori of sulphuric anhydride 
upon pbenylic bensoate gives rise to the formation of various 
compounds, according to the conditions of the ex|»eiiment. 
At o* C, beozoyleparaphenolsulphuric acid is principally 
formed — 

6,n.e(€TH.o)+so,=e,H.{nse,)0(eTH»e). 

If tho reaction id allowed to continue, nuoiher acidj of 
the composition €,H,(HSO,),fcHf ,IJ»OX^or, periiapa, 
f jr,(HfciB,K** [*^tH,(HSO,)OJ, le. benzoyle-sulphophe- 
uoldisulphuric acid — makes itti appearance. 

At ordinary temperjitures and witli an excess of sulphuric 
anhydride, an energetic reaction takes place, accompanied by 
A rise of temperature and beuzosulphuric together will) pbe- 
noldisulp'nuric acid are obtained — 

e,II.e(lB,H4e) + 3Se, = €.II,0.(e,Hie)3S€S. or more 
probably = e<,lIt(lISO,),0 -h €,e,(Se,)e. L r., phenoldi. 
sulphuric acid^ and the anhydride of benKoaulpUuric acid. 
Beuzojie-paraphenolsulphuric aoid is easily separated from 
those accompanying ii by being converted into the baric salt, 
which ia almost insoluble in wat^r, while the corresponding 
salts of the other acids are readily soluble. 

Another method for the preparation of this acid conaista in 
acting upon paraphenolsulphuric acid with chlorbeuzoyle — 

= 2HCI + €iH.e, H- €*Ht(ii.so,)e(€,ii»e). 

The reaction which acts in at once has to be assi^ited by gen- 
tly healing the mixture ; the acid ia then extracted with cold 
water. 

The authors confirm Kekule's statement as to the existence* 
of two isomeric sulphoacids of plienol. The potasaic salts of 
para- and meta-phenolsulphuric acid are diflerently acted upon 
by chlorb«nzoyIe— 

6,H^(Kse,)en + €»,H»oci = 



M«tA-ocl<L 

t'«n,e(icseo -4- e,HsOci = KCi +;eai»aeiH,e,0i 

^{Zfiiitchr. Ch., y.F., W., 75.) 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



DraiOiwaiUta Jietrospect of MedMne. 
and >far8hall. 



Vol 57, Simpklu 



LncB the previona volumes this fifty-seventh half-yeai 
retrospect of medicmo is Invaluable to the busy pra< 
tioaer. As we write tho word ''practitioner," wo 
struck that a learned profegsion should ondun? a desij; 
tion so uncouth and oar oQ'endiag. If one. never havii 
heard of the ambiguous title "gonorol prnctitioner " as 
plied to a d.xtor practising iKjth medicJnD and surgery, wejj 
asked the probable application of this equivocal dei'ignati( 
he would inevitably oftnnect it with a breaker of the k 
not very particular in his predatory range from handkc 
diiefs to liousebrt'akjng. Besides the titles of doctor 
phyaician and surgeon, a middle term is requLrod to 
note the bulk of the medical profession, who combine 
practise of both medicine and eurgery, II no single word 
available, surely pliysieian-aurgcou or surgeon-phy^icia 
would more fitly designate one who practises both branchc 
of hia pro ossion Ihun the nondescript, ill-sounding tit' 
*' general practitioner." 

Througliout this volume, an in the more recent volumi 
there are manifold indications oC tho deepening convicti< 
that zymotic diseases are caused by the action of varioi 
kinds of infusoria, and that ultimately some chemical inoai 
will bo discovered capable of destroying them in the bum* 
economy. Of considerable interest to the pharmaceutic 
chemist ar© two papers by Dr. Sunpom, who st.nvoa 
show with a noteworthy array of facts, which at a f\iturc 
time ho promises to strengtljc-n, that a combination of aul- 
phites with carbolic acid has provctl remarkably eflScacloi ° 
in tho treatment of cholera, small -pox, sc^irtatino, De- 
lias succeeded in making compound salts of sulphuric ni 
carbolic acids with potash, ammonia, soda, Rnd magnesi 
Who can gainsay the reaaonable exix^ctatiou that dvemist 
will one day yield an antidote as potent against zymotic dii* 
eases as quiulue Is against ague 7 

Saniiary Sifttngt. or Remits of Sewage SysUrmM Compar 

London : *E. and F. N. Spon, Charing Cross. 
Tfte A.B.C, Sftoaga Proce«s. London: Yates and Alexan*. 

dcr, 7, Symonds Inn, Chancery Lane. 
Rtqwrrt fin the Sewage of the City of MfUKmrw. By SlDXl 

GiDDo.vs, F.C S , F.R M.S., &c. 
Tag numbers of a community may bo limited by two 
causes — (1) by bad sanitary Armngemeijts; (2) by ihu intiur- 
iiciency of food to support an increase, Such is ibo gentrai 
statement with which the writer of the first pamphlet stnrJs. 
The disposal of excrementitious matter is uou-tjdered. and 
doubtless truly, as elosfly connected with pure air and wal 
and thus a^ the all-important question. 

Of the sclLemos already proposed at different limes that 
(lltnition is Arst considered, and dismissed as u.seles8. In 
nection with the precipitation of sowag© w© tiud the follol 
ing:— 

"As the alchemist of olden time passed his life in tho< 
pursuit ot the philo-sopher'a stone or tli^ 
present age the re8ourceQ_9f -elwurnstry liave'Tj««j^ wasted 
the endeavour to extract wealth by precipiMlion 
table and concentrated manure of the valuable 
age.'* That many of the proposed plana have been 
plete failures is not to be denied, among otliers the proce-ss em^ 
ployed by the Patent Solid Sewage Manure Compariy at 
Leicester, and likewise the works carried on at Montfau(;ua 
in Paris. But the mention of Leicester brings to mind the 
experiments of Messrs. Sillar and Wiguer ; of these w« shall 
have o^iasion to Bpeak immediately. Even improvements 



IBagUmh rdiUon, Vol XVIIt, If a 4fi7, pa«M 23&, 056 , Ho. «0. ^^v ^46^^ 






f8 of BooJcs. 



have boen rcceutlj mnde id the mode of treating the refuse 
00li«cted At Montfauijoii. 

Re^rding the removal of sewape by water, among other 
proposed iinprovomenla noticed, is the Ihisliiiip of the sewers 
with 42,000,000 jfnllons of wnter addiliouah It appeara 
the water ct^nipurilea could only supply j.ooo.ooo addi- 
tional. Wo scarcely agree witli llie writer 10 the remark, 
•* Were U otherwise, water would uot l»e a remedy, for the 
more water the more smell, m it supplies the hydrogen for 
lortDing the deadly auphuretted hydrof^cn of flevvage." 
However, the advuiitxige for the dry melhod ia Ihnt wliile 
water adds rernicDtntion^ earth destroys it. The opinions of 
sererflt good authoritie.s are favorable to the enrih srftrrni ; 
thus Lord I^igh saya, ** I have thought a great deal ou the 
■uhject of these eorth closets^ and we have adopted ihe plan 
with a reformatory school iu this neighbourhood, of which 1 
»m chntrnmi), and used it with great gucco!?3." It ueed 
9careely be remarked t!»at t!ie value of the refuse matter as 
iri iter wheo earth 13 used instedd ofwuler. Lit- 

we are told, to establish the efScacy, feasihiiity^ 
h1 u , .,.,... i of the earth system. Dr Mouat hna bonie 
leslirqony to the (lovermnciit of India as to its very great 
vnlue, aud the rcporta of tlie CoramiaaioQ of Enquiry in India, 
"" riDg, among other ihijvga, a great decrease of mortality in 
and hospitals in that country, are most positive n^ to 
efflcacy. We believe that loo little ia known regarding 
earth dosieta, and we are at the same time aware that one au> 
thority on the sewage quo3tion has expressed himaclfsoraewhat 
faTorably cfMieerning them. Tlie Government and Secretary 
of State lor India awarded the Rev. Ilctiry Moule ;^500, in 
token of their sense of the benefits conferred upou the iu- 
habilauts of India by hia system. 

In oinnection with the same subject, wc have a descrip- 
tion of MeA»r8. Sillar and Wigner'a A. B.C. sewage prtKyess, 
and the experimental niado ut Leicester, Tollcnham. nod Lea- 
mitigtofi. The A.B.C. mixture derives its name from the 
initiuis of the three principal ingredienlfl, animal ohnreonl, 
blood, and clay. When this compound ia suspended in water 
and added to the Sfwage, a precipitate in large tlakea Is im- 
mediately produced; the supernatant liquor b drawn olf into 
a tank and a small quantity of perch loride of iron solution 
added. The iron compound serves to remove the sulyhnret- 
ted bydrogeiL It has been found convenient to add a certain 
proportion of alum, since the process ia thereby accelerated. 
The authors very naturally deplore that one of the most 
aerious mishaps in coDDecliun with the arrangemenia at the 
Abbey Meadow Sewage Works ut Leicester should have hap- 
pened on ocio of the days when the samples were being taken 
by the Royal Commisaioo. The dam between the tanks l>e- 
ing washed away, about I50,cxx) gal Ions of sewage flowe<J into 
the tank containing thesewnge under treatment by the A.RC. 
process. " As an illustration of the injurious efleets pro- 
duced by the accident to the dam, an analysis marked with 
a atar may be |>ointed out. This Bfiniple, which was taken 
during the visit of the Royal Commiiasion, contained uenrly oa 
much B«?wnge as purified water. It is not to bo wondered at 
that It contains 18 grains per gallon of organic matter. 

the value of the precipitate for agricultural pur- 
flnd that the material obtained from the Leicester 
its contained 4^ per cent of ammonia, and that a 
Oi^nKiderable quantity was fi-r>ld on the Londoti Exchange at 
70s. per ton. The authors state that two independent analy- 
•es give valuations of £^ 1 7s. 3d. j they enjoin the necessity of 
treating the residuum with acid before allowing to dry, so 
that the nmmonia may be fi.xed, and remark, " Dr Frank- 
lii»d'« estimate of a sample allowed to dry without the neces- 
addition of acid, whereby n large portion of the ammonia 
lost^ ia (even then) j^i 13s. ojd. per ton I " 

ie following results will enable a judgment to bo furmed 
n tJ»e process : — 

lat The sewage contained 43*02 grains per imperial gal- 
lloij of org^tnie matter. Of this the A.B.C. process prectpi- 
^ ll'Zl errains, leaving only 969 grains In the water, and 



this from an average of fifty samples taken at intervals dur- 
ing the progress of the experiment. 

" 2nd. Hitherto the lime process lias been acknowledged to 
be the best, and the Leicester mode of conducting it to bo 
the best of its kind. The A.B.C. conlra.His most favourably 
witi) this, inasmuch as from samples taken at Ihe same Itme 
froiii each, the water contained as follows : — 

"Water from the A.B.C. contained 9-69 gra. per imp. galL 
*" *' lime " 1618 " ** 

having precipitated from the eewage the following propor- 
tions; — 

" Organic matter precipitated by the A.B.C. 77 48 per eent 
" " " lime 6239 " 

'*3rd. Of tlie nitrogen in the form ofammonia in the sew- 
age, nearly all is dissipated by the lime process, but by the 
A.B C. Hboui 80 per cent was retained in the residuum. 

**4tli. Of the phosphates in the sewage, the lime prooeet 
threw down 82 per cent, in a form unavailable, owing to the 
presence of lime; but tlie A.B.C. threw down the wholCp 
and in a form readily available. 

" 5th. During Ihe act of precipitation by the A.B.C. process 
there was no objectionable odour, whilst that from the lime 
was ■ horribly offenHive/ owing, of course, to the ammonia 
and other vapours being driven into the nir by the lime. 

"6th. The wattT from the A.B.C. is in no way delrimen- 
tjil to Ml in the river. We have fish which have been for 
some weeks living in the purified sewage." 

On the conclu.sion of the Leicesier experiments, two BmaU- 
er ones were made at Leamington with about 6o,oco gallons 
of sewage. 

A considerable number of analytical results are appended, 
from which we extract the following, as perhaps of most im- 
portance, siucts there seems to be no doubt whatever that the 
liquid after precipitation is not offensive, and the main- ques- 
tion, therefore, w^e take it, is Iho manurial value of the pre- 
cipitate : — 

L«[pest<T reslilniiwi T>aiB»n{rtoo 

dried In bulk. rvslduum. 

Water 1379 . 676 

Organic matter 46*93 ,.... 29-42 

Alkaline salts. 497.... 1371 

Earihv salts, containing) ,^ua _ ,,,_ ^,«^ 

phosphoric acid = 1-31 f ''^^ = ' »7 43 83 

Silica 21*43 • 26*28 

10000 1 00 00 

Nitrogen = Ammontfl 467 , 3*79 

According to Mr. Wigner*8 analysis, the residuum possesses 
considemblo value as a manure ; the authors expect that in- 
stead of the disposal of sewage being a heavy expense, it may 
bo made a source of revenue. The question, in thecaae of 
most towns, will not be-^Can the supernatant water bo mix- 
ed with river water from which the supply is afterwards 
to be drawn "if If such were tlie case, notwithsianding the 
small nraount of organic mailer remaiuinir, objecilon might 
bo urged as to Ihe quality of this organic matter, and the 
quality of organic matter in water is very uncertain, llenco 
we are inclined to think that the process ia of considerable 
value. 

The Health Committee of the City Council, Melbourne, 
instructed Mr. Sidney Gibbons, F.C.S., to invcslignte the 
nature of Melbourne sewage, with particular regard to the 
efficacy of a certain filtration process. It may be necessary 
to inform our readere tliat Melbourne has no sewera. Up to 
the preaent time, cess-pits have been employed for the re- 
ception of excreta and refuse of all kinds; latterly uriuo and 
other liquid reluse matters have been poured into the street 
gutters, with flushing water. Mr. Gibbons explains in hia 
report tho fermentation which urine undergoes. The filter, 
which it was desired to know more about, contained animal 
charcoal ; this filter was supposed to retain the solid excreta, 
and to so purify all the other matters that the liquid i^auiog 



[Unglith Edition, 7oL XVIII., If o. 469, pa^ftt MO, M>\.\ 



would be iuoffensive. *' Tlie fluaplcion that It was dtetnicitlljr 
^itioporutivo utid tneclianically inci)U)pJete wna fully borae 

! oarLh system, the morilB of which wo discussed iti com- 
-.„„^mng, deserves the notice of tho Melbourne Council ; the 
condilioua seem lo us precisely aniuable. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

Artificial Manure. 

To the EiJbtor of the Chemical News. 

BcBt — Although r perfectly agree with Mr. Little as to tho 
nwjeasily of doiup: somethJwg to put a stop to the lari^fl 
uutubor of " quack " fertilisers now deluging the market, 
I must take exceptiou to tho woy in which he seeks to 
carry his point. My counaol to hirn would bo the earae aa 
Dr. Abernethy'a (when souuded by a frletid for a gratis 
opiQiOD) — ** Go, air, ajid take adv^ioe.'' It appears to mo, 
that to combine a»* a sort of oo-operativo society — ist, to 
obtain a given manure at a cheap rate ; and 2ud, to get nn 
opinion, or rather serJea of opiuiona, from our eminent men, 
by inaugurating a controversy on manures, into which 
many of our chemists will plunge eagerly— is uot the roost 
likely course to be of any ultimute flervioo^ although it may 
b« a cheap one in tho meantime. If the f;»rmer3 of a coun- 
ty, or division of a county, would eombine, and pay a re- 
tainer to a properly educated chemist, who would in return 
agree to reside amongst them, and give his services at some 
nominal fixed acalo of fees, what an inculculnble lulvantage 
It would be to them. A farmer would then be free to pur- 
chase any suituhle manure ibr his crops in tho choape.'^t 
market, and, by simply Bcudiug his samples to the Society's 
Loboratory, ho would at once bo adviSL^d what to use and 
what to ahun. Thia would floon drive the '^quacks " from 
the field, while the ordinary competition among manufac- 
larerin would keep the prices down by tho usual rule of 
free trade. 

I hold, therefore, that the true panaem is tho nppoiutment 
of a qualified chemist by every Chamber of Agriculture 
throughout Britain, and that thereafter no farmer shouhi 
buy any ortifieial manure, except under liis advioe, deduced 
from actual analysis of the sample handed in by the trader, 
and oonflrmed by another analysis of a fnir sample of the 
bulk delivered. In such a laboratory provision might niso 
bo made for the instructiou of sons of merabcrB in the ele- 
monta of agriculturel chemistry, while to that brandi of 
science itself, an Impetua would bo given by increnBing the 
number of paying appointmeuta, and so inducing many 
clever young men to study cheraiatry, who are at present 
kept out of our profession by their poverty, and by the al- 
moat utter hopelessness of living by it in after life. 1 trust. 
' therefore, in conclusion, that the cliemists of England will 
not, in justice to themselves, be induced to enter upon the 
discussion sought to be inaugurated fintil it is started not 
by the farmers, but by the chemists themselves who have 
been appointed as above proposed- 

1 should have liked to have said something on their 
" auperphosphato " ideas, l>ut, aa that would be to enter 
upon the very dlacusgion 1 deprecate, I roust reserve my 
remarks for a better occastoa.^ — I am, 4c.. 

Now Kcnninfton InalUate, 



Ozone. 

To the Editor of the Chbmtca.l Newi 

Sir. — Tn reply lo your correi^pondent who has kindly no- 
ticed my few remarks on oione observ*itions {GinuiiOAL 
Nicws, vol xviii.. p. 202. American Repr., Pceemfm,, 1868, 
potjt 33S), I beg lo enclose the following rulea: — 
J. Use Schonboin'a toat-papers, as sold by Ca sella. 



2. Expot^e thtm in the small-siKed OKone cage (Sir James 
Ohirke'j<)as made by Casclla. 

3. Give exact purliculara as to the fteigfU, position^ ana 
surroundings of the cage. 

4. Chang© the test-papers every twelve hours — at 9 a-m. 
and 9 p.m. 

5. Use Schonbein'a scale, At tl>e .same time note very 
carefully the diflereat shades and modes of distribution of 
the colour over tho test-paper (os, for iustauee. whelber 
equally distributed or in specks or spots), with the view to 
tlie formation of a more perfect scale. 

Should your correspondent succeed in organising a cltib 
such QB he proposes, 1 shjill be most happy to contribute, so 
far us 1 ura uble, observations ou ozone.— 1 am, Ac^ 

B. C. C. LiPPiNOOTT, juu., F.M.^ 
Over Court, mht BrUtol, 
Nov. 5, 1868. 



Clientical L^wratoriea, 

To the Editor of the CHKincAL Nbwb. 

Sm, — It was with great pleasure that 1 read tho article op- 
en chemical luboratorios which appeared in your bst iui- 
preaaion. {American li/tpr.^ Jan. 1869, page 1.) Some- 
thing of the kind has been long required to 6)iow howaiidly 
we are in want of more chemical laboratxvries, and how al- 
together inadequate to our wants are tho few poor and ill- 
furnished ones which we possess, 

1 trust that the writer will allow me to correct one atate- 
raeiit of his which is likely to leave aji erroneous impresaion 
upon the rainds of many, viz., the following :— *' The Si.'bcK>la 
of Mines had a very limited idea of it^ duties as regurds 
chemistry when it gave only a comer for its exercise." Now 
this " small room iu a corner," as ho very aptly and strik- 
iiijjrly describes it, is now no longer the chcmLctil Uiboratory, 
although it may have been at a Ibrmer time, but is used as 
tho metallurgical laboratory. The reader n>ay judge for 
himself whetlicr the term " small room " is applicable or not 
wlien he is told that it contains beochea for about eight 
students, and that more could uot possibly Ix; squeezed iu. 

Ji t tho present time there are about twelve gentlemen 
working, or rather endeavouring to work, in this place, be- 
sides others who are waiting to do so, so that the authori- 
ties cannot say more space is not required. 

On the other hand, tho extent of tho chemical laboratories 
is somewhat greater, comprising, in fuet, the Royal College 
of Chemistry, which affords accommodation for nearly 50 
students. We thus see that the Royal Sdiool of Mines 
pays rather more attention to chemistry than one would sup- 
pose from the reference made to it in the pj^per to which al- 
lusion has already been made, although even that attention 
is o<.jthing like Bufficient. 

Apologising for taking up so much valuable space, I am, 
Ac. __^ A. L 

Suit nvV ion of Frtt JlyclrochUme Acid. 

To the Editor of the CiiEittc.\L News. 

SiH, — Iti determining the amount of escape of hydrochloric 
acid in different alkali works, I frequently flud it necessary 
to recognise and estimate the junount of this acid in a 
mixture which may contain sulphuric acid, hydrochloric 
acid, and chlorides. 

Aa I have never found a satisfactory plan of doing thia 
described in any of the books I have consulted. I give yuu 
tlie method I adopt, hoping it may l>e useful to other 
chemists. I first obtain an aqueous solution of the sub.'^tance 
to bo examined, if gas from a chimney or flue, by draw- 
ing through water by means of an aspirator ; if a solid, by 
liiiviation with water. To this solution I add precipitated 
carbonate of borytain a moist stale, digest for a short time, 
boil to expel ft^rlK)nicncid. and thus precipitate any carbon- 
ate of baryta held i^u jtiotution, and filter. 
I The whole of tlio hydrochloric acid having by thia process 



fEaeiiMb Bdidon, Tol. XVlll., No. i», paga 261 ; Ne. 466, ^g«-.7a5; Tao.\«n, ^zivCyAy ISn \ 






Co7Tey)07idence, 



45 



r. — . . w. ,1 ir^fr^ ^•>^tonde of bfirium, from the amount 
'Uo quanity of free liydroehlone acid 
. raaj be easily culculaled — I am, 

John T, Housok, 
Inspector of Alkali Works, Middle District 
t44gk, Kor«mb«r 7, 18&& 



To tlie Editor of the Chsmical NEWS. 

Sl»» — In your vuloable journal of No?. 6 (American R^r.^ 
Jat}f4nr*j 1H69. piu/e 35), you give the renults of on aii- 
»h Ir made by my friend Professor Pisani, of tlio 

nn that fell on tlie llth of July, 186S, at Ornuna 

(Jv I h analysis j'hows as much OS 75 per cent of po- 

rjr: M- Pisani baa remarked on this occasioo 

tha- - , : ^ ' >rtioii of p+M'idole in LljJs meteorite is much 
lii^r ttiiiD in any other knovvn. 

I nlvould be ttlad if you would allow mo to observe that 
in my work " Meteors, Aerolites, and Falling Stars," pub- 
Bffimdiu London in 1867, which contaicB all the analyses of 
SJ. ido up to that date, 1 have given (p, 113 

(q- oecf>unt of the fall, and two uniilystft of 

til, ...itorite which f».*U on the 3rd of OclolHjr, 

iv sij^jy, near LangTC«. This meteorite consists 

ahi, !y of peridotic material. There ia a small fra(2f- 

tncnv t^l »i u> tlie collection of the British MuFenra. It does 
not appear to contain any iron or nickel in the raetaUic state, 
but towntuin no loss than about 96 per cent of ferruginous 
olivine: heuco itbelot\^ to the third section of my class iflea- 
tjrt ' ■' - ooutaining little or no ujetal 

-c-ncc of mctiillic iogredicnis may perhaps 

ft,. i . iJiQus fart that when this stone fell no 

jjlolx' of lire was seen. It was observed to fall (ai half* 
pOHt eight in the moriiinp), aftera series of delonulioue, from 
« grry cloud aboro the north-east horizon, and penetrated 
■bout two feet deep into the noil of a vineyard ; a thick 
smoke iwniing from the ground indicated the epot where it 
felL—I am, A<5.t 

T. L. PiiiPSOK, Ph.D., F.C a 
The C««!nri, Putney, 6.W., jlh Not. 1868. 



Mewraai of the Sodium -Spectrum. 

To the KdJtor of the Chemical News, 

,^ It may be worth while i» record a reversal of the 

hriifht sodium line which 1 have observed in the spectrum 
of the maAj* of Hume in a copper amcltiog furnace. This 
phenomenon, which it t8 not quite eaay to realJKc experimen- 
tally, )P moKt beautifully seeu. and J have no doubt can be 
cbtaim'd as easily from any similar fumace. 

The furnaL-e is fired from one end and chargtid at the other, 
Bo that one end is much hotter than the other. On looking 
itilo the funiacc from the hot end there ia aeen m the ppec- 
tfoacope a continuous sjiectrum crossed by a bright sodium 
line, but on looking in from the cold end a coulinuuns spec- 
truni cfwsed by an intense dark lino is seea As Uj© fur- 
nace becf>me9 hotter the dark hne disaf^pears, and is replaced 
by the brijirht line ; but before this has become ^'rmanent 
tho brificht and dark Hues alternate ua the flame flickers, and 
their exact coiccideneo can be obgervcd. — I nut, Ac. 

W. iUaaUAU. Waxtb. 

MAt%eht9\tt Free GTwninw Schc«l. 



Peridote Meteors. 
To the Ediior of the Cukutcal News. 
8IB1— I find in No. 4O7 of »ho CuEiiioAt News (Am. 
Bepr., Jan., '69, jyaye 45), on Interestinpr letter from Dr. 
PhipBon, which corjfaini*, besides aomo very exact rcmnrks. 
•ovoral afisertioos which lute reaearchea have contradicted. 



It is true that M. Damour, in publishing the analysis of tho 
meteorite of Chaai5ijmy, esys that it coutaius uo metallic.! 
iron whatever, and, he added, that this stone exercised no' 
nctiou on the magnetic needle. Nevertheless. ex{>criment«.J 
lately niade at the laboratory of geolo«ry of the Museum of' 
Paris, by iL Lawrence t*mith— espcrimenta which I havo 
myself repeated and verified — have convinced me thai a 
small quantity of metallic iron does exist in this meteorite. 

BesideSf without sjieaking of tUo stone of Chagaigny, it 
must be remarked^ iu contradiction to the assertion made by 
M. PiBani, that many meteorites contain more ilum 50 per 
cent of peridote, so that Uie composition of the stone of 
Omans oHerH uotlunp; particularly remarkable. 

I w^ill mtntiou on this subject the meteorite of Saugiiis 
(7th Sept 1868). of which I lately publis^hed the analysis^ 
and which contnina more than 60 per cent of peridote, I 
will remind you al:;io of the stones of Luotftlaka, of Braly- 
stock, imd of Massing, which all contain more peridote than 
that of Omang.^I am, Ac, 

Stakiblas Mbctkhsb. 

Alilv Kattinillrte an MuMom, 

33 Itue de Vaogernrd, Piuli. 



TJieA.B.C. Sefcage Pr^icess. 

To the Editor of tlio CttEMiCAL NewjJ 

Sir, — I see in your issue of the Glh insi. (Am. lirpr., Jan. 
'69, page 4), an article by Dr. Frankland, '*0n tlie Piiriflca- 
tion of Sewag**," which appears to bo a copy of his re- 
port to the chairman of the Royal Rivera Coromiafiion on 
the Leicester sewage experiments. Although these exper- 
iments were conducted under ray superintendence, the lin^t 
intimation I had of Dr. Frankland's report was In the public 
papers. I must, therefore, ask you to allow mo space to 
reply to it in the same way. 

Tlie trial of the A. B.C. process was in the strictest sense 
of tlie word an ** experiment." Tho plant perfectly odapted 
for the lime process was in several resjjects unsuitable for 
the new one. From this cause several accidents happened ; 
ODe in particular, mentioned by Dr. Franklanfl, by which no 
less than 150,000 gallons of raw sewage were pumped into 
a tank holding 430,000 gallons of purified .sewage. It wa* 
impossible to drive thifl out in less than fix or seven hoi 
and I felt compelled to make a wTitton protest against the" 
gamples being taken ; nevertheless those from the Inttor 
half of tho day are to our disadvantage included. From 
this reason tho proportion of suFpendwl matter contained 
in our effluent water of that day is 4 36 parts in 100,000. 
while tliat in the I'uue purified is 2*84 ; and it \a necesaar^ ^ 
to bear in mind that by the same accident a portion of tt 
A-B.C. mixture was admitted to the tank containing 
lime purified, sewage, from which it threw dowua furthefl 
precipitate. Tl;is fact is brought out singularly by the com- 
pariaon of tlie lime purified water of May 13th with that of 
this date. Dr. Frankland notices the uniformity in the 
samples of dcwage : tho comparison may be shown as fol- 
lows:— 

SoKiwDiled la utter Stiipeacled matter 
lo HS«ra^. in lime parifled tcwag*. 

May 13th, 186S..,.. 2212 1680 

Julyjist, '♦ 48-08 2-84 

The A.D.C. process suffered dorirtg the whole week of tb« 
expcrimeutB from a oontinned loakage of the new compound 
into the lime tanks ; during the last day this was at its mil ' 
mum, and the proportion of suspended motter in the A. B.C. 
water wfis cons»idenibly less than half tliat in the lime ; 
dearly, then, the new process liao the advantage here, Tlio 
question of additional solid nmtter i:f« much modified by the 
feet lliat the residue from the lime puriiled water contiiins 
hut little water of hydration, while iliat from the A ' 
process (in which an excess of alum was too froqi 
present 1 contaiufl much. Dried at 2 1 2°, as in Dr T 
mode of water analysis, tho lime process has a 1 
adt'anlage \ dried at 302'', the excess is oxtr' 



[EagliMb EtUtitm, VoL JLVllU No. 467« pafeSa'T ; Vo. 4fiig, v»i« ^^-^ 



Correspotuhfiiee. 



CwiniiCAt Skwh,, 



and even this would di8ap{>9nr as soon as the proponioot 
wore accurately adjusted to tJi? sewage^ 

Bui tho point which moBt surprises me is the statement 
that the ptirilicd scfvage iuvuriubly contains more ammouiii 
than the raw sewape. Dr. Fraukland's explanation is part- 
ly right, but partly wron^. The A.B.C. compiiund has the 
[power of slowly converting part of tho organic matter dia- 
iflolved ID the wat&r into aminonia^ and if certain ingredient^) 
present in eiooss, this action will go on for weeks, a 
'ilow precipitation of organic matter tfiking place at the 
&aine time. 1 found very early in my cxperimeoits on the 
subject that an ammonia deternnuation in the effluent water 
WB3 valueless, unless made within two or three hours ; all 
hut about ten of mine were so made at Leif^'stcr, 

If Dr. Frankland's samples wore not analysed for Bome 
lys the explanation is clear. I may add that this action 
boing gradual docs uot sensibly affect the suspended mat- 
ter, but acts only on the dissolved impurities. Its effect 
must, I consider, be bcneOcial in enabling the remaining 
nitrogen to be more readUy asaimilatod by tho plants in tho 
rivers. Tho A.C.C. process «loea, therefore, remove the 
^larger part of the ammonia, although it subsequently pro- 
lucea a further quantity in the water, and a corroboration 
found in the fact that, although the new process produces 
mut.'h larger quantitj^ of residue than the lime process, 
Iho percentage of ammonia in the residue is more than 
twiee that in the lime. 

Dr. Frankland expresses a doubt which I (»n easily re- 
move as to the source of the phosphoric acid in the manure. 
During tho whole experiments (io.ooo,oco gallons) 143 lbs. 
of plii>splioric acid were used in the form of bone black. 
The actual quantity of manure made is not less than So tons 
at the lowest estimate (for aU is not yet dry enough to 
weigh). 143 lbs. of phoaphorio acid will be oSo percent 
on this quantity, leaving 416 per cent as tho quantity de- 
rived from the sewage. 

I have noticed no points but Dr. Frankland's own figures 

jud itatemeuts. The process will beat work in a few weeks on 

large scale with works apeciolly adapted for it, and capable 

of treating about 1,000,000 gallons per day. Tlio real proof 

of tho capabilities of th<> process will be in these worka. — 1 

am, &a, 

G. W. WioHEa. 

OambenreU, Kov. 16, t863. 



Cohmcn Figvna. 

To tho Editor of the CiiKsncAL News. 

Sir, — As I see that you refer to the production of Pro- 
fei;«or Tomhnsoa's beautiful cohesion figures of oil, ic, 
in tho last number of tlie CtlBUlCAL News {Amer. Jfepr,, 
Jan., *Gg, page 49), It may possibly interest your read- 
era to know that these curious forms can bo easily ei- 
hibited to a large audience. At the evening scientific meet- 
ing of this society, held on Monday, tlio loih inst,, 1 auc- 
^ceeded perfectly, with tho aid of Mr. Ycatta, the excellent 
>pticiun of this city, in projeciing tho cohesion tigure* of 
oils of lavender, cod liver, and castor, and thot of benzole, 
upon the i.*iling. A bca»n of light from ihe oxyhydxogcn 
lamp was thrown, by moans of a mirror, at a small angle 
upon the surface of perfectly clean water contained in a 
circular beaker. A double convex lens of long focus was 
now placed tn the path of the reflected bc-am, and an image 
of tlvo surface of tlie water formed ux»on the ceiling — a dis- 
tance of about 15 feet. On placing u drop of oil of lavender 
on the surface of the water, the exquisite pUy of colours 
which precedes the formation of the peculiar cohesion 
figure of this oil appeared with unexpected brilUancy on the 
screen, and the gradual dovelopment of tlie somewhat char- 
acteristic pattern which tho oil aflbrda could be easily 
watched from a Tcry considerable distance. The eiperi- 
ments can obviouHly be extended to any required length, 
^ )d J merely mentiou the matti-r here since Professor 'Jom- 
>8on. in the account of his re*earchea winch I had the 



pleaflure of listening to at the Manchester Meeting of the 
British Association, contented himself by exhibiting the 
mod© of experimenting he employed and fine drawings of 
the cohesiou figures afTorded by diflcrent substances. 

Before clo,sing this luisty letter you will, perhaps, allow 
me to ofter one or two other suggestive remarks. 

Since the valuable '* Dictionary of Chemistry" of Mr, 
Watts has now boen successfully completed, I think most 
chemists wtll agree with rue that it would lie a matter of 
considerable regret that any of the advantage gained by the 
publication of so important a work should he lost by the nc- 
cossanly growing incompleteness of its contents. I would, 
therefore, august the publication of an annual volume of 
tho dictionary, tliua in one sense following the oxamplo of 
our German brethren, but in reality, following the original 
plan of tho work, and enabling British chemists possessing 
a copy of the dictionary to accurately appreciate tho extent 
and character of tlie annual progroea made in chemistry. 
That this would bo a boon there can be no doubt, since few 
chemists can spare tho time necessary to keep themsclvea 
thoroughly au couranl with the progress of our science in 
more than two or three of its many branches. I would also 
draw the attention of cliemista to the advantnges which may 
be derived from the employment of Professor Everett's 
'* Universal Proportion Table," in the routine calculations 
required in analytical work. The table is essentially a 
gfreatly extended slide rule. When its use is once under- 
stood all the troublesome sums in proportion, 4c., so con- 
stantly necessary, can be performed [\v simple odjuslmont 
and inspection with considerable accuracy. Tho table is 
published by Longmans, and costs but a "few aliillinga. 1 
have liad it in use in my laboratory for some time pa2t with 
considerable advantage.— I am, A;c , 

J. Embbson Retnou>S. 

Laburklory. Eojal Dubllii Society, 
Kildjire l^tft-tsL 
NoVfUiber a4Ui, i*(>S. 



Peridote Meteora. 

To the Editor of tho ChkjiiCal Nsws. 

Sttt, — After reading M. Meunier's remarks on my letter 
in No. 467 of tho OiiKincAL News (Ainn: Rrjtr,, Jan. iSfig^ 
pagi:4^,) I looked over the whole of the noalyses we posaesB 
of meteonc stones, and I find that, with the exception of 
the remarkable stone of Chag^signy, to which I culled your 
attention, no aerolite has ever shown so much as 75 per 
cent of pertdotc, as found in M- I*isnni'B onnlysis of the 
stoucj which fell this year at Ornaus; M. Pisani wa?, there- 
fore, fully justified in calling attention to this fact, and my 
letter morply fumlshod one more instance — viz , a metf^oric 
stone containing even more than 75 per cent of poridoto. 

Now, with regard to the presence of metallic iron in the 
Chassigny raelcorite, M. Damour (one of the most expert 
anolysta in Paris) does not find any tf^omirtts Hendtts, 1862), 
and if any other chemists tliink they have done so, it would 
be interesting to know how they detected it. But whether 
thero be in this stone a minute amount of metallic iron or 
not, it does not interfere with tlie statement in my first let- 
ter — viz., that tho Clmstiigny nielcorito contuinB even more 
than 75 per cent of peridote, which largo amount was found 
by Pisani in the Oriuins meteorite {July, i'S68), to which T 
now add that no other meteoric stone hitherto (November. 
186S) analysed has shown so much peridote as these two; 
they must, therefore, in Bpite of M. Meunier's contrary os- 
acrlion, be regarded as very renjarkable in this ri?s|>ect'. 

The fact alluded to also in my first letter, that meteorites 
whidi are very rich in peridote appear to have fallen with- 
out the usual striking phen<»racna of light but merely ac- 
companied with detonations, &C., will tend to confirm the 
opinion that this evolution of light is owing to the rapid 
combustion of the metallic ingredients of aerolites during 
tboir passage through our atmosphero. llonce it Is hoped, 
as I have elsewhere shown, ttiat tho lirasta to which our 



fEagliMh Bdltioo, VoL XVni^ Ho> 408, pag** 24B, M» ; Ho, VAy ^^m QfiV, M2.\ 






J4n. 



Miscellaneans. 



atit 

l.v. 



•ph 



oxtoitda (If it has a limit) may be kiiown 
ug the height of shooting fttara — I nm. *<•., 
T. L. PinPSON, Pb-D^ F.CS. 

Thjo Oedare, ratnejr, 9.W., 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Tli« ITatcr Supply.'of Tow ii«,— Newspaper readers 

cjinnot have failed to notice tli« monthly retunjs in which the 

}leglstrar-Oeneral gupcradds lo tho tables of death uud dis- 

e«Me *i>me irrelevant returns of the nnnlysis of water. Oiily 

a f«?w leisurely and sceptical eludeuta lake Die truuWe to 

'at llie connection between mortality and Apparent 

water i* enilrely hypothetical. The lleKislrnr 

linrttes underaulid the law or mental nasociation, 

jysicid properties of water, and as the dtHcu-aion 

,a'm proved, they have, like Iheir favourite element, 

by tx.ei-sliiiitdroppinjr, worn into the popular mind l!ie belief 

th«t impure water is the origin of all dL<iea«ea. If it were 

p«Biible to publish etaiistical tables of food, of cookery, of nir, 

ofexercife, of overwork, of anxiety, and of all other conditions 

•'' '■•r-'<i ] i:^..Ktie, tt would be proper to include in U^e 

f water. The juxtaposition of one among 

' I a c implex effect can only suggest a fMlla- 

resnlr, yet tiie error or superstitiim ia alraost innocuous 

i,^e it tends in a safe direction. — Sniurdiy Jia:u:tp. 

Duns«r Arlnlns IVoin the ExhalatlooH of Home 

kliitl of Fruit, — ^t is a well known fact ihiii the fjerlume 

ui *on»e kmd.s ot flowers is injurious to health, and even 

cause de^ah, if flowers are kept in a confined space frequented 

by men at the Ramo time. One of the lociil pjipers i>f the 

ity of LyotH now records the fact of death by n.sphyxla, 

ifTurcd by a ludy who slept in a room wherein a large quan- 

of quinces were kept; aocordio;? to gcientUlo evidence, 

iven »u this instance, the nir of the room was largely vitiated 

wtlh a peculiarly suflbcaiinp perfume, and a mry considerable 

amount uf both carbonic acid and carbonic oxide gas. The 

m In question was always used as a bed room ; no tire had 

?n liglited in it, nor was any other di.scernible cause for the 

dcttth of this lady found but the exhalations of the fruit. 

The Science I^ecturenhlp at the City or I^ondon 
Jtehool* — ^^ a recent meeting of the school) committee, the 
lately vacant by the reaignatiun (throu{<h ill-health) of 
r. Thomas Uall, B.A., has Iwen conferred U(>on Mr. Henry 
Durham, who for seven years past has assisted Mr. Hall in 
duties of his appointment, and uken under bis charge the 
ji]iilor division of theachcKtI. 
Dr. Herap«th^ Iff *!>*) F«B.9«> 4cet^This eminent phy. 
ician, chGini:it, raicro.seopist, and botanist, who has been suf- 
mn^ from jaiiiidiee for some time, died at his residence in 
Iriatol, on Slundwy, the 1 2th insl. The deceased was the 
ld<«t sfjn tif the late Mr. William Herupath the well-known 
lalyat. Tlio dcxjtijr was a fellow of most of the leading 
mied 9fx?)etioa besides Iwaing the author of several papers 
interest; one lately published, "On the Use of the Hpec- 
opft atvd MicrospfMiiroacope in the Discovery of Blood- 
s and Dissolved Blood," was greatly thought of by the 
prufoasion. 

YUe FunfUA Xfaeory of BUcaac. — In a short com- 

lonicMtion to the CriUraibUiH, Dra. Bergmann and Schmied- 

describe a crystalline substaDce, to which they have 

' Ibe name " sulphate of sepeia," obtained from putrefy- 

iterials, and which they believe repreaenta the proper 

of organic substances undergoing this kind of fermcn> 

It is obtained, sjiys the Lnw-t, by dilTusion through 

»«reh men t paper. prceipit;iii<in with corroaivt* sublimate from 

an alkMline solution, removal of the mercury by silver, of siU 

vor by sulphuretted hydrogen, evajwrution, and puri^cation 

" the residue. Large, welUdefined, acicular needlea are thus 

natned, which are deliquoaoeni in the air, and exposed to 

iDOtt and carbonise. They posseaa a powerfully poiaon- 



oas action. A solulioii containing acarcely more than one- 
hundredth of a gramme was injected into tlie veins of two 
doga. Vomiting was immediately induced, and after a short 
time diarrhoea, which in the course of an buur became bloody. 
After nine hours the animals were kilted, and on exatuination 
their stomachs and large intestmea were found ecchymosed 
and the small intestine congested. Froga could be killed in 
the same manner. 

Baron l.lel»lic^» Adrtee In Rcwpert to Bread Slak- 
ing, — It is a welt known fact that the products of the ordi- 
I nary fermentation of bread are carbonic acid, a portion of 
which is retained in iJie dough, and by its expansion on the 
I sponge being submitted to the heat of the oven, rendera the 
i bread spongy; besides this, butyric acid and aluo alcohol are 
prenerated at the expense of a portion of the starch contained 
in the flour, a \om amounting to about from 2 to 4 per cent 
of the flour applied for bread makmg, The alcohol ia irre- 
trievably lost, and its loss ia estimated by Liebig to autount 
for Germany to 50,000,000 of litres annually, and for Loudon 
(the Metropulis), at 6oo,cx)o litres; all exi»erimeuts tried to 
collect and condense this alcohol have turned out failures. 
Liebig recommends the following ingredients: — 50 kilo* 
graramefl of rye meol, 500 grammea of bicarbonate of soda, 
2, 1 25 kilogramme.^ of pure hydrochloric acid, 2 kilogrammes 
of common salt, and 40 litres of water ; the bicarbonate of atKla 
and the acid yield carbonic acid gas, which renders the bread 
light and spongy. According lo Liebig the following are the 
advantages of the use of thlsn)ethod above the old fashioned fer- 
menlation process, ist, — saving of time and mnlerial, since, 
no alc<ibol or other byprodticta are formed. 2nd, — thia bread 
does not readily become mouldy, since, not having been mixed 
w ith yeasty it does not contain, as is otherwise always the case, 
t!io sporulea of cryptogaraio pinnta which are the cause of 
mouldineas. The objection to the use of thia bread by many 
people is its insipidity and wantof a flavour the palate has from 
childhood become acctistomed to. To mend this defect Liebig 
reooramenda the addition of from 4 lo 8 liti-es of good vinegar 
upon 100 kilogrnmmes of flour, and to correspondingly decrease 
the quantity of water. When it is desired to give to this kind of 
bread the taste of aoldier's bread, jwnVi de munition, one^ihould 
add to the dough and mix up with it 250 grammes of rather 
dry, not too rich, cheese. Liebig observes that at Munich 
bread is now largely made according to the plan deac»ibed • 
it only Uikea four hours to amvert a hundredweight of tlonr 
into bread. As will be readily observed by the majority of 
readers, Liebig's process is on the small scale. Dr. Daugllah'a 
ayaiem, the celebrated German savunl observes, has neither 
in Poria nor other French towns, taken at all well. The same 
apphca to Belgium and Holland. Instead of i^-e meal 
wheaten flour can be taken. 

IFater S«pply and the Beath Bate, fho inquirr 

which was made two or three years ago in consequence of an 
outbreak in the East of London, proved, to the surpriso of 
some of the men of acienoe who took part in the investigation, 
that, after excluding the caae of tainted wells, there wna no 
assignable relation between the purityoftvater and the health 
of the conauraors. The quality of water supplied to the West 
of I/)ndon from the Thames, and to the Kastem half of the 
metropolia from the I^a and the New River, ia, on an average, 
tiniform. Aa the sources of supply Id all cases ore the chalk 
diatricts to the North and to the West, tlie water contains a 
considerable admixture of lime, and the total amount of solid 
matter is considerable. The analytic chemist, offended with 
the presence of alien substances, dehghts to contntst the water 
whu;h the New River Company distributes in theCity of Lon- 
don with the limpid produce of the Scotch granite or the mill- 
stone grit of Laucaaliire and I^erbyshire, Tlie typical water 
supply was proved some years since for Glasgow by Mr. Bate- 
man ; and the same akilfu) engineer has furnished Manchester 
at an expense of more than a raiilion sterling, with an almost 
equally pure supply stored from the rainfall on the ridge 
which feeds the Irwell and the Mersey, Tbe&atnral n>8cr»<^- 
of Loch Katrine discharges itself in to th» tnal ns of fS' 
with a merely nominal admixture of^^^^^^* « 



(BugUtt Bdltttm, Vol. XVzn., No 4d9, page 263; Vo4e4, pa^i ^Oft, «o M&&, '^V^ 



48 



Miscdlatieoug. 






solid matter in a jjalloo; nnd sanitnry ontlnii^iuBtaat Btrming 
ham and vUewhere are itt the habit of expntialUigon ihe ad- 
vantages whiclj Loiidou would derive if au equally pure supply 
worw provided Jrom tlie Northern Lfikes, or from Iho upper 
waters of the l>ee or the Wyo. It unluckily bnp[»ena llnit 
the dculb rate in Loudon is compamtively low, and that in 
Oliisgow and Mandit-yler it is oxtmordlnarily high. When 
the ohjeciion i.s raised, iho water funrttics reply, with pood 
Piasou, timt there nre many other aiuaoa besides the quality 
nf water wliich otiecl heulth and life; but they forget that 
they have theraseh'es undertaken to prove the c«.)nncction be- 
tween solid matter in water and discai§e. Sanitary pursuits 
produce a kind ol' intoxication which raises the intellect of a 
genuine theorist above the vulgar ru!eg of indueliun. ff an 
epidemic breaks out in London, Uie evil ia at ooco attributed 
lo the WMier, while U is assumed Ihul MancUeKler and Glas- 
gow would be even more uuheaUhy than at prcaeul but for 
the purity of their supply. — Satttrday Kcvirw. 

Llrbl^^N Cxtrttcl oflTIcat, — A para^aph having ap- 
peared in Once a Werk, conittintng imputations ufKjn 
Liebi^'^B extract of meat as au arliole of food, the foUowiiig 
explanatory letter, addressed to the editor of Ona a Wetk, 
hits been forwarded to us for insertion : — 

"31r,— Your last tmuiber, dijted 31st October, refers to 
apsertiuus of a Dr. Kemmerioh thrit Liobig'a extract of meat 
aet8» in largo doses, as a poison. You are probably not 
aware that extract of meat is, in fact, nothing but aolid 
beef tea, from which the water has been evaporated, free of 
I'ftt and gehiltne ; and tluit the extract has been used both 
for inedicttl and housetiold purposes for years past with 
?uch increasing succesa that the main difficulty of dealers 
gciieruUy Ima been to find an adequate supply for the rap- 
idly flugrnei.ting demand, Tl»e njedical profession, eminent 
aeieulitlc authorities, and Government CommiBsioue have 
reported very favourably ou extract of meat as an article of 
fooil. and there has never been a single tnataucc of ita use 
having produced any injurious effect. It is manifest 
tliat the inaiuuution tluit the extract ia poisonous in any 
way is perfectly absurd —I aw, Sir, your obedient servant, 
GbaSu Rotter, Secretary." 

Fallorc of PhotosrHplitii^ the Krllpsc In lttdla< 

It is a mutter for deop regret and niortifiaition that the pho- 
logTaphie part of the openitio:2S of the expedition sent out 
from Kngland to India to oV/scrve the late Bolar odipae was 
a coiupjirativo failure. Some weeka ago the members of the 
Royrd Astronoinicid Society received copies of a letter sent 
byMjijor Tcnuaut to the Astronomer-Royalt recording the 
results obtained at Guntoor on the iSth of August. The 
photographic portion of the refjorl was bo uiiHatisfaetory, or 
even huiniliatiTig, that we felt httlc Inclination to publish it 
An extract secured from a second letter, although record- 
ing that the rcijult^ were better than were at lirat believed, 
does not serve to redeem the operations from the stigma of 
comparative failure. Our first impulBO, on reading such a. 
itenient lUi the result of such an expedition on Buch an 
i8ion, was to repeat the famou'J ftontenoe of Ruskin, 
'•This ia not failure, but disaster I" Compared with the 
rosulti obtained by Mr. Warren dela Rue in 8pain, in 1S60; 
compared with thoRO secured by the Gorman expedition, 
and recorded in our pages by l>r. Vogel, eueh an isauo aa 
the above \b most humiliating. The platea were underex- 
posed, and oavcrcd with epots, we are told, as though the 
liOjt*ibility of guarding against such contingencies was a 
thing undreojut of. lu a subsequent letter to Mr. Warren 
dc la Rue, ilftjor Tennant is more hopeful, and better satis- 
liod with tliG results obtained. The result of the under- 
exyto^nre, it ia hero suggested, wa.s less injurious tluin was 
at first suspected; but the multitude of spots, from the 
nitrate of silwr beeoming " concent rated," of course no- 
thing can remove, and their prcscnoc must seriou&ly inter- 
fere with the value of tlie photographic record of the 
gulipst). This expedition was sent out by the Royal Society, 
' ^d bjr Governojent and we fear very much that it is to 



the aid of the latter much of the fatlure may be attributed. 
It U probable, in fact, that It ia due to red tape. A stafT of 
men provided by Goverameot might or might not t»e (it tod 
in all respects for the work ; but if the men "told < : 
the duty knew notliing of photogrdpliVt it would be a 
all precedent to import a photographer from another de- 
partment. If the men were selected from the Engineers, 
and they were not familiar with pliotographic operation?, it 
would ho quite inadmissible lo introdjco amoiijrst them 
men from (say) the Artillery, who were akdled photogrnph- 
era. Tt is probable, from what we can learn, that to a cause 
of this kind the failure in result was due. Be thia as it 
uiay, however, it appears tolerably clear that no experieuo 
ed photographer formed part of the expedition staS", or we 
should not have lieard of such puerile diffictdties ai« 
from concentrations of the silver solution. The ] 
graphic operations of the German expedition were auim; 
able in their systematic prevision. Poasible forms of fftdui 
were anticipated and carefully provided agninst The coi 
dition of the various chemictils was carefully tested, and the 
relative working conditions of vorioua collodions uscertoin- 
ed under the precise circumstances in which they would bo 
required. Preliminary exposures were tried ftu the spot 
In short, cverytlung was so well rehearsed, and every on© 
so carefully told off to his duty, that failure from prevent- 
able causes was scarcely po<siblo. Jf this expedition were 
distinguished by anytluug of military routine, it was in the 
efficient drill by which they prejuircd themselves for actual 
operations; whilst the one military element wldeh vraA 
mis.sing in the expedition in India was this effective drill. 
We have iu this country several photographer!? of high 
repute and great practical skill who have had experience in 
Eastern photography, and who have succeeded amid the 
pravegt difficulties. We refer to such men as Bedford, and 
Frith, and Goode. Surely it woidd have been poassiblo to 
have secured the servieee of some of these or other ei- 
iwrienced photographers to whom the purely photographic 
operations should have been coufided, and who would havo 
certainly secured immunity from the disasters atteudiug 
concentrated silver solutions, and probaldy also from tho 
risk of uuder-expoaiire. — The Pftot/Mjrtiphic AW*. 

Coxidy^s FlHld.— The judges of the Havre Exhibition 
have awarded throe prizes to Mr IL Uoilmnnn Condy for 
Ilia Patent Fhiida, vix., the silver medal iu Class II., the sil- 
ver medal, and special vote of approbation at the Naval 
Medical Congress. 

Koral InHtltutlou of Great Brltnlti.— CliriBtma* 
LucturcN. — A course of six lectures (iidapted to a juvenile 
auditory^ " Ou the Chetnicul Chougea of L'urtwn," will be 
delivered by William Odiing, li^i, M,B., F.ILS., Fullerian 
Professor of Chemistry in the lioyal Instilulion, on the 
following days, at three o'clock ; — Lecture L, Tuesday, 
Dec. 29th, i'86S ; II., Thursday, Dec. 31st, 1S68 ; TIL, 
Saturdiiy, Jan, 2nd, 1869; IV., Tuesday, Jan. 5th. 1869; 
V,, Thur.«?dny, Jan. 7th, 1869; VI, tifilurdfly Jan. 9lh, 
1S69 ; Suhjt^di uf the Course : — Change from marble or 
limestone to cariwaic gas, and from carbonic gas lo char- 
coal. Reverse change from charcoal to curbonio gaii, aud 
from carbonic gas to limestone. Nature of the change 
fmrn churcoiil to carbonic giis. Citrbonic gas, and oonae- 
quentiy charcoal, a constituent of the air. Arlilicial 
cl»or>gea of coal, wood, pent «nd bone, into charcoal. 
Curious changes of oilier substatvces brought about by 
cliareoal. Use of clmrcoiil to efleel the pviriflcation of air 
atjd water. Changes of chareo.d from one form to another. 
Changes of charcoal into various substances. Strange 
properties of the substancea formed by union of charcoal 
with oxygen, with sulphur, and with hydrogen. Charcoal 
llie diief constituent of wood and vegetable tissue. 
Bunting of cliareoal and wood as fuel, to furnish heat 
Change of burnt wood and charcotd into carbonic ga& 
llnburning of carbtinio gas into wood and eharcoul. Heat, 
furnished by the burning of wood and charcoal, trsceablu 
to the sun. 



iSasIiMb Bddtkm, VoL XVtU^ Jto, 4^5, pmgt» 21^ 214 ; ITo, 466. page 326; Ho. 467, v»«e «" '^ T*«< «»V ^t* ^a^A 



Jam,, 1M8L i 



Miscelian^ous. 



49 



i^KftiMtitmbie Aeddent— On WedooAday, October 28th, 
kt aoM«lent occurred in an extensive chemical 
'. - .' I rn, Cheahire. A jrounjr prciitlomoD, William 

llv-ury Kxali, li.At^., B.A. (London), who occupied ihe aitua- 
liiHj «»r rjMMlytical chemist there, was j<oiug throuj^h iho 
work '. uud 7 p.ra., and, in the obscurity of the 

E Ttn u sealked into a vat, sunk about 3 feet in the 

prTuuiiu, ill ' ••^•laining « hot acid solution of eWorido uf 
I' ijiiM'r lie « ink up to to the Deck, bat managing by sornG 
juii^uH 10 gel out hiuiself, ho wallcod to another part of the 
iv«rk% wber« he obtained assistance, wan borne to hiii lodg- 
mgB on n atrelcher, and after ihirly-six liours of great 
sulTorinjf, breathed hia last at 6 am. on Friday morning, 
LV'ttib<T 30ih, afrod twenty -two years. Ho waa a yoitnijf 
man v. Ulon and talent of the hiffhest order, and 

wmb I [1 unatTected Bimplicity of manner and noble- 

hcnru-l H " ' -iiyof sentiment which were alone sufilcienl 
to win hioi tli'? iidmiration and affiHJtiou of all who knew him. 
He wai a true Cliristlan. A few weeks before his death bo 
had ct.tiunonood reading for the degree of Doctor of Science. 
'Hm" writer, whose successor he was at the abovo-raentioued 
works, mourns :n his lo^a that of a dear and mtich^valQed 
fncaA— Watbos Sjtmi, F.C.S. 

Tlie New Blsh 9«lioo| and Laboratorle« orParl*. 

— ^Thu provi:*ions of the recent decrees for the establishment 
«f a proclifal ht^h ^diool and laboratories of study nnd re- 
searcti, ulroatly nntief^d in the Journal of the Society of Arts 
%jy' Wi\i!K-s\xx\c^ into effect on a grand scale, and t)ie de* 
: I dmiaaion exceed all e:tpectation. As regards the 

' re are already more than IBO apphcationi, viz : — 

li lor the section of mathomatica ; ftfty-one for that of 
•3 and chemistry ; forty-seven for natural history and 
>hysjolu;?y ; and forty-four for the soctJon of history and phJ- 
' logy. Aim mgsi the candidates inscribed are several young 
t»n who have taken tlie degree of agr^ije^ or doctor, and 
who qnit the career already entered upon for the new 
; many of the applicants are foreigners. The stud- 
iet wQ] commence in all the four pectious at the usual echo- 
la0l» period— vir^ the middle of November, Some of the k- 
bDratorie? will be opened about the same time. At tho 
Sorbonne, tho laboratories of physics, botany, physiology, 
and geology, to which MM. Desains, Duchartre^ Claude 
Bttnwnl, and Heberl have been appoii.ted, will shortly be 
Mddy n"<l » 5 *r.r^ chemical laboratory, over which MM, Pas- 
teur i> Claire Dfcvillo will presitle, is now being 
. lo of the physical laboratory built last year 
rvetod by M- Jamin. At the College of France and at 
Normale, the chemical laboratories of MM. Balard 
rthelot will bo ready in good tune ; and those of M. 
Bernard for physiology, andM. Pasteur forphysiolo- 
iemistry, somewhat later. At the museum of tho 
des Plantcs, the laboratories of M'dno Edwards for 
)logy, and of U. Dccaisne for vegetable culture imd phy- 
iilology, ttn» ready. Kew and larger establiahmouta are being 
•jTungtMl for botany, chemistry, and comparative physiology. 
The provinces express the desire that their laboratories 
fhould be considered as annexes of the now school ; several 
iropose to develop their moans of superior education ; 
Con9eil-(T4.»neral of Calvados has taken the lead by 
tt of money in aid of the study of agricultural 
the laboratory of research, instituted at tho 
»B of Caen. The council of the new high 
convened for tho third of Novemljer, and tho fol- 
are tho names of tlio members appointed, in ndditioq 
le montioncd in a former notice, who have seats in the 
on account of their official positions ;— In the scc- 

<y 1 "iitics, MM. Bertrand, Chaslcs, Delaunay, and 

;••- of the Institute of France; M, Pui«eux, 

t acuity of Sciences of Paris, Section of phy 



and chemistry, MM, BalanJ, Fr^my and Wurts, members 

Institute ;' MM. Besain and Jamin, professors in the 

of Sciences. Natural scioneos: MM. Claude Bernard, 

lart, Decaisne, and Milne Edwards, members of tho 

tc ; M. H&bert, professor in tho Faculty of Sciences, 

Vol. IV. No. I. -Jan., 1869. 4 

{JSagiuif Edition, Vol X7UL» Vo 4ffl, pafw 397, a» ; Ke. 4fiB, vn« '^^\ 



Historic and philologioaJ 8oieneeg:MM. Maury, L. R?nier, 
60 Roug^, and Waddingtoo, members of tho lirstiluto; M, 
Broal, professor in tlie College of Franoe, The list of the 
laboratories given above shows the extent to which this new 
system of superior scientific edutaition is to to be carried, 
and the names of the professors and mombers of the gov* 
oruiug council afford a guarantee of the quality of the in- 
struction to be afforded. The scheme is certainly the most 
important and the most extensive of all those which have yet 
been put forward for the dissemination of high scientific 
knowledge. 

Cohesion Fia:uro«.— Wo have received from Dr. R. 
Carter Moffat some specimens of ctihesion figures of rape 1 it 
on water, fixed on paper in colours by a now process. Our 
correspondent is now working out the subject, and promises 
further particulars shortly. 

British Sea-we«d Charcoal — Tliis preparation, which 
lias been patented by tho British Sea-weed Company, is 
found to be a good substitute for animal charcoal, as a fU- 
tering medium for water, deodorising sewage, clearing white 
glass, removing acidity from and decolourising wiuos and 
spirits, and precipitating and deeolonriaing vegt^tatilo alka- 
loids. Tt is mouufucturcd from tho fine tangle of the Heb- 
rides. 

Vtke Qaarterly Journal orilIieroHeoplea]Si>lenee. 

— We are requested by the publishers of the above journal 
to state that that jourutil will continue to be published as 
usual by tho Messrs. Churchill, and edited by Dr. Laukester 
and Mr. E. Ray Lankester. The only cliaoge consequent 
upon Dr. Lankester atjd Professor Bu.sk ceasing to edit the 
" Tranaacltons of tho Royal Microscopical Society, "' will he 
that the Transactions of that Sficiety will not be published 
separately in tho pages of the joumsd. 

Adveril»ementa and Certiacatea,— Some correspon- 
dence in a morning contemporary reminds us Unit ihe pub- 
lic seldom tiike the trouble to distiuguiah between advertise- 
monts when the notices include a chemical certificate. A 
tradesman anxious to inform tho worid that ho has for 
sale some particular orticle of general consumption proceeda 
to advertise the same. So far good. If a shopkeeper can 
supply bread, boer, wine, sauce, pickles, pills, 0000a, cod- 
Uver oil, or other article of food or medicine, better uod 
cheaper than housekeepers have hitherto been able to ob- 
tain it, let him by all means say so in any ortiinary way he 
pleases. Further, if a manufacturer desire to strengthen 
his own statements as to the merits of his goods, there can 
be no ohjoction to his employment of an analyst and the 
publication of tho chemist's report in newspapers, cireubr^ 
and lubela. Nor is the pubUe to blame for accepting tlie 
statements of well-known Professors of Chemistry, nor the 
latter for giving suoh statements, concerning the purity or 
quality of those liquid and solid substances which cannot, 
like a bottle of blacking or a joint of meat^ bo appraised by 
effects or appearances. But buyers are wrong in forgetting 
that tho certificate of a chemist only applies to tlie particu- 
lar sample analysed ; vendors are wrong in wrappmg the 
certificate round every package they sell, and those ehem< 
ists are wrong who word certificates in such a general way 
as to admit of readers being misled. An analyst's report 
should pointedly refer to the single specimen examined, and, 
when nscd in an advertisement, should bo accompanied by 
a declaration on the part of the manufacturer that every par> 
eel sold is of equal quality to that analysed, it is, perhaps 
only right to Bay that leading chemists demand these, or 
similar conditions, before coDseotlng to allow tlieir uamee 
to be cited for trade purposes, and many, in view of ihe 
abuse on which we are commenting, refuse such oortifl- 
cates altogether. Without some such precaution the pub- 
lication of chemical ocrtiflostos relatuig to articles of food, 
drink, or medicine, or tho statement that oertain goods are 
'•highly spoken of by the medical press," or ••recom- 
mended by the faculty/' whatever that may moan, avad 
nothing. — JSrpr^**. 



so 



Patents. 



Jan^ 1M9. 



JJntrvnUj of Iiondon. — The foDowiDg gentlemen 
have passed the second B.Sc examination :— Second Divi- 
Bion. Bennett, Alfred William, M. A, Univ. Coll.; Hopkin- 
son, John, Trin. ColL, Camb., and Owen's, Manchester; 
Maxwell, Theodore, Univ. Lond. and King's, Cambr. ; Ricks, 
George, King's, Coll.; Robinson, Arthur, Owen's ColL; 
Sheldon, Charles, B.A, Owen's ColL ; Tilden, William Au- 
gustus, private study ; and Wormell, Richard, M.A., Uni- 
versity I'ollege. Honours in Chemistry. — First Class. Til- 
den, William Augustus (disqualified by age from receiving 
the University Scholarship). 

Photosraphlc Appolutment. — We have much pleas- 
ure in announcing that Mr. J. SpiUer was elected Honorary 
Secretary of the Photographic Society, in succession to Dr. 
H. W. Diamond, at the meeting of council on the 17th inst 
Furthermore, that he has been induced to tender his resig- 
nation of the post of Assistant Chemist in the War Depart- 
ment in order to accept an appoictment in the Atlas Chem> 
ksal Works, Hackney Wick, of which his brother, Mr. Wil- 
liam SpUler, is part proprietor. 

Reprints and New Edltlon«._Our attention has 
been drawn by Professor Pepper to a subject of some im- 
portance to scientiQc authors. A recent number of one of 
our contemporaries gives a somewhat severe review of the 
"Boys' Playbook of Science," the title of wliich designates 
it a "New Edition, 1869." We are informed by the author 
that this is simply a reprint of the old edition published ten 
years ago, with a new title-page, and has been issued with- 
out his revision or co-operation. This is a matter of great 
importance to scientific authors, as very few in the present 
state of science would care about their works written ten 
years ago being put forward and criticised as if they had 
been brought down to the present state of science. The 
i;p8ult in the present case has been that Professor Pepper's 
work is reviewed in much more severe terms than would 
probably have been adopted had the writer known that he 
was reviewing an old book. 

Tlie Hoyal fltocletj. — At the annual meeting of the 
Fellows of this Society on Monday last (St. Andrew's 
day), the gold medals of the Society were awarded as 
follows: — The Copley to Sir Charles Wheatatone, D. C. L., 
Oxon., Professor of Experimental Philosophy, King's 
College, London ; the Romford medal to Dr. Balfour 
Stewart, M A., Superintendent of the Kew Observatory of 
the British Association. Of the two Royal medals, one 
was awarded to the Rev. Dr. Salmon, Regius Professor of 
Divinity in the University, Dublin ; and the other to Mr. 
Alfred Russell Wallace, well known by his researches 
in the zoology of the Eastern Archipelago. At the 
same meeting, the following officers and council were 
elected for the ensuing year: — Prescient, Lieut. -Oeneral 
Edward Sabine, RA., D.C.L., LL.D. Treasurer, William 
Allen Miller, M.D., LL.D. Secretaries, William Sharpey, 
M.D., LL.C.. George Gabriel Stokes, Esq., M.A., D.C.L., 
LL.D. Fbreign Secretary, Professor William Itallows 
Miller, M.A., LL.D. Other Members of the Council, Frede- 
rick Augustus Abel, Esq., Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 
Bart., M.A., William Benjamin Carpenter, M.D., J. Lock- 
hart Clarke, Esq., Frederick Currey, Esq,, M.A., Warren 
De la Rue, Esq., Ph.D, Sir William Fergusson, Bart., 
William Henry Flower, Esq., Captain Douglas Gallon, 
C.B., John Peter Gassiot, Esq., John Hawkshaw, Esq., John 
Marshall, FiPq., Joseph Prestwich, Esq, George Henry 
Richards, Capt. R.K , Archibald Smith, Esq., M.A., Lieut- 
Colonel Alexander Strange. 

Koyal Iniitltatlon of Gr«at Britain. — Friday 
Evenlnff Arrangements. —Jan. 15th Professor Tyndal, 
P.R.a, M.R.I., " On Chemical Rays and Molecules." Jan. 
22nd. Professor Alexander Herschel, " On the la»t Eclipse 
of the Sun." Jan. 29th. John Ruskin, Esq., '• On the 
Flamboyant Architecture of the Valley of the Sommo." Feb. 
ctli. James Fergusson, Esq., F. R. S., " Tree and Serpent 
Worship, as exemplified by recently-discovered Indian 
Monuments." Feb. 12th. Colonel W. F. Drummond Jervois, 



" On the Coast Defences of England." Feb. 19th 0. Ore- 
ville Willianw, Esq., F.R.S., " On the Female Poisonen 
of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries." Feb. 26th. 
John H. Bridges, M.A., B.M., late Fellow of Oriel College, 
Oxford, " On the Influence of Civilisation upon Public 
Health." March 5th. Williams Huggins, Esq., F.R.S., "On 
the Latest Discoveri^ in Astronomy made with tb« 
Spectrum." March 12th. Professor Abel, F.R.S., " On some 
Applications of Electricity to Naval and Miliury Purpoaes." 
March 19th. Dr. Crum Brown, "On Chemical OonstitutioD 
and it^ Relation to Physical and Physiological Properties" 



PATENTS. 



GRANTS OF PBOYISIONAL PBOTECTION FOB BIX 
MONTHS. 

a9Sa R Oxiand, Plymoath, Deyonsblre, and J. Hoeklng; Jan., Retf- 
rath, Cornwiill, '* ImproTi'tncnts In calcining ores and niinerals."— Peti- 
tion recorded September aj. x868. 

311a. T. Mera, Hebbnm, Durtian, and O. Tbomson, Pebiw-M ain, Ihir* 
bam, " Improvements in calcining orea, mineral*, and otbersabttaiieea, 
and Id fnmaces tberefor."— October 10, 1868. 

3167. R. Pearc(>,Swanaaa,^ Improvements In tb« Mparatlon of cop- 
per and other metals from silver and gold, the same being applicable to 
other mrtallnrgical operations." 

3171. W. E. Newton, Chancery Lane, ** Imprnvejioiits In the mana- 
factaro of syriip and sagar."— A OMamunicatioa from N. Pigeon, 
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.— October i6. 1868. 

3203. O. Chapman. Glasgow, N.B., ** Improvements in treating sewage 
in order to obtain valnable prodocts tberenrom.^— Oetobw ao, 1868. 

3036. R. Ilfilmann, and P. Hart, Manchester, '*An ImproYi'd method 
of utilblng the fames or vapours avolved during certain dicmieal 
operations.** — Petillon recorded October c 1868. 

30S6. J. Dcwar, M.D., Kirkcaldy, Fifethlre, N.B., " Improvementi In 
preparing food firom the entrails of animals."— October 8, 1868. 

3101. H. A. Arcberean, Boulevartbt. Martin, Paila, "A new method 
of obtaining heat and light and its various applications, and in appara- 
tus connected therewith."— October 9, 1868. 

3138. W. R. r.Ake, Southampton Buildings, Cbanceij Lane, '*An Im- 
proved mode of. and means for, dyeing hafar."— A oommunication from 
W. Patton, Springfield, Mass., U.S. A. —October 13, 1868. 

3149. W. Lnrberg, Brunswick Place. City Road, Middlesex. *'An Im- 

f>roved process of treating cotton seed, and utilising the refuse rcault- 
ng therefroin.*'— October 14, 186& 

3177. E. T. Hughes, Chancery Lane, " An Improved adhesive sub- 
stance."- A communication from J. and A. Tolin, Montreuil, France. 
—October 17, 1868. 

as98. A. BollaMu, Pembroke Road, CUflon, Bristol, *' Iraprorements 
in purifying coal-gas and obtaining ammonia ft^m cool-gaa prodacts.** 
—Petition recorded August ao, 1868. 

3118. F. W. Hart, Kingsland Green, Middlesex, " A new (or improved) 
materUl or subetance to be used for varnishing or protecting the sur- 
faces of lithugra{>hB, photo-lithographs, and other like printed surfltcea." 
—October 10, 1868, 

3194. W. R. Lake, Southampton Bnlldlngs, Chancery Lane, ** An im- 
proved method of preparing, desiccating, and preserrliig fl)h." — A com- 
munication from W. U. Cutler, PLlladelpbia, Penn., U.S. A.— October 
19, 1868. 

3ao6. J. Sykes and G. Mnlin, High Holbom, Middlesex, ''An Im- 
proved oompojdtlon to be used for 'filling np* the boiiies of carriages 
and other substances previous to receiving the colouring matter."— 
October 30, 1868. 

3350. J. Spratt, High Holbom, Middlesex, " Improred proparattona 
of food for horB««, cattle, game, pt>ultry, and other domestic animals, 
such preparations being ci^Mbie of admixture with compounds for the 
production of a medicated food for man.'* 

3256. A. Girond. Gray's Inn Road, Middlesex, "Improvements in 
separatinic silver tr*im argentiferous lead, in purifying lead, and in ^- 
paratus for the same."— October 34, 1868. 

3267. P. M. Crane, Manchester, "An improved compound or siie to 
be used in slxing and dressing cot^ yams or cotton warps.'*— October 
a6, 1868. '^ 

3385. J. Little, Glasgow, N.B., *' Improvements In glass ftamaoeB."— 
October 37, 1868. 

INVENTION PROTECTED BY THE DEPOSIT OF A COM- 
PLETE SPECIFICATION. 

3337. A. B. B^rard, Avenue Montaigne, ParK " Improvementa In the 
processes and apparatuses for converting cast-iron into steeL"— Petitlun 
recorded October 33, 1868. _ 

NOTICES TO PROCEED. 

3043. B. Mucklow, Bury, " Utilising refuse tanning matters for dye- 
ing purposes.'*— Petition recorded June 25, 1868. 

aaff!. J. Bagg^ High Holbom, Middlesex, and F. Braby, Camber- 
well, Surrey, *' Improvements in the extrication and condensation of 
ammonia, and In the manufacture of ammoniacal aalts."— June 37, 
1868. 



/ BagUsb Edition, VoL ZVIIL, Na 4fl9, pagw 298, 192 ; Vo. 470, page 273; Ho. dfiO, page 226; No. 46^ page 250 ; No. 466, page 226.] 



fjSSC^&i^f Notes and Queries. — CorUemporanj Sdetdijw Press. 



•N LlDOoIn'a tnn VI 
liiiDunicAtJoo from > 



J. II 



iwr 



•lohQann, LlnooTu'a Inn Kivlds, Miildlfiifx. ** Inii>ro?viiient< 
UuQofarfi colouring in*ttflr."— A onmmatikatlun frcin 
le. Swltzeiiuid.— Juiy aa, iS6S. 

Abel, SnaUmmptoa Uu4l<11^^^ Cbancery LaD«, ** Ira- 

( ninrrrttnfr rajt-lroo Into frroagbl-lron. And In uniUnj^ 

ff . ont-lntp/*— A cwioiimnkiiUoufrom T. 

'ItT — *-pt«mber jS, iS68. 

^ arlt«in, Kent, " lm(>rovrrnent» fn the 

itire, )ia«l ill thy prvdilcliuD ofiaJU of AOimnnlii.^ — 

I, Bradftr*), Yt^rkshlre, ** IinproTensentB In furnaces,*' 
rpfuru^^l Jane t^ 1868. 

ItMiuai, L(!«d«DluU< S(rc«t, Lontloh, *■' A n«w or Improved 

tg b« ttM(l atutig fthore for the dbUllnthm of paru wnler 

irttcr, or bnpregnated wlih e&itby or otlu-r mattcra^"'— ^iu)« 

. R. Lakp, ^oDtbampton Buildlngri, Chancery Lane, *' Aa fm- 

mde of, and ajiparalti* for, dyeing vtxiWv fiibrirt an*! y»ni«."— 

inioatluii from L. OnncUon, Lblaiix, J-'rantv. — Jiuin? 17, j86S, 

M«rx llitbtirn, -iri-l O. Triinn«on, i'elatv-MaIn, Durham, 

s mintrals, iind ulher fubilancen, and 

to. 186S. 

■ ImproircnieDtB in the concentration 
I ni or s^<:<'U:iiiL<' an<l aaJine solution*, and Ln apparaiua f m- 
>«relft»"— retitiou recurdi'.l JuJy 4. 11A68. 

Fryer, Manchester. " [n-provrmtTUa hi th** BKMle «f trcaUog, 

it-i^ i!iJ coticciilratiti i-inc JuIcp, l#ci<t-nw»t juJcd, 

. i le and oUi* r i| Ui(i)i<l», anil (li the cott- 

.i [i.u dus for tiji' . ii of sacclj urine and uibcr 

ift, xuii r..r ih« etaporalU>n "f u.jui»;>./'— July 6, tS68. 

K, (.-Oi'pfetf, ILiine at ncrre, Ui'lf^iunL, " linproTcmonta In tb« 

^ ftlou of e4»ke furnactni."— July 7, i^'/ii. 

^ E. llarrtng, Beor Lani", L<mdon, " Improrementaln ibo treftt* 
«f tMeliaHiia aolutloiui of malt or BBgar.'*.^iiljr 39, 1868. 

NOTES ANB QUERIES. 

fa«,— Con anr of your rea<Ien lororm me If the«e can 
Iitio^e in qaantUy ?— L. 
Aitid. — Which b the beat way to I'Sflmatt; nf«(ic acid In com- 
•eetatv o' IJtno, wbieh oontalnn a largo qniitatty of tany ooro- 

'' liliK- ? (t N. 

-Will you kliHllyalloir 
^ ADfl <jnefi. * wbir« 1 can 
^ In Ma^nclUiiv I'urt 3rd," 
altd by i)t. tiivj^iny * 1 Lavo Mktti miieh dllUcuUy procured 
Mt and iBd, and am told that VatX 3rd moat be out tif print— A. 

' tf— Oa mnanling crvBtals of picHc add (pnrlfli'd 

I iiicroftcope, I find tUat'the rry».t.ilafi»rro in cliistcriof 

: from a cinninon ecnrrf, forinlnj minute tree* and 
y, bv>iu 4<o;4)y and in ctiti^tiir^; the^H) orystnls are ao U1IDUI49 
f •tr-Dcture U not dUtlngnl»liabk by the iioauisled eye. Puro 
a<:ij In ••ry.«tala If ir;irm>.'d, and when melted V""p<-'I Info a 
•I" ''■]■> BO aa tt) amear thtf ilde?*, will farm the sam« »tyU» 

with tbe carb"lic acid the ervsta,!* nre fr-nn a h (if 
* !>''ht» long tri'ta ttie bjuu u> the tifis of tlie bmnchcs. 

e or ii.»t.;iAli, wbfd exploded, gave a very distinct smell of bUter 
Ik 1ft tliU the onllnary rcaoll of lla dt'corouoeltlon, or la it due 
-riiU«tf-Naw BaaxB. 

'ifnitr would be glad to know what la tb<! best coutln;; to rortder 

/tfi—If yoor correapofident tv-ould communle,-*!© whU 
-■)„ Konk'-l <ju the Lohn, m-ar LiinbtTK on the Lubn, 
-vvtU meet with the opportuntty nf obiainbg tho Id' 

^^'»nld he ranch obllfjedif any oryonrcorT«9pond«'nt* 

iLi :— 1 duKire to rcudt-f unUoilcd Uiw^-cd oil a dryiiiir 

„' ,Jt all I biHTC tried l^lc pbimblc acetate proces,* of 

Ij.ii iUiiij({«nlc borate mentioned in Ure, Iml have failid. I 

ere is i\. proocas by which unboiled llnaeed oil can bo inaile lo 

ly (wllhln 14 hours), but I barc^ completely f.<nfolten re^ard- 

Vrhups l»r. Adrlant, or sr.rae other ot yoar welMnfurnied con- 

wouJd kiodly i,bllg;e?— WATeapfioor. 

0/ ^«»moNi/i.— Not the l^art raluable fi'Ktore tn the 

U the column* devoted to NnU's and tjuerlos and An- 

^ id«nta. Many valu;ible Itetna lav* 1 obtitoed thence. 

to see that thla column Is open lo American readers, and 

myfeir of tbia prtvllrgo to enquire If any of the readera 

N Ew* cuLU Inform me of a cheap niitde of making 

If i>r «riiiii,inla. Can It be made from the blrhromate of pot- 

*f >t procejal" Aiit Lnrormatlon on thi» point will be 

I y TYKa, L-iuUvUle, Ky. 

1./ Ac*Ue Acid in Commercial Acetatt of Ltme, 

karlbodof naccrtainirig the perccnta<;e of acetic acid iu wna* 

of Ume la, according to Kic«\niu», Uie followinjt ;— 

uituci iif th.. -.ub^tanco lo a relnrl. add 50 c.c. of water abd 

p. BT- t' J (free fn-ro nitric acid* ; dl!"lll wllh 

\n.'»% (be operati>>n, aitcr adding a^la 50 c.c. 

L. ,.:. ^....^ .he dLatilled Uqmdi, and dilute to 350 ac In 

too ce. d«i«riuluo lU« aoetle acid wlib a atandard alkaline tolu- 




Uon. It !• necc- (he dl&ttlled ]t<|a1d« f>ir hyilroc14»iic aotd 

and If found la ' (uaraity, to determine II wtlli » Maodnrd 

silver aohitloo. i iCn, tee ¥rv*ttiiiiA'M Journal /or Amtijflt- 

eal Clkftni»tt'y, v..i, v , ^.. -i^.—V. C. 

Auul^nnifii If/ AtxtmJK—Vvrhmitt the follow Ine »naly«ef of »<ani«,1>y 
Dr. Voulcker, nn pulilbthed In tim Journal qf na Kouul AfftfeuUttnti 
Society for jS<iM. m.-ty wilt oho of your corrosponiltfiita who vaqolrca 
upon the subject in Nut s and Queries:— 

PBOPoanoMi or Htrmt An> Kcbrku 

Hnaks iJ'Qo 

Kvmvl* t&to 

100 *oa 
Covroatnuii or KsBMauL 

MolMtir* 40*8* 

Fallj' mat»era S64 

Albinnlnouj> compounds (eoDtaiiilnK ^trogen cttoj) 4'39 

Starch, Gun k, ami Sugar .....> %,,,*,* 4674 

Woody fibre (cellulose) ........i , *.. ^'74 

Ulnend matter 1*41 

tco'oa 
-^HASLXa ItVKTfX. 



CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIC PRESS. 

(Uudcr thid heading It is Intended to ^Wo the UlleA of all Iho chemlci. 
jraiiei-H which arc published In the principal iick'ntltlo purk>dicaU of 
the Contlosnt. Articles which are merely reprints or abstracts of 
papers olready ntuiced will bt; omUtcd. AbatrucU of the more li»- 
iwrlant papers hero asaouaced wlU appear in fhturc uumber.t of the 
CiiSMtcAt Nswa. 

Cktmpte* J£*ndu9. August 17, 18&S. 

K. DC Bbacmomt: '* Sotton II, S. Jloitctm'a Memoir on Vanadium.'* 
J. NiCK(.n: ** On^ J/UNQttin4*manffiinie FiutiridU.'* A, Hbnaud: 
^ On the y^umftric Kftimntion ttf ZiHc^ T, he rrauoLD: *' On 
rhivt\MHlplinric £tA*r." H. acjiiF*-; " <?» CinUi*m^d Urtan." 
,8.-cond Memoir) E. Patuuio: "On BicMnrintiUd AhlthydtP 
i% On the Action 0/ Zinc- Ethyl on BichiorinaUd AcetalJ" 
Aofunt 2A, t86a. 

B. SaTT: '^Memoir on th^^ Vervtity and Snltntmi if Stn W^ctUr in 
the Attttnfie-y and on the (HrnmUi/ thttt Otttut^.^ Salrt : **Onth€ 
Colouration 0/ I'eroiHde </ A'if ro^oa." 

Silsiin\/i»btrt^ti' d<r JTititii'rtich^a AkndemUdar WinMtuehttfttin. m^ 
Witn. (Afitih^nnaHsch-Saturifi44tMschil/liUMsCttUte.} Dlyfalon a. 

March, it6S. 
W. F. GiSTUr " OonfHbutionA to the iTtiotttedfft qf^ tht CotnbltM- 
tionm o/lUniM* MHaVie Cydnltie^ tcUh Amm»n ttt:' CI. TaonitaH AS : 
•^An Attnnpt to D^flop the K^rmition *fprtiuting th« CHtmicat 
CAtjngt tch^ch taku tlact in th» Formation 0/ MiMrutt," 

PoQIfetidorf^* Annaltn dtr Phytik, No. 6, 18*8. 
A. TtipLna: •' Optfmtt Studio by CA« A^dKot'9 AVw Mttho^ : Oh 
nnme Phenonutnn irf tkt Eltciiin Spttrk,*^ Q. MauKus: " C?« th* 
DiiitMmnHicy of Sylvia*." 

No. 7, i868. 

V. HAMUKiasKiio : " Oh Ptriodic Add and lb Suit*.*" 

AHH<il^n dtr Ch*init »%d Phamutri*. September, iS^jS. 
II. UcBNKtt and K. DutttERUASa: "* (/n the Pre/awoffon of Amitlo- 
benzoic Acid from Parachlorobfnsoic Acid and ChUf ' '^" 

W, Li;i»i»f.rKit : " On noma 4''omiAiiatii.ni and I><coijip>'> rtt 

t}f TriutycoUimddie Acid.'" It. Kittio and E. to 11: 

'■" BeMenrchM OH MetMylentJ" (Fourth Mem(dr.> " 0' "M 

Pnfdtiot* cf MetiiyUnt" W. \iw.\jn: '* On tft« Com/' ''■"- 

prit4*td*J'^ f. BtiLSTtxs and A. Kt'iiLni:Ho : " On &i. '• 

mLi rind Aldthtfdtt: PtiniHitcobemvl Alctthot. Pa sft 

Ali-ohi*L PnntdicAlttrot'enxyl AlcoiioL Paradi»iit< ' "L 

Parachlorobenttdc AUIekytie.'''' K. NltfMor: "■Oh*"^ -v^ 

0/ Puruchiorttliefttyl Aii^thoiy C. Fbibdki. and A, LAi>i.-«iH i^m : " fJn 
the Prt^pnratioit and the Iteactinint nf a SiUciKnt OrychiorideJ^ J. 
VON LiEttin : - On tht Prep<jriiti</n nf Adoxan." 

BuUalin d* la Society IndnAtritU* dt Jifathom*. 

June, T«6K. hnpplctneTJt 

A. 8cnRrRaR-KK»TMaii and i'. Mkl 

Prodvcti ttf th^ ComhmttioH qf / " 

8TTRI11,: " /f<«e<ircAc4 tftt T, Couj-' 

Liquid Tuluidin* nnd Commercini AmCm^. 

July. j«68. 

A, VioiAJfD and Co.: * ifote on f'«e Autkor^n /^f<iUl»'nii^"t for 

I>ryin^ and Preparing I/erbM emptoyed in V ".*' 

Kl'iilmaksi: "Report on A. Viidmul nnd C -r 

Ifryin^ff and Prepariiui ll.-r!>K nni'l'x/r'i i» '- .'* 

J. UKRjiiti(-KBtj;.EM ; '• /' "^ 

yttrobenAnt nnd An i/ "* 

fjyt-" CMvw'.r.ix : ".I 



itati* of the GttseoiM 

'Ji/'HCt.'"' A. KoHKN" 

1! 0/ MdHu/ttt'.tHring 



the 

Meih 



limb Edition, VoL XVIIl, tfo, 466, j»ff« 226; Pfo 468, pa|;e 250 ; No ♦BTT, p^it l^R', Ko^< 

No. 467f paE* ^^^ 



52 



Answers to CWrettpoitJeufa* 






Campte* Btndu*. Anciut 31, i86fL 
PtLiGOT I " Onikn frtparatittn nf UritHinm/^ B. Toi-lkkb : " 0» 
Vkt Ojfid^ttioM 0/ Phenol,"* Gataro: "A Method 0/ I'reMt^lng th* 
/Cr^piuitictt »'/ J^rt'diimp in Coat Minr*." \. Jlr.i hawi- : " On ttU 
SpoHl tmowf Aleokolie (tnd Acttic F< ' "'!/••" W. 

Kvk!«»; " /it4ffttvA</^ vn t/tt I'tt 0/ I't ' >t til on 

AntttitiuUe''' Dklactribji : " NvU on n . tjnid /or 

Vmftitic Ajtturie*." iittifnnm " /M a »*«c ' I'ttiUiFurudittc' Ap' 
partttut" 

8«pt«inbfT 7. t^A. 
A. W. 1IorHA!<N: "^Xote on Menuphtht/himiuty A. Bi<ilAMl>: 
" ^« t\t Ctifvnip and Vuprijlle J^'rrmentatian nf KthtjHf. Alro/ioi.^* 
**Oh tAf ForvmtHoii of Cnp'rmc Alctthal during tht iViprle Frrintn- 
ttiUoH of CovMnon ^^*uA<^/' 

6c|itcinber 14, 1868. 
DsLAPPAititiTT: '* Jl«poH on Pasteur'* Utthoil iif PrM0rvln{f Wine 
fty mntnt of Heat,"* 

8ept«inb«r n, tS68. 
Pdmu: ** R^narH on Jjfflnitv"^ CHwrnwru: *' Remtirt* oti W# 
Mm* .'^lU'Jfi^t'" L. L'lIoTE And t^Aijrr-EDJtK : *' (^n <A< Prottuotion rf 
(tatme in OJ-y^en ttnd Air under the Influence ff the Slectrit SpOrk 
from Ltidd'e CkMuleater." 

depicDiber aS, ]I!I6S. 
CiiKTKit'L: " fht iJhemhial A^ntiy." J. LvMAtnii: *^ Are TifftKwt, 

Cholera, Yeltmr F ''■-^ntf.ry. Intermittent Frrere, and Hotpttol 

iJtingren* to he l^ fnfuiiorittl Frrmmtst"' V. DB LrvHn : 

" thi »ofne neic n* of ffrcin^.''* A. ^niicti'itRit-KttrriiKR 

aoil C McirmiKR , An^r'tt i'\p» on thf i'oini>u*tton 0/ (.\>al,^* (Second 
p^yfL) y. riBAMi: •*Aniitp$ie of a Mete*>rH« vMcA feii at Ornant, 
Doubt, on Juljf II, 1868." 

BnUeiin d» It SoeUU Chtmupte ilt Purit, P^eptrnibpr— October, 1S68 
r. Foiii'tZKNiiHiOHii : " Mmuni- nn the t\>f4>nrinff Muttrr* extracted 
fratn the Seed* ff ''—■ —^ ^■-rHti, Memoir on efmte Reaction* prtt' 
ducittff <*Kychlv. rt, ond on a nttp i'td<ttiU Compirundnf 

FUltiHum."' A. ! . "^ On the Pt^eetuct of «in Alkiiloid 

leomerio trifi 'i<.'tn,'c,<,f •>< (^nnmerrtnl Aniline" E. EoriiO'»iN : 
*' On the P'lrt taken bv Witter in StectrofyiiM, A'ote rm the Ktec- 
rotf/eie of Bensoii"^ Aeitt" H. BAimii^nT : " ifn iwme Derir>ifiree of 
OafJ»i>A<jr." P, DK Clkhmost: " tM >i new Alcohi^l jMrfneHi? irith 
0^yii<! ^fccAoi.'* A, Ol'nvsirKtM hmJ 0. Voot : **.! neu? Methf^t of 
praparing Rewmine.'' Kkciu : " Analyiiie qf the l.tavie of the Jful- 
oerry Tree." ¥. HKSTtui: *■ <>» $ome Propertiet of Liiptid Am^ 
phurvu^ AnhydrideJ" 

Dingier" e PoiytechniarhenJoumtd. AoKUVt. 1S6,'. 
A. CHBisT«»¥A>ri § : " ,4 new Meihoil qf Ainaying SiUer l»v mean* 
of03<ygen liii*.'' '* Xftte on A. Prtlndtre Rtetarvhe* an the l^epara- 
tlonofSBtracto/MHk:' 

MorMttttmridht der Kinigtieh PreuetlncAen Alademte der WUeen- 
•esA'{/t«» *u Berlin. Iri*/, tg6fl, 
EnRC*riiKiiR ; " lh% the alUged Uee qf Red Earth 0* Food by the 
InhiibiUinte of Guinea:' hlAcnvi: "On the Dittthemancy ^ 
Xyitine.*^ 

Poffgendorfu Annaten der Phymlk. Ko. 8, t86S. 
0. RiMMWLSBBSO ; " On Periodic Acid (tnd ite SttlW " Oh the^ 
Cryetalline Form and Optical piottertlee *f Prrimfic Arid.'^ G. 
Jrkiscn : "^ On the Lutce of the formation t/ l\cin Cryutale nf 

AnnaUe de Chimi4 a de Phyeiqwe. Aagqtt, »86&. 
K. Boo www : " (M M« Elect rolyeie nf Mcdle Add^ 

AnnaUn dtr Chemie und Pharmaeie, VoK 6, No. j. 
H. Lamdult ; " fteeeurehe* on the El>teiiHty or the Vapoure of 
fTomMo^fmui Componn'tt" It. JU'Xfltx : "On the CalcHlation of 

r --7 ? Feldnparit.*' A, NAtr«A«?f .■ "^ On the fh4«oei4ttian of 

AeidJ' W. lAMiar? " ~ " - " 

/ on yUric JSther, 
mfnriMc<HMmide:* 

Journal far Praittechs Chemtt. Aagut, i86«. 
DurnNW : * On the QtMpoelUon of RlooJ tM«f» PoUmntd by 



lAH»r» : '* Onthe Action of Tin and Hydro- 
A, Stbbokm : "'Note on If. Schij-'e 



phenol: 



September, 1868. 



F, tto<?HLBPR> : '' On the tJompv*Ui4>n of the Uaf of the IJttree 
Chewnut Tree." " On ..Secv^ine and ^Ewitlttine:' '• On the (\ip' 
elites of the Fruit nfthe Home Cheenut Tree." »* On leopktoridaine*' 
M. J Ktrm : "* Ountrtfjutione to' t/te KnotrUdge of the (JotouriHO Mattere 
of Bile and I'rine:' H. L. Malv: •' tfn Jtofne tMW J/tHvativee of 
Thioeinamtne:' M, DiLAroNTAiMK : *' Oneomenvwand little kftcvm 
M*fiybdf$iet, and on ih* princifml Fftto^ymoly^daiee." C. Maiuq< 
Hac : " On the Reduction of ytof^ium and TuHtalum CompoundeV 
H. BtDMn AD» : "'• fJn the Caneee of the ^Solidi/tcation of Supertotu- 
rttted Sit line Salutirme." O. Tosi Rath : ^ On a new (.'ryatalline 
JfiMiiftcatiifn of iSilieic Aitid ' liuurRoti: " Anatyeee of Epi- 
phanite, D'tmouriie. and Pj/r. "n Swedeit.'^ F. hioi-iiA ; 

^ On the Action of Sulphur >■■> ' Iron." A. Bat:kr uid k! 

Ki.RiJr: "Sole on the Action ,; I'uride qf Tin on Amyfic 

jkltmhoL K. Urucx,k: ''On ihH iJ€le*:iU>n of Ammonia in Animal 
|XIm^4, and on ihe Behaviour qf the »(tme in *ome of ite Ci>m- 

P0UHdM,** 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



toughby and Jfelmer*t courteooft rcqneal ahall bo «t- 



NOTICE—The Ameriean Pahttehtre tifTltt Cuuhkkl JTicws glrA 
notice that in accordance with a euggeeiion of Mr. CbiOOr.«b» thm\ 
Editor and Proprietor ijf the English publication, Uiry vUl tue 
plotted to receive and fhrvMrd to htm in Londmt any tioientijta 
publication* ituued in America, far reeiav—ami al^to any Xotet I 
and t^ueriee, Artidee, Correitpondenoe, ttc^ for putdioation or' 
repiy, l%$nr facUitiee of communieittion %tith Mr. Croorb ren* 
der thU very detirtMe to alt pereom in the United St<itee %6ho 
tPiMh to eonftr with Mm. AddreMn, 

W. A. TOWySEYD t^ ADAMS, 

434 Broome Street, Keie York, 



A Kt^ Snbecriher - '1 >,„r^ i- „#, ftpednl book 00 Iho sobJecL 

JK A. P.— Our con u^ rfjid the p»Mj||,'« In nn euUrely dJf- 

tereni sense fruim tl . I. Wv ijuU*. n^ee that the lubject U 

one which uvicA not IIk ,;..-. ..n., u isi th«!»o coluain*. 

S. irihbonm.^i. Ttu- rejuTl U ycry TRliublv »nd §hRll ree«'iir« earij 
DolJce. X. The numben cnquln-d for ar« oiil U print, Youronlj 
ctiRnce ii to gel a bouad vuluiike. wbieb mnjr occajlonally be picked np 
Aect'odhand— at a Urge iiirrinae ou the orl|;inAl tirlc*. 3. We will 
make >pecU] enqufrfcA about the t«»ok» you urderedL The other ooni- 
mauiealtiina treri' r<'c<-lTt-d u Irh tbaaks. 

A Young Chethi^t.—'Vhv special dctall» In prrparlng nllrttt<> of lead In 
crystal! can only b<t found out by ex{>orieDcc. No book would eAier 
itito «aoh mlnnllw as you ri>nuire. 

J, W. S—Yon Will be ablo to get what 70a require at Ladd and 
OerlUnj?**. 
I K. r?.— RirelT^d with thanitu, 

! W. If. Walenn — W our correspondent would favoar qb with a abort 
Bi'count of hm tbion'm, llliutTRtiiiff its uppIleabiHty for checking ehcml- 
ral and other cak-ulations, it woiild b« a buod which wuold b« bifbij- 
appreciat^'d by nuimy of our rt'ailers. 

A'. fW//Aa/Y/.— Muld. r"» book on " Fte«r" U the bc«t; bat we du not 
think It boa been traait»Ud iuto EuglUh. 7A'« do bot kauw of one la 
tbh lonficuaf^. 

Meeert. With 
tendfMl to. 

Elephujt.—'Wti believe It la no exagferntfon to wy that the excr^t* 
of OD.' Indlvlifual, by the time tijc tewaee Is applied to the tacd in tbo 
way Mr. Mechi corauteiwlfi. Is <VlliJted with 1.443 tons of water. 

Amate^r.~UKAt tb« ate«I till It aaiumea a blue tint, and then quench 
In eiild wat«r. 

// 5VH/JI1,— Apply to the Secretary, Burlington Ilouae. 

E A. /*,— The so-called chemical weather-glaaa la prrpareil by db- 
i«>lr1ng 2I dnictuna of camphor In irclrachins of recti Aed aplrtt; then 
dl«»ilre 3^ gramniea each of nitre ami aal-nminoniac In g dracbma of 
water, and mix Ihti whrde. Place tho^ liquid la a VfUf tuba, und eare- 
ftail y aeal np. It li only a toy, aad la of no value a« a w«.'aLber-lodi> 
catnr. 

Commvntentiona have been reeMwed f*vmJiT. Rbhrlg; Dr. <HlAa4 
(with enclostun); Dr. Mujpratt; 11. Kynaaton; W. ri. Col man ; W, 
Little; II. A. Almond; W. 'Hiomriaon; E, IlarT<>y (with encloanre); 
W. Kobertaon: J. Morewood (wjtb eodtMun!); Dr. It. Anjios ^■tnith, 
K.U.t*. ; W. |jait«r; O. A. CAOteroa ; Mai*'ean aiid t*»-Rn; Qroukel 
filmpson and gplller; B. P. Potter: A, C. IJwJIand and Co.; J. Madal 
Ny^andio. ; Profeaaor Healon; O, WIgner; l>r.T. L. Phip«..n; W. 
LUtle; Sydney illbbontk, Melbourne (wUh caclosure); E. A. Pamell; 

A. Uvcr^idRe; •!. Goalding; W. Fergiji«»on (with t'octoaure) ; Dr. IL 
Angus Smith, F.R.S.; t<. Burke; H. Wflliauia (^itb encloi^ure); Dr. 
Knbrig; J. Splller (with encl«j#ure); Drooki^ t^iinjjai:)!), and .•*plll«-' 
Bollmunn, toady andi'o.; Watson Smith, F.f.8. ; J, S Smith (with 
enclosare); Kir. O. Fiiber < witli enclosure); J. Mackie ; J. »*iorfy und 
Co. ; J. ('. Lee: O. F. Bod well; 11. Hopklna; A. C, Hadland A Co, ; Br. 

B. Anj!;na Siuitb, F.K.8. : C'. Turner; Meeara. ChurthJJI aud Hmm ; R. 
Coultbard; W. IL Walenn (with enclosnie); K. C, C. Stanford (witb 
encloaurc); 0. W.Wigner; I*r. S. Muapratt; 8, Mellor; K. Jonoa; A. 
Martlnelli ; .L T, lIubtMXi ; V. Cruse ; J. ^auiuelaou ; T. Hobba : A. P 
HurlfttoM ; J. Cliff; W. H. Pcrkbi, F.RS. ; F. Suttf>n ; W. M. WalU; F. 

C. Maodonnell; E, P. Potter; F, C. ialTtri and Co, (with endoeurw t ; 
Brooke, ^Imyiarkn, andSplller; WaUon Smith {*Uh rncloeurtj; J. IMm- 
niae ' J. IlHlle; Dr. U. I'arler Moffatt; 8. Meunkr ; Prt'le(*jr Chorch : 
W. IJ. Peryn, F.IJ.S. ; R. Tallock ; II Walcnii ; Dr. E Kleischor (wUb 
encloaure; I>r. Rohrlg: Dr. C. W. Bingley ; W, \V, Stoddnrt ; H. Taylor 
(with eneliMure) ; Dr. T L. PJiip»'>n (with rnclo^mrc); W. LitUo (with 
encloaore); Dr H. l>i>be[l; J. II. Pcpp.-r; Beckt-r and Sona; Dr. O* 
Cliandler (with enclosure); I>r. P.. C, MoUit ; Dr. It, Angua Smith. 
P.K a ; Moapratt and Sotts ; O. F. Macdonnall ; J. Priniroae; J. Denbr ' 
J. Heywood; F. B. &lHlt.»e ; and J. Maecdbe. ' 

Booke J?fc#ir«(f.— "Tbe A.B.C Sewage Process;" belnji ^ l?eporl of 
the KxperJuienta hitherto made at Leic« at«r, Totuabam, and Ltaoiing- 
ton, on tht> PnrificaUon and Utilisation of Sewage. " The IClementa of 



Pewage. 
lli'ftt and Non Metallic Chimiatry," by Frederick Gnthrle, B.A., Ph.D, 
F.R.S.K,, r.tM I^fldon : John Van Voorst, " A Mnniial nf Klemen- 
tary Ghetniatry, Tbeonticjl and I»nictlcid," by George Fownea, F,R.8. 
Tenth Edition. I^mdun: Chorcbill and Sons. '' i{ep<>rt of the ITnlted 
Statea Patent Olllce for 1865." 3 Tola. From the Hf>t}Oarable tb« 
Comlnia^inner of Falenta, Waahlngton. " Electro- Metal In rey " Pnw- 
tlcaJly Treated by Alexander Watt, r.KS.8.A. London : Vlrtao and Co 



fBofUMb Sdttiaa, Vol. XVJJI^ No. 468, pafca 349, 250; Ho. 467, r«g«238; No. 468, ^^%* OMi . TSo. 4», ^V»a . ISto UX^^h.««&-. 
/ATa 4<f7, pMg9^238: No. 46$, page 250; No. 4fi9, pa^e 262, Bo. 4CT, pa^e MS , Ho. *W, v»V ^l«a.,\ 



Okntrcfct Nrws, I 



American Suppletti&nt, 



53 



AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT. 

New York, January, 1 869. 



Tbe Plilloftoplijr of Bzplovlona* 

A cob:c inch of water by heat expands into a cubic 
foot of vapor or st<?um at the ordinary tension of the 
iiir, and the mechunical force involved ia the same 
whether the expansion be slow or rapid. The vapor 
rts»58 quietly and irnperceptihly from the morniog dew, 
but it lifta llic atmosphere, and with a force as real and 
09 great as if it had been generated in a boiler, and 
had nssiated in an explosion whose shock had brought 
dcAth and destruction. What ia true in this respect of 
the Taper of water is true of all elastic fluids : the 
force of expansion ia mea5nred by the amount of ex- 
paiLiion. Given the volume of vapor and the volume 
of matter from which it proceeded, and the tensions at 
the beg-inning and end of the expansioUj and we have 
all the data required fir the determination of the nie- 
chauical force ; and this formula is practically applica- 
ble for the solution of all cag rs, whether of gentle ac- 
tion or of violence of expansion. 

Explosion belongs to the catej^ory of expansion : it 
imphes noise and violence. " Explosion ia a sudden 
expansion of an elastic fluid attended with violence and 
a loud report " ; this is VVTebster'a admirable definition. 
The elastic fluid may originate from solids (gunjiow- 
der, gT3n-cotton, lodumideH), or liquids (water, nitrogly- 
cerine, chloride of nitrogen), or gases (inixturea of hy- 
drojjjen anl combustible vapors with oxygen). The 
▼iolent expanaion of elastic fluids may ensue immedi- 
ately on their generation, as in thu explosion of fulmi- 
nates and gunpowder, or there may he a gra lual accu- 
mulation until at List the restraining chamber yiehis to the 
increa'^ing pressure, as in the case of the bursting of 
Bteam-boiier*!. Th" elastic fluid which i-^ concerned in ex- 
plosions ia often a product of immediately preceding 
chemical action. Indeed, orditiary combustion only lacks 
rapidity to produce explosion ; if a stick of wood or a 
lump of coal coil M bo burned in an instant, there would 
be violence and a loud report. Common eouihusiibles 
have, indeed, by chance or artifice, been burned explo- 
sively. There are rariny instmces on record of disiis- 
trous explosions in cotton mills from the sudden burn- 
ing of libn'8 of cotton which fi?led the air ; one of Uie 
standard m -thods of imitating lightning at the theatrea 
ifl to blow powdered rosin or flour into tljc flame of a 
candh\ In these c isea the conditions of rapid burning 
are secured, and Uiia is all the explanation they re- 
quire. 

Tlie rapidity of expansion has everything to do 
with the character of an exph>?ion ; it determines the 
gradations of violence, from that of poraewliat mild 
preati^ure to the aharpncHs of the lightning stroke, from 
a puff of smoke to the crack of fulminate of silver. 
Ijet uj consider, for illustration, the action of gunpow- 
der. Tlie strength, i.r. the rapidity of biirnin/, depends 
domowhat on tlic proportion of the ingredients and 
iheir thorough mixture, but much more upon the man- 

of burning. Pulverize the powderand strew it in a thin 
rer on a cold metal surface, and it can with difliculty be 

!o to burn at all. Xfake it in a heap and it burns 
quicker as the henp is made larger. Thfre is also a 

and form of the grains which favor rapid bureing; 

sn the grains are line the free radiation vt the heat 

flame ia impeded, and when the grains are large the 
•urfftce for combustion is lessened. The explosion of 



gTinpowder in the open air \& seldom disastrous unl< 
the quantity be very large, a« when powder-milla 
blown up. Confine the powder as for a fuse, or in a gun, 
and the rapidity of burning is vastly increased. Here 
the heat of combustion is accumulated and intenailied, 
the confining wall- acting as a rcverberalory to throw 
back the flame and heat into the masa The rapidity 
of burning of gunpowder may be greatly increased by 
mixing through the maas a gub.stanco like tlie fulmi- 
nates or loose gun-cotton, wldch burn much more rapid*] 
ly than the powder, and thus serve to carry the flamo 
quickly to many [lOints in the mass; the powder i« touch- 
ed off all over at the same instant. This plan has been 
iound practically useful in many cases when powder, as 
ordinarily use^i, is not strong enough. The fulminate 
is commonly made like a quick mateh in the form of 
tube or ribbon, and distributed tlirough tiie masa 01 
powder which is to be fired. 

The lower the temperature at which an explosive 
will take lire, the more rapid tlic burning. Ab the 
tempt?rature8 uf flame are nearly the same in most coses 
of combustion, and the combustion proceeds only on 
the surface, tmd from particle to particle, it proceeds 
more rapidly when little heat is required to commence 
it and continue it. The old fulminating powder, com- 
posed of sulphur, pearlash and nitre, is exploded by grad- 
ually heating the mixture till it mclt^. In thisca^e the 
whole mass becomes evenly heated U) witliiii a few 
degrees of the igniting temperature, when a slight dis- 
turbance starts the action which is pronipily communi- 
cated to every parlicle. This method of increasiJig t'se 
strength is applicable to all explosives. Let gunpowder 
be confined so tliat it^ suif»hur cannot escape, and 
be very gradually heated to the ignition temperature, 
it will explode with the sharpness and pulverizing 
efiect of fulminate of silver. This principle, however, 
h not Biiitible Ibr practical apphcati on. 

Anxjther meiliod of increasing the strength of ex- 
ploaivea, on account of its novelty and importance, is 
con.9idered in a special article : Explosion by Concus- 
sion, 

A Brvolatton In the KUcli«n. 

Mo9T American", who are now on the shady side of 
forty, remember that in their youthful days pearlash 
and saleratus, meaning carbonates of potash, were con- 
sidered indispensablcs in the wt-llordercd household. Al- 
though they were manufiicturcd in a crude fashion, and 
had proporties which we couM scarcely tolerate in the 
present day, they were used univer.-^ally. A large part 
of the produce of potash went itito their preparation ; 
Hie people were the wood-burner!?, and the ashe^ were 
scrupulously preserved for the domestic soap-boiling 
or for I he potasheriea and refineries whi h were in all 
partgof the country conveniently oetu*. There were 
large districts where yeust was almost unknown, ant! 
brerid wa^ not considered gool unless it was yellow 
and alkaline from the excess of pearla-^h used in raising 
it. But in course of time the word pearlash has drop- 
ped out of the domcistic vocabulary, and the word 
saleratus, although aa much as ever on lip«, has acquir- 
ed a new meaning. These changes took place sudden- 
ly, but yet so quittly that even at the time very few 
were sens'ble of what was happening. We are not 
aware tliat the history of this revolution has ever been 
printed. It Ls this : 

In the year 1846 there cime to tile-water, princlpa!- 
y to New York, 84,000 cnska of pots and pearls, and 
he price was 4^ cents per pound. In 1847 the pricii 



54 



American SfwppXemeTvt. 



CirsMtciu. Ksvi^ 



had adTanced to 9 cents, and the supply decreased to 
64,000 casks. These facts suggested to Messrs. John 
D wight & Co. of this city, the happy thought thatbi-car- 
bonate of soda might properly be substituted for pearl- 
ash and saleratus. A comparison of the articles con- 
vinced them that the soda salt was preferable in almost 
every respect ; and the fact that bi-carbonate of soda 
possessed abcut twice the bread-raising efficiency of 
pearlash, while it could be sold at a lower price per 
pound, induced them to embark in its manufacture. The 
business was therefore commenced bv John Dwight & 
Co., in October, 1847. But, like all reformers, they 
were obliged to work against prejudice and misrepre- 
sentation. People said pearlash had been tried, and 
well enough should be let alone, while carbonate of 
soda was an apothecary drug which they knew of only 
through the doctor's prescrip ions ; soda might be 
poison. Many who tried it used the same proportion 
as of pearlash, and of course the bread was spoiled ; 
these were implacable enemie$>. John Dwight & Co., 
however, conscientiously and bravely held fast, and a 
lasting and substantial succees crowned their laudable 
enterprise. Their first works were of a capacity to 
produce 100 to 160 tons per annuai — an amount, how- 
ever, which was not called for in the first year; now 
they cau turn out 350 tons per month. 

The success of the revolution inaugurated by Dwight 
& Co. seemed guaranteed within s'x months, but the 
completion was greatly hastened by the strategy of 
Babbitt & Co., in the nature of a flank movement on 
the popular prejudice. John Dwight & Co. had been 
scrupulously careful to ofier their manufacture under 
lis proper chemical name, and as a different thing from 
saleratus, although better. Babbitt & Co., having a njore 
yielding disposition towards the practices of trade, pur- 
chased a larao lot of English bi-carbonate of sodi, and 
put it on the American marker, tastefully put up in 
small packages, and with vigorous advertising under 
tie name of saleratus of a wonderfully improved 
quality. Babbitt & Co. were abundantly successful and 
they had imitators, and all to this day sell bi-carbonate 
of soda under the title of saleratus and some outlandish 
adjective. The revolution was completed in two or 
three year?, and carbonates of potash were banished 
forever out of our kitchens. 

Tbe Ad altera tlou of Food. 

Tub Ntw York World on the 17th December commen- 
ced a vigorous exposition of the adulterations of food and 
spirituous liquors. The discussion has continued daily 
up to the present time, and in all has occupied more 
than fifty columns of the paper; and the end appeass 
yet to be a great way off. The exposition is very bold, 
even to impudence in the estimation of some, for it 
calls by name the venders of the articles it condemns, 
thus making li^ht of reputations which have never be- 
fore been publicly assailed. Upwards of two hundred 
samples of grocerie3 and liquors, representing perhaps 
fifty well-known mercantile houses, have been reported 
on, and it is supposed that many more samples are 
waiting description. 

The manner of proceeding to procure a basis of facts 
wad this. Purchases were made by a trustworthy 
commissioner and tiiken to the World office, where 
they were measured or weighed, and the proper 
records made. Samples of the goods were then made 
up in parcel.**, distinguished only by numbers, and 
placed in the hands of chemists for analysis. On the 
printing of the chemical report the names of the vend- 



ers were associated with the samples. The baying of 
the articles, and the examinations and reports on them,- 
were made strictly in the ordinary and legitimate man- 
ner of business, and the moral argument was managed 
solely by the editors. 

The exposition has made a profound impression upon 
the public, even in some quarters partaking of the na- 
ture of a panic. The newspapers throughout the coun- 
try are assisting in tlie discussion. There seems to be 
a general awakening to the importance of the subject 
Yet the facts developed thus far are by no means the 
most remarkable and startling of their kind ; grocers, 
who of course understand the tricks of their trade, and 
chemists, know that not half the truth has been told. 
In teas, coffees, spices, soaps, and bread-raising chem- 
icals, adulteration and mixing are the rule, and purity 
and genuineness are the exceptions. 

It is the innocent, confiding, and ignorant public 
that suffers. The venders do not impose on eadi 
other — there is honor among thieves — and old birds 
are not caught by chaff. (I) But the blame is not to be 
equally divided among the different grades of the 
trade. The wholesale dealers, and the manufacturers 
even, have our sympathy. They almost invariably 
charge for their goods according to quality ; misrepre- 
sentation could scarcely be successful with their cus- 
tomer?, who take pains to know what they buy ; for 
sharpness in bargaming, commend us to one who pur- 
chases to sell at retail. It is the nature of purchasers 
to exaggerate the inferiority of an article, and it is 
about the inferiority that the jewing is concentrate 
We are informed on high authority that the percent- 
a;;e of profit o.t adulterated goods among honest whole- 
sale dealers and manufacturers is mucn less than in 
the genuine. These honest men adulterate their 
good.-*, not for the purpose of deceiving or defrauding 
anybody, but because their customers direct it and de- 
mand it We know one of them, the proprietctr of a 
large establishment, who declares that his business 
would be much better if adulterations were not in 
fashion, but as it is, he would be obliged to c!ose his 
store if he did not act like his neighbors ; he must sell 
what his customers want, or they wiU leave him. On 
the other hand, the retailer's customer is credulous and 
ignorant; he does not know chicory or peas from 
coffee, or plaster of Paris from cream of tartar ; he is the 
miserahle public. The dishorest man has but one way 
of dealing with such a customer; his mercy is such as 
the wolf shows to tlie lamb. 

There are two remedies for the evils of adulterations : 
legislation and public enlightenment. Legislation is 
simple enough and speedy enough, but would lack 
efficiency ; and there arc serious inherent difficulties in 
the logislution on such a subject. Public enlighten- 
ment, in the long run, is the surer and safer remedy. 
Instruct the retailer's customer in the tricks of trade, 
and terra alba, roasted peas, spices exhausted of essen- 
tial oil, and old tea grounds, will speedily disappear 
from the shelves of all the grocers ; the retailer wiU 
have found his match. 

Rzploslon bjr CoucuMlon. 

Ordinary combustion is superficial ; a burning body 
is consumed from the outside inwards. The oxygen iB 
in contact only with the outside of burning coal and 
wood, and it is only there that the combination is pos- 
sible. As burning continues, the products of combua- 
tion must be removedj and fresh oxygen be brought to 
take their place, and it is evident that the rapidity for 



•TiiJiM 19001 j 



American Su^iplement, 



55 



Ibui ' iIuTy depends upon the promptness of lhci?e 

ill' When the conibu>tible and supporiera 

ot on are intimately mixed, as in ginipowder, 

tJi although greatly more rapid, is still supcr- 

fi< iming j»artide, or molecule^ ^cnds to its 

c ' r the heat needed to ignite it, and the sue- 

•'c^- ^ -'"Pf "P and burnirifj proeooda to tbo end. 

A tuinbkrfal of nitroglycerint? rnay be set on fire 
by a toper, and it burns almost as quietly as alcohol or 
ellier. The binning i.-^ evidently only at the surface, 

id continues do^viiward only ns Xosx. as ihu heat can 
CArri- d from particle to particle; or<linary radiation 

id coiHlijcnon of Jieat have little to do in thm case. 
[tja^eail of tinng the nitroglycerine by ataper, explode 
a percusiion-cap under its fiurfuce, and ihe combustion 
has the character of the most terrific explosion ; the 
gla=s is pulverized, and the aliock may be felt for a 
great diUance on every side ; the explosion seems in- 
stAiitaneoao, In the two cases the chf^mical reactions 
*r' ' 'v the same; tlie practical difference ia main- 
K kot* in which ihey are in progress. In the 

sec'.iKi ' ;i>«_- the reactions are the result of the concus- 
«ion, and as t.h«i concu-sion begins in, and extends 
ihlxjijph, the mass, the reactions are not auperficial, as in 
the first case. The rapidity of the reactions is conci- 
deut w irh the rapidity of the progression of the conciis- 
«ion. As concussion proceeds more rapidly than the 
csomhustion fro;n particle to particle, concusaiou explo- 
sions are always more violent. 

If exfilo-ion by concussion be commenced in a part 
of the mfts5 of an explosive, the concusiiive force i.^ gen- 
erally communicaled to the whole mass, whatever be 
its form. Lumps of frozen nilroglycerine, and of 
pjTOtcchnic compounds, have so been exploded by sud- 
hluws. Very remarkable examples of tlie propa-. 
ion of concussion liave recently been di.^covered in 
:>erimcDtJ5 on gun-cotton at the English War OlHce 
?mic.l works; it is shown tliat the concussive ex- 
plosion may be communicated through loose fibres of 
gTin-cotton. 

The theory of explosion by concussion is suso<?plibIe 
of pretfy wide ap(»lication. Nitroglucose and nitro- 
benxole may be explodc'l in the same way as nitro- 
glycerine, and with similar cfTect. All fulminates and 
explosive powders containing ch!orate of pota-h, and 
CTea gunpowder, may alsj bo exploded by concussion^ 
and thus have their strength greatly multiplied. 

In justice to himself, the writer fiiidd it proper to 
State tnat the theory and generali^tion of explosiotis 
by coTirasf=ion, a^ above outlined, have with him been 
a subject of thought, conversation, and experiment, for 
tipwanls of a ye^ir, and were not at all suggested by 
the recent English experiments on gun-cotton. The 
Eoglish experiment-', however, hastened a publication | 
which was made before the N. Y. Lyceum of Natural 
Hifvlory, Dec. 21, where the subject was pretty fully 
discus^el, 

lanprovement In Anaevtbtrtlca. 

NiTfiotra OXIDE is an adujirahle anieslhetic foru!?e by 
denti8f^. It is demonstrot4jd by hundreds of thousands 
of c.a.«e.' to be safe, and is it easily prepared and admin- 
istered, Almoijt the only objection that has been fairly 
raised agrtinst it in the fa<?t that sometime:? it is not 
cfloctive ; thrre are occasionally persons to whom it 
JnLTf^ "filv excitement in the phice of sleep, or the 
lion is not sufficient. J. B. Newbrough, 
' of this city, observing such failures of 



.1> 



tftnpie uitrooa oxide, conceived the idea that cbloroform 



added to the gas would supply its deficiency. The good 
efiVct was realized by the trial, and he gradually intro- 
duced the mixture into his regular prmtice. For each 
patient he uses 20 to 50 drops of chloroform, mixed 
with the ordinary dose of gas. The chl»>roform is 
dropped into the neck of the gas-bag ju,<t before filling. 
The gas on entering evaporates and aljsorbs the chloro- 
form, the mixture oecoming thorough and permanent. 
Dr. Newbrough ha? used this mixture for several years 
on thousands of patients and always with sa'isfac-^ 
tory success. The method has also been communicated 
lo otijers in the dental profession, who have adopted it 
ill their practice. 

A Sctenllfle Tract So<rlctj. 

A Society is proposed for the diffusion of useful scienti- 
fic iiiformat: ou among the people by means of slsort tracts 
of the form of the ordinary religious tracts. The 
tracts are to be printed by the million and distributed 
gratuitously. The enterprise ought to enlist the ear- 
nest co-operation of the best men of science with 
the benovelent men of wealth. A society of the char- 
acter proposed might easily become the moat important 
of all our educational institutions. 

The Oxi-hydrogon tjlfflit* 

The oxy hydrogen light, which is generally known as 
a brilliant chemical experiment, promises lo become of 
considerable commercial importance. A atjre (Ball & 
Black's) on Broadway is already lighied by it, and 
preparations are in progress for using it in i\w place of 
gas in a theatre (uooth's), and in several churolies. 
Some of the newspapers even anticipate that it will 
shortly supersede the ordinary gas ilhirninafion every- 
where ; they find it remarkably more healtliful, man- 
ageable, safe and cheap. Upon the stimulus of such 
praise a company, with abunJ ant capital, has been or- 
ganized for the manufacture of oxygen gas, and the 
whole subject will be elucidated on a very grand scale. 
Chemists are hopeful, although tViey look at the matter 
in a different way from the newspapers. 

The apphcation of the oxyhydrogen light to uscfbl 
purposes ha* already received some attention in this 
country. It has been extensively used for the head- 
lights of locomotive?, but after a trial of a few years it 
has been abandoned. It was found, however, of mate- 
rial service, and was much uaed during the late war 
in night mihtary operations. It has, in this city at 
least, superseded the old-fashioned pyrotechnic appli- 
ances of the spectacular drama at iheHtrosi. Also un- 
der the name of calcium light, a name invented by the 
late Robert Grant, it is a constant a'ljunct of political 
mass meetings. During the past ten years there have 
been constantly from one to three esfabliahinenls which 
made their business in the manufacture of oxygen. The 
price charged for oxygen we believe has been almost 
without variation $2 50 per ick> cubic feet. Although 
Mr. Grant tested most of the known processes of manu- 
facture, he found that, all things considered, the chlorate 
of potash process best answered his purpose. As oxy- 
gen is now to be manufactured on a large scale, the moat 
economical process will be in request, and chemists 
aod inventors will do well to asaiftt in its ideutification 
or discovery. 



OrR DEAD OF KirsllTRK^V HtT^DBBD AND 
SIXTl-BIGUT. 

AOR. 

M. Andkr.oon. Ohnrteii John, Ocogiupbcr, Tnivdlcr, And Aathor. Neat 

Unriimpn, Scjiuthwoat Afnca. J«n. 
61. lUitnow'A. Willnrd. ClvU Enfrinccr, Bttnrvixr and Author. DavtO,- 

port, luwft. Jn&uary V. 



S6 



American Sitppleftiefit, 



i Jan,, 1BC9. 



AaR. 

OO. BAliTLinT, G«rirse. Sdentiflfl JaaraaUsfc and Aalbor. IVtnidnnce, 

R. L Afiril 9. 
». Bn.i>'iuiAi>iK, TbomiM 0«. M-D., Phyirtcijui, Prwdilent K. Y. Staite 

Uediml SodtftT. Trriy, N. Y. Jane 21 
90. Bhouokam Mid Vuux, Hflorv nraogtutm, LiMr4,*fitalMBVB, Jurirt^ 

Kftd Aothnr. CanneK, Fmnw. llay Bl 
K. CAjiB, Uev. Joel Titua, PtabytBTUn Clcimaill and Tliyrioiit 

Vlct«ri»* T«»MU June 10. 

84. OHiLim. Hem. Utatj HiUiwt, M.T>., Vwkt Med. CoL, JX-Oo>y. <rf 
MiM. in 1M3. Booton, Uwut ilmvh 3%. 

85. Ctuwrran, John< Anthor^ Diploiiiati, G«a(rniphc!r and Ethnolafiat. 
London. Miiy H. 

72, I) A.N A. ftiuimel Liithrr. Author nnrt PhTiiici»«L liOnrcU, Mom. March 11. 
«a. T>kMi.. II. V i\ LiiKvm R.. FJt-S.. and F-lt-A-B^ Artroooincr. Hofw- 

fl< I ' -. February W, 

IB. : > . Jurii^t, AuthijT, and VroStmar of Med. Jaria- 

l»ri V. Jannary % 

^►^vr*^!.!.. lliir. )!<•<•, itn OflicxTof thn C<ia.it Snncy. Norfolk^ VirKinia. 
" iibcrH. 

TAiu.T, Ii<vm, French Physlcirt and Authf»r, Parfa. Pebnmry. 
y ^\' . Kmincot PtiyBiciiiJQ and AJiUqtuirlJta. Baltiniorc, 



D. ¥r\v< 



Si. 



1 1 Mftrhi4, O.IL, FtaCeaKir of Civil Bngtiucrltiff 

Cir I lAMH, Jitob, mId.. pStyjLsiAa and XatoraliKt. Phiiaddphla. 

PebnuM7 1, 
m. OriAViKH.Coidvicr, Preach Melitondcisict Pnn«. Iruici*. FcbnULry. 
T7. KiCRAPATM. Jt^hn, Kncrhnh Mnthcninttctan and Editor Ratitcav Jour- 

no/, bewbiham, FnR. Fc<iraarr ^. 

73. HKnAPATirrwiliijitn, EntrUiih Cbctnl«t and Toxlcoloelrt, HtUiUA, 
Enjr. Frtitnary «, 

77. HOMANH, Jolin. MJ)., P1»«(djUI, 

Medical 8(xHi>ty. JMmUm. April 17. 
aa. JB.SHK, Edwanl, Englisb Natamllit and Author. 

Mari4) SB. 
97. Kraft, Uonry. Ph.D., a OiTrman ChemiaL Brooklyn, N. Y. An- 

ffntW. 

Lr Saist, Lieabenani, French Explorer and Geographer. Abu Kukiw 

Abyviniih. April. 

74. Mackekeik. William. M.D.. F.R.C.S.L., etirs«on, 0(nUat,'aiMl Aa> 
thor. GliKVTw. AagxuL 

MiT-'Mf M , S. Aofnutna, G^mvtbfT mm) Anthor of Geographical 

Tc\- ! I I'hibidplphiA. Dae.^ 

48. M i »r, W, iC 0„ repoK 

Y-;' - '•:lv irK 

47. S . LL.D., Pmrcmar MatbemiUka in ColMgc of 

r rkCity. Nuv. ?;. 

R : lufefiorof Cbvmiiitryand Phyiklat. WaahlnKton, 



of Etberizatkitt. Hew 



JlUi. Hi 



>in>li« dc Crpv60(Enr, Oeolo^^ and Aothor. Ablicnille, 
t 3. 
f..viiij<, LL.D., A.A.S., Legal Writer and Natoralbt. 

r Julio*. F.ltS., German rhyori«t» rrofeaaor. and 
i. Jane 
< '. F.. Gortnan Gbctniat, Inventor of Qtm-Cottna. 

, InTcmtor, and Steamboat and Jlnilrnul Builder. 

frii«t, DI«covisrcr of Oidlum or Gmpe 

I J Pathologlat and Author. Viiaina, 

, Dat«h Natomllit and Antirar. Leaden, 

niler of VanftT Ooltage. Potighkeepate. 

Parla. 



SS. VilltviLUt, Tallrt d(\ French Arohjeologfat and Author. 
Marrh. 

WooPv T*ii»<\ M.D.4 Pby«lcian and Sfrdlcal PmtBiwof. New York 
City. UarrhA. 



HEW FCTBLICATIOKS, 

A Tr-- V ■■" - ^" - riiiLOAopHT. An aecurate Mctdern «nd 

e "ho fl!em«ttiary Prlnctjtlo* of the S«lafic«. 

A 'uoh and Aeadomle*. With 149 lUuatra- 

I: ...M . . ^ M.cy A.M,. Prof, of Nat. Sdenc* in the N. Y. 

.•^ -chooL P]x Uli. Nvvr York : Cha«le* Serlbner t €«., 

Tii: * f^f raolecnles and molernlar motlona, bArIng cat 

a«lr y of ||upoiid<.'rub]t-8> Uo htta no fc*|H>ct for error 

bc<- nnd he glvfs It no room in hta book. He Af'tj 

• (5<-i I c-v-uii|n.r I" mo cifmpiUr* i.>t idiool-book* of bdencc 

EtamnfTAnr Geoi-nOT. By Kdwurd ITUcficock, P. D., fX. B„ I»ate 

Pfi>f. «if Oe..lo|ty In Amberpi r " - ri Oharirt H. MUcbcock, A.M., 

rrpfeswir f'f Geology in L. I ji?. R*ni"fdelle«l, niti*tly re- 

wrltlcn, with several nt*i i brouj^Ut u[i to the prcMiDt 

al«t« of the Science. For u»c m <-tu .'^nn, FoiuUie*, and by Indiriduala 

Pp. 416, 

Tnt« b*Hik has Iwen a faroHte with n§ «inc« oblldhood; it In the coarce 

ffoiii which wf have dflrlrcd moit yf our knowledge of tfuuloiry. Its 

grval merit hu made It thti most promlniimt toxt-ba<ik in ^ologr for 

the past quarter of a century, and it may not yet hare mn hail Itft 

c«rv>«r. Tlie rerlftori and rewrlUu^ hM been well done, and haa added 

greatly U> tbe value of lb*t bouli. 

On CuiiosTo AiconoMc Istoxtc^tiosi. With an Inquiry Int* the 
Influoric^ of the AtHuit< <if AIcqIiq] as a prefliipoaini; Cau»e of Dkcaae. 
By W Marx>«.t Ml*. F il .S,, Fellow of the Koyal Collcifd of PhyaU 

n- ^ • ■• '• 'in to the We«tnUn«lor UuMjUjiI. Ac., Ac. 

I nucond EngUiii KfUtioQ. Pjk. 17S. New 

Tmi-- «. «*' iMi^'ii— u < »)»ecUllf fiw tb* ra<«dlcal profeatloo. but lh# 

quctlluu. Will lh« cotalng Man driuk Whue 7 U now ao such dUcnaaed 



In Ilt«Tarr magaslne* and n«wri>Rp«r«, that It «QI hiiyv an lnt«n«t 
the people in ireneraL Drtinkenneaa l« brr^ tn-ateil of a^ a diiveiti«, i 
lt4 nature andreaicdlee are dJaciiased In a puiely acicntiflc m«i}iod. 

Tna FTix-it-BRFtnrB'a MA.trAL. The ntrnib.trT of Fcoil In relatlol 
to the Breefllnp and Feeding "f Live Stock. By Chrtrie* A. Camerni 
rh.ll.,M.D, Pp. 15&1. Lundou and New Yorli : Caaecli. Fetter 
G kip In. 
Tnifl l» a hnndy and practical tre^itlae, wLtoh at th^ ume time ! 
bitfh sdi'ntlAe cbaraeler. U aeti forth In a clear tlicbl tbi^ moct t 
of the modern nvUona and faeta Wc »ha» rirlar It Llgbly f»r ila 
eollection of the moat recent analyses of food and oiilinAl imKlucla. 

P«mpliIetB. 

Vaw NoRTtt.^^ ! "J ■ iXRWtiun MAOAiia*. SeU'cied from I 

(ho Home ti.: • in? Serlale- Conducted bv A Irx. L, 

llolley, Kiu -t<ei'Worki. Tmy. Hanitburs^ «*Cl 

BQtbor of (>r.|ti,>nc.^ nud Armor, Railway PmeUci'. Ae V<d. l(i 
No. 1. J.in. 1B«». 1^. M. New York i D. Van No»iran.l, PubUab«»J 
and Importer, \0i Broadway. 
Kmotwijio the (freal ability and ei|*fioi>ci' of Mr. HoUer.w , 1 

|u»t what we now have in thb ma^Kliie— the nio*>l iiMeful 
periodical eit<mtw at loast fir Amerlcsn readfra. Tlii-rt- i 
n«M| ofanch a mauaztnc*. and we ho^ie that (h« demand will Im- /eroal 
•nodgh to bandaoiiidy reward tbtf venlure. 

Tiia SroAH l!»«iiT, " Ac»ru» Sacchorl." found In Taw Snpir. BfJ 
Robert Nlc.il, K»q. tirei'iiocW. ScHlftndL Pp. 7. PlilUdelphla: 
Ariiuind A Goodrich, ll>4 Modwit) ntrcct. 

A plain statctnent of tlte cnriouB facta. 



BREVITIES. 

PatsinRwr CATTiti.j. of I^farcltQ Collr|?e. Knfll^n. PiU b about 
rlftlt Kuroi>o f»r tbo jiurpose <'f rxaiiiihlnt; the nietli<MJ!< >'( in»tnnctif>B , 
empb'veil In tht» mo«t rcIebrot<'<l te^-bniefll schuoh itf Ihv Old Wnfltf 
Tli9 Irrrormntlon acquired will be applied to tb« pcrfLClhig of Ih^ aclei 
tlfic department of lbl» college. 

BoSTity capUallAla haro recently erccte.l In Cbarl'^' ■"" '"■-'<* "ot-l 
phnrle acid work* on Mount^^r's [ilan of Ireatnicn!. ""'^I 

contalnlrji liiree or fotirpercent of cop(*r, wccru*li. wuh/ 

" p*>rcentivire of BuJphate of »iKla. Tbu uil\t..i, . . I In 



fumflcv'liltt' 8penecV, and the fume* (to to make fulphurt.' I !'«i 

nilrtue i» llxivtaU^I, ylel'llnz a iMdutfon of BtiJphale of < . ; . . i m 
which the metal 1« recoyered by nreeipllallon oh Iron. U .a cU^Ukcd 
that the copper will cover the whole coal *)f the acid. 
. At the ( lift-.n Works on Stattn Inlai d, under the cbafge of Wnt 
N. Arm»tfOi% preparntlon* are in projrre** for niastlnf »inc t»li>nd<« In 
auch a way that the sulithiir nmy be iHVllxed In the roanufaetura of fat> 
idmric add. Ihe prtUmluary e.xpcrluicu'a h^vo been qulU' e«tla> 
factory. 

The Mi"men«-Mariin proceas of prodncing fttcel from criid«s wrongbfc-l 
Iron and ca'^t-ln<n is in auceeaaful operatiun at the Trenton In-n Work^J 
under the mperinti^ndence of Mr. Frederick J. blade. 

Ik Auburn, N. Y., the wate^ I* dtitributed ti> the faunties by 
of powerful forcini; pam|>a, Insteud of the nres&urc from a hljijh 
■errolr. The •y«len) origlnaled with Mr B. Uolly nf l^*kpnrt. 

R. W. RATM'ilfP, U. 6, Mining Cnmmi'«»l.>ner, la boay In prejHirlnjt hit] 
reiwrt to the ( ongrMi now In aetaiun. While be baa the Hterarv abUllf^ 
of bt» prcdeccawr, Hon. J. Bom Brown», h« liaa the blgbrr qunllflcatluti 
of aclentlfle oxpertneaa In bla aabjeci. 

W« were in error Inonrliut l»nejn statfnpthnt Prof. A. M. Kdwar^li^ 
had sncceeded Prof, Stone In the Medical College f*»r Woimu Mf. 
Bdwardi 1» Prof, of Cbetolitry hi the Wouian'e Medical <'i>lleKp uf UwiJ 
N. Y. Infirmary. Ibd ptcMOt ti Ui« fliat M«6lon of ihu latter *- 
»tltutioD« 



TO €OBBE«FO?dIli:KT«i. 

S, T^mt, of/ttd, teritt* :—" If phoaphonia in amall piece* b« ndde^l 
to a boiling c->ncentrat*d tolatlon uf sulphnUs of cop[*r, a h\:\rk vill4] 
componad will be fninnt-^d, which, plared In rontiM't witf 
potaasifini (ta taiuiw) ander wattr, yleUlB pbusfduirelt. 
(or eome otbt-r gpoiitaTieonaly inilammubte ooraituUDd of pi> 
abunihmce, 

•- Will (Mjme chemlat hfl kind enough to slate what eompound l» fomt-| 
rd when the phoaphoma la added to the iulitbite of coo|>er •olMtlon, 
and alio what rtacUona take plae* when tbb compound It pliie«d ia^ 
contact with cyanldo oTpoMiduiDt ^ 

T D. t^ (? — 8o'!a ai»d owbonatw of MKla, arc manQractan>d from 
rryoltto at Natmna, Pa. Th« manafacture frtuu aalt has aevcral IkDM 
Wen attempted In America, asd abandoned. 

R. S. A. qf Coftn.— The Enfflbb edUl-jn of Gmelln U not yetcom-i 
pl«t«d; It la expected that two volaroea more arc* U bu pubUtbedd 
Walla' DlcUwnary we cotialdcr aim >8t Inflispcnaable. 

O. R. L. f*f y. F.-It la not llltoly that tho new edithso of Fowwra 
ChentUtry will be repriul«'d ber«, Letheby'a Lectorea are to b« rcpub-j 
Uibed'bjr Townaend Jl Adama. 



iXnk,1sa9. 



2»w«.l 



American Di*uggist^ Price 7m*rerU, 



AMERICAN DRUGGISTS' PRICE-CURRENT-NEW YORK-JOBBERS' PRICES. 



57 



11768 Aim csmncAifS. 

. _ peroi 

Add. Aeetic, No. & per lb 

ra. KT. 1,0«T U.B.P. per lb 

Cbemieany Pure per lb 

OlacUl per lb 

Benzole, Oennan per os 

Borade, pure. per lb 

Cltrfcj i>erlb 

Flaorle, 1 lb boUlM per lb 

Fonnlc per lb 

Game ..„.,,.,,, , per lb 

lljdp iphtia|ttHirou«. , ^ per lb 

LaiHJc , per lb 

Muriatic, 19 <1efi:reei per lb 

chemU'nl pure. i»erlb 

KItrie, 88 degreef per lb 

chemical pare per lb 

Oxalte; pfvient per lb 

PbMjtboflc. f Itelal per lb 

Pfoeile. per oz 

Bulpburlo per lb 

chemleal pare per lb 

Talerian per ox 

Tartaric, powdered per lb 

AeonHe Laarea per lb 

Aeoaltla. per dr 

Agaric Alba per lb 

Alcohol, 95 per ot per gal 

Aloca, Cape, powdered per Tb 

Socotrine, powdered per lb 

Alan, lioman per lb 

lamp per lb 

Amberieiia, gtay , , per oi 

Carboxiat*, bnlfe.. per lb 

In Jars per lb 

Miirlnts ...,,_ per lb 

AfjuA, iOdejjPc** per lb 

¥< de^eea. per lb 

H^pf»plu«pblte. . . , per lb 

OiiiJatfl , per lb 

rii iicphalQ . „ per lb 

8g|fflmte.._.., per lb 

Ammoniaipt Valeriaii, CrjritAls per oi 

Aminonintn Bromide .... per lb 

HydroiUlpbDrul per lb 

Iodl4«. » per lb 

Amjr^dalia ,.., ..,,,...,, per os 

Aniifuoaj and Potaae,,,, perlb 

BuHer., !.. perlb 

Anuca Lciivea,,.. ,,,.„,. „ per lb 

Arrow BooL, tJct-madit .,..,, per lb 

^L Vincent,,. perlb 

Artffldc, white p«wd«red.. perlb 

Ttd pulT.._,,„. , perlb 

red, hrnap......... perlb 

Anemc 8t»lutiuii» KowlBr'i. per lb 

loitUki — H, , per OI 

.- ^ Sul., l>iHjciTjji-j perlb 

4«»>«8tos perlb 

-^aparagin peroa 

AtPopU perdr 

Bolphate jierdr 

Valerian perdr 

Balaam Fir per gal 

Cnpniva. per ft) 

PeroTlan per lb 

« -^ ^ Tolu.tnM perlb 

BartadoeaTar perlb 

Bark, Kim perlb 

Bark,Caliaaya,qaiU perlb 

Bed,qalll perlb 

Plmyo ...perlb 

CaKarllla. perlb 

Mesereon perlb 

Baaufru perlb 

Baiyte Muriata perlb 

Nitrate perlb 

BnjRum per gal 

Brt)eerin, pure peros 

8u Iphnte ^ per os 

B<^Uftd«»'^.s Leavrt perlb 

Itlcarb^iiiAte E^ojJt ,,,,, per lb 

Bicijromate I'uiub per lb 

BUiiiuUi,Met4llio per lb 

dhd AmitnontnCllriita actable per oi 

•n4 Aramnnla Citrate Solution p««r lb 

03L>-cbl<>rlile ., perlb 

Suibearbon , per lb 

«ubNlifa±e, perlb 

THCuiate per w 

Talerlanata paroa 

Blaek Tlri>pa ..*..., per lb 

Blue Mak*. ...,,,, per lb 

Bn*», ArfDbnb. true perlb 

Brai; reflfieil perlb 

finrtutaUnie, Tvli,., per lb 

itrttmftie ...,.., per /b 

Mm^/m S^!Z 

Bi^ui^rt^j^^ ;.:.v:::?»S 

pwlb 



to 


8S 


90 to 


85 


to 


28 


to 


65 


to 


1 80 


to 


86 


to 


86 


to 


1 85 


to 


890 


to 


860 


to 


400 


to 


485 


to 


485 


to 


5 


to 


88 


to 


16 


to 


88 


to 


86 


to 


800 


to 


19 


to 


5 


to 


60 


10 


140 


to 


78 


to 


88 


Ut 


500 


to 


80 


to 


840 


to 


88 


to 


1 25 


to 


11 


to 


i>i 


to 14 00 


to 


88 


to 


84 


to 


16 


to 


18 


to 


89 


to 


4 25 


to 


995 


to 


800 


to 


10 


to 


1 60 


to 


400 


to 


T6 


to 10 00 


to 


8 76 


to 


1 10 


to 


80 


to 


80 


to 


60 


18 to 


90 


8 to 


10 


to 


86 


to 


90 


to 


17 


to 


90 


to 


88 


to 


15 


to 


860 


to 


860 


to 


800 


to 


460 


to 


4 76 


to 


98 


to 


500 


to 


1 85 


to 


19» 


to 


18 


to 


160 


to 


1 85 


to 


80 


to 


14 


to 


28 


to 


11 


to 


80 


to 


40 


to 


8 76 


to 


660 


to 


8 69 


to 


95 


to 


8 


to 


91 


to 


860 


to 


85 


to 


1 80 


to 


T60 


to 


860 


to 


800 


to 


160 


to 


940 


to 


600 


to 


68 


to 


10 


to 


40 


fX^ 


1 


to 


860 


to 


$n 


to 


M 


to 


M 



Burgundy Pitch, true perlb 

Cadmium, Bromide peros 

I odide per os 

Metallic perJb 

Sulphate perlb 

CmlT^e peros 

Caldiiin Chloride. •. perlb 

lodl<te per lb 

CaUsBiel, Ui'drostib per lb 

Camphor, Ki-acied, perlb 

CaDnella Alba , per lb 

Cftnifaajidea, jjo wdered per lb 

CarboUc Aclq crfntalJi, per os 

" ftdlutlou perlb 

" " " common perlb 

Carbon Bi-Sulphuret per lb 

Cascarilla Bark perlb 

CaasiaBuds perlb 

Castor Oil per gal 

Caustic Boda perlb 

C-citiUurv MtnoT* per lb 

Cerium/ Oxaliite. per ox 

Kitmti". peros 

Chalk. Preelp., Kiigllih perlb 

Ch^-rry Laurel Water per lb 

Chlorate TaUa^ IkigUsh perlb 

Cldorlde Lime.. perlb 

Chluroform perlb 

ClnnamntL, Ceykn, true per lb 

CUrlnt Ointment.. perlb 

OTtt.....,.,.,.,. peros 

Cot^alt perlb 

CoccuIUB tadlcua,. perlb 

Cocoa KuUer..... perlb 

CwletDe.. ,,,..,,, perdr 

Cod tjTcr <.Hl. per gal 

Cod Urer Oil, 0' Shore Oil *n per gal 

Cod Liver Oil, J. C. Baker & Co.*8 per dos 

** ** " per gross 

** " •* ...6 gross, per gr 

Cod Urer Oil, Hazard & CaswelTs. . .T.rT/.per dos 



.p.,,j 



Collodion per 

ClarttharicUi] per dos 

Oilocytilli, pottden^d |ier lb 

Coo/ecLlii BiAiC per lb 

^eotiiB , |>er lb 

CQtifamLeavtTf.. perlb 

( "ulln i»er os 

Copper .^mmunlnied, per lb 

iSluck <>.vWe per lb 

Carbonate per lb 

Sulphur, pure per lb 

Cofipei» ., perlb 

Curroaif e Subllmaie per lb 

Cream Tartar, powdered, pure per lb 

Cubebe per lb 

Cubebin per dr 

Cuttlefish Bone Tier lb 

Di-iUlb iUrh... perlb 

DlglUline „,,.-,. per dr 

UniTer's t'ciwder. per lb 9 

Dragun*B Blood, mass per lb 

reed* perlb 

Dulcamara Stems per lb 

Emetine ]ter os 

Emery Com per lb 

Flour perlb 

Epeom Salts perlb 

Ergot, new perlb 

Ergotine |>er os 

Ether, Acetic per lb 

Butyric, onncentFated... per lb 

Butyraoeoui..... perlb 

Ckiocte^ >.,....««.. per lb 

Du i Wfu traltfd. perlb 

FoTTTitc perlb 

i^ulpburio , , , per lb 

wsAed per lb 

cobccntntcit per lb 

Extr. J ockey Club, Chtrls ..... per lb 

Extr. Km. Utiiiiquel, Clilris^ ... per lb 

Extr. Banana, B II tH^fUir perlb 

Extr. Orange, superior perlb 

Fluor Spar per lb 

Ftowera, Altbea per lb 

Arnica ....perlb 

Borrsire....,,..* perlb 

(.'bAxncitnile, G^fmnfi . ... .per lb 

Ctutnomitet Umilsd, 186T per tb 

L*vendi*r. ,..,., ....perlb 

M*lvft,l*rge ..per lb 

anmU......... .perlb 

Roflemary............. .perlb 

Tillae.. ...."..... [Ksrlb 

V lolot fie t lb 

Fqi«1 OVUpaHftM.. .v«^ 

Bark, U«*rd At t>** «\¥ *, S\«t «a 
Oambofe. V"}^ 



to 15 

to 66 

to TO 

to 460 

to 800 

to 960 

to 90 

to 860 

99 to 1 00 

to 1 85 

to 16 

to 1 60 

to IT 

60 to 86 

to 85 

to 88 

to 14 

10 to 115 

75 to 9 80 

8>tfto 9 

to 88 

to 1 60 

to 1 76 

to 98 

to 66 

to 69 

to 8 

86 to 1 60 

to 1 75 

to 68 

to 6 60 

to 98 

to 86 

to 1 10 

to 9 60 

to 9 86 

to 9 95 

to 8 00 

to 90 00 

to 87 00 

to T 60 

to 90 00 

to 1 TO 

to 4 60 

to 86 

to 48 

to 48 

to 95 

to 760 

to 1 90 

to 9 90 

to 9 90 

to 88 
to 
to 

48 to 
to 



4 
99 

box 

85^ 

95 

80 

18 



93 to 

to 

to 8 65 

75 to 8 00 
to 1 00 
to 1 15 
to 18 
to 8 65 
to 10 
TXto 8 
to 4 
to 1 aO)f 
to 1 16 
to 85 
to 4 10 
to 1 76 
to 85 
to 1 05 
to 4 16 
to 86 
t« 96 
to 1 06 
to 865 
to 8T5 
to 1 96 
to 1 95 
to 16 
to 49 
to 88 
to 96 
to 86 
to M 

10 to 

as to 

to 45 
to T» 
to TO 
to 68 
Vk \« 

Ma \i 



11 



58 



American lh^gi%i^ Prioe-Chirreni. 



Jmn^Vim. 



0«latlne, White Freneli p«rlb 

Cox's p«-do« 

Ginger. Jamidea, blea Aod \*t lb 

Olnteng per lb 

OUaber Salts i>er lb 

Olyoerlne, common per lb 

concentrated per lb 

•• Bowers'* "..per lb 

"Price's" per lb 

Olycerole Ilypophosphlte per lb 

Grains D* A mbrette per lb 

Panwllso, per lb 

GmnAeroides per lb 

Amber per lb 

Ammonlae per lb 

Arable, Tnrker, sorts per lb 

Iht picked, Trieste per lb 

Sd " •• perlb 

8d •* " perlb 

Barbary per lb 

Asnfotlda perlb 

Benzoin, common. per lb 

prime per lb 

white tnarbled perlb 

Copal, Accra per lb 

Beniiniela. per lb 

Kowrie per lb 

[Eamar, BaUvla per lb 

Mnyapore per lb 

Elemi, AntniaUe i»er lb 

Kaphorblum per lb 

Galbanum per lb 

strained per lb 

Gedda per lb 

Gaaiacnm perlb 

strained per lb 

Kino per lb 

Mastic per lb 

Myrrh, Turkey, powdered. per lb 

Olibanum i»er lb 

tears perlb 

fkuidarae perlb 

Shellac, Compbeirs D. C per lb 

Garnet l.perib 

No. 8 perlb 

Native. per lb 

Senegal per lb 

Tragacanth, common per lb 

flake per lb 

flaky sorts per lb 

Hariem Oil, Dutch per doa 

Hufftaaan's Anodyne per lb 

llydriodate PutatJi, Atkinson's per lb 

Conrad's per lb 

Tlyoscy ami LoaTes per lb 

IIjpophoai»blte Ammon per lb 

Iron per lb 

litiie per lb 

Manganese per lb 

Potish per lb 

Soda per lb 

ledaad Moss perlb 

Indian Ilemp. true per lb 

Insect Powder, true per lb 

Iodine, ReBttlilini»l per lb 

Crude, In bulk perlb 

Irish Moss per lb 

Iron, Alum per lb 

by Hydrogen per lb 

Curb. Prolo per lb 

Preclp per lb 

Citrate and Ammonia per lb 

Magnesia perlb 

Qainiie per lb 

Strj'chnlne per lb 

Ilypophosphlte per lb 

lodidtf perlb 

Syrup per lb 

Lactate per lb 

Pbo8iih.ito, IVecipltate per lb 

Pyropboiipbate per lb 

Syrup per lb 

Sesqulcbloride per lb 

Sol perlb 

Sesqutnltmte per lb 

8ub:^u1|>hate per lb 

Sulphate, pnro per lb 

Exsiocat per lb 

Sulpburet per lb 

SaiierphtKiphate Syrup per lb 

Tannate per lb 

India Ink per lb 

Isinglass, 'American perlb 

Kuffiun, true perlb 

Juniper Berries per lb 

Juniper Tar Sf>ap, llasird de CaswclPs per doz 

Kreosote, white per lb 

Laetncarluni per oi 

Lead Acetate, pu'e perlb 

Uoorice Paste, solid per lb 

acfljr perlb 

CmtabrU h^r lb 

ImttMtttia per lb 

gmeeo perJb 



« 


to 


115 




to 


260 




to 


8i 


« 


to 


86 


% 


to 


4 




to 


85 




to 


60 




to 


80 




to 


1 20 




to 


1T5 




to 


60 




to 


85 




to 


24 




to 


61) 


60 


to 


T5 




to 


45 




to 


•5 


TO 


tl 


T5 


60 


to 


65 




to 


40 


48 


to 


60 




to 


90 


1 00 


to 


1 10 


1 10 


to 
to 


I 15 




to 


85 




to 


45 




to 


50 




to 


45 




to 


45 




to 


25 




to 


95 




to 


1 00 




to 


29 


60 


to 


65 




to 


75 




to 


1 10 




to 


425 




to 


75 




to 


80 




to 


40 




to 


65 




to 


60 




to 


55 


4f 


to 


60 


Ak 


to 


60 




to 


60 




to 


85 


180 


to 


1 60 




to 


60 




to 


60 




to 


84 




to 


6 60 




to 


545 




to 


26 




to 


425 




to 


860 




to 


460 




to 14 00 




to 


440 




to 


440 


10 


to 


12 




to 


1 60 




to 


1 15 




to 


6 75 




to 


6 80 




to 


10 




to 


1 60 




to 


280 




to 


45 




to 


25 




to 


1 45 




to 


1 85 




to 10 00 


10 00 


tol3M 


840 


to 


860 




to 


885 




to 


8i) 




to 


825 




to 


67 




to 


1 Ih 




to 


65 




to 


145 




to 


60 




to 


44 




to 


1 70 




to 


9 




to 


17 




to 


81 Jf 




to 


65 




to 


6 60 




to 


1 75 




to 


1 65 




to 


6 60 


4;tfto 


6 




to 


8 75 




to 


1 80 




to 


75 




to 


1 00 




to 


42 




to 


80 




to 


48 




to 


87 




to 


60 




to 


SO 



Lime, Carbonate, Precipitate per lb 

Uvpophospblte perlb 

I«utle perlb 

Phosphate, Precipitate perlb 

Sulphite perlb 

Lime Juice per cat 

lint, Tay lor's per lb 

Lapis Ouaminarls per lb 

Laurel Berries per lb 

Leaves ^..perlb 

Liquid Styrax per lb 

Long Pepper per lb 

Lnnar Caustic, pnre per os 

67 per eent, N. S per ox 

Lyoopodlnm perlb 

Magnesia Carbonate jier lb 

Calcined per lb 

ponderous. per lb 

Citrate perlb 

Sulphite per lb 

Manganese, powdered .per lb 

8:ixony per lb 

Manna, small flake, '67 perlb 

largo flake, '07 per lb 

sorts, new perlb 

Matico Leares, true perlb 

Mercury per lb 

cum Creta per lb 

Matniesia per lb 

Cyanuret per lb 

Sulpburet per lb 

Mercurial Ointment CM M ) per lb 

(HM) perlb 

Morphia Sulphate per os 

Acetate per os 

Muriate per os 

Valerianate per os 

Musk, true peros 

In gritln true per os 

Nnx Vomica per lb 

Oil, Amber, Crude perlb 

Almonds (Expressed) Allen's per lb 

Essential, Alien's per lb 

Anise per lb 

Bergtunot perlb 

F F, new crop per lb 

Bergamot, Donncr's per lb 

Ben^amot,— Sandenton's per lb 

C»do »per lb 

C^i'pnt per lb 

Camphor per lb 

Caraway per lb 

Seed perlb 

Cassia perlb 

Cinnamon, true per os 

Citronolla, Brime per lb 

Winter's per lb 

Copaira per lb 

Cruton per lb 

Cubebs per lb 

Cummin per lb 

Fennel per lb 

Geranium perlb 

Cbiris perlb 

Prepared per lb 

Turkish per lb 

Jessamine per lb 

Juniper per lb 

Berries, true perlb 

LaTcndcr, Garden, forte per lb 

flne perlb 

Flowers, Cbiris, No. 1 per lb 

Lavender Spike per lb 

Laurel, Expressed per lb 

Lemon, Dnnner's perlb 

Lemon,— O. U. h. Co's per lb 

— Sandenoo's (new) perlb 

Lemonsra«s,— Winter's per lb 

Mace, Expressed perlb 

Marjoram per lb 

Myrrbane perlb 

NeroU Bigarade per os 

Chlrls peros 

Petit Grain perlb 

Olive, pure per»al 

Marseilles, quarts per box 

pints per box 

Orange per lb 

Origanum perlb 

Patchouly peros 

Pennyroyal per lb 

Peppermint, pure i>er lb 

Rhodium perlb 

Kose, Klssaalick per os 

Rosemary, French per lb 

Trieste perlb 

Chiris per lb 

Sabine, pnre perlb 

Sassafras, cans perlb 

Seasame, Salad, flne per lb 

Spearmint, Hotchkiss perlb 

Spike .\«\b 

Boeclnun, era&e -^'^i 

T? t\Aed .v*»^ 

TKittyi~''l«fttiMAV Yw^^^ 



600 



675 
6 75 



12 00 



14 00 



76 
8 76 



160 



to M 

to 4 OO 
to 860 
to 40 
to 81 
to 80 
to 1 80 
to 8 
to IS 
to 12 
to 60 
to 90 
to 1 SO 
to 90 
to 70 
to 45 
to 1 90 
to 1 80 
to 1 76 
to 1 20 
t<i 8 
to 12 
to 1 70 
to 

to 1 45 
to 60 
ti 85 
to 64 
to 1 29 
to 580 
to 80 
to 66 
to 66 
to 16 60 
to 16 60 
to 15 60 
to 16 00 
to 16 00 
to 82 00 
to 18 
to 00 
to 95 
to 22 00 
to 495 
to 7 00 
to 660 
to 7 00 
to 700 
to 1 00 
to 2 00 
to 1 75 
to 2 75 
to 5 60 
to 400 
to 1 60 
to 2B6 
to 860 
to 800 
to 426 
to 460 
to 10 00 
to 800 
to 22 00 
to 18 00 
to 25 00 
to 18 00 
to 8B0 
to IM 
to 860 
to 1 66 
to 1 86 
to 8 76 
to 1 00 
to 90 
to 460 
to 460 
to 465 
to 700 
to 2 60 
to 1 75 
to 200 
to 600 
to 600 
to28 00 
to 285 
to 600 
to T96 
to 496 
to 1 60 
to 400 
to 400 
to 660 
to 10 60 
to 11 00 
to 176 
to 1 16 
to 226 
to 200 
to 1 66 
to 8 60 
to 
to 
x« «^ 



-yy 



j:^ 



OBThjm«, whtU. par* per lb to 2 T5 

Vnferiuu perb to 18 00 

Wliitorgreen perib to 4 75 

Wlntencre«ii, Tan Deosen Bros. p«rlb to 4 T5 

* Wormwood per lb T 00 to 7 85 

Womueod, Weitem p«rlb to S 75 

Bidtlmore perlb to 8 50 

BUek Popper perlb to 1 85 

OifiMC peroi to 8 50 

Ergot peros to 85 

Opiam perlb to 28 00 

Ormnt* Bud* or Apples perlb to 18 

CiiTMoalUbe porlb to 88 

OttoBoMipttre peroi 11 00 to 

oommercUl peroz to 7 50 

Peppers, 2:aDilbar perlb to 88 

Plwaphoms perlb to 1 10 

Amorphom perlb to 8 85 

Ptperin peros to 1 60 

PodnplurlUn peros to 60 

Popp7 Heads perlb to 85 

Potassa, Acetato perlb to 85 

Biearbonato perlb to 48 

Carbonate perlb to 85 

Oaastle, eommon perlb to 65 

white perlb to 95 

atrato perlb to 1 15 

cam CWce perlb to i5 

lljpophiispblto perlb to 4 85 

Permtuiganate, ordinary per ib to 80 

Phosphato p<-rlb to 8 75 

Prus!*iato perlb to 44 

Pnlphato perlb to 16 

Tartrato perlb to 1 05 

Potasslaiii peros to 8 75 

Broalde perlb to 8 50 

Cyaiiido,naa perlb to 83 

gran perlb to 1 85 

Iodide perlb to 5 50 

f*Dlpbaret perlb to 85 

Qainlne. Qtrate, with Iron peros to 85 

Sulphate, American per os to 8 40 

Frondi peros to 8 85 

.rasped perlb to 7 

I Chalk Fingers perlb 6;^to 7 

Bed Precipitate perlb to 1 15 

Be^n of J.lap, pare per lb to 88 00 

KocbcUeSalt perlb 48 to 

Kao«s,Aeon1to perlb to 24 

Alkanet perlb 17 to 18 

AHhea perlb 28 to 88 

Angelica: perlb to 85 

OUamuB perlb 20 to 60 

Colcbiftum perlb to 80 

Colombo perlb to 80 

Culreris perlb to 84 

Dandelion perlb to 8S 

Oalangal per Ib to 18 

OenUan perlb to 10 

Qlnger, Race, AMean perlb to 20 

Jamaica, Bleached perlb to 88 

Goldenseal perlb to 80 

Hellebore black perlb to 16 

white, powdered perlb to 65 

"i» perlb to 8 00 

powderod.» perlb to 8 25 

Jalap perlb to 2 25 

powdered perlb to 2 85 

Licorice perlb to IS 

'Mandrake perlb to 15 

Orris, FlorenUn* perlb to 16 

Verona perlb to 14 

Pink perlb to 88 

Rhatony porlb to 80 

Rhabarii,R. I perlb 8 50 to 4 00 

Turkey perlb to 24 00 

Sarsaparilla, Ilondaras perlb to 62>^ 

Mexican perlb to 80 

Tnrbeth perlb to 60 

Valerian, English perlb to 65 

Dateh perlb to 40 

German perlb to 26 

Vermont perlb to 40 

Snake, Vh^iida perlb to r5 

Seneca perlb 75 to 80 

BoseLeares. porlb to 8 85 

Kosemary Leaves perlb to 18 

BoMgoFeni perlb to 10 

Baffroo, American, now perlb 2 00 to 8 85 

Spanish, true perlb to 17 00 

Sofo, Peari perlb to 18 

Saueln peros to 60 

Sal Aeetoscella perlb to 55 

Ammoniac .* perlb to 16 

Soda, Newcastle perlb to 6 

Baatonine peros to 1 80 

Bark perlb to 15 

nony, Tirg., troe perlb to 80 00 

Anise perlb to 88 

star perlb to 65 

Gsaaiy, Datob perbnsh to 5 85 

BmyroM perbnsh to 69> 

Cardamom, MaUuar perlh to 5 00 

SS^ p^rib to n 

^^•i^r- .perlb to » 



«ia<;c»u<ij 

Coarse Kappee. 
Irish High Toaa 
Fresh Scotch.. 



Seads,CloTsr perlb to II 

Colchlenm perlb to 24 

Coriander perlb 16 to IT 

Cnmmln perlb to 80 

Fennel perlb to 20 

Foenngreek |ier lb to IS 

Hemp perbnsh to S 19 

Llnsee4l, American clean per tierce to 

rongh perbnsh to 8 60 

Bombay (gold) perbnsh to 8 60 

CalcutU (gold) perbnsh to 8 65 

Mostard, brown perlb to 16 

white perlb to 16 

Rape perbnbh to 5 85 

Timothy perbnsh to 5 00 

Worm perlb to 88 

SeldUta Mixture perlb to 48 

Senna, TinneTelly perlb 28 to 80 

Alexandria. perlb 46 to 60 

KI * perlb to 85 

SnuiIt8,B]ae perlb to 28 

Snnir, Lorillard's Mnccaboy pi^rlb to 78 

....perlb to 1 00 

. . . .per lb to 85 

....perlb to 85 

Soap, OssUle, Mottled ..perlb to 14 

Whtte perlb to 86 

floating perlb to 85 

Low's Brown Windsor per grs to 15 60 

Soda Acetate perlb to 80 

Chlorate perlb to 2 15 

Chloride, Liquor per gal to 45 

Citrate perlb to 1 00 

Hydrosulphate |>er lb to 1 05 

Hypophosphlte. perlb to 4 10 

Hyposnlphlte perlb to 10 

Nitrate, pure perlb to 28 

Phtisphste perlb to 8t 

Pyrophosphate perlb to 1 25 

Sulphite perlb to 88 

Ash perlb to 4J« 

Sodium perlb to H 00 

Iodide perlb to 8 00 

SpIritAmmonIa porlb to 65 

Aromatic perlb to 60 

Lavender. perlb td 65 

Nitre Dulc perlb to 45 

Kosemary perlb to 60 

Sponges, Bahama perlb to fW 

Bathing Formes perlb to 4 00 

;CoarseIsrown perlb to 60 

Flne,medlum perlb 6 00 to 7 00 

Surgeon's. perlb 4 00 to 7 00 

Zimoca perlb 8 00 to 8 00 

Cap, Turkey perlb 20 OO to 80 00 

Trieste perlb 4 fiO to 18 00 

Fine Toilet, bleached. perlb 18 00 to 15 00 

Fine Trieste, small perlb 4 00 to 4 60 

Glove porlb 1 75 to 8 00 

Grass perlb 20 to 25 

Sbeep'swool perlb 1 40 to 1 50 

Snr Chuix perlb to 5 60 

Squills perlb to IS 

St. J<»hn'8 Bread perlb to 8 

Strontia, Muriate perlb to 80 

Nitrate. perlb to 80 

Oxalate. perlb to 1 80 

Strychnia, Acetate peros to 8 75 

Citrate peros to 75 

Nitrate peroz to S 75 

Pure, orysUllised. peroz to 8 60 

powdered peros to 8 25 

Snlpbato peros to 8 75 

Valerianate peros to 5 60 

Styrax Calamita perlb to 65 

SngarofLead perlb to 4S 

Sa«arofMllk perlb to 68 

Sulphur Sabllme. perlb Oj^'to T 

Tamarinds perlb to 10 

Tannin perlb to 8 75 

Tapioca, East India, white perlb to 14 

Pearl perlb to If 

Tartar Emetic, powdered perlb to tS 

crrstalUsed perlb to 1 15 

TlnFoU.thin perlb to 45 

French,No. 16 perlb to 70 

Tobacco perlb to 40 

Tonqna Beans, Para perlb to 65 

Augustora perlb to 8Tj^ 

Uva Ursi, American per lb to IS 

French perlb to 18 

Vanilla Beans, Bonrbon perlb to 11 00 

Mexican perlb to 16 00 

Venice Turpentine perlb to 80 

Veratria per os to 5 85 

VltrioI,Blu* perlb lO^to 11 

Green perlb to S 

White perlb to 

Wax, White,-J. L Elkens perlb to 15 

No. 2 perlb to H 

PhUHpe* pwlb to *• 

TeUow .vw^ ♦• 

Wblto \Vftx.--liMMD&ttx4X*« .\m'^ 

OamAAk .vs*"^ 

£^uirU«iic&w^ .^m"^ 



6o 



Ameincan Druggisti Pince-Curi'eni. 



CmonoAi. Kswft, 



White Precipitate perlb to 1 66 

WWtePepner perlb to M 

WiDt, Colohicum Seeds perlb to 1 40 

WoodNapbtha perlb to W 

Wormwood Herb P«rlb to 25 

YollowBark perib to 80 

Dock perlb to 86 

Zaffre I>«f'*» to 1 16 

Zine, AceUte perlb to 1 45 

Chloride perlb to 1 80 

HYES AND DTESTUFF8. 

AniUnoBloe perlb to T 60 

Red perlb to 6 00 

Violet perlb to T 60 

j^natto perlb 100 to 176 

OochlneaL Honduru I>erlb to 1 40 

^^ Mexican perlb 1 80 to 1 40 

Cmlbear Perlb itS to 46 

Cutoh. Pegne perlb to 18 

Gambler perlb to 8 

Indiio, Bengal, fine perlb to 8 26 

•' good perlb 2 60 to 2 76 

middUng perlb 2 00 to 2 10 

MadraLflne perlb 1 80 to 1 86 

ordinary perlb 1 UO to 1 26 

Kurpah perlb to 

Qaatemala porlb 2 00 to 2 10 

Caraccas perlb to 1 66 

Lac Dye, good i* fine perlb 66 to 60 

Logwood, Catnpeachj perlb to 2X 

Honduraa perlb to %H 

Jamaica per .b to %M 

Laguna per lb to 2>i 

Bt. Domingo perlb to 2 

Extract perlb 18 to 16>^ 

" inbalk perlb l%)i\n 18 

Lima Wood (gold) perbbl 70 00 to 71 00 

Madder.Datch perlb 22 to 24 

French perlb 28 to 26 

Nutgalla, Blue, Aleppo perlb <«to 1« 

Orehille... perlb 80 to 86 

Persian Berricfl perlb 60 to 66 

ftafflower per lb 60 to 65 

Bapanwood perlb 12 to 16 

Tarmerle perlb 16 to 16 

Ultramarine perlb 29 to 46 

Woad '. perlb 16 to 16 

DBUGGIST8' GliASSWAaE. 

[PAOKAOB FSICBB.] 

areen Bottles and vlab 50 percentage discount. 

German Flint Bottles and Tlals 80 " «' 

Flint Bottlfs and Tials 26 " '* 

FomltareWare 10 - 

Perftimer'8Wai« 26 

C!hem1eal Ware net « 

Byrlnges 10 '* " 

Ifomaopathlc Tlals 10 

NAVAL STORES. 

piteh.CltT perbbl to 4 00 

-^^ExtraPale per2801bs 8 00 to 

Pale - TOO to 

No.l " 500 to 

No.2 " 4 00 to 

Strained ** 4 00 to 

Common ** to 8 76 

Bpblta, Turpentine (North Carolina) per gal 66 to 

Tontine, Soft. per2801bs to 8 00 

OILS. 

OU,American pergal to 1 10 

English pergal to 1 10 

Oil • ~.perTb to 16 

Lubricating DU pergal to 40 

Sperm, Crude pergal to 2 20 

Sperm, Winter, unbleached pergal to 2 80 

Lard on Prime, City rPergal to 1 80 

]UdOU.CUydistUied pergal to 70 

Bod OIL Sqpoi^ed pergal to 78 

WhatoTurude pergal to 1 16 

WhOa, Bleached, Winter pergal to 1 26 

PAINTS (DHT). 

Asphaltum, opt perlb to 7 

Baiytes, Foreign per ton to 46 00 

Banrtes, American perlb to 2 

Black Lead .perlb 8 to 12 

Biaek Ivory, drop, fair perlb 10 to 18 

cood perlb 18 to 20 

best perlb 24 to 28 

Blae CelesdaL good perlb to 14 

Chinese perlb to 1 00 

Prusdan, fair to best perlb 86 to 1 00 

Ultramarine, fair to best perlb 23 to 46 

Chalk,Lamp perlb to 8)i 

OhbaCUy perlb to 2^ 

■^iilk perbbl to 4 60 

in Pails, fair to best perlb 86 to 60 

» Chrome, fair to best perlb 88 to 42 

^2^^7,^.^!^**::!:.^.'!^}p^^ 28 to 26 



Lamp Black, ordinary fierpaper 8 to 12 

Litharge, powdered, American & English... per lb 11 to IIX 

Ochre, Yellow. French, dry perlb 2Vto 4 « 

Bed Venetian... p**rlb 8Xto 5 

Red Indian, fair to best perlb 11 to 18 

Bed Lead, American perlb 11 to 12 

English perlb 14 to 16 

BoBoPlnk perlb 18 to 20 

Sienna, American perlb 7 to • 

Itallan,Vnt perlb 18 to 22 

Kaw perlb 16 to 2« 

Umber, Crude, Turkey perlb 5 to 7 

burnt perlb 6 to 9 

Tteman's CallC Vermilion perlb to 1 10 

Pure Carmine perlb to 16 00 

Soluble Blue perlb to 1 23 

Vermilion, English, pale perlb to 1 25 

deep perib to 1 20 

American per lb to 86 

Chinese per lb to 1 80 

Trieste perlb to 1 20 

White,Chlna perlb to 22 

Cremnita per lb to 80 

Lead, pure porlb 18 to 14 

good perlb 9 to llX 

Paris ptrib 83«to 4 

Zinc, American i>er]b 10 to liX 

Zinc,French perlb 14 to 16 

Whiting perlb 8X 

PAINTS (IN OIL). 

Black coach per lb 28 to 80 

Blue, Chinese perlb 90 to 1 00 

Prussian, fair to best perlb 86 to 80 

Brown, Van Dyke, fair to best perlb 20 to 28 

Dryer, Patent, American perlb l2Xto 14 

English perlb 12iito 16 

Green,Chrome perlb 18 to 27 

Imperial perlb 16 to 18 

Paris perlb 88 to 42 

Verdigris perlb 26 to 68 

Putty, in bladders perlb 6)ito 

in bulk perlb 6Vto 6>tf 

Red Venetian, fair to best perlb 8 to 16 

Sienna, bomtJfalr to best perlb 22 to 86 

White Lead, English, B. B perlb to 16 

American, pure. perlb 18Xto 14 

good perlb 11 to W{ 

loir iMjrlb 9 to 10 

White Zinc, American per lb 10 to 18 

French perlb 16 to 15)4 

Yellow Ochre per lb 9 to 10 

Chrome, Cdr to best perlb 16 to 82 

SPICES. 

Cassia, In nuts perlb to 84 

Cloves. perlb to 46 

Ghiger, Baee, African perlb to 19 

Maw.... rrT: perlb to 1 66 

Nutmegs, Ko. 1 per lb to 1 46 

Pepper per lb to 88 

Pimento, Jamaica, perlb to 84 

WINDOW GLASS. 

American Window — 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th qualitieB. 

6 by 8 to 8 by 10 Per fifty feet $ 6 26 to 8 76 

8 W 11 to 10 by 16 " 6 76 to 4 76 

II hy 14 to 12 by 18 •* 7 60 to 6 60 

Hi by 16 to 16 by 24 " 8 60 to 6 00 

IS by 22 to 18 by 80 " 10 00 to 7 00 

m hj 80 to 24 by 80 « 12 60 to 8 00 

24 by 81 to 24 by 86 " 14 00 to 9 00 

3i6 by 86 to 26 by 40 *• 16 00 to 10 00 

aa by 40 to 80 by 48 •* 18 00 to 14 00 

2* by 64 to 82 by 66 »• 20 60 to 16 00 

»a by 68 to 84 by 60 •* 24 00 to 18 00 

at by 62 to 40 by 60 *" 26 00 to 21 00 

The above is subject to a discount of 25 per cent 

French Window— Ist, 2d, 8d and 4th qualities. (Single 
tbiclr.) 

6 by 8 to 8 by 10 Per fifty feet 9 6 26 to 4 76 

18 by 11 to 10 by 16 " 6 75 to 6 00 

11 by 14 to 12 by 18 *» 7 60 to 6 60 

18 by 18 to 16 by 24 " 8 60 to 6 00 

28 by 22 to 18 by 80 " 20 00 to 7 00 

20 by 80 to 24 by 80 " 12 00 to 8 OQ 

24 by 81 to 24 by K - 14 00 to • 00 

25 by 86 to 80 by 48..... " 16 00 to 10 00 

29 by 40 to 80 by 48(8 qlte)... ^ 18 00 to 14 00 
84 by 64 to 82 by 66(9 qlt«)... ** 20 60 to 11 00 
82 by 66 to 86 by 60(8 qlts)... ** 24 00 to 18 00 

i by 62 to 40 by 60(8 qlts)... •* 26 00 to 21 00 

Subject to a discount of 20 per cent. English sells at 10 
per cent diaoount off Ute above rates. 



r^b^ law. J 



Popular Science* 



6i 



THE CHEMICAL NEWS. 
Vol. IV. No. 2. American Reprint. 

POPULAR SCIENCE. 

** A LiTTLR learning is a dangfcrous thing," and the less 
you have the more dangerous it is; It is dangerous for a 
man to bo so far reduced in the knowledge of fire that he 
cannot obtain it without the friction of sticks, because in 
damp weather, or in the absence of suitable wood or 
strength, lie may be able to get none at all. But it is 
still more dangerous if he loses even that little knowledge 
without any to supply its place ; he may then despair of 
life. If great depths were the only places where strata 
of valuable learning were to be found, few would benefit, 
as few would be found willing to leave the bright sun- 
shine and the light of the human countenance to burrow 
even among treasures. We value the experience ob- 
tained by the man who sinks 2,000 feet below the sur- 
face and brings up wealth, and wo listen to him with 
pleasure. We have a similar interest in him who leaves 
his home and crushes quartz in a wild place f >r years to 
cbtiiin gold, and we look with more or less reverence on 
the man who hides in his study and lo<c3 society in which 
he delights that he may bring out of darkness what truth 
he can find. 

All these men benefit as a rule by their labours ; they 
have a reward independent of their discoveries: but 
the world cares littfe for their work, although accom- 
panied by a del ght in nature, or in invigorating bodily 
exercise, or in mental feats, compared with the great 
gross result itself. The gold appears and circulates ; it is 
a part of the world's stores parsing to this man and leav- 
ing that one like the air itself, and the long years of 
study are summed up in a few lines in a penny newspa- 
I)er. The gold buys bread withcjut the knowledge of 
digging and stamping, and the once abstruse discovery 
becomes so plain that we wonder why the student was 
»o long about it. Having lived so many years, did he 
do no more than that? 

There are, howerer, men who seem to think that the 
knowledge of the amalgamation process ought to come 
before the knowledge of the shilling's value, and are un- 
willing that a boy should learn a language without pass- 
ing through the same process of thought passed by the 
nation whiih spoke it, forgetting the centuries of its life 
and its millions of living beings who modified the speech, 
and the few hard years which the boy has in ordi?r to at- 
tain the same end. But time teaches firmly, and throws 
difficulties aside by making them impossible ; so we cease 
to enquire if the gold came f. om Opliir in Solomon's ships 
or from New Zealand by the overland route, and we learn 
to speak our mother tongue httle thinking of the terrible 
liistory of man during the time of its formation. No 
6tud«^nt could go over the history of a piece of gold if it 
were in plainest language, so long would it be ; or if he 
could read long enough he would be little endowed with 
feeling if he could endure it. If we saw before us all the 
feehngs exercised in forming some of our words we 
should be obliged to use but few, the pain of learning 
would be so great. 

Knowledge is real, even if the weary head that first 
saw it lay down in despair on account of unrewarded 
labour ; and gold is real if the mine is lost for ever to 
mankind. Who knows the origin of bread-making or of 
not-boiling, or of the commonest modes of agriculture ? 
We try to form their history, and move cautiously back 
towards its beginning, but we soon become as thorough- 

VoL. IV. No. 2.— Feb., 1869. 5 

[BxigUMh JBdition, 7oL ZVin., No. 470, p&(e %^.'\ 



ly lost as when we think of the beginning of time or of 
space. The useful arts are conditions under which we 
of this generation have appeared. We heard lately of a 
mining company in Spain which began operations in 
ground covered with dehris of previous mining and smelt- 
ing operations to an extent greater than we can show 
in any part of this country. The old workings are said 
to be very extensive, and psimping Archimedean screws 
are still in situ with statuettes at cross-roads, forming 
little chipols umlerground. We should like to hear more 
of these works and have the whole authenticated, but the 
heap=? show already the amount of labour, and we s 'e* 
readly why so many vessels went to the west and why 
the apples thems;}lves became to the ancients golden in 
such a land of weal Mi. The world allowed the whole to 
go to wreck, and believed the people to be fabulous, al- 
though the golden apples were there in abundance. The 
one was turned almost out of tradition, the other we 
have multiplied to commonness, as oranges. The great 
world takes what it pleases of the works of men. Gener- 
ations labour for centuries to elucidate a truth, and the 
time comes when it appears so clear as to bj taught in a 
fL'W minutes. The human race, with a certain majesty 
which we may fairly call divine, treats equally the results 
of a thousand years and of one day. 

When philo.sophers think and scientific men make 
experiments, observations, and calculations, their work 
receives admiration a? occasion requires, but the name 
i:s mo:=t frequently forgotten or neglected. He is highly 
honoured indeed who fills up a whole line in an ency- 
clopaedia. It is true that occasionally some writer at- 
tracts the attention of the public to an individual, holding 
him up to the wondering world, and turning him round 
on all sides in a transparent biographical case, an intel- 
lectual translation of the method by which we examine 
bees at work in their glazed hives, astonished at the 
origin of their thoughts and the constancy and accuracy 
of their labour. 

Sometimes we think it a p:ty that so many noble 
thinkers sliould be forgotten, but greatness Ls compara- 
tive. Even if our later ideas on the progress of man be in- 
correct, it is hard to imagine the number of men who 
must have given their minds to the improvement and 
cultivation of corn. We cannot count up the number 
that we have seen with our own eyes of p'oughmon 
plodding homeward, participating in some experiment 
where success had been gain d or was expected. As a 
sovereign of old who saw the people dig as one, whilst 
he also was one, ami t!ie more important, so tradition 
throws tlieso endless agriculturists into a word and gives 
the honour of the discovery of corn to Cerrs. We can 
afford under this word to give them a little amusing at- 
tention for a few hours of school days, feeling ourselves 
as superior to them all as a living dog to whole ages of 
deaJ lions; and why s-hould we treat them differently ? 
We habitually view even great worlds, suns, and sys- 
tems, as objects so extremely trifling that numbers of 
them are required to give a slight whiteness to the sky, 
not visible except when the sun is absent, so trifling is 
the amount. We have a right to treat them all a<? com- 
paratively unimportant, exactly as a child has a right to 
treat its nurse with more attention than any, however 
exalted, person that may claim its favour ; an undenia- 
ble right derived from our inherent weakness and little- 
ness. Everything in this busy world must take its 
place according to its value to us ; we are the living 
dogs. 

With the same absence of remorse we cut down dis- 
coveries, taking from long memoirs a few figures^ and 



62 



Popular Science. 



{CnMiCAi. Kbwil 



throwing the rest into a kind of waste Ubrary, which we 
keep out of respect for the workmen, but which we 
never read. The great world cares not even to keep 
that, but burns it virtually as it has often burnt the ac- 
cumulations really. To the world the great life of an old 
philosopher becomes a fable. Whom shall we pick out ? 
say Pythagoras ; he is simply, to most who have heard 
of him, the discoverer of a geometrical problem now well 
known. He thanked the gods for it by a sacrifice ; some 
of us learn ir, and few remember it. The wond has left 
but small scraps of curious and interesting things regard- 
ing all the great men of Greece, but nevertheh'ss this L? 
one of the most complete illustrations of the diminished 
influence of the great, and of the manner in which their 
most important ideas dwindle. Even that little is now 
made into abstracts. It was a wonderful thing to dis- 
cover the satellites of Jupiter, but we now look at them 
with opera glasses, and there are even men who say that 
they see them with the unaided eye. When Glauber 
made his std mirabile, finding it of wonderful power in 
the vegetable kingdom, in medicine, and, indeed, ''to all 
men of whatstoever state or condition," he htile thought 
of the hundreds of thousands of tons to be m«de yearly, 
not for direct use, but simply as a stige on the way to 
the manufacture of a much more important substance, 
soap. We must not bring insfcmces here when every 
encyclopaedia is a pi oof of thousands, but we may recall 
to mind that sometimes the works of a man, after dimin- 
ishing in magnitude to our own eyes, cease to appear al- 
together as discoveries, but become as simple truisms 
known lo all men, and not to be claimed by any but 
quacks or adventurers. By a late treatment of Bacon's 
life the inductive philosophy j-lips from him entirely an<l 
from every other man also regarded as a founder. We 
still keep our respect for Bacon, but the tvorld cares Ut- 
tlo which view is true, and probably believes after all 
tliat it would have reasoned quite as well if it had had 
no such training. Schools of philosophy, great for cen- 
turies, leave no trace to be seen, unless you examine the 
clibris with a microscope. A few students do this and 
keep up the knowledge, but it gradually diminishes in 
their eyes, and they at last follow the example of the 
multitude which cares little for anything that has no 
rapidly livailiible good in it. They think as the manu- 
facturer did when an analysis was brought to him con- 
taining, amonpf other items, a trace of sulphur. Trace! 
what is the use of a tracj in a man's business ? 

As we sec great things diminish into trifles or vague- 
ness, so scientific discoveries, however much they seem 
for a while to fill the minds of thinking men, float 
lightly over tlie world ; in other words, they become 
popular, aud take their place at the fireside beside the 
interesting fairy tale and the still more interesting 
bread and butter. In a certain city of no small fame, 
in 1848, the people determined on a revolution. They 
met after bn^aklast and stormed much, but dinner-time 
came before they could get their work done and they 
went home. Of course they must dine. After difJner 
they required rest and a pipe and could not be collect- 
ed, and so the opportunity was gone. Every event and 
idea interesting to man is reduced to the l.'vel of his 
habits, understanding, and capacity. It is made popular. 

The machinery of discovery — that is, the working of 
the mind which discovers, is sot aside, and the cream 
•of everything is taken so far as it can be understood 
.and fitted to man's present wants. Do not let us 
suppose that popular knowledge is merely a little of 
•the least valuable ; the people seize on the highest, and, 
•for general purposes, best, and lot scientific men blame 



themselves in most cases if their work is not known to 
the public. The amount of scientific work done in 
Europe is beyond the ken of aay man. Even profound 
scientific men are obliged to pick out the best in a 
popular way; the word popular having a meaning 
differing according to the man. Scientific journals 
exist professedly to abstract the best, and reviews and 
newspapers ipxtract again and make clear ; that which 
bears expUtnation without long study becomes popular. 
No magnitude repels the public ; vastness is always 
attractive, but compUcated studies require time, and 
these never can become popular whether small or great 
in value. The people seize the best they can use, and 
this is popular science. We read a book of long reason- 
ing, and forget all but a few sentences as we think, 
but power remain?. Popular science takes these few 
sentences. It says, We take the kernel and leave you 
the shell; we burn the coal, you go down the pit; we 
eat, you sow. 

This popular science rules us, and, to a great extent, 
must always guide us. When public bodies discuss 
affairs which require knowledge of nature, how seldom 
do they seek aid of scientific men ? They settle by 
popular science. If, however, they are opposed, they 
eeek scientific men to prove.them correct, not to teach 
them. This brings us to the actual difference between 
popular science and science prope ly so called. Now 
this may be viewed in many ways, but we shall take 
only such as serves for present purposes. In a stagnant 
state popular and profound science would give the same 
opinion. The advantage of the latter would be in its 
power to give a better reason, the true place of a fact 
would be better known to it in its relation to other 
facts ; but in an advancing age the thorough scientific 
man has a still greater advantage. He has followed the 
science from the beginning through a long line of 
learning, and he knows therefore in what direction it 
is leading. He knows that there are dangers on one 
side, uncertainties on another, and aim st absolute 
certainty on a third. He sees to a certain extent in 
advance. Do not su{)pose that because we have looked 
with favour at the great position of popular science 
that we are inclined to speak slightinglv of the true 
student. If we did so, how foolish we should be I If 
the united worlds in the heavens sink down to a 
brightness so small a<< to be compared to inferior milk, 
it is not that we may despise, but it is rather that we 
may wonder more at the inconceivable distances that 
have produced such awful results. Nor does the world 
think of giving up its minuter science, but clings more 
and more to it, as it must find students again and again 
to go over the foundations of knowledge and keep up 
the building which has, unfortunately, in many points, 
been raised in the presence of a too small number of 
witnesses. 

The popular mind knows everything in a way. No 
calculations trouble its serenity, no hard experiments, 
no long laborious readings, no weary attempts to make 
clear in words that which has rejoiced the heart and 
elevated the m'.nd. It knows all sciences and arts, 
and really knows them wonderfully well. But who will 
trust it to do anything whatever requiring exact know- 
ledge ? If we give it a ship to build, could it pick out 
good wood or make good iron ? There are but few 
that can do the latter, even with the aid of our best 
metallurgical treatises. Could the popular mind put the 
wood or iron in a proper shape ? Could it rig the ship ? 
CouM it supply it with good engines ? Could it even 
fit up the household part with comfort? We think 



fEngliMh Edition, VoL X7IIL, No. 470, p&CM^C^aO^.^ 



Chkmioal Nrv*. I 



Om the Volumetric Edimalioti of Commercial Iodine. 63 



thftt there is no part wbateyer, from the higliest pen 
nant to the keel, that we could truBt to the popular 
mind, even with all the grandeur witli which we arc 
inclined to believe it to l^ endowed. There i;*, prob- 
ably, in every department one man only who does 
ev«Ty thing beat ; and, moreover, there is another man 
who haa a better idea of improvements than any 
other roan. In building a ship for a long voyage to 
bear costly bales nbout the world, wo surely would de- 
8* re the best of all these men to do the work. 

In an advancing age there are always new points 
arising, as there are new undertakings. The whole 
worlil has become oiie great laboratory for experiments 
of var ious kinds. Wo desire to communicate with our 
countrymen more rapidly than by post. Popular science 
fails', but investigation obtains a method. This method 
soon becomes popular, and tlioui:ands of men know it 
quite well We defire, however, to communicate with 
America ; popular science fail**, and investigation again 
come?, and Sir W. Thomson makes his sensitive shi- 
ning ne^'dles. 

Popular science is of no value in such cases ; it stands 
agha.-t for a little, but it soon s^'ems to know all about it. 
Popular science has, perhaps, better than real science, 
appreciated the practical value of tliat which it has 
adopted, but it is little able to guide civilisation rushing 
onwards into an unknown future, so we must be ex- 
tremely cireful not to allow the reins to get into her 
hands. In such a rapid express train aa ours it is need- 
ful that there should be men carefully to examine every 
inch ot the line, and that drivers, stok<.TS, and giianls 
should be multiplied rather than dimin'shed. They must 
Work, and their work may be very small in quantiy 
if only compensation be made by its intrinsic excellence. 



ON THE VOLUMETRIC ESTIMATION OF 
COMMERCIAL IODINE. 

BT M. ADOLPIIE BOBIERRE, 
DlkECTOa or TUK ECOLB bVPEBIIUBX Dli8 SClhXCKS AT KANTC8. 

Is the month of May last a manufacturer consulted 
me concerning expeditious methods of estimating 
iodine. Those generally adopted, and consisting of 
the employment of sulphurous acid or hyposulphite of 
Boda, yiel<l excellent results in clever and experienctd 
hands, but the normal liquids, whose use is necessary, 
vary under the influence of atniospl.eric oxygen. The 
cau«c of these variations has been stu<iied by Bunsen, 
whi further demonstrates that the estimation of iodine 
by snlphun>us acid and starch is possible with dilute 
Uqiiids only ; because if, on the one hand, the water, 
sulphurous acid, and iodine may in certain cases furnish 
sulphuric and iodhydric acids — on the other hand, and 
in more concentrated liquids, tlie sulphuric and io;l- 
hydric acids will yield iodine ancl sulphurous acid. 

The rapid change in the ^andard of 8uli)hurous acid, 
the necehaity of "working only upon liquids of a fixed 
degree of concentration, and the minute precautions to 
be taken in order to obviate these inconveniences, made 
me detennine, in the first instance, on rejecting thii 
method; which, although suitable for a laboratory, may 
be advantageously supplante<l by other processes in a 
manufactory. Among the ingenious methods for esti- 
mating iodine described by Streng, there is one in 
which protochloride of tin is employed as a reducing 
agent — this I do not recommend on account of the easy 
alteration of the reagent; but Mohr's method, based 
upon the use of arsenite of soda with excess of alkali, 



app>eared so advantageous, as regarded certainty and 
rapidity, that I immediately began to consider how to 
render its execution as simple as possible. Mohr ad- 
visr-s that the iodine to be estimated should be pounded 
in a normal solution of arsenite of soda, adding a small . 
quantity of starch; when the whole of the iodine is 
combined, the liquid will be colourless, and if a normal so- 
liiti(m of iodine be then added, the desired standard 
will be obtained by a relation previously established be- 
tween the arsenious liquid and the iodic solution. In 
the hands of an experienced chemist this method is per- 
fect, but it necessitates the use of starch, whoso trans- 
formation into blue iodide is not so instantaneous as to 
preclude the possibility of many errors being committed 
by a manufacturer. 

I succeeded in rapidly effecting the direct estimation 
of iodine in the following manner : — 

1 substituted for the starch reaction the intense red 
colour yielded by the action of free iodine upon b«'nzine, 
and which was pointed out by M. Moride in 1852. 

Numerous comparative experiments made by means 
of benzine and chloroform have clearly proved to me 
that the first of thcsf? liquids, from its feeble density, 
and the colour iodine communicates to it, is very pre- 
ferable to the other. 

Arsenite of soda, rendered strongly alkaline by a 
solution of bicarbonate of soda, receives an addition of 
benzine, If into this is then poured a solution of 
iodide of potassium containing definite quantities of 
iodine, it will be seen that, if these quantities vary in 
the following proportions — i to ^, I to i, i to i, \ to 
\ — there must have been used, in order to impart a 
red colour to the bt-nzine, the following divisions of 
iodic solution: — 7'So<*, 1575", 23*45**, 3250°, 40*20**; 
quantities which are sen-ibly between those of 8 to 16, 
\ci 24, (f) 32, to 40 (i). This experiment takes only a 
short time, and yields, in addition to the roseate tinge 
I of the benzine, another significant characteristic — viz., 
the slightly yellowish shade of the aqueous liquid. 
Here is the method of operation : — 

Preparation of the Reagents. — Make a concentrated 
solution of iodide of potassium, which should remain 
unchanged for a certain series of experiments: this i^ 
to receive the iodine which is to be tested (2). The 
normal hqnid arsenite of soda is obtained by combin- 
ing 4-95 grs. of arsenious acid with I4"5 grs. of crvstal- 
lised carbonate of soda, and diluting the aqueous !iquid 
to one l.tre. This solution will decolourise an iodised 
liquid containing 12*688 grs. of iodine per litre; ad- 
mitting that the arsenious liquid may not have this rcduc • 
ing power, the test will be none the less exact, as 
at the moment of effecting it the relation of a given 
weight of pure iodine to the arsenite will he deter- 
mined. 

A somewhat concentrated solution of bicarbonate 

of soda must now be prepared, to l.e used as will bo 

shown. 

I Performance of the Anahjids — The analysis i:* best 

I effected in a small stoppered flask, such as is generally 

' used for liydrometric tests. Into this arc put 10 c.c. 

of arsenite of soda, to which must be added 5 c.c. of 

alkaline bicarbonate solution ; the whole then receives 

a further addition of about 4 c.c. of perfectly colourless 

benzine. 

I A given quantity of pure iodine is weighed between 

I two watch glasses ; dissolve this in the conf-entrated 

' solution of iodide of potassium prepared beforehand, 

I and which must be the same to be used for all the 

I various estimations which may be made; fill with 



[EnglUh Edition, 7oL ZVni., No. 470, pa^M «64, QfiS, U6.\ 



64 



Spectrum Olaervaiioiis on tlie Sim, 



( Cbkmicai. Kkwb, 



Ftb^ 1699. 



this coloured liquid a phial containing loo cc, shake 
it, and pour the contents into a graduated burette. 

On allowing the iodised solution to fall into the arsenite 
drop by drop, and stirring it quickly, the brown colour 
will be seen to disappear instantaneously ; but scarcely 
will the araenite have been transformed when traces of 
free iodine will produce a double phenomenon ; in the 
first place the benzine will turn red; secondly, the aque- 
ous liquid, which was perfectly colourless at the begin- 
ning of the operation, assumes a very sensible yellowish 
tinge ; the significant character of this is the more sur- 
prising when one comes to compute the very small 
quantity of metalloid which causes it. It will now be 
easily understood that a second experiment made upon 
the iodine to be estimated, the same weight being used, 
will instantly show the desired strength, since the vol- 
ume of solution requisite to destroy the alkaline arse- 
nite is in inverse proportion to the quantity of real 
iodine to be determined. 

Finally this method is simple, 0[uick, and based upon 
know^n reactions, whose sensibility has been already 
proved by experience ; it is therefore eminently adapt- 
ed for the use of manufacturers in the estimation of 
commercial iodine more or less pure. — Moniteur Scien- 
tifique. 

Notes on the Foreooiko. 

(i). I ought to state that it has already been pro- 
posed to substitute for the use of starch in volumetric 
experiments the colouring or discolouring of sulphide 
of carbon and of iodised chloroform {Dupre, Annales de 
Chimie et rf« Pharmacie^ t xclv., p. 365). M. Dupr^s 
method, however, in no way resembles mine ; it is ex- 
tremely sensitive, but necessitates the employment of 
a solution of chlorine, while, on the other hand, the in- 
<lication of the end of the operation la a discolouration. 
Lastly, the Journal de Mmedne de V Quest of the 3i8t 
of August, 1868, contains a notice of a process by M. 
Bertin, which consists in dissolving the iodine to be 
estimated in benzine, and adding arsenite of soda until 
decolourisation ensues. One great advantage, in my 
opinion, of the process by colouring, is that the most 
delicate shades are perceptible, and that the tint obtain- 
ed, more or leps clear, will reveal the presence of sulphur 
in the iodine. 

(2). I should hare enquired whether an alcoholic so- 
lution might not be substituted for that effected by 
means of iodide of potnssium, but I found it necessary 
to relinquish such a substitution. In this case part of 
the free iodine remains in the alcohol, which it renders 
yellow, to the detriment of ihe colouring of the ben- 
zine. This may be ascertained by adding to the alcohol 
a small quantity of benzine coloured red by iodine : the 
red colour will immediately diminish until the alcohol 
assumes a settled tinge of yellow. 



SPECTRUM OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUN. 

The Rev. Father Secchi ha3 forwarded the following 

communication to the French Academy of Sciences: 

" The important discovery of M. Janssen, on the pos- 
Fibility of seeing the luminous rays of the protuberances 
in full sunshine by means of the spectrosco[)e, induced 
nie to make some researches on this interesting subject • 
and although a great part of what I have seen may be- 
come useless when we hear details from M. Janssen 
himself, as I may have made some new observations I 
take the liberty of presenting these results to the 
Academy. • 



" The spectroscope that I employed is formed of two 
excellent prisms of very dispersive heavy flint, and 
sufficiently perfect not only to double the ray d suffi- 
ciently to enable the distance between its components 
to be measured, but even to separate the very fine rays 
which are near b, towards a. The aperture of the large 
object glass of Merz was reduced to 8 centimetres, so 
as to prevent the heat injuring the apparatus; the 
opening of the sUt was as small as possible. 

" As soon as the apparatus was durected to the sun, 
in such a manner that the edge of the solar image fell 
on the slit, I saw the rays and f reversed — that is to 
say, luminous in one portion of their length across the 
specti-um. 

" To examine in a more accurate manner the circuro- 
stances of tliese phenomena, I directed the slit alter- 
nately parallel and perpendicular to the edge. I then 
remarked that there was a reversal of the ray very 
near tlie edge, round the entire disc of the sun ; but 
when the slit was perpendicular, the luminous line was 
from ten to fifteen seconds at most in length, except in 
the neighbourhood of the zones of spots and facuhe, 
where it was always four times as long. Many points 
were observed where this line appeared separated from 
the edge; these points correspond, doubtless, as M. 
Janssen has observed, to isolated clouds. If the split is 
placed parallel to the tangent of the edge, a brilliant line 
IS seen in all parts which traverses the whole length of 
the spectrum, and which sometimes divides before ar- 
riving at the edge of the sun in this manner : — — ^-^— 
on coming nearer the edge the line becomes continuous: 

. This observation proves that the rose 

coloured gaseous envelope is continuous, but very irre- 
gular in its outline, as shown by eclipses. 

"The ray which appears easiest reversed is the 
ray 0; it dominates throughout The I'ay f is also re- 
versed, but always shorter and more feeble, as Mr. 
Lockyer has remaiked. But what has not, I believe, 
been remarked before is, that near the edge of the sun, 
even where the ray c does not become brilliant, the 
black hue disappears and the spectrum becomes unirorm. 
This is not an effect of contrast^ but a real phenomenon 
due to the reversal being only partial. The same tihing 
is observed in the ray f and many other rays. 

" Another curious fact is that the luminous lines be- 
come very vivid and brilliant in certain regions. The 
most remarkable are — A line in the red in contact with 
the ray b, on the side of ; another at a little distance 
from D, at about i^ the width of this ray on the side of 
the violet; another in the green, between the two wide 
rays of magnes'um ; finally, many others among the 
rays of iron. 

" This augmentation of brilliancy dees not appear to 
bo due to reversal, for even with a spectroscope of 
seven prisms I have not seen in any of these regions a 
black Hne as large as the corresponding luminous ray. 
This cannot all be explained by the effect of contrast, 
although, indeed, this explanation is probable in the 
case of the green, for there a great number of the fine 
rays disappear near the edge. Further rest-arches are 
therefore necessary, and there probably may be another 
explanation different from that which is usually adopted 
at present. 

" By employing a spectroscope formed of a single 
very dispersive prl«m by Merz (with which alone 
all Kirchhoff's lines may be seen), I have still seen 
reversed the third line of hydrogen, II y, in the violet. 
The black Unes undergo a sensible weakening in this 
region near the edge. It would be premature to ad- 



[BngliMh Edition, VoL XVIII., No. 470, pm^M 266, 7gA\ 



/V6. 



'.<m6 I'romu 



' . I . , but this partial reversal may easily ex- 

i r](,. ;.i ruoruenon observed by M. Rzihn, tlu; astro- 
! 1. r-r of ihe Austrian Expedition, who snw that the 
IN rona gave n conlixiuous apectnim witliout linos during 
the ecUpsti (F! Astr. naeh, No, 1716). 

** Tl luay be intereering to remark that among the 
'■■' ifiouM linc*j observed by U3 arc found raya near to b 
,. M. If which do not belonj^ to hydroj^en, and whl.h 
aeen luminous by M. Rayet Donbtlesa tliis astro- 
\ owinf^ to tlie feebU* power of hiis instninaeiit, 
not notice the email space which separates them 
[Fraunhofer's black line. 
lus tlie discovery rtf M. Jans^cn enables us to ap- 
fcte new iiict', whu.'h will ibrow much li^jht on 
flints which are still doubtful connected with 
:cti"um theory of the eun." 



ON A NEW tjEttlfcld OF 

CTTEMICAL REACTIONS PRODUCED BY 
LIGHT.* 

DT JOON TTIfDALL, LL.D., r.R.S,, 4C. 

• — ion of the Royal Society to draw the at- 

nists to ft form or method of experiment, 

, ..r-...^.. obvioua, is, I am informed, unknown, 

hich, i doubt not, wUl in their bands become a 

pcrimentAl power. It. consists in subjecting the 

of volatile liquids to the action of concentrated 

or to the concentrated beam of fhe electric 

Action 0/ the Electric LighL^X glasa tube 2*8 feet 
n^ ami of 2*5 inches internal diameter, frequently 
iployed in my researches on radiant heat, was sup- 
rted horizonially. At one end of it wa« placed an 
llectric lamp, the height and position of both being so 
uged (hat the axis of the glass tube and that of 
parallel beam issuing from the lamp were coinci- 
l. The tube in the first experiment was clothed by 
tcs of rcM:k-»alt, ondsubsequtntly by plates of fi^la'^'s. 
As on former occasions, for Lhe sake of distinction, I 
ill coll this tube the experimental tube. 
The experimental tube was connected with an air- 
unip, and also with a aeries of drying and other tubes 
d for the purification of the air. 
^ tin uU'r of te^^t-tubes (I suppose I have used fifly 
them in alli were converted into Woulfe'u Ihtsks. 
h of them waa stopped by a cork through which 
' two glass tubes; one of these tubes (a) ended 
i»l«]y below the cork, while the other (It) de- 
d to the botlora of the flask, beintj drawn out at 
lower oud tti an orifice about 003 of an inch in ili- 
ter. It was found necessary to coat the cork care- 
y with cemeiiU 

fhe little fla^k thus formed was partially filled with 

hr liquid whose vapour waft to be examined ; it was 

en ialroduceJ into the path of the purified current 

The exf»enmr>ntAl tu'.)e being exhausted, and the cock 
hich cut off the supply of purified air being cautiously 
med on, the air entered tixe flask throujjli tbt* tube 
and eM!aped by the small orifice at the lower end of 
into the liquid. Througli this it bubbled, loadiiig it- 

with vapour, after which the mixed air and vapour, 

i^ from the flask by the tube a, enteieJ the ex- 

ntiil tube, where they were sul jected to tlie 

on of light, 

he power of the electric beam to reved the exiet- 

* From ib« Procitttingt o/th* Royttl Sonieijf, No. 105, 1S6S. 



enee of anything within the experimental tube, or the 
impurities of the tube itKolf, is extraordinary. When 
the experiment is made in a darkened room, a tub© 
which in ordinary daylight appears absolutely clean is 
often slmwn by the present mode of examination t> be 
exceedingly filthy. 

The following are fome of the resulU obtained with 
thi* arangement : — 

Kitrite of Amyl (boiling-point 91" to 96' C.).— The 
vapour of this liquid was in tiie fir.-*.t ins' ance p«-'rmiited 
t-o eater the experimental tulu" whilti the Ijcara fjom the 
electric lamp was passing through it. Curious cloud'^ 
were observed to fomi near the place of entry, which 
were allorwards whirled through the tube. 

The lube being again exhausted tlie mixed ftir and 
vapour were allowed to ent<"r it in the dark. The 
slightly convergent beam of the electric light was then 
sent tlirough the tube from end to eml. For a moment 
the tube was optically empty — nothinjr whatever was 
se^n within it ; but before a second had elapFed a shower 
of hquid spherules was precipitated on the beam, thus 
generating a cloud within the tube. Tliisclotid became 
denser as the light continued to act, showing at some 
plrtcea a vivid iridescence. 

The beam of the electric lamp was now converged so 
as to form within the tube, between its end and the 
focus, a cone of rays about 8 inc.'hes long. The tuVie was 
cleansed ami again filled in darkness. When the light 
was sent tlirough it, the precipitation upon the beam 
was so rapid and intense tliat the cone, which a moment 
before was invisible, flashed suddenly forth like a solid 
luminous spear. 

The eflect was the same when the air and vapour 
were allowed to enter the tube in diflu?e dayUght. The 
dour], however, which shone with suuh extraordinary 
radiance under tbo electric beam, was invisible in the 
onlinary light of the? laboratory. 

The quantity of mixed air and vapour within the 
experimental tube could of course be regulated at 
pleasure. The ra;idity of the action dimlnii-hcd with 
the attenuation of the vflpour. When, for example, the 
mercurial column associated with the experiment.il 
tube wa? depressed only 5 inches, the action was not 
nearly so rapid as when the tube was full. In such 
cases, however, it was exceedingly interesting to ob- 
serve, ofier some seconds of waiting, a thin strejamer of 
delicate bluish-white clom) slowly forming along the 
axis of the tube, and finally swelling bo as to fill it. 

Whe tlry oxygen was employed to carry in the va- 
pour, the effect w^s the ?ame a^ tliat obtained with air. 

When flry hydrogen was used as a vehicle, the eflect 
was a!80 the same. 

The effect^ therefore, is not due to any interaction 
between the vapour of the nitriti^ and its vehicle. 

This was further demonstrated by (he deportment of 
the vapour itself When ii w-a5 permitted to enter the 
experimental tube unmixed with air or any other gas, 
the effect wa? sub-^tantiidly the same. Hence the seat 
of the observed action is the vapour itself. 

With reference to the air and the glass of the experi- 
mental tube, the beam employed in these oxperimenfs 
was perfectly coUl It had bern .*;iT ' it 

through a Bjlution of alum, and ' *"k 

double-convex lens df ' ' v ' 

beam of the Uimp was 
same; the nl. — " • - ' 
fere with th' 

I have tf*rv. M 
character of the 



[Enztiah Edition, Vol. X7m , Wo 470, page* 165, 



66 



CJietnical liea^Hmis Produced by Light 



CnKMIOAI. Nswc 

/%&- 1869. 



simply to point out to chemists a method of expenment 
which reveals a new and beautiful series of reactions ; 
to them I leave ihe examination of the products of de- 
composition. The molecule of the nitrite of amyl is 
shaken asunder by certain specific waves of the electric 
beam, forming nitric oxide and other products, of which 
the nitrate of amyl is probably one. The brown fumes 
of nitrous acid were seen to mingle with the cloud with- 
in the experimental tube. 

The nitrate of amyl, being less volatile than the 
nitrite, could not maintain itself in t!^e condition of va- 
pour, but would be precipitated in liquid spherules 
along the track of the beam. 

In the anterior portions of the tube a sifting action 
of the vapour occurs, which diminishes the cliemical 
action in the posterior portions. In some experiments 
the precipitated cloud only extended halfway down the 
tube. When, under these circumstances, the lamp was 
shifted so as to send the beam through the other end 
of the tube, precipitation occurred there also. 

Acthn of Sunlight. — The so'ar light also eflfects the 
decomposition of the nitrite-of-amyl vapour. On the 
loth of October I partially darkened a small room at 
the Royal Institution, into which the sun shone, per- 
mitting the light to enter through an open portion of 
the window-shutter. In the track of the beam was 
placed a large plano-convex lens, which formed a fine 
convergent cone in the dust of the room behind it. The 
experimental tube was filled in the laboratory, covered 
with a black cloth, and carried into the partially dark- 
ened room. On thrusting one end of the tube into the 
cone of rays behind the lens, precipitation within the 
cone was copious and immediate. The vapour at the 
distant end of the tube was in part shielded by that in 
front, and was also more feebly acted on through the 
divergence of the rays. On reversing the tube, a second 
and similar cone was precipitated. 

Physical Considerations. — I sought to determine the 
particular portion of the white beam which produced 
the foregomg effects. When, previous to entering the 
experimental tube, the beam was caused to pass through 
a red glass, the effect was greatly weakened, but not 
extinguished. This was also the case with various sam- 
ples of yellow glas-i. A blue glass being introduced, 
before the temoval of the yellow or Ihe red, on taking the 
latter away, augmented precipitation occurred along 
the track of the blue beam. Hence, in this case, the 
more refrangible rays are the most chemically active. 

The colour of the liquid nitrite of amyl indicates that 
this must be the case ; it is a feeble but distinct yellow ; 
in other words, the yellow portion of the beam is most 
freely transmitted. It is not, however, the tr.in?mitted 
portion of any beam which produces chemical action, 
but the absorbed portion. Blue, as the complementary 
colour to yellow, is here absorbed, and hence the more 
energetic action of the blue rays. This reasoning, how- 
ever^ assumes that the same rays are absorbed by the 
liquid and its vapour. 

A solution of the yellow chromate of potash, the colour 
of which may be made almost, if not altogether, identi- 
cal with that of the liquid nitrite of amyl, was found 
far more effective in stopping the chemical rays than 
either the red or the yellow glass. But of all substan- 
ces the nitrite ilself is most potent in arresting the rays 
which act upon its vapour. A layer one-eighth of an 
inch in thickness, which scarcely perceptibly affected 
t^e luminous intensity, sufficed to absorb the entire 
"hemical energy of the concentrated beam of the elec- 



The close relation subsisting between a liquid and its 
vapour, as regards their action upon radiant heal, has 
been already amply demonstrated. * As regards the 
nitrite of amyl, this relation is more specific than in 
the cases hitherto adduced ; for here the special con- 
stituent of the beam which provokes the decomposition 
of the vapour is shown to be arrested by the Hquid. 

A question of extreme importance in molecular 
physics here arises: — What is the real mechanism of 
this absorption, and where is its seat ? t 

I figure, as others do, a molecule as a group of atortis, 
held together by their mutual forces, but still capable 
of motion among themselves. The vapour of the 
nitrite of amyl is to be regarded as an assemblage of 
such molecules. The question now before us is this : — 
In the act of absorption, is it the molecules that are 
effective, or is it their constituent atoms ? Is the vis 
vtrrt of the intercepted waves transferred I o the mole- 
cule as a whole, or to its constituent parts? 

The molecule, as a whole, can only vibrate in virtue 
of the forces exerted between it and its neighbour mole- 
cules. The intensity of these forces, and consequently 
the rate of vibration, would, in this case, be a function 
of the distance between the molecule?. Now the iden- 
tical absorption of the liquid and of the vaporous nitrite 
of amyl indicates an identical vibrating period on the 
part of liquid and vapour, and this, to my mind, amounts 
to an experimental demonstration that the absorption 
occurs in the main within the molecule. For it can 
hardly be supposed, if the absorption were the act of 
the molecule as a whole, that it could continue to affect 
waves of the same period after the substance had passed 
from the vaporous to the liquid state. 

In point of fact, the decomposition of the nitrite of 
amyl is itself to some extent an illustration of this in- 
ternal molecular absorption ; for were the absorption 
the act of the molecule as a whole, the relative motions 
of its constituent atoms would remain unchanged, and 
there would be no mechanical cause for their separation. 
It is probably the synchronism of the vibrations of one 
portion of the molecule with the incident waves which 
enabh^s the amplitude of those vibrations to augment 
until the chain which binds the parts of the molecule 
together is snapped asunder. 

The liquid nitrite of amyl is probably also decomposed 
by light ; but the reaction, if it exists, is incomparably 
less rapi«i and distinct than that of the vapour. Nitrite 
of amyl has been subjected to the concentrated solar 
rays until it boiled, and it has been permitted to continue 
boiling for a considerable time, without any distinctly 
apparent change occurring in the liquid. J 

I anticipate wide, if not entire, generality for the fact 
that a liquid and its vapour absorb the same rays. A 
cell of liquid chlorine now preparing for me will, I 
imagine, dt'prive light more effectually of its power of 
causing chlorine and hydrogen to combine than any 
other filter of the luminous rays. The rays which give 
chlorine its colour have nothing to do with this combi- 
nation, those that are absolved by the chloride being 
the really effective rays. A highly sensitive bulb, con- 
taining chlorine and hydrogen in the exact proportions 
necessary for the formation of hydrochloric acid, was 
placed at one end of the experimental tube, the beam of 
the electric lamp being sent through it from the other. 

* Phil Tran*.. 1864. 

t My attention was very forcibly directed to this subject iome yoara 
«po by a conversation with my excellent friend Professor Clnuiiiis. 

X On tlie iirt of October, Mr.^Ernent Chapman mentioned to mo In 
'conversation that he once exposed nitrlte-of-amyl vapour to the action 
of light. With M'hat result I do not liDow. 



[EngUab Edition. VoL XVIII., Wo. «0,ip*ie»Wn, ttft^A 






Chimival ItiaciimiB Produced by Light, 



"lid not explode when iho tube was filled 
ine, whilu tiie oxplosion was violent and im- 
. iii.ittj when the tube was filled with air. I anticipulc 
ir (he liquid chlorine an action similar to, butistiU more 
ilian, that exhibited by the gas. ir tliis .«hou!d 
e the case, it will favour the view that chlo- 
»ii i-« molecular and not nionatoniic. Otht*r cases 
kind I hope, at no dislaut day, to bring before 
toyal Society. 
h-oductiou o/Sk-y-hlue by the decomposition of Kiinie 
■,,>,! — When the quantity of nitrite vapour is con- 
.md the light intense, tlie chemical jjction is 
^. ]y rnpid, the particles precipitated being eo 
I as to whiten the hiniinous beam. Not so, liowever, 
a weU-ir*ixcd and highly-att^^^nuated vapour fills 
ke experimental tube. The effect now to be described 
obtuined in the greale*t perfection when the 
Lpour of the nitiite wa.s derivid from a residue of the 
i*ture of ii3 liquiJ, which had been accidentally in- 
luced into the pasitage througn which the dry air 
?d into the experimental! tube. 
In UiJs case the electric team traveised the lube for 
sveral seconds before any action was visible. Decom- 
- rhen visibly commenced, and advanced slowly, 
les first precipitated were too suiiUl to be dis* 
-licii by an eye-glass ; and, when the light was 
strong, the cloud app<;ared of a milky I'luc. 
on iiiti oonlrary, the intensity was muderatej 
le wa^ pure and deep. In Briicke'a impoc taut cx- 
mts on the blue of the sky and the morning and 
red, pure mastic is di>^solved in alcohol, and 
[dropped into water well gtirred. When tlie pro- 
ion ol mastic to alcohol ia correct, the resin is pre- 
led so finely as lo elude the highpst microscopic 
»wer. By reflected liglit, such a medium appears 
I, by transmitted hght ycl!owi-h, which fatter 
r, by augmenting the (luuutty of the precipitate, 
n be caused to pass into orange or red. 
But the doveiopment of colour in the attenuated 
ttritc-DF-amyl vapour, though admitting of the Fame 
-n, is, doubtle.^ss, more Fimihtr to what takes 
ir attnosphere. The blue, moreover, is purer 
fky-hke than that obt.iiiiei from Bru<;ke*s 
turbid mrdium, 'Ihere could scarcely be a moie im- 
-' • illustration of Newton's mode of regarding the 
1 of the colour of tlie firiiiamcnt than that 

i.bited • tor never, even in the skies of the Alpt?, 

iX ecen a richer nr a purer blue than that attainable 

suitable disposition uf the light falling upon the 

Stpitated vapour. May not the aqueouit vapour of 

atmosphere act in a similar nmnmtr ? and may we 

lot fairly refer to Uquid particles of infinitesimal size 

le hue:* obaerveti by Principal Forbes over the 't^afety- 

of a locomotive, and so skilfully connected by 

im with the colours of the sky ? 

In exhausting the tube containing the mixed air 

id nitiite-of-amyl vapour, it wasdiflicult lo avoid ex- 

llosions und».'r the pistons of the air-pump similar to 

'ic«ae which I have already described as oceurring with 

our™ of bisulphide of carbon and other subj^tancea. 

tlie quantity of vapour present in the8«j cases 

have been mlinitesimal, its explosion was s>uffi- 

to destroy the valves of the j)ump. 

Iodide of AiUjl (boiUng point loi C), — Among the 

iqui'Js hitherto subjected to the concentrated e'ectiic 

ight, iodide of allyl, in point of rapidity and in'ensity 

)i action, comes ntxt to the nitrite of amyl. With the 

' le of a'lyl I have employed both oxygen and by dro- 

M well as air, as a vehicle, and found the effect in 



all cajes substantially the same. The cloud column 
hero wa.s exquisitely bcautifnl, but its forms were differ- 
ent from those of the nitrite of omyL The whole col- 
umn revolved round the axig of the decomposing beam : 
it was nipped at certain places like an hour-gla^s, and 
round the two bell^of the glasi! delicate ctond-lilamenU 
twisted themselves in spirulK, It jdiso Iblded itself into 
convolutions re&embling those of s^hells. In certain 
conditions of the atmosphere in the Alps I have often 
observed clouds of a s[>€'L*ial peaily lustre ; when hydro- 
gen was made tlie vehicle of ihe iodide-uf-allyl vapour, 
a similar lustre was most exquisitely shown, ^\itha 
suiiabU" disposition of the light, the purple hue of iodine 
vapour came out very strongly in the tube. 

The rem.'irk already made, as to the bearing of the 
decomposition of nitrite of amyl by light on the ques- 
tion of molecular absorption, applies here also; for 
were the absorption the work of the nioleeule tt*^ a 
w hole, the iodine would not be dislodged from the allyl 
wiih wliieh it is combined. The non-synchronism of 
iodine with the waves of obscure heat is illustrated by 
its marvellous transparency to such heat. JIuy not its 
eynchronism witli the waves of light in the piesent in- 
stance be ihe cause of it** divorce from the allyl? 
Further ex]K.*rim(*nt8 on tliis point are in preparation. 

Iodide of Impropyl. — The action of light upon the 
vapour of this liquid in at first more languid than upon 
iodide of allyl ; indeed many beautiful reactions may 
be overlooked in consequence of this hmgnor at the 
commencenient. After some niinntes' exposure, how- 
ever, cloUwB begin to form, wbich grow in density and 
in beauty as the light continues to act. In every experi- 
ment hitherio made witli thi* substance tlie column of 
cloud which filled the experimental tube wa** divided 
into two disiinct part* near the middle of the tube. In 
one experiment, a globe of cloud formed at the centre, 
from which, right and left, is-^ued an axis whitdi united 
the globe with the two adjacent cylinders. Both glube 
and cylinders were animated by a common motion of 
rotation. As the action continued, paroxysms of mo- 
tion were manifested; the various parts of the cloud 
would rush through each other with sudden violence. 
During tiusi" motions beautiful and grotesque i;loud- 
fornis were developed. At some p'aced the nebulous 
ma&j would become ribbed 50 as (o resemble the grain- 
ing of wood; a longitudinal motion would at times 
generate in it a series of curved transverse bancU, the 
retarding influence of the sides of lli** tube causing an 
appeaitmce resembling, on a smnll scale, the dirt-bantls 
of the iler de Glace. In the anterior portion of the 
tube those sudden commotions were most intense; 
here buds ul clouds would sprout forth, and grew in a 
few seconds into perfect flower-like forms. The most 
curious appearance that 1 noticed was that of a cloud 
resembling a serpent's liead: it grew rapidly; a moutJi 
was formed, and from the month a cord of cloud resem- 
bling a tongue was rapiJly discharged. The cloud of 
iodide ofisopropyl had a character of its own, and dif- 
fered materially from all others that I had seen. A gor- 
geous mimve colour was developed in the last Iwelvo 
inches of the tube ; the vapour of iodine was present, 
audit may have been thh? sky-blue produced by the pre- 
cipitated particles which, mingling with tht? purple of the 
iodine, produced ihis splendid mr^uve. As in all other 
cases here alduced, the ellecla were proved to be due 
to the light; they never occurred in darkn* 8?» 

I should hke to guard myself against f*aying more than 
the facte warrant regarding the chemical ellVcs produced 
by light in the following Uirce-enbstances; but the phy- 



EngUmh Edition, Vol, XVIU^ TJo. 470, pa^ta a6B, ^W.'i 



68 



Chemical Reactions Produced hy LigliU 



1 Ftb^ 18C0. 



sical appearances are so exceedingly singular that I do not 
hesitate to describe them. 

Hydrohromic Acid. — The aqueous solution of this acid 
was placed in a small Woulfe's flask, and carried into 
the experimental tube by a current of air. 

The tube being filled with the mixture of acid, aque- 
ous Tapour, and air, the beam was 8<*nt through it, the 
lens at the same time being so placed as to produce a cone 
of very intense light. Two minutes elapsed before any- 
thing was visible ; but at the end of this time a faint 
bluiiih cloud appeared to hang itself on the most con- 
centrated portion of tlie beam. 

Soon afterwards a second cloud was formed five inch- 
es further down the experimental tube. Both clouds 
were united by a slender cord of cloud of the same b'uish 
tint as themselves. 

As the action of the light continued, the first cloud 
gradually resolved itself into a series of parallel discs of 
exquisite dehcacy ; the discs rotated round an axis per- 
pendicuhir to their surfaces, and finally they blended 
together to produce a screw surface with an inclined 
generatrix. This surface gradually changed into a filmy 
funnel, fi"om the end of which the " cord " extended to 
the cloud in advance. This also underwent modification. 
It resolved itself into a series of strata resembling those 
of the electric discharge. After a little time, and through 
changes which it was difiicult to follow, both clouds pre- 
sented the appearance of a series of concentric funnels 
set one withm the other, the interior ones being seen 
through the spectral walls of the outer ones; those of 
the distant cloud resembled claret glasses in shape. As 
many as six funnels were thus concenti ically set toge- 
ther, the two series being united- by the delicnto cord 
of cloud already referred to. her ccrds and slender 
tubes were afterwards formed, and they coiled them- 
selves in spirals around and along the funnels. 

Rendering the light along the connecting cord more 
intense, it diminished in thickness and became whiter; 
this was a consequence of the enlaigement of its par- 
ticles. The cord finally disappeared, while the funnels 
melted into two phost-like fi ms, shaped hke parasols. 
The films were barely visible, being of an exceedingly del- 
icate blue tint : they seemed woven of blue air. To com- 
pare them with cobweb or with gauze would be to liken 
them to something infinitely grosser than themselves. 

In a second trial the result was very mucli the same. 
A cloud which soon assumed the parasol ?hape was 
formed in front, and 5 inches lower down another cloud 
was formed, in which the funnels already referred to 
were considerably sharpened. It was connected as be- 
fore by a filament with the cloud in front, and it ended 
in a spear-point which extended 12 inches further down 
the tube. 

After many changes, the film in front assumed the 
shape ol a bell, to the convex surface of which a hollow 
cylinder about 2 inches long attached itselfl After 
some time this cylinder broke away fi-om the bell and 
formed it«elf into an iridescent ring, which, without ap- 
parent connection with anything else, rotated on its 
axis in the middle of the tube. The inner diameter of 
this ling was nearly an inch in length, and its outer 
di'tmeter nearly an inch and a half. 

The who!e cloud composed of these 1 eterogeneous 

?ort« was animated throughout by a motion of rotation, 
he rapidity of the rotation could be augmented by in- 
tenyifying the beam. The (ii.-^ks, fimnels, strata, and con- 
volutions of the cloud exhibited at tiu'cs UifirHCtion 
colours, wliich changed colour wih every motion of 
^hc observer's eye. 



Moisture appeared to be favourable to the production 
of these appearances; and it hence became a question 
how far tliey were really produced by the light: hydro- 
hromic aci<l, even from its solution, fumes when it comes 
into contact with the aqueous vapour of the air; its re- 
sidence in water does not appear to satisfy its appetite 
for the liquid. The same effect, as everybody knows, 
is observed in the solution of hyarochloric acid. Might 
not, then, those wonderfully-shaped clouds be produced 
by an action of this kind, the*presence of the light being 
an unnecessary accident? 

The hydrohromic acid was permitted to enter the ex- 
perimental tube and remain in diffuse daylight for five 
minutes. On darkening the room and sending the elec- 
tric beam through it, the tube was optically empty. 
Two minute:*' action of the hght caused the clouds to 
appear, and they afterwards went through the same 
variety of changes as before. 

Ko matter how long the hydrohromic acid was al- 
lowed to remain in the tube, no action occurred until 
the luminous beam was brought into play. The lube 
filled with the mixture of air, aqueous vapour, and hy- 
drohromic acid, was pernriitted to remain for fifteen min- 
utes in the dark. On sending the beam through the 
tube, it- was found optically empty ; but two minutes* 
action of the Hght developed the clouds as before. 

Permitting the beam to pass through a layer of water 
before entering the experimental tube, no diminution of 
its cheipical energy was observed. Permitting it to 
pass through a solution of hydrohromic acid, of the same 
thickness, the chemical energy of the beam was wholly 
destroyed. This ^hows that the vibrations of the dis- 
solved acid are synchronous with those of the gaseous 
aciil, and is a new proof tiiat the constituent atoms of 
the molecule, and not the molecule itself, is the seat of 
the absorption. 

Hydrochloric Add. — ^The aqueous solution of this acid 
was a'so employed and treated hke the solution of hy- 
drohromic acid. I intend to invoke the aid of on artis- 
tic fiiend in an effort to reproduce the effects observed 
during the decomposition, if such it be, of hydrochloric 
acid by light. But artistic skill must, I fear, fail to con- 
vey a notion of them. The cloud was I'f slow growth, 
requiring fifteen or twenty minutes for its full develop- 
ment, ft was then divided into four or five sections, 
every adjacent two of which were united by a slender 
axial cord. Kach of these sections possessed an exceed- 
ingly complex and ornate structure, exhibiting ribs, 
spcai-s, funnels, leaves, involved scrolls, and iridescent 
fleurs-de-lis- Still tlie structure of the cloud from be- 
ginning to end was perfectly symmetrical; it was a 
cloud pf revolution, its corresponding points being at 
equal distances from the axis of the beam. There are 
manv points of resemblance between the clouds of hy- 
drocKloric and hydrohromic acid, and both are perfectly 
distinct from anything obtainable from the substances 

Ereviously mentioned ; in fact, every Uquid appears to 
ave its own special cloud, varying only within narrow 
limits from a normal type. The formation of the cloud 
depends rather upon its own inherent forces than upon 
the environment It is true that, by warming or chill- 
ing the experimental tube at certain points, extraor- 
dinary flexures and whirlwinds may be produced; but 
with a pei fectly constant condition of tube, specific dif- 
ferences of cloud-structure are revealed, the peculiarity 
of each substance stamping itself apparently upon the 
piecipifated vapour derived from its decomposition. 

When the beam before entering the experimental 
tube was sent through a layer of the aqueous acid. 



[EngUmh EditUm, VoL XVIII., Ko. 410. ^ a^M aC9, V1(^\ 



ClIXMHUI. "SwWi, 




Norwegian Titaniferou^s Iran Ores. 



t. AJIOMH I 



ire produced no action. A 

f.tutod for the layer af acid, 

iiilioed to set up tiie decompo- 



Iriodic Acid, — The aqueous solution of this acid 
nb^ ernployod. On Grnt subjecting it to the action 
\-2\\l iu> visible effect was produced ; but subsequent 
'<^ped a \cry extraordinary one. A farailv 
•' pervades the DebuUe of hydriodic, hydro- 
br.jiinf. niid hydrochloric acidii. In alf three cjii?<'s, for 
eximiple, the action cornraenced by the formation of 
two small cfijiids united by a cord; it was very slow, 
«»>d the KT'owth of the cloud in density and beauty 
v»Ty gtadual. The most vivid green and crimson fhnt 
1 havp VRt ol>aerved were exhibited hy tluK substance 
»" ■ T stAj:e8 of ihe action. The development 

^' ' was like that of an orpanisnij from a more 

Or ic-^ lo! uli'.is mass at the commencement, to a etruo- 
Uira of in.^rrenous complexity. I have seen nothing 
JO Astonishintr as the effect obtained, on the 28th ol" 
October, with hydiiodic acid. The cloud extended for 
about 18 inches alonp; the tube, and pra<iuallv shilVd 
Its position from the end ncnrost the lamp to the most 
distAiit cad. The portion quitted by the cloud proper 
-was filled by an amorphous haze, the decomposition 
which was progressing lower d^wu bein;? here appa- 
r<JDUj coinplcti\ A spectnd cone liirncd its apex 
towards the tli.starit end of the tube, and from i s cir- 
culAf ba.=ie filmy drapery seemed to fall. Placed on the 
base of iht? cono was an exquisite vase, from tlie inte- 
nor of which aprung anoher vase of siniibr shape: 
over the ed^es of these vai^es fell the faintest clouds 
resenibt up '^pe.tral sheet.M of liquid. From the cen- 
tro of the upper vas^e a straight cord of cloud passed 
for 8ome distjiiice along* the axis of the experimental 
tube and at eadi gitie of tJiis cord two involved and 
hi^ddy iriJesceiit vortices were (?euerated 



The precise conditions neceesary to render the pro- 
duction of the efi'ects obaerv(>d wkh hydrobromic, hy- 
drochloric, and hydriodic acids a certainty have not yet 
been determined. Air, moreover, i^ the only vehiHo 
which has boen employed here. I hazard no opinion 
a.9 to the chemical nature of these reaction?* The dry 
acids, moreover, I have not vet examined. 



ON THE COMPOSITION AND METALLURGT 

OF SOME NORWEGIAN TITANIFEROUS 

IRON ORES. 

BY DAVID FORBES, r.R.P., ETC. 

CoNSfDERABLc attention ha.«i of late been directed to the 
utilisation of the tilaniferous iron ores, which are found 
ttbundas^tly in New Zealand, C:inada, Scandinavia, and 
other countries, under the 8uppo?ition, entertained by 
many engaged in the manufacture of iron, that tliese 
ores yield, on smeltinp', an iron or st^el alloyed with 
titanium and of very superior quahty. 

In the numerous articles and discussions wluch liavo 
appeared in En crJish journals upon tld' topic the subject 
has been treated as one of entire novelty, and variotis 
patents have also been taken out, evidently under the 
impression that anch ores had never previously been 
utilised, and that their treatment, as well as tlie'naturo 
of their products, had been previou;>ly quite unknown 
to metJillurgiats. 

So far, however, from this being in reality the cane, it 
is well known that the titaniferous magnetites of Swe- 
den, Finland, and Norway, have, from very old perioda, 
been mined and smelted on the hir^e scale in the char- 
coal blast furnaces of tho?e countries, where their mo- 
tflllurgic treatment and value are thoroughly understood 
and appreciated ; and several Scandinavian iron-u asters 
The frontal | ^^^^'^ expressed to me their surprise at the want of in- 
poition of the cloud, which the cor<I p netrated. as- 1 formation p sscS':ed by English metallurgiBts in general 
-*a»e 1 in ^ucces^io^ the forms of rorCR. tuhps?, and sun- "P**" ^^"^ subject. 

era. It o^so pa.s.scd Ihroun-h the appearance of a 1 ^7 '^^^''^ experience in the stnelting of titaniferous 

of bcautifuUy-8liHj)ed bottles placed one within ' ^^^" °^^ dates from as far back ag 1847, when I acted 

other. Once it presented the shape of a fish with 1 ^^ coDsulcnt to some small charcoal iron works in the 

€Jfr*, RvIIn, ami feelerri. The hght was 8U!<pended for ' south of Norway, whore su-.-h ores were smelted in 



several minu'es, and the tube and its doud permitted 
to remain undisturlx-d in darkness On rtMrjuitinjf the 
lamp, (he cloud w;u* «cen apparently motionless withifi 
the tulw; much of ila colour had gone, but ita beauty 
of form was unimpaired. Many of it^ parts were cal- 
oulate<i to r^imirid one of Gassiot's discharges ; but in 
complexity, anl, indeed, in beauty, the dis^oharj^es 
would not bear comparson with thesc! nrrnngemontg of 
cloud* A friend to whom I showed the cloud likened 
it to one of those jelly-like maririe orpanisms which a 
film baridy capable of reflecting the h^dit renders visi- 
ble. Indeed no other comparison is f^o 8uitahle; and 
only did the peifeot symmetry of the exterior sug- 
► ihia idea, but the exquisite casing nnd folding of 
wittdn film {suu'pestod the internal economy of a 
ghly comp:ex organism. The twoness of the animal 
form was displaye*! throughout, and no coil, disc, or 
speck cx.i,-ted on one side of the axis of tlje tube that 
had not il.^ exact counterpart at an equal distance on 
the other. I looked in wonder at this extraordinary 
production for nearly two hours.* 

*,r ^\ ^"' '^, l"*'f«cl M If tnrn<>.1 In * lothe ; * "It troutd prove ix- 

Cec^llri.'ty vuiMui.!.- t., i.rai.Tii-.l.-sk'iiri- - wer© r«fn«rk* umiJo bv tnr 

»*•' L Mr. Litdil. wtio Isliitf. 

"'"' • of tho floctrtc dtocharKe 

,', ■ . .':.-'- rn> Bffpct h« ha*l er«r wet) 



quantity. From my notes and analyses I have extract- 
ed the followinis'^ remarks, which may be regarded as a 
continuation of a short paper '*0n the Composition and 
Metallurgy of some Norwcjjian Iron Ores," winch ap- 
peared in Ni>. 416 of this journal (Nov. 22, 1S67, Am, 
i?<p/)r., Jan. 1.S68, p. 24), and which may not be without 
interest to mctallurgislp. 

Titttni/erous Magnetite {Cristine Mine, Krafitmai). — 
Tliia ore occurs as a lode, or more properly^ metallifer- 
ouB zone, inbedded in the metnmorphic schists in the 
small islands, or rather >"ocks, called Dybsunds Holmene, 
in the Kragx^roc Qord, in SDuthern Norway. The ore 
in this zone is about 6 feet wide, but generally occiirs 
in lenticular m&^ses, haviajr^ a general strike of N.N.W., 
with a dip of 80' westerly. The metiillic de(>o8it is 
cut across by a posterior granite dyke, whiih, how- 
ever, does not materially disturb it.s course. The ore 
itself is titaniferous maj'-netite ; it is attracted by the 
magnet, but not very strongly so, and is intermixed 
with particles of coiourlesis quartz and preen-black 
hornblende, whilst it is occasionally seen to contain 
minute spangles of magnetic pyrites. Its colour is 
brilUant black, and it retains this colour and lustre even 
after long exposure to the air and raoisttire. 

h«r« Imperfectly d4tcribi'<L I m«nUon Uii« to ljidlc&t« hf»T the 
niena affeeted attacr cfei ttun mlae. 



(BagUmh Bditlon, Vol, XVm, Wo. 470, pa«« 170', THo. 47\, ^^« V\^\ 



70 



Norivegiun Titanifei'cms Iron Ores, 



1 Feb^ 18». 



The analysis of this ore was conducted as follows : — 
A weighed amount of the ore was fused in a gold cruci- 
ble with eight times its weight of bisulphate of soda, 
until all soluble matter had been taken up. The fused 
mass was treated with cold water until nothing re- 
mained but ^ome pure white silica, which was filtered 
off, washed, and determined: to the solution, much 
diluted with water, a few drops of nitric acid was 
added (in order to prevent the titanic acid carrying 
down sesquioxide of iron along with it), and the whole 
boiled for a considerable period. The titanic acid thus 
precipitated was determined after ignition, when it 
possessed a light yellow colour. The alumina, oxide of 
iron, lime, and magnesia in the filtrate were now sep- 
arated as usual, and the determination • of the iron 
checked by the volumetiic process (by bichromate of 
potash) upon a separate portion of the ore dissolved in 
nitro-hydroclJoric acid, and also used for determining 
the amount of sulphur present Phosphorus was sought 
for, but not discovered, although both Abel's and 
Spiller's methods (Chemical News, vol. vi., p. 133, and 
vol. xiii., p. 170 Eng. Ed.), as well as the molybdate 
process, were employed. The following percentage 
results were obtained : — 

Iron 42*04 

Oxygen (as loss) 1603 

Protoxide of manganese 014 

Alumina 2*61 

Lime 2*11 

Magnesia r88 

Silica 19-90 

Titanic acid 1510 

Sulphur 019 

Phosphorus o'co 



[OOOO 



The experience of the Scandinavian iron-masters 
has shown that the only objection to the u?e of -titan- 
iferous ores is, that they are found to be more and 
more refractory in the blast furnace in proportion as 
they contain a greater percentage of titanic acid ; and if 
much titanium is present, they require so much larger 
an amount of charcoal to smelt them as not to render 
their employment profitable in a country where other 
ores free from titanium can be obtained at a reasonable 
rate. 

After considerable experience in smelting the above 
ore, which yielded a very good iron, it was found un- 
profitable to smelt it alone for the above reason ; but 
its use was found beneficial when employed in about 
equal proportions with the other ores of the district 
wliich were free from titanium. In the attempts to 
cause it to smelt more easily, my predecessor, under 
the supposition that a volatile compound of silicon and 
titanium would be formed, fluxed this ore with grad- 
ually increasing charges of stamped quartz, until at last 
a cast-ii:on was obtained so highly charged with silicon 
that it flowed from the furnace like porridge. 

I, on the contiary, used Hme as a flux, and probably 
went at first to the o'ber extreme, with the object of 
slagging off the titanic acid as titanate of lime, but I 
did not obtain a satisfactory result; subsequently, how- 
ever, the examination of some silico-titanates. which 
proved much more fusible than pure titan ates, led me 
to employ a mixture of stamped quartz and hmestone 
as a flux. This was found to give very satisfactory re- 
sults in practice, and when the amount of titanium in 
the ore did not exceed 8 per cent, or was reduced to 
this percentage by admixture of other ores of iron free 



from titanic acid, no difficulty was experienced in 
working this ore cleanly and profitably. The cast-iron 
produced, upon analysis, did not contain phosphorus, 
only a trace of sulphur, and afforded 0*05 per cent ti- 
tanic acid, equal to 0*03 per cent titanium, which I im- 
agine was rather mechanically intermixed than chem- 
ically combined with the iron. 

The cast-iron, liowever, possessed a pecnliar fracture, 
not easily described, but easily distinguished by the 
furnace men, who could at once recognise the pig from 
these ores, even after it had been re-melted in the 
cupola. 

The slags from this ore (and titaniferous ores in gen- 
eral), even in cases where it had only been employed 
as an admixture of as low as 10 per cent of the charge, 
are at once recognisable, both by their behaviour when 
fluid, as well as their appearance and fracture when 
cold. As they flow from the furnace, a series of blis- 
ters (if they may be so called) rise up from the slag, 
sometimes to the height of from 6 inches to a foot, and 
about the thickness of the wrist; after standing up thus 
for some minutes with a very peculiar app»earance, 
they suddenly collapse, and sink into the still fluid cur- 
rent of slag, leaving merely a depressed mark to show 
where they had previously raised themselves. 

When cold the slag has generally an external glassy 
coating, about ^th to f of an inch in thickness, of a 
greenish or greenish brown colour beneath which the 
whole mass is an agglomeration or crystalline needles, 
of a brown or brownish yellow colour, often very po- 
rous. 

Many of these slags are tinged blue, especially when 
more compact, and they have often a fine blue colour 
at the points of junction of the crystalline internal 
mass with the external vitreous coating, this colour 
being probably due to the reduction of the titanic acid 
to a lower state of oxidation. 

The blast furnace in which these ores were smelted 

Eossessed the following dimensions : — Total vertical 
eight from sole of hearth to charging plane, 32 feet; 
height from hearth to tuyeres, i^ feet; ditto to shoul- 
der, 6 feet; ditto from shoulder to widest diameter, 2 
feet; diameter at hearth, 2 feet; ditto at shoulder, 4 
feet; ditto at widest part, 7 feet; ditto at charging 
plane, 5 feet. The blast was provided by tliree square 
boxes, and was heated to about 500° F. (260° C.) by 
the waste gases from the furnace. The ore was roast- 
ed in furnaces situated on the top of the furnace and 
heated by the waste gases, and after roasting it was 
broken up to the size of nutmegs by rollers. The 
charcoal employed was a mixture of spruce, fir, and 
pine, and it required 40 English cubic feet of this char- 
coal (about 3744 lbs. in weight) to produce i ton cast- 
iron. The total yield of cast-iron per week from these 
small furnaces was, on an average, about 16 tons, Uie 
ore pro'lucing about 33 per cent iron. 

TitaniferotM Magnetite (Oullaxrud Mine, Eger). — The 
occurrence of tliis ore is very strikingly similar to that 
of the last described, and it may be stated that the 
majority of the titaniferous iron deposits of Scandi- 
navia which I have examined possess characters of 
great similarity with one another, seldom or ever 
being found as true metalUc lodes, but usually as de- 
posits in the metamorphic schists (generally horn- 
blendic) in lenticular masses, which arrange themselves 
in the direction of the foliation of the rock itselfl 

In the Gullaxrud mine the long axis of the lenticular 
mass of iron ore runs about east and west, the deposit 
dipping at a high angle (80") to the north ; and at the 



LBxxglUt £kUtton, Vol XVIXL, No. 471, p«««t VI&, VI«.\ 



— JTAi. Htvn, I 



TJie Zircoiiia LighL — JJr, Lethehy on Fooil 



11 



point, tipon \vbid» ihf* muia workinjrs have hpen sunk 
tlic flr.'ktj ore i>os>essed a width of about 18 feet. 

T' ' I >u8 muETDolite of a brilliant 

d<'e ts not chanpre or vn^i upon 

eTK|n':-uii. Mj lui iiijij iiuMsi iin* j it contaitis a Rouiewhat 
Intimate ntluiixUjre of hornblende ftud quartz with 

epi^' - ■ ^' •■■•-" 'if sulphide of iron, and the whole is 

Bli'j ly the iiKignet. 

-' .; ;43 conducted in the grrme manner as 

in ot' the pt liviously-dcseiibed titaniferou& 

in:i - >iu Krnprroi*, willi tlie txreption only that 

lli' us present was separated by fusion with 

car . : Rodn, and afterwards determined a* pyro- 

(»ho>phatc< of magnesia in tho usual manner. The re- 
sults obtained were aa follows : — 

Iron , . . . 3SS9 

Oxrgen (as \ms) 1 4 84 

Prol*»xfde of mnrig^atteso. ... ... 0*48 

Alumina , 1 70 

liiine 3-55 

>MAgiieaia -^ '98 

Silica 28 10 

Titanic ncid 710 

fiiilpliur o'59 

Phaephopua 077 



Tlie amounts of phosphoma nnl sulphur contained 
in fhife ore are so large as to prevent its being employed 
for thn pro;1uction of charcoal bar-iron, as the trial 
pmchint*-!* made for this purpose showe 1 that the bora 
obtaitif'd wero extremely red-short, Tlie abundance 
of the ore, and its eon-equent cheapness*, as well as its 
proximity to the smelting works, rendered it, however, 
of importance for the production of castinfj^ piq*. A 
sample of this pig was examined by me. and found to 
COfUaiu both sulphur and pliosphorus, alonp; with 0*26 

f\i*T cent litnnic a<'id, equivalent to 016 per cent melal- 
\f. tjtaniunv which most probably wa* only mechani- 
cally intermixmi, and not alloyed or chemically com- 
bined with the iron. 

The ore when smelted alone was found to be refrnc- 
iory, and not to produce a li(|uid slag; but this dilTi« 
cully disappeared when it was Bmelted alonj^ with 
Other or<'s tree from titAninm, in a simUar manner to 
the titaniferou3 maguetltj from Krageroe before de- 
si>ribed. 



THE ZIRCONIA LIGHT^ 

Mr^shs. Tcs8 6 du Motay and Co. have patented an 
invention for improvements in preparing zirconia, and 
the employment of the name to develope the light 
<jf oxy hydrogen flame. The Bpecification is as fol- 
lows .- — 

ZircoH'a, or oxide of zirconium, in whatever man* 
ner it may bo extpact*^l fr«>m its ores, can be agglome- 
ra'od by compression; lor example, into sticks, disc^^ 
cylinders, or othor forms suitable fi>r being exposed to 
lliM flame of mx lures of oxygen and hydrogen, with- 
out undergoing fusion or other alteration. Of all the 
known tesTons oxides it is the only one which ^emain^* 
entirely unahered when submiiteJ to the action of a 
blowpipe fed by oxygen and hydrogen, or mixtures of 
oxygen with ga*eous or liquid carbonated hydrogena. 
Zircon irt is also, of all the terrous oxide*, that which, 
when intro luced into an oxyhydrogon flame, devel- 
ops* iho most intense and the most fixed Ughl. 

To obtain zirconia in a commercial state I extract it 



from its native ores by transforming by the action of 
chlorine in the presence of coal or charcoal tlie Bilicafe 
of zirconium into double chlori !e of zirconium and of 
silicium. The chloride of siliciura. which is more vola- 
tile than the chloride of zirconium, i.*; separated IVora 
the latter by the action of heat ; the chloride of airco- 
niurn remaining is afterwards converted to the state 
of oxide by any of the method:, now used in chemis- 
try. The zirconia thus ohtiiined is llrBt calcined, then 
moistened, and submitted in moulds to the action of a 
press with or without tho intervention of agglutinant 
substanceR, such as borax, horacic acid, or clay. Tho 
8'iekfs, cylinders, diat«, or other forms thus agglomera- 
ted, are brought to a high temperature, and thus re- 
ceive a kind of tempering or preparing, the efleet of 
which is to increase their density and molecular corn* 
paotness. 

I can also compress in moulds shaped for the piir- 
pose a small quantity of zirconium capable of forming 
a cylinder or piece of little thickness, which may bo 
united by compression in the R;ime mould to other re- 
fractory eartli"*, such as magnesia and clay. In this 
manner I obtain stickis or pieces of which only the 
part exposed to the action of the flame ia of pure zir- 
conia, while the remainmg portion which serves as a 
support to it ia composed of a cheap material. 

The property composed by zirconi:i of being at once 
thfl most infu-ible, the most unalterable, and the most 
luminous of all the chemical substanceii at present 
known when it is exposed to the action of an oxyhy- 
drogen flame, has never before been discovered, nor 
ha? it.s property of being capable of Agglomeration and 
mouldinij, either ^leparately or mixed with a small por- 
tion of an agglutinant substance. 



ON FOOD.* 

BT DR. LETOEDT, M.A., M.D., tC. 
(CoaUnned from Am. Kepr., Jaaumt, t%9, fioge 19^ 

Preaermtion 0/ Food — Untoholesame and AduUerakd 
Food. 

It require? no argument to show that tlic preservation 
of food is a matter of great public importance ; for it not 
only enables u« to provide against actual want in periods 
of unuBUul scarcity, but it also aETords \ho means of 
equalising the distribution of food at all times, bo that 
the excess of one country may be used in supjdyingthj 
deficiency of another. In the pastoral districts — for 
example, of Canada, AustruUn, Tasmania, the Cape of 
Good Hope, Mexico, the Argentine Republic, and the 
Brazils— thousands of tons of meat are always availab'u 
as food, and yet they arc lost to us because of the diffi- 
culties of pr'eaerviug it. In South America, at least 
2,000,000 beast* are unnually slaughtered for the fat, skin, 
and bonea, the flesh of which could be supplied here at 
less than 2|d. per lb. So also ia Australia, the amount of 
meat available as food is practically inexhaustible. Last 
year Mr. Philpott stated to the Food Committee of the 
l^ociety of Art-?, that he himself was in the habit of 
melting down from 1,000 to 1,500 sheep daily for four 
monfhs together; and tliat in the vast districts of rich 
pa.stnTe-land from Victoria to Brisbane, there was an 
unlimited supply of the very finest meat—all of wbii-h 
was at present entirely wasted, because of the difliculty 
of disposing of the flesh ; and therefore the carcases of 
the animals were melted down for fat, A bullock in 

• The Ckator ]>ctiirM, dallrcrcd btton Uie Soddf of ArU. 



[£iiSbih XdJiKD, Vol. XVllI^ Ko AIX, i»st« 2.16, V}1 \ 



72 



Dr. Letlieby on Food, 



S Chexioal lRwm% 
\ Ftb^ 1809. 



Australia, he said, costs only from;^3 tO;^4 ; and legs of 
mutton of the very best quality were, when salted, sold 
for 3s. a dozen. If some simple and practicable means 
could be devised for preserving such meat, it might be 
supplied to our markets at less than 3d. a pound. 

Until recently, the only process employed for this pur- 
pose was the rude method of salting the meat, but the 
deterioration of it was so obvious, and the distaste for it 
SD general, that it was only practised to a limited extent, 
andffor occasions when fresh meat could not be obtained. 
The salt junk of the navy in olden time was a good ex- 
ample of the wretchedly unwholesome and indigestible 
meat prepared, for it could hardly be called preserved, 
by this process. Recognizing, therefore, the necessity 
for a better means of preserving food, the naval authori- 
ties of every country appealed to science, and gave the 
largest encouragement to inventors. A further stimulus 
to invention was created by the necessity for supplying 
our Arctic explorers with good and wholesome food dur- 
ing their long winter residence in the frozen seas of the 
North ; and as that inquiry was set on foot, not merely 
for the purpose of discovering a north-west passage to 
our possessions in America, but also with the view of 
prosecuting scientific research in almost inaccessible 
region?, an unusual inducement was offered for the pre- 
paration of such food. The demand thus created was 
soon acknowledged by science, and was also met by the 
practical skill of the manufacturer, so that the Arctic 
voyager went confidently on his journey, knowing that 
he had other food than the unwholesome junk of the 
navy. The earliest preparations supplied to him were 
mixtures of dried meat with sugar and spice (pemmican), 
but after a time they were furnished with fresh meat 
preserved in air-tight cases. At first the supply was 
chiefly for voyagers in cold countries, but when the 
value of this method of preservation became known, the 
European residents of hot climates, as Indin, eagerly 



is of very ancient date. In our anatomical museums we 
have long known that specimens of the animal body 
mav be preserved for an indefinite time by drying them, 
and then varnishing them so as to exclude the moisture. 
Here is a dissection prepared in that manner, which has 
been used for lecture illustration at the London Hospi- 
tal for more than half a century, and yet it is as sound aa 
when it was made. In warm climates it has been a 
practice for ages to preserve fish, and even meat, by 
drying them — the meat being cut into strips and exposed 
to the action of warm dry dr. Charqui, or South 
American beef, which you see here, is an example of it. 
It is obtained from animals that are grass-fed, and they 
are killed by pithing and then bleeding them. Directly 
the hide is taken off, the flesh is strippeii from the bones 
and allowed to cool. It is then placed on a table, and 
jerked, or cut up into thin slices, which are piled up in 
heaps with alternate layers of salt. After standing 
twelve hours the meat is turned, and fresh salt is 
added where necessary. The next aay the salted strips 
are placed upon hurdles, and exposed to the sun to dry. 
It requiies two or three days to dry the meat thorough- 
ly, and, for fear of damp, it is always taken indoors at 
night. There are several varieties of this meat — as pato, 
which is the best and most free from sinew; manta, the 
second quality ; and tasajo, the third, which is very thin 
and full of sinews. All the varietiis require to be well 
soaked in water, and then to be cut small and cooked 
by prolonged boiling. But animal foods arc not well 
preserved in this manner, as they lose their flavour, and 
'become tough and indigestible; the fat also gets rancid, 
and in damp weather the meat absorbs moisture and 
becomes mouldy and sour. Perhaps the lean parts of 
meat — as the heart, tongue, and strips of muscle--might 
be advantageously preserved in this way, especially in 
warm and dry chmates. The Food Committee of this 
Society reported favourably of a specimen of dry pow- 
sought for the fresh foods which they were accustomed j dered beef from Queenstown, which they said was in 
to use in their own country, and thus an additional | excellent condition, and contained about four times as 



stimulus was given to this process of manufacture. At 
the present time it has acquired gigantic proportions. 

I have before me a list of the specifications of patents 
relating to the preservation of food, from the year 1691 
to the end of 1855, and I find that only one was de- 
scribed in the seventeenth century, and three in the 
eighteenth, while as many as 117 were specified in the 
first fidy-five years of the present century. Invention, 
however, has not been prolific of new processes, for it 
is mainly confined to an application of one or two simple 
elementary principles — 26 of the patents, for example, 
are for the preservation of food by drying ; 3 1 by ex- 
cluding atmospheric air ; 8 by covering the food with 
an impervious substance, as fat, extract of meat, gelatine, 
collodion, &c. ; and 7 by injecting meat with various 
sal's. 

But before we proceed witJi the examination of these 
processes, it will be advantageous to inquire a little into 
the circumstances which favour organic decomposition. 
It would seem, from experiment and observation, that 
three concurrent conditions are absolutely necessary for 
active putrefaction — viz., the presence of much moist- 
ure, the access of atmospheric air, and a certain temper- 
ature, as from about 40° to 200^ of Fahrenheit ; any of 
these being absent, the organic .substance resists decay. 
All proser\'ative processes must, therefore, depend on 
an application of one or other of these principles ; and 
pirhaps we may add a fourth — viz., the action of chemi- 
cal agents. Let us review them in detail. 

1st. The preservation of substances by drying them 



much nutriiious matter as ordinary meat. Generally, 
however, the fat is very rancid, even when pains are 
taken to prevent the substance from getting mouldy. It 
is for the same rea on that all attempts to preserve milk 
and the yolk of eggs by drying have failed, although the 
dried white of egg will keep well, as in the process of 
Mr. Charles Lament, where the albumen is dried in thin 
scales — forty-four eggs making about i lb. of the pre- 
paration. Absorbent substances mixed with the fatty 
food will obviate the difficulty to some extent, as in the 
preparation of pemmican, where sugar and spice are 
added to the tiry powdered meat; and in the several 
processes for preserving milk by evaporating it and 
mixing it with sugar, &c., as in the patents of Newton 
(1835), Grimwade (1847 and 1855), Louis (1848), &c.; 
as well as the process of Davison and Symington (1847), 
for preserving q^^s by mixing the yolks and whites 
with flour, ground rice, or other farinaceous substance, 
and drying. Extract of meat also may bo preserved in 
the same manner, as in the patent of Donaldson (i793)) 
of Robertson (185 1), and of Borden (1851), where the 
extract, after the separation of fat, is mixed with fari- 
naceous matters; in the last case it is also baked in the 
form of biscuits. In the year 1854, MM. Blumenthal 
and Chollet obtained their patent for combining meat 
and vegetables in the form of tablets, by first drying the 
vegetables and pressing into cakes, and then submitting 
j them to successive immersions in rich soup — allowing 
I them to dry in warm air after each immersion. When 
I the extract of meat is made without fat or gelatine, as 



[EngliMh Edition, VoL ZYni^ Na 471, p«%wZll,71B.^ 






Dn Ijisthehy on I^ootL 



73 



!?,«> . ff^ty of Liebig's extJ-act, it may be kept for a long 

1 ]\as\y condition, AvitJKiut mixing it with faii- 

moilers, uhhougli the preparation of it with 

baked flour, aa ab-eatly de8cnbe<l, 13 » great improve- 

incnt. 

The process of dr jiug is, however, best adaptc J for 
the prcttiTvatiou of vegetaUe aubiUmcei^, tmd it has 
bixrii JO used from time iniiuemoriul, a^ in the keeping 
«r pot-herbs, io prcpwing the lea-leaf, in making hay, 
&C» lu tliis country, the first recorded patent for pre- 
«ervii»g vejretableH by drying ihem was granted in 17S0, 
to John Oiaefer, who sought to retain the llaTOurs of 
vcgtlables by Grst dippiuef them iu boiling salt and 
wattT, and then drying. l?'orty years later (1820) John 
Vailance obtained a patent for preserving hops by dry- 
ing iheui, and then corapreirsingtheni into a small ypacc. 
Then came the patents of Edwards (August, 1840), for 
boitin^r, granulating, and drying potatoes ; and of Gril- 
lett (Xovt-mber, 1840;, for preserving botli cooked and 
uncooked potatoes by drymg. Ten years aftenvatds 
(in NovcndfCr, 1850), Matron obtained hia patent for 
preserving vegetables by drying tliem and forcibly 
coaiprc^ing th<L-m, so that tl»ey were reduced to one- 
i»eveuth tlieir original bulk — a cubic yard containing 
rations for 16,000 men. This process has l>een very 
eocoejrtifu], and it is still practised by Devaus, Chollet, 
and otliers f^r it serves lor thei>re&ervation of all kinds 
of vegetablea^as potatoes, cabbages, carrots, cauliflow- 
ers, beans, apples, &c. ; and when steeped in water 
tliev re-abs;orb their natural proportions of moiature 
and ttwelt out to their original size. They are, how- 
over, isoniewhut deficient of flavour, and they require 
pr^ilonged boihng, aa from one and a half to cue and 
thrce-quiu ter hours, to cook them. 

By a more careful process of drying, Mr. Makepeace 
has managed to preserve both the colour and the ilavour 
of vegetables, especially of pot-herb«, as you may gee 
from thei^e specimena. 

Altogether there are. or have been, about thirty-one 
patenrtiiii this country for the preservation of various 
article? offijod by di'ying tUem. 

2iut The preservation of organic matter by exclud- 
ing atmospheric air is, like tlje last, a very ancient pro- 
cess- The old practice of burying the dead in leaden 
cof&na, and the still more ancient custom of swaUiing 
them iu resinous bandages or waxed cloth? (called cere- 
ments), owe their preservative powers to the exclusion 
of almo-pheric airj and it is remarkable, seeing the 
eflicai:y of tJie process, that the scientific ptiaci|)le of it 
was not long ago recognised and applit^d to the pres- 
ervation of food. Tht' first patent of the khid that I 
am notpiaiutvd wiLh in this country, was granted to 
Francis Plowdvn, in June, 1807; and he describes it 
a process for '" preserving butehers' meat, animal 

I other comestible substances, by encrusting th» 111 

fth ft Bubstance, which must not. only re^i-'*t tbe eflects 
of atmospheric air, but must not communicate any noxi- 
011-^ (lujt! I V Jo its content^/' and for this purponeheem- 
p!' •• or extract of meat^ — the substance being 

drt 1 lat it may preserve tlie longer, is wiped 

dry, and put into a wooden ve^el, and the not extract 
U poured over it iu a fusible state, so as to find its way 
into every vacuum. Three years later (m February, 
l8lo)j Augustus de Ileine took out the first patent for 
pre^en'ing meat, by exhausting the air from the vessel 
eontaiuing the meat, and he contrived a ma^'hine for 
the purpose, as the action of the common air-pump was 
lediou^. Six and thirty years aftef this (1846) the late 
WariAgton, of Apothecaries' Hull, obtained his pat- 



ent for the preservation of arumal substances, by coat- 
ing them with common glue, gelatine, or concentrated 
meat gravies, or otherwise by dipping them in waim 
solutions fif such substances ; or by wraji[nng thera in 
waterproof cloth, or covering them with caoub.houc, 
gutta-pereha, or varnish. These mark the i^tarting- 
pointsof the various processes now in use; for ex- 
ample : — 

(//). or those wlxich owe their operation to the ex- 
clusion of air, by filling up the vessel with something 
hot, there arc the patents of Plowden (1807), who 
used rich gravy or extract of meat ; of GranLoIm (181 7), 
who used hot fat or hot animal jelly ; and of Wothly 
(*^55)? ^vho used oil, as in preserkiog anchovies. 1 am 
rather surpristtd, considering bow easily the exclusion 
of air is effu'cted by surrounding the substance wiih 
ho( fat, tljat this method of preserving meat has not 
been adonted in Australia and South America; for aa 
the fat wnieh dicy prepare from their wild stock is sent 
to this country in casks, there would be no difficulty in 
sending Willi it the finer descriptions of joints^ as legs 
of mutton and good pieces of beef The procej^s should 
be conducted as follows : — Wlieu the fat is melted, and 
is at a temperature of from 240' to 250' Fahr., the 
fresh jointa should be plunged into it, and kept there 
fur a few minutes, so that the superficial moisture might 
be thoroughly, evaporated. Ti.ey should then be im- 
mediately packed in sound dry ca^k«, and fiUed up with 
hot fat, at a temperature of 212" or thereabout. In Una 
manlier the fat and the johita might be IruJismitted to 
tlils country, and on their arrival there would be no 
difficulty in mehing the fat while in the casks, and then 
iemo%ing the preserved joints. 

Vegetable substances are frequently preserved in bot- 



tler filled up with hot ?yrup, and the practice is a very 
old one. llat water u? also used for the same purpose, 
and Utis method dates from the year 1S07, when this 



Socie'y gave a premium to Mr. Saddington for his 
method of preserving fruits without eugar. His pro- 
cess was to gather tlio fruit a little before ripening, and 
to put it immediately into clean bottles, — GUing the 
bottles with the fruit to the neck. They were ihen 
placed in a vessel of cold water, and heai was applied 
until it rose to the temperature of 160^ to 170 Fahr. 
After standing exposed Io this temperature fjr half an 
hour, the bottles were filled up to within an inch of the 
U>[> with boiling water, and were then immediately 
corked and covered at the top with cement. The no- 
tion of the heat was not merely to expel aimospheric 
air from the bottles, but also to coagulate the vegeta- 
ble albumen of the fruit Fruits and green vegetables 
are atdl preserved in this manner, a httle alum being 
generally added to the water in the botde for jho pur- 
pose of hardening the tender skin of the fruit, and go 
preventing its disfigurement by bursting. 

(//). A process not very unhke the preceding La that 
which consisU? in the destruction of the oxygen of the 
air iu the vessel by heating the substance in it Thta 
is the plan of M. Appert who, in 18 10 (three years 
after the publication oi Mr. Saddington's method), ob- 
tained the reward of 12,000 francs, oSerod in the pre- 
ceding year by the French Government^ for the best 
method of preserving food. Here is the book which 
M. Appert wrote at the time, and he teWs us to cook 
the food to some extent, and put it into strong gla*8 
bottles — filling them almost to tlie top. The bottles 
are then to be securely corked, and expoSi^'d lor some 
time to the action of boding water. To guard against 
accident from bureiiog, the corks are to be wired down, 



[BagUah EdiUon, Vol rTILl^ ISo. All, fa^ft Vn\ 



74 



I>r. Leikehy on Food, 



\ Ohkmical News, 
\ F«b.y 1869. 



and the bottles wrapped up separately in cloths. After 
this the corks are to be well covered with pitch, to ex- 
clude atmospheric air. A like process was patented in 
the autumn of the same year (1810), by Mr. Peter Du- 
rand, who, no doubt, derived it from the published ac- 
count of M. Appert, dated nine months before ; and 
since then many such patents have been obtained, 
whice I need not describe. Attempts have frequently 
been made to presei-ve milk by this process. Appert 
recommended that the milk should be boiled down to 
about half its bulk before putting it into the bottles; 
and in 1847 Bekaert tried to improve the process by 
adding carbonate of soda to the milk. Later still, in 
the same year, Martin de Lignac obtained a patent for 
preserving milk, by evaporating it to one-sixth of its 
bulk before bottUng it. Then there were the patents 
of Symington and of Moreau (1853), but oil these 
methods have failed in practice on account of the dif- 
ficulty of preventing the separation of the butter. 

(c); The preservation of food by exhausting the air 
from the vessel containing it dates, as I have said, from 
the year 1810, when Augustus de Heine proposed to 
use a vessel with a valve in the top of it, which allowed 
the air to be drawn out by means of a special apparatus, 
but not again to enter. The exhaustion, however, was 
so imperfect that the process did not answer. In 1828 
Mr. Donald Currie improved it by admitting carbonic 
acid gas into the vessel after it was thoroughly ex- 
hausted; and later still, in 1836, M. Leignette still 
further improved it, by filling the vessels containing the 
food with salt and water, and then letting out the liquid 
through Ihe aperture, which remained open for that 
purpo-e, while carbonic acid gas went in. Six years after 
this (in 1842), Mr. John Bevan patented a process for 
drawing out the air by an exhausting apparatus, and 
then admitting a warm solution of gelatine, and in 1846 
Mr. Rettie employed, in like manner, a solution of com- 
mon salt. But none of these methods were successftil ; 
nor was the patent of Mr. Ryan, in 1846, for using 
gases, chiefly acetic acid vapour and carbonic acid gas. 
The most peifect process of this kind was patented by 
Messrs. Jones and Trevcthick. It consists of an ap- 
paratus whereby the exhaustion of the vessel containing 
the raw food is effected in an air-tight trough of water, 
and thus the entrance of air and the collapse of the 
sides of the vessel arc completely prevented. After 
the exhauS ion pure nitrogen is admited into the vessel, 
for the purpose of diluting the residuum of air, and it is 
again exhausted. Lastly, a charge of nitrogen, con- 
taining a little sulphurous acid, is let into it, and thus 
the last trace of oxygen is chemically absorbed. The 
vessels are now in a proper condition lor removal from 
the air-tight water trough and for having the apertures 
sealed with solder. Meat, fish, and poultry preserved 
in this manner has been found good after seven or eight 
years; and specimens of them were exhibited in the 
London Exhibition of 1862. 

(ef). The most common method of driving out the 
air is by means of steam. The food is put, with a charge 
of water, into a tin case with a hole in the top, and 
when the water is boiUng actively, and steam has dis- 
placed the air, and is escaping freely, the hole is stopped 
with solder. This process dates as far back as 1820; 
but the first patent for it was granted to M. Pierre An- 
toine Angilbert, in 1823. He had, however, a very rude 
method of applying heat to the tin vessels, and this was 
improved by Wertheimer in 1840. In the month of 
Tanuary of the year following, Mr. Gunter improved it 
further ; and later in the same year both Goldner 



and Wertheimer obtained patents for using a bath of 
muriate of hme for heating the vessels. This, in fact, is 
the practice at the present lime by Goldner, McCaU, 
Richie, Morton, and others, who are largely engaged in 
the preservation of food. The details of the process for 
effecting it are tA follows : — The raw meat and vege- 
tables are put into the canisters and soldered down — a 
pin-hole aperture being left in the lid. The canister is 
then subjected to the heat of the bath (a little above 
212") until the contents are about two-thirds cooked ; 
and theUj while the steam is blowing freely out, the 
aperture is dexterously sealed tight with solder. The 
canister is then painted over with a stiff oil paint, and 
is exposed for some time in the testing room to a tem- 
perature sufficiently high to promote decomposition. If 
the canister shows no sign of bulging out from the ge- 
neration of putrefactive gases, it is considered sound. 
Messrs. Hogarth and Co., of Aberdeen, use steam in- 
stead of the muriate of lime bath. 

Meat preserved in this manner will keep for a con- 
siderable time. At the Exhibition of 1851 vouchers 
were given for some of the samples that had been pre- 
served for twenty-five years ; and at the Exhibition of 
1862 I examined specimens of food that had been kept 
for more than thirty years. To-night^ through the 
kindness of Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell, I am able to 
show you a specimen of preserved mutton which has 
been in the case fortv-four years, and you will per- 
ceive that it is in excellent condition. It formed part 
of the stores supplied by Messrs. Donkin and Gamble 
in 1824 to his Majesty's exploring ship " Fury," which 
was wrecked in Prince Regent's Inlet in 1825, when 
the cases were landed with the other stores, and left 
upon the beach. Eight years afterwards (in August, 
1833), they were found by Sir John Ross in the same 
condition as they w^ere left; and he wrote to Mr. 
Gamble at the end of that year saying " That the pro- 
visions were still in a perfect state of preservation, al- 
though annually exposed to a temperature of 92° below 
and 80° above zero." Some of the cases were left un- 
touched by Sir John Ross; and after a further interval 
of sixteen years, the place was visited by a party from 
H.M.S. " Investigator," when, according to a letter from 
the captain. Sir James Ros?, '* the provisions were still 
in excellent condition, after having laid upon the beach, 
exposed to the action of the sun and all kinds of weather, 
for a period of nearly a quarter of a century." Messrs. 
Crosse and Blackwell have placed the original letters in 
my hands for perusal, and they show, beyond all doubt, 
that meat preserved in this manner will keep good for 
nearly half a century — in fact, the case of boiled mutton 
now before you has been preserved for forty-four years. 
There can be no question, therefore, as to the success of 
the process; and hence it is largely practised, not only 
in this country, but also in our colonies, where ibod is 
abundant. In this way preserved salmon and lobsters 
are sent to us from Newfoundland, turtle from Jamaica, 
beef and mutton from Canada, and the dainty tail of the 
kangaroo from Australia. There are, however, two 
serious objections to the process — namely, that the meat 
is nearly always overcooked, and the cases are likely to 
buckle and crack from the constant pressure of the 
atmosphere — there being a vacuum within them. The 
over-cooking arises from a d«'sire to ensure the complete 
exclusion of at mospheric air by the steam. Mr. Na.«!myth 
has proposed, in his patent of 1855, that a little alcohol 
should be mixed with the water, so that the boiling-point 
may be reduced ; while Mr. McCall, taking advantage of 
the absorbent action of sulphite of soda on oxygen, re- 



[EngVmh Bdition, VoL XVIII., Ko. 471, va«M 3^> '^'^\ 






L>r. Ltthehy on Food^ 



75 



c^tnni.^twU r. i..^*i iHvilrvr-r,u,^ liotling and the use ofalittle 
ol ntained in a small espeole, 

fix -r to the inner surface of the 

eov^T c\ tbf ca^o. When the food is about two-thirds 
yoked, nnd steam is Ireel}' escaping, the hole in tlje lid 
"_etc>pped with a very hot iron, which melts the soft 

" k*r uf the eap:*ule within, and so jet^ free the little 

pellet of sulphite of soda, which speedily nbsorbs the 
rctnt^ant of oxyi^eu left iu the ease. 

Tho other ditlictdty, namely, I he cracking of the case 
fri>m atino'pheric pressure, is obviated, a« I have already 
explnineil, l»y the mtroduction of inert gfise?, as carbonic 
acid, nitrogen, &c., and with a little sulphurous acid, and 
these have teen tlie subject of many patents, as of Currie 
(1828), Leignelte (1836), Ryan (1846), Nas-myih (1855), 
and 01 he) 8. 

(,<)- The lust method of any importance for excluding 
atmos|iheric air from food is bj* coaling it with some im- 
pervious material. This plnn, ns I liave nlnady stated, was 
urst suggested by the late Mr. Robert Waringfon, who 
in March, 1846, obtained a patent for the use of " com- 
mon i:iu<'. L'i"!atioe,orconc«'n'ra(ed meat-gravies J or thin 
Cr« ter-of-raris, which, when Pot h<ird, was to 

"b«' . with melted suet, wax, st4}arine, &:«:•."" The 

thiugs wt-iv then to be. wraj^pcd in water-proof cloth, or 
coTered wit!i caoutchouc or gutta-percha ; or coat.ed with 
avami^h of these sub.stancea ; or kept submerged in gly- 
cerine, treacle, elauies, oil*, or other such matter not 
liable to oxidadon." Nine years after this, in January, 
1S5S, a patent was obtained by Mc^-sr?. Delabarre and 
Bonnet for preserving merit, bread, eggs, vegetablee, or 
past.ry, by coating them with a vaniish made from the 
fleab and boness of anima's, by boiling them, and obtain- 
ing a rn'h isyrup This, when clarified, was used to cover 
Ihe p;irboiled meat or vegetables. In the month of 
Febniiiry in the same year, :i like patent was granted to 
M**, llartnali for a process of preserving animal and vege- 
la bio subit^inccs by inmiersing them in baths, consisting 
of gehiline and treacle dissolved togethtr in certain pro- 
portions ; then drying, re-dipping, and covering with 
cluircoal powder. Later s(ill, in the same year, Mr. 
Broomau patented the use of wlbumen and molasses as 
a ci>aung for meat, after the meat had been partially 
dined, and then suspended in an air-tight vessel charged 
with sulphurous acul. Lastly, in the mouth of Decem- 
ber of the same year, Measrc'. Bouctt and Duoein ob- 
tained provisional protection for the use of collodion, 
either a'one or mixed with other suitable substance. 

But the best example of this method of preserving 
meat is ihe process of Dr. Redwood, whereby tiie moat 
is fir?t covered with paraffin, and tlien with a flexible 
coating of g».ila!iiie, mixed with glycerine or treacle. 
The joinU arc dipped into a bath of paraffin having a 
temperature of frofo 240' to 250 of Fahrenheit, and are 
kept therein unUl the surface moisture is evuporuted. 
They are tlien transferred to a colder bath of paraffin, 
from which they receive two or three coatings prior to 
ther being covered with the last flexible covering of 
gelatine, &c. When tlie meat is required for use, the 
paraffin is easily removed from it by plunging it into 
boiling water, which dissolves the flexible coating and 
melt5 tl»e paraffin. Tho paraffin floats upon the water, 

id. when cohi, may be collected for future use. 

The cummon mn'thods of preserving foods by forcing 

torn into skins, as in the case of German sausages, lanl, 
&C., is of very ancient date, although a pateiit was 
granted \o Mr P.dmer in 1S46 for the preservation <»f 
the fat of beef, mutton, veal, or lamb, when fresh, by 
meUing'them, straining, and tJxen packiog in bladders. 



3d. The preservation of food by cold is a well-known 
process, for every one is acquainted with the fact tliat 
meat will keep for a long time in ihe winter season 
without deterioration; but the extent to w^liicli this 
preservative power may be carried is not well known. 
Animal-i, we are told, have been found in a perfect stale 
of preservation in the frozen earth of the arctic regions, 
where they must have been buried for ceiituries. Last 
year, indeed, a communication was made to the Royal 
Society by Dr. Carl von Bear of the lactthat the entire 
body of a mammoth was found in the frozen soil of 
Arctic Siberia. How long it ha« been so preserved it 
13 hard to conjecture, but it must have been there for 
ages. Another good example of the pn'scrvative pow- 
er of cold wa'j observed in Switzerland in the autumn 
of tS6i, when tliL- mangled bi>d es of three Chamounix 
guides were foiuid at the lower part of the Glacier de 
Bo s^on?. The Ibsli of the boiiies was perfectly pre- 
served, notwithstanding that 41 years htid elapsed since 
the unfortunate men lost their lives. They were car- 
ried away by an avalanche from the grand plateau of 
Mount Blanc, in the month of August, 1S20, while at- 
tomptingto ascend the mountain with Dr. H .meli j and 
no trace of them was discovered until the coi re^iponding 
month of' 1861, when, by the slow descent of the 
mountain ice, their remains were brought to the lower 
glacier. So well is this preservative power of cold 
known to the inhalntantsof Russia, Canada, and other 
northern climates, thai it is a common practice to 
slaughter fat nnimuk on the approach of winter, when 
fodtler is getting scarce, and to preserve their carcases 
by burying them in the ice or frozen earth; and tliey 
are thus preserved from the middle of November to the 
early part uf May. We also have a practice of packing 
sa'mon in ice ; and we receive game and poultry from 
America, and send the like to India jn boxrs surrounded 
with icr. The application of this metliod of preserving 
food is almost without limit, for not only can we obtain 
a stock of ico for such a purpose in the winter season, 
but it may be brought to u? at any time from colder 
regions of nortliern Europe, or it may even be manu- 
factured at a coat of less than Imlf-a-guinea a ton. 
There is a machine of Mr. Jame?* Harrison, of Australia, 
mad'* in tlrs country, which is said to be caf#ab'e of 
producing 8,000 lbs. of ice a day^ at a cost including all 
expenses, atul with a good margin for profit^ of ten 
shillings a Ion. Why, th*^refore, may wd not use ice 
in the summer months for the preservation of food ? 
Dealers could ea^^ily provide themselves with close 
rootns containing ice, in whicli the food might be placed ; 
and we ourselves might use ice-boxea more commonly 
in our households. It might interest you to know th.-^it 
the fir?t patent for the preservation of food iu this man- 
ner was granted to John Liuffs, iu 1845. 

Agwin, a temperature of ftom 200' to 212^ will also 
arrest putrefacti-in ; antl joints of lueat may be preserv- 
ed for a time by dipping them every now and then in 

I boiling water. 

I Tltc fourth and last method of preserving foi d is by 
the use of eliemical agents called antiseptics, which 
act by destroying infusorial and lungoid life, and by 
forming compounds which are not proue to deiay. 
Foremost of the^e is comtnon salt, which has l>een used 
from the earliest time; but it is not a pood agi.nt for the 
pretJcrvation of meat, as it renders it tougli, gives it a 
bail flavcur, extracts the solublio constituents of it, and 
makes it hard and indigestible. The process, however, 
is much better manajzed at the present lime tlian for- 
merly, when the hard junk of the navy was the common- 



rSngliAli Bditlon, Tol. XTIIln No. 471, p«c«« Vi'^^ V^\ 



92 



Xoticea of Boohs^ 



CiixwiCAL Nrtra, 



respects. The researches of Roscoe oti Vanadium are ac- 
curately Bct forth, and compare<l with those ol Bcpzcliua, a 
very interesting summary is the result, and wo would call 
our r«aders' attention to the maitor. In Dr. Mlllor'a list 
of eleineuta, Ro&ooe'a equivalent number is preferred to tliut 
of Bcrzelius, but the thooreiical plan duirned by lir. Ros<x>e 
ts not allowed ] VanadiunB ia not only not placed in the 
nitrogen family, but it is excluded even from the elements 
ciillod triads. Its claim to this position is sur&ly a« strong 
as that of chromiuoj or manganese to the hex:id, or of iron to 
the tetrad group. 

Another most interesting paper ta also givcD to ua in a 
convientratfcd form, relating to chemical change in aolutioa — 
wo allude to the papers of Measn*. Harcourt and K«son — 
M'hiofi from thoir philosophic accuracy of detail well merit a 
carein'. study. 

It may bo obaerved, in passing, that Dr. Miller generally 
gtvas referencea to the original sources from whimee he ob- 
iiiinn the infonnation he gives us; this ia a valuable featuro 
of the wurk, and the future value will b© siill further in- 
creased by an extension of this principle of giving refer- 
ences to the sources whore full inl'ormation may be obtained. 
It is true that all these may be found in Watts 3 "Diction- 
ary." but they would also be useful hero for the student, 
who has not always ready access to that work ; we urge 
this chiefly on behalf of such students. 

We hope that a too rigid method of adhering to the plan 
of arrangement of the three volumes will not limit the use- 
fulness of each separate volume ; a httle repetition of mutter 
is often nooeasaty, and no one is more qualitied than Br. 
Miller to give us the characteristic spi>ctr<>8eopic tests of met- 
uls, Ac-, which may fairly be pluced side by side with »po- 
cilic gravity and conducting power in the physical history of 
each clement or compound. 

One of our favourite soctions in the aocond part we are 
pleased to And added to, and made more interesting— we 
allude to the section tr'-ating of the equivalent weights ol' 
the elements as given by difibr*^nt authors and their diller- 
ent prooDSsea. The use of the now expression in the 
present edition of nou-fuetals as opposed to metals, gives, 
we hope, the death-blow to that word of exotic growth 
•'metuUoids.'* 

In oondnsion, we congratulate Pr. Miller upon his suc- 
cess in improving the work tluit hug always been oue of the 
chotnista' best and most intimate frienda. 



^' A Manual of Elementary Chemintnj, Them ett'ml and Prrtc- 
U'mI" by George Fownn, F.R.S., late Proreasor of Prac 
lical Chcmifltry in tjniversity Otilege, Ifondon. Tenth edi- 
tion, revised and corrected. Londun: John ClmidiiU and 
Sons, New Burlington Street, 1S6S. 

TrtERK is probably not a student nf chemistry in this country 
to wliom tljc admirnblo manuid of the hite Professor Fowiil^s 
is unknown. It has achieve! a succeaa which we behevo is 
entirely without a parallel among ihe sdenlilic text- books in 
our language. This success has arisen from the f.ict that 
there is no Englisli work on cliemislry which combinea ao 
many excellences. Of convenient ai/^, of oitrHctive fnrm, clear 
and concise in diction, well illustrated, and of moderate price, 
ii would seem thnt every reqtiijsito tor a student's handbook 
has been attained. 

We have before us the ninth edilfnn published in iS6;^ 
witii which to compare the tenth edition wliich has Just bet-n 
placed in our lianda. The ninth edition wus published Uh<fbr 
the joint editorship of Dr, Beiice Jones lyid Dr. Uofmann, the 
now one has been superintended through the press by Dr. 
iJenoe Jonea and Mr. Henry Wjiits. 

It is not Ux) much 10 say Uiui it could not possibly have 
bH*n in bvtter huuds. Dr. lieneo Jonea hua been connected 
with this work aa fdtor since the third edition published in 
1850, and it is evident that the ta.<^k of watching over its aub- 
•ei|Ueui editions has been a labour of love. The came of Mr 



Waits now appears in the work for the first time, but ii need** 
DO great prophetic powers to loieseu that his conoectiun wiih 
it will not cease wii h the present tiiwue. There is no one m 
Kngland who can compare with Mr Watta in experience ns » 
cotnpiler in chemical literature, and we have much plea:»ure 
ill recording the fact that his repiilalion is well sustMined by 
this, hia last undeitiiking. The ninth edition of "Fowtiee" 
contained 820 pp. ; the tenth coni»iii8 1020 pp., and is prob* 
ably tis buJkly as it is desirable tliat a student's tcxi-book 
should ever be. 

The opening chapters on "Density and Specific Oravity/* 
remain pretty mucli in the stfite in whidi thry were in llie 
ninth edition; the chapter on "Heat," however, is much 
altered : Regnaull s important experiments on the amount of 
heat requisite to convert water ol any given temperature Into 
8 earn ol the same or Bcother given temperature have been 
noticed, and Fahrenheit's sciile has been in many places dis- 
carded for the ceniigrnde. A table exhibiting iLe meltinpr 
points of severhl HUbslunces, and their latent heals of fusion, 
"expressed in gmm-HegiecH," has been uitroduced, and wUl 
be found useful Under the head " Sources of Heat '' Jouto 
and Mrtyor's researches on the mechanical equivtilent ol heat 
have been explained clearly and concisely, a^d, altogether, 
tJiisaoelioQ has been greaily improved. 

The article " Light " has alto been increased by additional 
matter on th& interesting subject of absorption spectra. 

When w© come to the chemistry of elementary bod'ea we 
see at once in the section on oxygtn, that tjie work before ua 
hoa un-lergoiie a radical change— a change rendered absolutely 
necessary by the univerwil adoption of the new notation in 
all chemical schools of any importance. Ozone ia also noticed 
at much greater length in iliis edition. 

Under hydrogen we were much pleased to find that the 
important plienomeua of occlusion, ptudied by Dttvillu unJ 
Trooat, mid Graham, have been done justice to. The Injanutul 
experiment by which the latter chemist obtained hydrogen 
from the meteoric iron of Leimr.o is described in this place. 
To show how carefully the work has been edited, we may 
mention that the plate of curves indicating the solubility of 
Sfllta in 100 pans ol water, has been re-engraved, In order 
that the names of the snlta may be in harmony with tho 
uomeodature adopted throughout the work. 

As may be supposed, the wrticle '* Carbon" has been al- 
most entirely re-wriiten to bring it into Bceordance with the 
new views; moieover, the article on "t'ombusiioii and the 
iStruc ure of Flnme " is made to occupy its natural pluce 
after "Carbon," instead of bemg separated from it as iu the 
uiiith edition. 

We need not aay that the wellknown aeclion on •' Tho 
General Principles of Choroieal Philosophy " Ima been re* 
wriuen and much extended. In the nintli edition this 8ub« 
jt-ct waa condeuHed into twenty -one pages ; in the cue be- 
fore ua it occupies thirty -oue pagi^a, and it Is on© of 
the bestexpoaiiions iu our language uf tho views at present 
rec»*ived. 

In passing we may mention as showing the strides t*iat 
Jiavo been made even iu metallic chemisiry. which certainly 
doe« not progress like the cl^emiutry of the compounds of 
carlvon, that the article ** Thallium '' which, in the ninth 
edition, WHS oondensed into lees thnn one pnge, in (hut befon» 
us occupies live pages, and takes ita place under " Trind Met- 
als," the met Is being grouped in accordance with their 
atomicity, as monads, dyads, triads, tetrads, pentads, and 
hexndft. 

Aa may be expected, it ia when we come to the organic 
chemistry that the most sweeping changes are manifei^t In 
fact, here we can scarcely recDgniae our old friend " Fowues." 
Tho limils of this notice preclude the pii^sibility of recapit- 
ulating all the changes that have Ukea plnce. The whole 
aystem haa been re-modelled to keep pace with the rapid 
Btriifs w hich organic cheroiBtry has made. As we wish our 
readers to see clearly the adminible and coDScieniious manner 
in wliidi the editorial work has been accomplished, we have 
endeavoured to find u characteriHiic article lor quointion. and 



! 

4 



pBagUmh Edition, Vol XTlll., No. 470, Fi«« 872 5 No. 47i, pag* 283.] 



MarcX. \6t9. 









Accuracy, 



109 



THE CHEMICAL NEWS. 

Vol IV. No. 3. American Reprint. 

ACCURACY. 



AocimACT and knowledge of detail are the great aims 
of modern scientific men. There may be much that is 
indefinite, bat, when accuracy cornea, every opposing 
cpeculation and supoosed kw or fact falls a^ hopelessly 
before it as that celebrated road to the skies which was 
ffUed to the earth by a well-aimed blow from Jack's 
hatchet Speculation in its early meaning is seldom 
heard. Thought must stand on scientific groiiud and 
follow a scientific linej if it is diverted it must be at 
ancrlea wiiich accord with the logic of nature. 

We sometimes like before looking at our own age to 
glance at that which is past. It is pleasant to associate 
ourselves with our brethren, however lar separated. If 
we wish to know the history of our own thought* we 
trace them back in our minds, and if we wish to know 
how the world learned to think we must look to the 
ages which preceded the building of our ideas. There 
13, however, another reason not so purely logical^ but 
perhaps more powerful. There is a richness in these 
early thoughts because they have a tint of the eistem 
sun which never fades, and we shall admire their bright- 
nesa whilst time lusts, or until that d^y when the poet 
comes who shall exhaust in his writings the delight 
which children have in the fields and the sunshitie. 

In early days of the world thought* were not en- 
chained by experimenta, ani great wide Boula made 
undlesjj systems which endeavoured to include the 
finite magnitudes that presented themselves to view 
lime and space. The warm colours were obtained 
m the fire in which they were smelted^ although the 
at itself has been quenched with an unheard hiss in 
e wesitem seas. If we admire order, here is an idea 
tely and great ; perhaps the formality, and, if we add 
, the imperial dignity, arc among the early modes 
of seeking logic;d order and extreme accuracy. The 
Deaatir id said to mention a system of the heavens in 
which each star reigns for a thousand years, and has 
brides one star for a prime minister; and when eiery 
beareoly body shall baye gone through the two 
offices of minister and ruler one great heavenly period 
have been accomplished. Every year is made of 
ays, which days again consist of one revolution of 
turn or nearly thirty years. Every year, therefore, 
was above 10,000 of our years. Precision in form was 
taken for accuracy. On this point it is to be feared that 
xen chemists may err. Part of the above shows a 
to comprehend the infinite, and we do somewhat 
,e same when we think of the roost probable — if not 
eU proved — central kosmic sun round which our own 
system revolves. 

The classical ancients seemed to seek accuracy by a 
very different method, and, unable to comprehend the 
infinite any more than their east-em forefathers, they 
determined at least to throw away the indefinite or 
vogue, and this they did by making the sayings and 
doings of the celestials as trivial and useless as their 
own. The reasoning faculty has httle reverence, and 
when it cannot grasp the wonderful it throws it aside, 
for the same reason as the hard uncle lert the babes in 
the wood. 

The north, like the east, had no desire to diminbh the 
wonderful, but, perhaps, when they talked of the lights 
of heaven being pursued by a wolf who would swallow 
Vol. IV. No. 3.— March, 1869. ,8 

![EagU»b Edition, Vol HX., Ho. 474, ^»%«»\,a.'^ 




up the moon, they meant no more by that great 
capacioua throat than our own stem Carlyle means 
when he uses such an expression as "infinite abyss." 
They must, however, bear the blame of inaccuracy of 
words. The Greek mind reduces all wild solemnities to 
the most unromantic common place, and thereby brings 
us out of much folly into plain common sense. Hear 
the complaint of the moon in the second century. " My 
patience is worn out by the philosophers who are per- 
petually disputing about mo — who I am, of what size, 
how it happens that I am sometimes round and some- 
times full, at other times cut in half; some say I am 
inhabited, others that I am only a looking-glass hang- 
ing over the sea, and every one seems to fit on me any 
notion they may have. They even say that my light 
is another's and stolen from the sun, not hesitating to 
set me and my brother in opposition. For it is not 
right tfiat they should call the sun a stone or a red-hot 
clump/' It was centuries before this that fhe sun had 
been called a red-hot stone as large as the Pfdopoimesua. 
We in our time cannot difft-r far in principle from this 
view, and it has taken very long indeed to make steps 
in accuracy regarding the constitution of the heavenly 
bodies ; still we tend to it. It would seem as if the 
world had always a large amount of matter standing 
for facts. We take pleasure in looking at an old chemical 
work, 'VDictionnaire deChimie/' of the " Encj'clop^die 
Mi5thodique,'" begun in 1786 on such a scale that the 
first volume, quarto and double-columned, and of 773 
pages, goes only the length of the word "Airelle.'* 
Then knowledge was actually as bull^ as now, although, 
perhaps, no sentence is written with accuracy. They 
had enough to say to fill their minds ; — nay, we may 
go very much farther back, and for mere curiosity let 
us quite at random take up Pliny, who knew every- 
thing of his time in a rough way, and let us ask the 
cure for any common pain— say headache — we are not 
disappointed. The remedies are abundant. The heads 
of slugs or wool grease, or the bones of a vulture's head. 
or its brains mixed with oil and cedar rosin and apphed 
to the head and nostrils; more are given equally 



promising, and some pretending to great accuracy, 
such as. '^the small bone from the head of a snail that 
hag been found between two cart ruts, and after being 
passed through a gold ring with a piece of ivory, ia 
attached to the patient in a piece of do;;*8 akin, a 
remedy well known to most persons, and always used 
with success." 

yhe whole course of thought is now changed among 
men who have received even a tinge of science, but 
the spirit of old times is not quite forgotten. There 
must be many men who remember in early days that 
it was enough to bring forward a good quotation when 
they wanted a proof, and there must be many who 
know minds incapable of seeking any other proof. 
There are in Europe superstitions exactly of the kind 
mentioned, some of them blended with forgotten 
knowledge, some wholly fantastic; it is the business 
of science to remove tliem and brin^ more accuracry. 
Modern astronomy is built on a basis of very careful 
observation and calculation, but we have never been 
able to find that modem astrology had even a sem- 
blance of a basis. It is even far behind the ancient in 
Its attempts at proof. It seeks none, whereas in the 
East it is said that fstar watchers sat carefully observ- 
ing the heavens whilst others gave notice of the birth 
of a child, in order to know exactly at what aspect of 
the ak-ies it came into the world. This would produce 
a science founded on fact, or it would put an end to 



no 



Accuracy* 



i CntMTdAt N«w«, 
t Mareh, 1SC8. 



the whole. Without a trace of experiment, men wealthy 
enough to promifie large aiims come even now to as- 
tronomers to know the course of future events, but tliey 
will not give the money to a good tutor to relieve them 
of their iterance. 

It ifi difficult to measure the distance between this 
merchant consulting the astronomer, and tlie astrona- 
mer himself, who has a diili^ulty iu making hia visitor 
understand that he cannot read the future. Let U3 say 
the difference id two thousand years. Let us also 
pause a moment to consider the progress made by the 
astronomer in two thousand years. Perhups tlie first 
man that counted by seconds was one who found the 
pendulum to be hia own heart — a heart quietly beating, 
after the violence of youth was over, sixty times a 
minute. The period of one beat has become for man- 
kind a Eiymbol of shortness; it is a length of time pass- 
ing too rapidly to be calmly surveyed, and to speak of 
the movements in the sky to such accuracy was not to 
be thought of. There was no mode of measurement 
Now the ear itself has become critical beyond the 
heart, and it dares to measure to one-tenth, whilst the 
intellect, with a refinement beyond ita own full compre- 
hension, divides the same period into annlUoD, and the 
strange laws of nature placidly permit that mechanism 
shall be formed for the purpose. The man of tlie dark 
pABt» although he is living now amongst us, may have 
heard that from the great distances in space we see in 
Btara that which ha^ existed mauy years ago, and may 
ihink tliat we have only to turn the telescope and, by 
looking the other way, see equally far into the future. 
We have sympathy even with him, and we too would 
like to know the future of chemistry and even of man. 

But we are among chemists and not astronomers, al- 
though when we look far back chemistry offers us few 
illusLrations. Since wo Erst took up a piece of earth 
and said to ourselves "of what is tliia made? " we have 
a long hne of men, each striving to be more accurate 
than his neighbour. We do often wish that we conld 
take up a history of these later men, written not merely 
in English but by Englishmen who had read and 
weighed everything for themselve?. For our facts we 
must go either to tlio originals or to the Germans. We 
find in these rich volumes by Kopp abundance of mat- 
ter well weighed, perhaps with as much justice to 
Englishmen as they could do themselves, but we should 
hke to see it written with a warm heart towards our 
fellows, seeking out every corner as justice alone can- 
»ot, but as kindness only can. We turn to France, and 
there we find a history truly original also, but witR a 
name that sounds truly German — it is Hoefer. Well, 
we cannot blame them : we are thankful. 

We cannot see the tendency tow^ards exactness and 
clearness better than by taking a chemist's view. Air 
was once the soul of the world, it was the life of man, 
it was a spirit including intellect, it was a ghost, it was 
capable of turning into water, which again became 
earth, and it was in itself nothing material, and liad no 
weight or substance. Now it has fallen into the ranks 
of ordinary tilings, although not less wonderful It 
has been divitled into parU, although unseen. This 
very spirit of the world has been dissected, and chem- 
ists treat it without reverence, measuring it out in 
tubes or weighing it on balances. Now we can scarcely 
tell how various its composition. It ha3 two principal 
parts, but a third was soon added, whilst a fourth, un- 
der tne name of o£one, has been followed by the scent 
lor many years — we may even say since those ancient 
.days whep the smell was observed after violent light- 



ning. Now we have plants and animal diseases almost 
entfless, and strange influences accompanying every 
wind. These by degrees the scientific inquirer is hunt- 
ing down, and preparing for the world new museums in 
nature where we ehall see, by the aid of magic eyes, 
forms of disease lurking around and capable of being 
successfully attacked iostead of in*:idiously cnteriof 
and finding no one to struggle against them. The 
baa been, and will long be a study worthy of the great 
est and the most acute, but the progress made is 
great triumph, and shows that scientitic men iu m&tx] 
depaitments are reasoning, on the whole, rightly and 
fairly, gaining a victory over the world. 

We may say that all organic matter comes from 
air, the trees, and the lower animaU, and roan liimself ; 
and when we have viewed this proof which chemist 
has made we almost return to the original idea that ihi 
air i3 the life of the world, not by general and T»gu< 
reasons but by careful analj'sis. Out of the air f 
may form or see formed by natural means thousands 
boilios, each varied in its structure as we can prove, 
although air itself is invisible; and out of it will come 
many thousands more — movements of unseen bodies, 
directed by unseen forces, and observed by ui 
mindi*. It is to this that we have come by 
to a world that was as unknown ns if it 
Saturn, whereas we are in its midst, and the 
our e^^ea only want removal to shew us the in 
intelligences at work. 

The wide and hasty flights of thought are past in 
many departments. The workers must walk 
Our trail is not the broad foot of the elephant on th< 
mud, but the slightly displaced leaf of the forest, 
patience the chemist watches the drops from his filt 
and walks up and down on guard ; with patiencel 
he observes that one-thousandth of the weight hst| 
been lost and that he ought to have lost less ; be 
gins again. We do not wonder at Professor Rose be 
excited when a courtier walking about in his labora 
lory Uniched with exquisite forefinger a tranaparenl 
precipitate of alumina on a filter. StateUness of man- 
ners was forgotten. The chemist seized the oflendinf 
finger, and never ceased to wash it with a jet of wat 
till the earth was all returned to the funnel; nor co 
he venture to explain, since the jet was driven by 
own mouth and swollen clu^eks. 

The idea of cleanliness in a|l its accuracy is knowi) 
only to chemists. When preparing a substance for 
analysis is there any trouble lliat we avoid if we can 
aid succe^s? Whatl in a vi!e laboratory? Yes; no 
foul air must touch these bodies. Air, that which the 
most sensitive persons would consider sweet, would be 
poison. The slightest iraco of carbonic acid or mois* 
ture, things found in all breezes, would make some 
onalyses imperfect. We can will remember when in 
that stage of learning when sulphur and hydrogen are 
so much employed for metals we rushed forward to 
seek advice, but were driven back from the sanctum by 
the usually most urbane and pleasant friend. What 
could that mean? he was preparing a silver salt in 
order to obtain on important atomic weight. We are 
obliged to use not only pure air, but sometimes artifi- 
cial atmospheres, and sometimes the entire absence of 
atmosphere. As to analysis generally, most chemists 
have seen in tlieir own day the rise of the methods of 
Freeenius. It was no 'easy matter to learn from that 
of Rose. The information was great, but the system 
deficient. Now the details and system of Fresetiius 
to form an embodiment of logic itself, and if any 



[£ngli«h Edition, Vol. XIX, Ko, 414, v%lft^^ 




>cA. 



isJJ^} Asmyitig Silver Componrids. — Edimatiori of Titani^S^ta^^^^n 



one leftrns tbem he must havo learned to reason in 
such a way that he will gain a great superiority over 
his former self. Every step carelessly made shews it- 
self in material mistakes; the student must reason 
clr.=«]y to keep hia aolutiona correcL He cannot go 
witfi mere enthusiasm and boasting long. His own 
rcMilta bring him the greatest reproaches, his experi- 
r 1 nts «ilcntlj humble him, and he is laughed at by 
fur<-*eg that he cannot avenge. 

We see the value of accurate work in Berzeliu« per- 
haps more than in any man. He built up inorganic 
chemistry, and if nny man follows his work in organic 
departments he will learn tt> wonder at i«s accuracy. 
He worked as if the eyes of posterity were on all hia 
XDOvements, and he seemed to be able to do his enor- 
03OUS labours by making few blunders. There is no 
chemist from whom the young can learn ho much of the 
art of working long and honestly. We modify his 
structure, but it was said by ope, himself a great man, 
" Berzehns is tl^e greatest chemist that is, or that was, 
or that will be." 

We remember sitting with an old philosopher, when 
he said, " Would you Hke to see the atoms of Epicurus, 
out of which the worlds were made — true star-dust?" 
Who would have said no? he brought a liitle bottle of 
meteoric dugt — but we must not describe it ; he will 
do it, or has done it. We thought of these atoms now 
visible to a microscope but still divided by the chemist 
in many portions, and long after the finest microscope 
can aid the finest eye the chemist goes on dividing, and 
witli a certainty which is absolute. 

It was our wish to shew that science is gradually 
isking its devotees the representatives of care and ac- 
iracy. We have scarcely space to carry out the plan 
illy, but chemists are accustomed to euch a variety of 
ipations that they can readily finish thii article for 
lemselves. It 13 a fine quality that of uttering unde- 
liable truth. Let us not lower ihat position but rather 
lify our office. Let our words suit the facts with 
accuracy equal to that with which the facta ihem- 
»lve8can be ascertained, and in a world of wavering and 
langing let us show that there is a class of facfs to be 
mnd upon which reliance can be placed so far that we 
lay be certain they will never change. In common 
Tairs a mistake may have but a short life, but in the 
Itudy of nature an imperfect observation may caute in- 
lite trouble to thousands. The increased study of sci- 
100 will promote exact observation and great*?r love 
if truth among men, and will produce a race that will 
sither absorb the worthless retiduum or drive it hence 
[$ato the unknown and unseen. 



ox A MODIFICATION OF THE 

METHOD OF ASSAYING SILVER COMPOUNDS 
I IN THE WET WAY. 

BT H. STAB. 

Tfff mode of testing in the wet way in order to fix the 
I standard of silver eubstances, as established by Oay- 
^Lufsac, is open, under certain conditions, to a source 
of error, arising from tlie solubility of chloride of silver 
in the very liquid to which ita origin is due. This so- 
lution, whatever its mode of production may be, is pre- 
cipitated equally by a decimal solution of silver and by 
'chlorhydric*acid. The extent to which this precipita- 
tion ensues is uncertain. At the ordinary temperature, 
there may be a variation of from one to six thousandths 
in too C.C. of the hquid. Practically, it is quite possi- 



ble, while still preser%ing the simplicity of the wet 
method, as invented by Gay-Lussac, to substitute a 
bromide for a chloride in precipitating silver, and thus 
remove absolutely those anomalies which have been 
observed to be attendant upon the use of a chloride or 
of chlorhydric acid. — Comptea Rendus. 



ON THE ESTIMATION OF TITANIC ACID. 

BT DATTO rORBEB, r.R.S.^ 4C. 

Tes results of numerous analyses of rocks and of the 
products arising from their disintegration and decom- 
position have proved thoroughly confirmatory of the 
observations by Mr. Riley, brought forward in his valu- 
able paper '' On the General Occurrence of Titanic 
Acid in Clay?, &c.," published in vol. iv. of The Jour- 
nal of tht Chemical oociety ; and having myself, in the 
course of these investigations, paid considerable atten- 
tion to the various processes employed for determining 
the presence and amount of titanic acid contained in 
mineral and metallurgical products, it is considered that 
the following remarks upon this subject may probably 
be of use to the analyst : — 

As it still appears to be the common opinion^ tliat^ iu 
the process of the analysis of mineral silicates, titanic 
acid when present does remain altogether, or in great- 
est part betiiud along with the silica which has been 
separated from the bases, it seemed, therefore, desirable 
to ascertain how far this actually was the case, and also 
whether any definite ratio existed between the amount 
of the insoluble titanic acid which remained behind 
with the silica and that which was taken up by the acid 
solution. 

The result of the examination of several claya and 
rocka containing this acid, served to show tliat a verj 
considerable amount of the entire titanic acid predentin 
tlie substance analysed, did really enter into solution, 
and consequently that a material error would occur in 
the statement of the results of the analysis, if this 
amount was neglected, and merely the quantity remain- 
ing behind with the silica was assumed to represent the 
total percentage of titanic acid present in the substance 
under examination. 

A single example will suffice to show that this is ac- 
tually the case. Upon analysis, at the request of Mr. 
George Maw, F.G S.,* of a rod clay, which formed a 
stratum of from 7 to S ft^et in thickness, occurring at 
about tlie middle of the Stu-opshire coal meaaures at 
Calcotts, near Broseley, the following percentage com- 
position was found : — 

Siliea, eombined ^^"^^\6^'o6 

" free.... 34 35*^ 

Titanic acid, insoluble. 0371 _^^ 

■olubk 025! °^^ 

Alumina ao*6o 

Seequioxide of iron 6.S4 

Protoxide of iroo. «... 0-32 

protoxide of manganeBc « 0*09 

Lime. *......• 0'i2 

Migneaia 004 

Potash 0-91 

Soda 0.A4 

Water, witli traces of organic matter , 5*85 

99-89 

From these results it will be seen that above 40 per 
cent of the entire amount of titanic acid present tn the 

J54, 1*64. 



[Eaglimb edition, 7oU XIX., IV 0- 474, pafM l,^.^ 



On the EsUvicUion of Titanic Acid, 



JfoTtiA, 1M91 



|vr<». 



f\m.y Vukd eolcred into solution, and was afterwardg 

^\\rx3iR'n down by ammonia (which precipitates titanic 

•wavd eomplelfly) along with the alumina and eesquiox- 

\«3l«> of irvni obtained together in the courfeo of analysis. 

ictnod employed in separating the titanic acid 

-so subitanceSf was simply to dissolve the pre- 

.' ,,; r... =""?<niioxiJe of iron, and titanic acid 

.1 !. to neutralise a considerable por- 

m 'k **w ^A..<^ V. ^jlphuric acid by solution of caus- 

soda, then to add a lew drops of nitric acid, which 
routs the titanic acid subsequently prccipitatedl, from 
cakrrying down with it more than a trace of sesquioxide 
of iron, and after slill further dilution with a large excess 
of tffttei'. t"^ t)oil for sotno titne until all the titanic acid 
U nr«ipitated in the insoluble farm. 

Tlie uujohibla titanic acid remaining with the fiilica 
WM vxirnrtrd from i% by boiling the silica in a plati- 
uunt cniciblo for some time, with concentrated pure 
sulphuric acid, allowing it to cool, and then pouring the 
tvhoK* rapiiiiy into a large excess of cold water so as to 
Moid nny (considerable rise in temperature of the solu- 
tion ; aftc^r miration from the insoluble silica, the solution 
WM ni'ikrly ntmtralised by soda, a little nitric acid added, 
ftud the lUanic acid precipitated by boiling as before. 

According: to Marignac, titanic acid is precipitated 
firoui its solution in concentrated sulpliuric acid after 
idvition with from five to six times its volume of water 
upon boiling, but it was found safest to neutralise a 
Ui'jTo portion of the excess of the acid by soda before 
boiling thu solution, which, after filtration, was, upon 
nulwqucnt testing, not found to retain any appreciable 
amoutit of titanic acid. 

Tho rortiilta of various experiments, not only proved 
tlmt the proportion of titanic acid dissolved^, amounted 
to a vory largo percentage of the totaJ titanic acid con- 
tained in the silicate, but also showed, e*iM*cially when 
but very little titanic acid was present in tlie mineral 
or rock, tlitit the amount which entered into solution 
might OccasJonfllly bo much greater than that which 
romuaiod behind with the silica. In all analyses, there- 
fore, it becomes a matter of neces?ity to determine 
both tho soluble as well as the insoluble titanic acid, in 
order to obtain correct results both as regards the 
amount of titanio acid present or also to obtain ihe 
trun percentage of the silica, alumina, and sesquioxide 
of iron. Even when the total amount of titanic acid in 
A mineral has been determined by tho usual process of 
f\i«iug it wifcb from eight to sixteen limes its weight of 
bisulphate of potash, or, still better, bcsulphate of soda 
(since the soda compounds are much more soluble), and 
ftftorward? boiling the very dilute eoUition of the fused 
tnMR in cold water, until all titanic acid is precipitated ; 
ihoTQ itill remains the difficulty of knowing how much 
of tho titanic acid thus found should be deducted 
re»p^ctively from the weight of the silica or from that 
of the mixed precipitates of alumina with aesquioxid© 
of iron. 

]i) these cases T hiive found the following mode of 
prnncdure convenient : — The mineral, clay, or rocf 
reduced to an impalpable powder, is placed in a proper 
»i«cd platinum crucible, and made into a very liquid 
paste with pure concentratLcd sulphuric acid j the whole 
{■ then kept for some hours exposed to a temperature 
surticiently high to cause it to emit slight fumes of sul- 
phuric acid without making it bod or spirt. By this 
means tho entire amount of titanic acid present, com- 
bined or uncombinod in (he substance, appears to bo 
converted into the soluble modification aod is taken up 
by the Butphaho acid. 



The whole is now allowed to become quite cold, 
contents of the crucible is then discharged into a beak< 
glass containing so large an excess of cold water thj 
no rise of temperature need be apprehended, and thi 
crucible itself washed out with cold water. This solu-* 
tion is now filtered from the insoluble matter, consistin| 
of silica along with any undecomposed silicate whw 
may remain unacted ujion by the sulphuric (and if mucl 
lime, BtroDtia, or barytes, Ls present, some srdphates < 
these earths) acid; this should be washed, first wit 
cold and then with hot water. The filtrate is now nearly 
neutraliaed by caustic soda and boiled for a considcrahl 
time, occasionally adding more water as evaporation! 
takes place, so as alwaj^a to keep the solution very 
dilute, until all the titanic acid haa been precipitated. 

Should much iron be contained in the solution, tJ 
little nitric acid should be added to the filtrate previout^ 
to boiling, in order to prevent the titanic acid carrying 
down with it more than a trace of sesquioxide of iron. 

The titanic acid thus obtained usually retains somoj 
sulphuric acid, and should be heated with the addilioi 
of a httle carbonate of ammonia to volatilise this acidj 
after ignition the titanic acid usually isof a light yelloi 
colour, but should it present a deep red appearance,- 
due to sesquioxide of iron carried down along with it^ 
it should bo fused with bisulphate of potash or soda, thi 
fused mass dissolved in an excess of cold water, a fei 
drops of nitric acid added, and the solution boiled, whei 
it wHl be obtained nearly colourless or of a faint yeUoi 
tinge. 

The insohible matter obtained after treatment of the 
ongioal substance may now be fused with carbonate of 
soda and potash as usual in the analysis of an insoluble 
silicate, taking care, of course, to add to its solution tiie 
filtrate from which the titanic acid has been precipitated 
by boiling. 
* In some oases, where but traces of lime or other de-j 
ment wliich would form a sulphate insoluble in water] 
or solution of sulphate of soda or potash are preseni 
(zirconia thorina, &c,), the analysis may be made bj 
fusing tho mineral with about ten times its weight 
bisulphate of soda or potash (preferably the former, 
from the easy solubility of its fused product), dissolving 
the mass in cold water and filtering it from the insolu- 
ble silica, which, after washing, first with cold and then 
with jhot water, may be weighed after ignition as usual. 
From the filtrate the titanic acid is precipitated by 
boiling, some nitric acid having previously been added 
in case oxide of iron is present in any quantify, and 
after filtration the solution can be used for determining 
the bases, alumina, iron, magnesia, &c., as usual. 

In estimating the amount of titanium or titanic acid 
in samples of cast or wrought-iron this substance hu ^j 
usually been sought for in the residue insoluble in ocida^j^ri 
but the following experiments also prove that such bI^| 
procedure cannot be relied upon as furnishing correct 
results. 

A sample of casi-iron produced from smelting a titan- 
iferous magnetite from Gullaxrud, in Norway, in a 
charcoal blast furnace, the complete analysis of which 
ore is given in the Chemicju. News, vol. xviiL, No. 
47t, p. 276 {Am. Repr,, Feb,, i86g, page 71), was 
taken, and 251-59 grains in small Augments dissolved 
in nitrohydrocMoric acid; the insoluble residue was 
collected on a filter, incinerated, digested with sulphuric 
acid, and tho titanic acid present determined as before 
described, when it was found to amount to 0*52 grains, 
equivalent to 0*207 P'^'^ cent titanic acid or 0126 per 
cent titanium. 



[EngUvli Edition, VoL |XIX , Vo. Alt, paf «• 3, 4.] 



J 






Immediak Analysis of Meteoric Irons, 



The filtrate was now Deutraliaed carefully with 

•mmomo, and then a Blight excess of ammonia added, 

to Ks to cause a small permanent precipitate of scsqui- 

oxide of iron to be formed, which was then filtered off 

frooi the ferruginous solution and wa«ibed. This pre- 

eipitate, which cootained all the titanic and phosphorio 

d pre5<*nt in the iron, along with an excuss of sesqui- 

'Oxide of iron, wag now di&golved in a little very dilute 

" uric acidj some nitric at?id added and the solution 

an immediate precipitate of titanic acid waa 

ed which, when determined, amounted to 0*14 

gr&ins, or o"056 per cent, equivalent to o"034 per cent 

Utanura. The examination of this cast-iron resulted in 

owing that it contained 0207 per cent titanic acid in 

the inauluble form, and 0*056 per cent titanic acid in 

' e soluble form, or a total of 0'263 per cent titanic 

" '1 and that, consequently, more than 20 per cent of 

ontire titanic acid had been dissolved of the acids 

yed in the atialyiiia. 

notlicr sample of cast-iron produced from smelting 

the titaniferous magnedte from Christine Mine, near 

Xitbgeroe, in Norway, was also examined with the 

tame object in view. In this caw 104 26 grains of the 

caet-iroQ in frapjments were dl^olved in nitrohydro- 

ric acid, and left an insoluble residue which, after 

cineration, weighed 2*47 grains- tliis was, as in the 

t cose, digested in concentrated sulphuric acid ; the 

ic acid, which was determined aa before described, 

" ed only 002 grains. The acid filtrate was then 

with ammonia, so as to precipitate a small 

amount of the ecsquioxide of iron along wiih any 

titanic acid contained in the iron, and this latter, 

determined as in the former case, amounted to 0*03 

grain. 

Tlie result of this experiment shows, therefore, that 

this cast-iron contained a total of only 0048 per cent 

tanic acid (equivalent to 0*029 titanium) of which 

019 percent remained in the itisoluble residue, whilst 

"029 per cent had been dissolved in the acid solution, 

ofirming tlie previouely arrived at conclusion, that 

hen a very small amount of titanic acid is present in 

substance, the major part of it is oHen, if not always, 

be found in the eolution, and not in the iusoluble 

idue. 

I have not been able, as yet (although I have made 
several experiments for the purpose), to prove satisfac- 
^^orily that titanium alloys with iron, but the analysis 
^■|f various samples of cast-iron, wrought, bar, and steel 
^^pnelted from ores containing titanic acid in consiider- 
^Hble quantity, appears rather to indicate that the 
^^■mall amount of titanium which tley really do contain, 
^^^b mechanically associated with the iron probably in an 
^^BixidiBed state, than present as a true alloy with the iron 



I IK numerous researches hitherto made with regard 
) the composition of meteoric irons have demonstrated 
these extra-terrestrial bodies the existence of the 
llowing compouuds : — 
I. Tlie general mass which is formed by the union of 

* Ci>puatuilc«t«d by th« Author. 



OS THE 

IMMEDIATE ANALYSIS OF METEORIC 
IKONS.* 

BT STAKISL.iS MKUNIER, 

Atns NATFftAUSTB AT TUR Kt'ftXrU OF I'ASIft. 




several alloys in which iron and nickel are predominant, 
and which we will designate under the name of nickel- 
i/crov^ iron. Among the substances comprised in this 
ma'-s, the kamaate, the tanite, and the pltssite will be 
specially mentioned. 

2. TLe carhuretted iron comprising the CampbeUite, 
and the ChaJypite^ recognisable by the carboniferous 
deposit which they give under the action of acids* 

3. The sulphurttied iron, or troilite, which appears in 
nodules and m veins. 

4. The phosphide of iron and nickel, or Sehreiber- 
site. 

5. The ffrapkite. 

6. The exhmal crust. 

7. The stony particles^ or crystals. 

8. Ihsi gases retained by occlusion (Graham). 

9. Several compounds which are only met with ex- 
ceptionally, as chromiie and protocKhride of iron. 

The last may even have a terrestrial origin, accord- 
ing to the opinion of Mr. Shepard, 

I have recently tried to separate those different sub- 
stances, and 1 have submitted each of tljcm to a special- 
examination. My results are, for the greatest number, 
the fixation of their chemicail formula, and I think they 
will be received with interest. 

I. NiCEELiFEBona Iroh. 

The first problem to be solved is the separation of the 
different alloys which are mixed in the general mass of 
meteoric irons j but it is necessary first of all to prepare 
that general mass freed from other substances which I 
have already named. * 1 

For thia end, the iron being reduced to powder by 
means of a hard file^ the metsit is thrown into pure pot- 
ash fa«cd in a silver crucible. Instantaneously the alkali^ 
hitherto limpid, becomes troubled by tiie presence of 
Uttle grey flakes, which are the result of decompoaition 
of troilite, sclireibersite, stony matters, &c^ and consist 
of oxide of iron. 

When this decomposition of foreign substances is 
complete, the alkaline mass is cooled and treated by 
water. AH the potash is carried away with the greatest 
part of oxide of iron. The remainder of this oxide is 
easily dissolved by strong nitric acid, in which the iron 
becomes passive. 

The mctalhc powder is then well washed and dried; 
it is exclusively formed of niekeliferoua iron, contain- 
ing, however, in certain cases, a small proportion of 
carburetted iron. 

Chemical methods have not yet completely succeeded 
in separating the alloys mixed in the nickeliferous 
iron, and, after several essays, I have been obliged to 
employ a physical process. 

My experiments have been made with the meteoric 
irons of Caille (France), and of Charcas fMeiico). 

First of all, it waa necessary to determine with ex- 
actness the number of constiuient compounds contained 
in the nickeliferous iron of tliose maaaes. For that 

Eurpoae a small pofished plate of the iron of Caille was 
eat^'d with precaution and uniformity. Tins operation, 
of which the first idea h due to Widmanstfietten, drew, 
by the unequal oxidability of the diSerent immediate 
principles, a yellow net upon a blue groimd. There 
were also several portions of an intermediate colour, 
clearly limited hkethe others, and occupying theapacea 
bounded by the crossing of the yellow line^. 

An attentive examuiation showed that th 
metala were reduced to two; the third hea^ 



[EDgU^ Edition, Vol. XIX., No, 474, pa^e* 4, 5.\ 



114 



Immediate Aiialysis of Meteoric Irons, 







Tby the mixture of the others, reduced to alternate thin 
sheets. 

The blue iron is formed by the kamacite, and the 
yellow by the tjenite. 

Their separation was very difficult on account of the 
analogy of the chemical properties of the two metals. If 
it is true that the kamacite is more soluble than the 
tsenite (and this ia proved by the experituent of AVid- 
manstflaLten), it is true also that the diflference is too 
small to permit a separation. When all the kamacite 
is dissolved^ only a very small proportion of the tasnite 
remains ; the greatest part being dissolved also. 

To effect the separation, I heated some metallic pow- 
der placed upon a jrlasa plate. The particles formed by 
kamacite become Llue, whilnt the particles of taanite are 
yellow. Then the two sorts of grains are separated 
with a pincer. 

Afler about fifteen opsrations, T collected 2 grammes 
of kamacite, and o'j grammes of taenite, that I could 
chemically examine. 

The Charcas iron ^ives the same results. 

The specific weight of tajnile is 7380. Its analysis 
has given me the following numbers: — 

Iron 85*0 

Kickel i4'o 

99*0 
which agree with the formula Fe«Ni. 

The kamaciie has a epecific weight equal to 7*652, 
and I have found for its cumpositioii — 

Iron 919 

Nickel. ,. 70 

• 

9S9 

Its formula is FcuNi. 

On this subject it will be remarked that in admittini!^, 
according lo the numbers miren above, that the Caille 
iron contains 80 per cent or kamacite and 20 per cent 
of ticnite, its elementary formula will be expressed 
by 

Fe.Ni + 4fTeuNi) = Fe,»Ni., 
which gives numbers very ceor those which M. RitoI 
has obtained in the elementary analysis of that mass. 

The above formuhi gives^ — 

Iron 9r4 

Nickel 8-6 



And M. Rivot has found, in two analy 

Iron 92'3. 

Nickel 63 



lOO'O 



.9=7 
.56. 



98-6 9S-3 

All meteoric irons are not so simple as those of Caille 
and of Charcas. There are some which contain with 
kamaciie and taenite a certain quantity of other metallic 
alloys. 

One of the most important of these is the plessite. 
which abounds, for exampK in irons of Jewell Hill 
(North Carolina), and of Oldham (Kentucky). I liave 
i<!olafed it by the same method which had aorved for 
the preceding substance?. 

Tlie plessite offers a density of 7850, and T think that 
its composition is well represented by tho formula FE,b 
Ni, but I hare had ro httlo of this substance that I can- 
not make a completely palisfactory analysie. 

Amongst ttse other alloys of iron and nickel, I will 
Dame the octibhehite, whose composition it exceedingly 



remarkable for the large proportion of nickel fSQ'Goper 
cent). It3 density is only equal to 6*854. The meteoric 
iron of Octibbeha (Mississippi) seems to be entirelj^" 
formed of that alloy ; this results from tlie studies 
Mr, Taylor. 

II. CARBtJitrrTED Irok. 

Several meteoric irons give, by the action of acid, 
black deposit more or less abundant, consisting of car- 
bon. This carbon comes from a compound of which the 
composition is analogous to that of steel. 

In this point of view, the meteoric iron of Campl 
(Tennessee) will be specialty mentioned. It givea 
analysis a metallic matter, formed by the union of r 
per cent of carbon with 97*54 per cent of iron. I pr< 
pose for it the name of CampheUiU ; its density is f'oj 

Mr. Shepard gives the name of chdypite to a carbit 
ofiron of which Forcliammer has noticed the presence i 
the meteoric iron of Niakornak (Greenland), and 
which the formula is CFe,. I have had no opportunity* 
of sceiog this substance, which does not exist in the 
Museum of Paris. 



III. StTLPHUTlETTED IroS. 



4 

a 

> tha^ 

Luai^^ 
n Q^H 

dii^l 
re J^M 

and ' 

^IVQI^ 

be^H 
i ar^H 
tioo^H 
froin^^ 



To prepare the sulphuretted iron, or trotUtt, in 
complete state of punty, we may have recourse :o 
metallic powder. Tliia powder is placed during a qi 
ter of an hour in a boiling concentrated solution 
sulphate of copper. All tho nickelifi»rous iron is 
solved, and, by decanting and washing, a mixture 
metallic copper, iroKlite, schreibersite, graphite, and 
atony mfitter is obtained. 

A small quantity of concentrated nitric acid dissolve 
the copper. The magnet, acting under water, i^^ the 1 
means to separate trollite and schreibersite (which 
magnetic) from graplnte and stony matter, Lixiviatioi ^ 
in conclusion, can be employed to isolate trollite fronT 
schreibersite. 

When the iron under experiment contains only 
small quantity of troilito, it is preferable not to mt 
use of nitric acid, which always dissolves a little of tl 
desired substance. In these cases I dissolve the nsckel 
iferous iron by means of bichloride of mercury, Tl 
protochloride of mercury ia carried off by a solution 
chlorine, and it is easy to separate the metldhc raercui 

Besides, it is always better, when possible, not U 
extract trollite, from no matter what part of iron, bi 
from the cylindroid nodules in which the substance bss 
concentrated itself. Thus the sulphuretted iron contains 
only some graphite and stony matter, which can t^e got 
rid of by the action of the magnet. It is correct to say 
that this troilite is one of the most characteristic prinoi^H 
plea of meteoric iron. Notwithstanding, its crystallin^^| 
forms have not yet been recognised, and there ia some ' 
doubt alxtut its chemical composition. 

The first chemists who examined it considered it as a 
variety of Breithaupt*s pyrrhotine, and gave to it the 
formula FctS*. 

But Mr. Lawrence Smith concluded from his analysis 
of the sulphur of the iron of Tazewell, that it has the 
comp05»itiori of the protosulphide FeS. 

Notwithstanding, he continued to give it the name of 
nyrrhotine, and tlius a great confusion was introduced 
mto science. Besides, Sir. Smith rested both upon tl 
results of his own experiments and upon those obtain* 
by several chemists in the c-tan-iinatiou of other troditef] 
his conclusion was not admitted, and the existence of 
true crystaUine magnetic pyrites in meteorites will in« 
crease the doubts. 






[XSncUih edition, Vol. SIX., Mo. 474, pafM S, S.] 




MiifiK, 1840. f 



Imniediats Analysis of Meteoric Irons, 



115 



^ 



The distinction between tlie trollite {or Mr. Smith's 
pyirhotine) and (Le Breitbaupt's pyrrlioUne, is not so 
clear as it seems at the first view. The difference of 
composition is very slight, and the physical properiiea 
are very similar. 

I have had lately occasion to analyse several ?p€ci- 
tnens of troSlite tnken from the meteoric irons of Charcas 
and of Toluca (Mexico), and the numbers which I have 
obtained have given me reason to think that the mineral 
in question is nearer to magnetic pyrites than to proto- 
sulphide of iron. 

Before giving the results of my analyses, I will call 
attention to a reaction which seema to me calculated to 
permit in all cases to diatinguish the protosulphide Irom 
the magnetic pyrites, and, d fortiori^ from compounds 
which are more rich in sulphur. 

When protosulphide of iron is placed in a wlution of 
copper, it precipitates this metjil almost like iron itself; 
pyrrhotine, on the contrary, does not produce fluch a 
precipitation. Tiae protosulphide obtained by the action 
of sulphide of ammonium upon iron salts produced the 
same effect as the substance of exactly the same com- 
position prepared by igneous means. 

This being well established, I put several troIlLtea 
into a solution of copper, and I did not observe any 
precipitation ; the troilite is then very like the magnetic 
pyrites in this respect, and we may arrive at the same 
conclusion relatively to the chemical compo.'jitton. 

In fai't Mr, Smith hns ba?ed his formula, FeS, upon 
hift analysis of Tazewell's trollite, which gave him : — 

Iron ,,..,»♦ .62'38 

MckcL , 062 

Copper trace 

Limo. o'oS 

Silica.. . , 0*56 

Sulphur 3S'67 

99*31 
But these numbers show that the substance employed 
in his experiments was very impure. 

I have begun to purify rhe trollite by the process 
described above, and 1 have thus obtained a matter of 
which the specififi gravity waa 4799. Its colour was 
bronze, and its analysis gave me : — 

^__ Iron 59'oi 

^B Nickel 0*14 

^^^^^ Topper. , trace 

^^^^^ Sulphur 4003 

P? 

I onii 



^ 



I will remind 
quirei — 



991S 
the reader that the formula FeiSi re- 




Iron 60.4 

Sulphur 39'6 



me — 



1 00*00 

The Charcas trollite, previously purified, gave 

Iron ..... S^'^9 

Nickel 3"io 

Sulphur. • , . ... 39*2 1 

9860 
Its density is equal to 478, 

The normal presence of nickel makes of trollite a 
Bpecics distinct from pyrrhotine, and its true formula is 
(Fe.Ni),S^ 

IV. SOHREIBERSITE. 

I prepare schreibersite, or phosphide of iron and 
nickel, by the same method as troQite. 




Besides, as for the latter, it is always preferable to 
take the schreiberaite in the places where it is naturaDy 
concentrated. 

It is a metallic matter, yellowish or almost white. 
Its specific gravity Is 7*icf3, and I have found in th» 
Bchreibersite of Toluca's iron : — 

Iron S7'i» 

Nickel 2^}S 

Cobalt... , . trace 

MagucBium >••..• trace 

Phosphorus. 1501 

100-47 

These numbers lead to the formula FctNisP, yet ad- 
mitted by Mr. Smith after the analysis of the Tazewell's 
schreibersile. My confirmation is the more interesting 
in that Bergemann, analysing the same substance as I 
but impure, found-* 

Iron 870 

Nickel 9"5 

Pkosphorui , 35 

ICO'O 

Schreibersite is magnetic, and takes permanent po- 
larity by contact with a magnet. It is brittle. Hydro- 
chloric acid has no action upon it. Crystalline forma 
hare not as yet been observed. 

V. Gbaphiti. 

Graphite may be ifiolated by the following method : 
— ^A few grammes of metallic powder are projected 
into fusetf potash, and thus a mixture of nickelifcrous 
iron and graphite is obtained. This mixture may be 
treated in several ways. 

1st. Iron is dissolved in chlorhydric acid, which leaves 
as residue the graphite almost pure, 

and. The graphite is separated by lixiviation. This 
process presents tlie advantage of giving both graphite 
and nickcliferous iron ; but the separation is never 
complete. 

3rd, and lastly. The magnet may be employed only 
when the graphite is abundant; in other cases it is 
drawn up with the metal. 

In all cases the residue is wash'ed by chlorhydric acid 
to dissolve foreign matter?, such as troilite and schrei- 
bersite, or what results from their being attacked by 
fused alkali. 

The graphite extracted from the Caille iron shows a 
density equal to 1715. Its analysis gave — 

Carbon 97*3 

Iron 2*4 

Nickel trace 

997 
The graphite of the Cliarcns iron has a density of 
1-309, and this is the result that I have obtained in its 
analysb : — 

Carbou 9S'o 

Iron 0-9 

9S-9 

The graphite is remarkable on account of its great 
aoalterability. 

VI. External Crust. 



• The portions of meteoric iron, upon ^which 
crust, Iwing separated by means of a saw, * 



tb* 



rSngliAh EdiUoii, Vol XDL, No. 47< p»get 6, 7 ; Ko. 475, pac* 20.] 



Ii6 



Imnedmie AruilysiB of Meteori^ ^^^m. 



{CnauieAL Kmva, 
Jfareh, IBM. 



placed in a concentrated Bolmion of biohloridc of mer- 
uiiry. Afier a sufficient time all metallic particles are 
di.'^eohed. and the oxides, amongst which is the cruet, 
remain alone. 

, However, the crust ia still mixed with foreign mat- 

' tera. Usually there ia with it the products of its altera- 
tion by otmospheric agents, and particularly iimonite. 
Some fichreibersite, troilite, and stony grains may Ins 
al&o mixed with the principal substance, and their sep- 
aration 13 very difficult. 

Weak chlorhytiric acid carriefi away limonile and 
troilite; etony grains remain as residue after tlie aciinn 
of the magnet; lixiviation permits the puri6cation of 
the crest from schreibersile. 

Besides, these operations may be simplified by choos- 
ing the portionj* of the crust that seem almost pure. 
They frequently detach themselves from the subjacent 
metallic matter. 

Very few chemists have analysed the external crust 
of meteoric iron?. Tlie analyses given by Pujrk as 
showing the composition of the crust of the Toluca 
iron, have evidently been executed on an impure 
mineral. As it is precisely the crust that I have 
examined myself, I will record Pugh's results:— 

Metidlic iron 18717 

Protoxide of iron. ... 19*309 

Sesqmoxide of iron 32750 

L Protoxide of nickel and of cobalt , 575 1 
Cholk trace 
Silicates io'203 
Water 13270 
Chlorine trace 
lOOOCO 

Evidently metallic iron, silicates, and water are not 
essential eleraentfi of the crust, and must be considered 
as impurities. 

Having purified as much ae possible by tlie me- 
thod above described the crust of Toluca iron, I have 
found for it a density of 4 89, 8Dd the following com- 
position : — 

Seaquioxide of iron 6*893 

Protoxide of iron , 28-1 2 

Protoxide of nickel. , 2*co 

Protoxide of cobalt trace 



99*05 



These numbers agree with the formula FcjOi, 
(FeNi)O, which does not differ from that of magnetite, 
except by the substituiion of a ^mall portion of 
nickel for a corresponding quantity of the iron of the 
protoxide. 

It is remarkable that» if in Fugh'a analysis we only 
consider se<quioxido of iron, protoxide of iron, and 
protoxide of nickel and of cobalt, we arrive at num- 
bers very near to those required by the above fommla. 

VII. Stont GRArsa, 

Seveml of the operations described above may 
evidently serve to prepare the stony grains in a 
state of purity. But this is how the separation must 
be made when it is especially intended to obtain these 
grains. 

Iron in form of lumps is left protected from the 
contact of the air in a concentrated solution of bichlo- 
ride of mercury, and frequently stirred. After a suf- 
iloient time the metal disappears, and the liquid con- 
tains stony grains mixed with protocblorido of mercury, 



and generally ^itU a small quantity of metallic mer- 
cury. There is a/so trodile, schreibers-ite, and gra- 
phite. A solution ofchlorine carries off tlie calomel, and 
the m ague t isolates the schreibersite and the troilile; 
lixiviation may be employed to gei rid uf graphite. 

In certain ca^es, time can be saved by Bubmilling to 
the action of a current of hydrogen the magma produced 
by the action of the bichlori'le. Heat carries off the 
calomel, the mercury, the troilite, and the schreibeTsite. 
The stony matter is purified from graphite by lixivia- 
tion. 

If the stony grains (as is the ordinary case) are cot 
oxidisable, hydrogen may even be replaced by air, which 
burns the carbon and gives directly the stony graina 
perfectly pure. 

These graina are of different composition, and it ap- 
pears that there exists a certain relation between their 
composition and their situation. Some are locidiaed in 
the iron ; others are situated in tlie troilite, or, perhaps, 
in the graphite which surrounds thi' sulphur. 

The grains of the first category may be found in 
meteoric irous of Tazt?well and of Tucson. They are 
formed of peridote, which is proved l>y the analyviCf 
published by Mr. Lawrence SmitJi. I have studied 
those grains, and found that their den.sity is-equal lo 
3*35. I have not observed cryfltalline forms. 

The grains of die second category were given by the 
troilile of the Caille iron. Their quantity was too 
small for me to be able lo analyse them, but I have 
submitted them to the blowpipe assay. Tliose p^altw 
are not fusible, and gave nothing but tbe reaction of 
silica. 

The troilite of Ch areas iron gave me analogous re- 
sults. 

TIIL aASES. 

Gases have been recognised in the meteoric iron of 
Lenarto, by M. Bousgingault and by ilr. Graham. 

I have sought the same bodies in another iron of the 
same origin by means of the solution of those masses in 
concentrated bichloride of mercury. The results were 
that gases do not exist in appreciable quantity in the 
irons of Caille and of Gharcas. The mass of Krasnojarsk 
(Siberia) gave me a smtdl btibblc of gas, having the 
composition of atmospheric air ; but it must be remarked 
that this iron was cracked. 

IX. Rare Sitbstakcbs. 

In concluding this enumeration, I must mention cbro- 
mite and prot-ochloride of iron, which appear in certain 
irons. Their separation is evidently easy» and their 
composition is identical with that of analogous terres- 
trial conipounds. 

After having described the methods which have per- 
mitted me to separate in a state of complete purity the 
intmtdiate privciples of meteoric iron?, I will remark that 
those methods can be employed to estimate the relative 
quantity of the substances in question. 

I have, for instance, submitted to a quaniitfitive 
immediate analt/ais the meteoric iron discovered in 1784, 
at Xiquipilco, in tho valley of Toluca (Mexico), and I 
have found in it — 

Nickel iferotia iron 96 "301 

Grnphile I "176 

Troilito. i '482 

Schreibersite l '232 



[Bug Uih Edition, Vol. ZIZ., No. 476, pagM 20, 31.] 




joo-igi 
I will remark upon this subject that those nnmbera 



JTanA, ISM. f 



Coliesion Figwres, — Mercury Compownd of Aceiyhm, 



117 



are exact exclusively for the analysed Bpeotmen. In 
other parts of the same mass, crust, etony matters, &c. 
may be found, and perhaps some of tlie aboTe-named 
principles can disappear. 

I will show iti another paper how ray studies have 
giTen me a good rule fbr the classification of meteoric 
irons. 

Pirti, NoT«ti]b«r »7llv, j86S. 



OK THE 

imON OF COHESION FIGURES TO A 
LECTURE AUDIENCE. 

B.SC., • 



^H BT C. J. WOODWARD, ».„»., 

UeCTTUa OH CVmtBTBY AKD I-aTBtOa, MIDLAKD tlrttrrUTB, BialtTKii- 
Ei.u. 

"WiBHjya to exhibit the singular figures discovered by 
Professor Tomlinstm, and known as cohesion fiffures, I 
proposed adopting- the method mentioned by ilr. Rey- 
Dolds in the Cheimoal News of November 37th {Am. 
iZgw., Jan, '69, i>agt 46) ; but it occurred to me that 
•n arrangement similar to that used to show waves in 
water would probably serve the purpose, I therefore 
tried the following plan, which, though not so success- 
ful as the one I shall aflcrwards describe, is well worth 
trying:— A box with a glass bottom was filled with 
water and a lime light placed underneath the bos. On 
throwing a spot of liquid, giving a cohesion figure, on 
to the water, the figure, more or less definiU', was 
exhibited on a tracing paper screen placed above the 
box. Even with a candle underneath the box the 
figures were vir^ible. but of course not sharp as when 
the oxy-hydrogcn Hgbt wag used. This experiment 
led me to devise the fullowing arrangement^ which, 
with such liquids as I have tried, serves admirably, the 
figures being projected on to the screen with great 
clearness: — 

In the first place several troughs are made to hold 
the water on which to place the creosote, <tc. Those 
I have ore made of plate glass. A piece of glass 5 
inches square and \ inch thick hns a hole 3 inches 
diameter cut in it, and this, when laid on a plain piece 
of gla&Sf forms a circular trough, 3 inches diameter and 
i inch deep. An ordinary oxy-hydrogen lantern, from 




which the nozzle has been removed, is now tilted back bo 
that the light from the lantern is thrown perpendicularly 
upward, and the trough placed just over the front of 
the lantern as though it were a lanl^irn shde. The 
nozzle of tlie lantern, Gited to a projecting arrn, is then 
brought over the trough and an image of the upper sur- 
face of the water obtained on thr - -'— ' On now 
placing a drop of creosote on the w .ige of it 

is seen on the ceiling. If it be di . . throw tlie 

image on to a vertical screen, a reflecting prism is 
placed on the nozzle, by which the desired effect is ob- 
tained. 

The arrangement wiU be completely understood by 
referring to tlie accompanying figure, in which a is the 
lantern turned back; c, the chimney; b, the gli^s 
trough to hold the water on which tlie creosole or 
other liquid is placed; d, nozzle of lantern, supported 
by tho horizon till arm e; Fj reflecting prism ; s, screen 
on which the image is received. 

It fihould be mentioned that it is necessary to remove 
the usual taper pipe of the nozzle of the lantern, and 
substitute a shorter one, so that the figures may be 
properly focussed, and yet room enough lell to intro- 
duce a pipette between the noazle and the trough con- 
taining the water. 



NOTE OH 

A MERCURY-COMPOUND OF ACETYLENE. 

BY H. BASSETT, 

On passing a stream of coal-gas through the solution 
known as Nessler's ammonia-test, t.e., a solution of 
mercuric iodide in iodide of potassium and caustic pot- 
ash, a considerable quantity of a bright yellow precipi- 
tate is obtained. This precipitate is only formed in 
presence of free potasli. Aner drying, it explodes 
slightly on heating, giving a sublimate of mercury and 
iodide of mercury, and leaving a carbonaceous residue. 
On warming with dilute hydrochloric acid, an inflam- 
mable gas is given off, having the characteristic smell 
of acetylene, and giving, with ammoniacal cuprous 
chloride, the well-known red precipitate. 

The experiment was modified as follows : — A large 
Bunsen burner was hgbted at the bottom, and the sup- 
ply of air partly cut off; the products of combustion 
were drawn by an aspirator ihrough a washing-bottle 
of water, and then tljrough the mercurial solution. 
This method gave a precipitate of a pa!e yellowish 
colour, which exploded rather more violently tlian the 
above, resembling in appearance tliat which wa3 found 
to be produced by pure acot}leQe (from the copper 
compound). 

On analysis, this substance gave 70*24 per cent mer- 
cury and 23*5 per cent iodine. These numbers may 
be considered to indicate sufficiently the formula — 

C,niIg"H-Hg'0„ 

which requires 70*42 and 25"36 respectively. 

The different appearance of the precipitate produced 
by coal-gas appears to be owing to the presence of 
other hydrocarbons. In fact, crude benzene gave a 
bright yellow precipitate, as also did purified oil of tor- 
peniine. No precipitate was produced by ethylene or 
pure benrene. In the case of t«rj»entine, the action 
seems to consist in a reduction of the mercuric salts 
with forin.*ition of mercuroso-mercuric iodide, of — 
the firecipitate is mainly composed '^'♦*» ^^1- 
of organic matter. 



[EngliMli Edition, Vol. XIX^ No. 475^ p«gas 21, 33i No. 476, pace 28.] 



ii8 Ob6e7*vcUi<ms of the Sun. — Action of Light — Beef-Tea^ etc, { 






SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF THE SUN. 
No. II.* 

BY J. N. LOCKYBR. 

Tni author, after referring to his ineffectual attempts 
Bince 1 866 to observe ihe spectrum of the prominences 
with an instnimcat of gmall digperaive powers, gave an 
account of the dylajs ivhich had impetled ibe construc- 
tion of a larger one (the funds for wliich were supplied 
bj the Government- Grant Committee early in 1867), 
in order that the coincidence in time between his re- 
sults and those obtained by the Indian ohserrers might 
not be misinterpreted. 

Details are given of the observations made by the 
new instrument, which was received incomplete on the 
1 6th of October. These observattons include the dis- 
covery and exact determination of the lines of the pro- 
minence apectrutn on the 20th of October, and of the 
fact that the prominences are merely local aggrega- 
tions of a medium which entirely envelopes the sun. 
The term chromosphere is suggested for tnis envelope, 
in order to dietinguish it from the cool absorbing at- 
mosphere on the one hand, and from the white light- 
giving photosphere on the other. The possibility ol 
variations in the thickness of this envelope is suggested, 
and the phenomeaa preaented by the star in Coronft 
are referred to. 

It is stated that, under proper instnimental and at- 
mospheric conditions, the spectrum of the chromo- 
sphere \& always visible in every part of tlio sun's pe- 
riphery ; tta height, and the dimensions and shapes of 
eeverfd prominence*?, observed at different times, are 
given in the paper. One prominence, 3' high, w^aa ob- 
served on the 20th of October. 

Two of the Unea correspond with Fraunhofer'a c and 
r; another lies 8' or 9 (of Kirclihoff'a scale) from n 
towards e. There is another bright Une, which occa- 
sionally makes its appearance near 0, but slightly leas 
refrangible than that line. It is remarked that the line 
near has no corresponding line ordinarily visible in 
the solar spectrum. The author has been led by hia 
observations to ascribe great variation of brilliancy to 
the lines. On the 5th of November, a prominence was 
observed in which the action was evidently very in- 
tense ; and on this occasion the light and colour of the 
line at r were most vivid. This was not observed all 
along the line visible in the fieM of view of the instru- 
ment, but only at certain parts of the lino which ap- 
peared to widen out* 

The autlior points out that the line r invafiably ex- 
pands (that the band of light gets wider and wider) &s 
the sun is approached, and timt the line aud the d 
line do not: and he enlarges upon the importance of 
this facty taken in connection with the researches of 
Pliicker, Hittorf, and Frankland on ttie spectrum of 
hydrogen— stating at the same time that he is engajjed 
in researches on gaseous sf>ectra which, it is pos.^ib]e, 
will enable ua to determine the temperature and pres- 
sure at the surfaces of the chromosphere, and to give a 
fuU ejcplanation of the various ooloura of the promt- 
ndQoes which have been observed at different times. 

The paper oIao refers to certain bright regiona in the 
solar epectnim ilself. 

Evidence is adduced to show that possibly a chromo- 
sphere is, under certain conditions, a regular part of 
star-economy, and the outburst of the star in Corona 
is especially dwelt upon. 



ON THE ACnON OF SUNLIGHT ON BISTTL- 
PHIDE OF CARBON. 



ST O. LOKW. 



m 



* AbHraet from tht ProcMdingt oflh^ Boyal SoeUty, No. 106, tS6S. 



CBCVtCAt A89XBT1^»T IX TOB COIUMS Or TVS orTT Or % 

Pure bisulphide of carbon, when exposed to the sun- 
light for a considerable time, becomes somewhat yel- 
low. To study the changes thus produced, a large 
quantity of the bisulphide was enclosed in scaled tubes 
and exposed to the action of Ihe sun. Decomposition 
look place gradually, and a brown insoluble subi^tance 
was formed, which adhered so closely to the inner sur- 
face of the tubes that it could not be deta^jhed by vig- 
orous shaking. This substance prevented the further 
action of the sun's rays, aud consequently the decom- 
poiiition ceased. 

If water be present in the tubes, this adherence is 
prevented, and a larger quantity of the brown sub- 
stance is obtained. Alter an exposure of two or Uirce 
months the tubes were opened. The water was 
slightly acid in ita reaction, and, after being neutral- 
ised and concentrated, it showed a distinct reducing 
power upon stilta of silver and mercury. Evidently, 
therefore, a trace of formic acid was produced, accord- 
ing to the foUowing equation :— 

Formlo Add. 

CS, + 2n,0=CH,0, + H,S+9.« 
On filtration, the newl^-formed brown compound 
remained on the filter, while tlie filtrate contained free 
sulphur dissolved in the bisulphide of carbon. On 
examination, this compound corresponded in every 
particular to the sesquisulphide of carbon, the sub- 
stance discovered by me two years ago. It was insol- 
uble in water, alcohol, ether, chloroform, bisulphide of 
carbon, and oils, but soluble with dfcompositi*^tn in a 
boiling solution of caustic potash. On heating it in a 
glass tube, it was directly separated into its compo- 
nents; the sulphur volatilised and ihe carbon remained. 
If Bulphocarbonate of potash in concentrated solution 
be exposed to the sunlight, the decomposition is so 
slight ai hardly to be noticed ; when me solution is 
treated with sodium amalgam, however, a reduction to 
lower sulphides takes place. 

In view of the fact that direct sunlight reduces fre6 
bisulphide of carbon, it might be supposed that the 
corresponding body, carbonic acid, would, in presence 
of water, be reduced in a similar manner ; all my ex- 
periments in this direction, however, have thus fiur 
been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, since this reduction 
takes place very readily in the tissues of plants under 
the influence of sunlight, I am not without hope that 
this process will yet be imitated in the laboratory. — 
American Journal of Science, November, 1 868. 



ON THE ALLEGED POISONOUS QUALITY OF 
BEEF-TEA AND EXTRACT OF MEAT. 

BY BABOW lilEBia. 

ALTHOCon it ia contrary to common sense to believe 
that the daily food of men and animals could possibly 
contain a substance injurious to health, it was never- 
theless to be expected that the experiments made by 
Dr. Kemmerich on tlie effect of beef-tea and its salts 
on animals would produce anxiety and fear in somo 
weak minds ; and, indeed, the article whit.-h appeared 
in Once a Week, entitled, '* A Word of Warning to 



• 0= la; ^ 16 ; B - 3a, Ac, 



[BotllAh EdiHoa, 7oL XZX., No. 476, pag«« 38, 30.| 



d 






l>j\ Letheby on Food, 




Cooler,'* is a proof that such fears really existed. I 
believe, however^ that a simple acquaintance willi the 
texperimenta of Dr. Kemmerich will be sufficient to 
dispel them compJetelf. The results of these experi- 
ments are of a very harmless character. Dr. Kem- 
naerich made most of his experiments, not upon men, 
but npoQ graminivorous auimalSj viz., upon rabbits, 
and only one erperiment was raa^le by him upon a dog. 
The broth was made from horsetJesh, and injected into 
the stomach of the aniraab in progressively augmented 
qaao titles, the chief results of which are as foOows \ — 

A rabbit weTghinpf not quite two pounds, which had 
received the broth from one pound of horseflesh 
(eqtiivalent to half an ouuce of extract), remained per- 
fectly well. It polished itself with its paws, was "^^r^ 
lively, and no disturbance in the state of its health 
was afterwards perceptible, 

A second rabbit of two pounds weight, into the 
Stomach of which the extract of one pound and a 
quarter of horsetlesh had been introduceil, deported 
itself in just the same manner ; its pulse became more 
vigorous, its breathing slower, and it remained lively 
and healthy. 

When^ however, tlje doses were increased, and the 
extract of two pounds and of two pounds and a quar- 
ter of flesh were injected into the stomach of the rab- 
bit, such quantities of concentrated animal food were 
evidently too much for the little graminivoroua crea- 
tore, which by such doses Dr. Kemmerich succeeded in 
killing, a result at. which nobody will be surprised. It 
follows that Dr. Kemmerich could likewise have killed 
•tronger. animals with beef-tea; and it may be assumed 
that he WQuld have killed even a man of 140 lbs. 
weight (seventy times heavier than a rabbit) by a dose 
of beef-tea seventy times as large, — namely, by the 
broth of 140 lbs. of flesh, equivalent to about 4 lbs. of 
extract of meat. Less than a coaple of pounds of 
extract would, however, scarcely have been sufficient^ 
for one of the experiments of 'Dr. Kemmerich on a 
carnivorous animal contrasted with the experiuienta on 
the rabbits ; he did not succeed in poisoning that ani- 
mal with beef-tea. 

It was a small but very strong terrier which had 
taken the broth of four pounds of flesh (equivalent to 
two ounces of extract), which the animal seemed to 
enjoy considerably. As, however, the whole quantity 
was too much for it, it became necessary to inject the 
remainder into its stomach, Notwithstandmg the 
enormous quantity of extract of meat which had been 
introdnced by force, the terrier remained very comfor- 
table and lively, and no symptom of any disturbance 
of its health became manifest Double the quantity of 
meat-broth which killed the rabbit had not the least 
iDJuhous effect on the tittle dog'. 

These experiments and the above calculations show 
sufficiently what is to be tJiought of the poisonous ef- 
fect of beef-tea ; it belongs to tlie category of cases 
where people have eaten pdic cUfoie ffras^ turtle ?oup, 
or oysters to such excess as to cause death; but no 
sensible person will ever dream of ascribing, on that 
ground, poisonous quahtiea io pdtS de Joie gra»^ turtle 
Boup, or oysters. 

The experiments of Dr. Kemmerich are described in 
his " Dissertatio Inauguralis,"' for obtaining the dejfre© 
of Doctor from the medical faculty at Bonn ; and in 
his connecting with his conclusions the meaning of the 
word '* poison " he, in fact, succeeded in drawing to 
his work the attention of the public^ which otherwise 
would probably have taken little noUce of it. 



Dr. Kemmerich ascribes the effect of beef-tea not to 
its aromatic and combustible ingredients, but to the pot- 
ash salts which it contains, and of wuich it is well 
known that in larger doses they exercise an injurious 
effect on the organism ; nevertheless, and this is a mat- 
ter of great importance, potash salts are an element of 
all articles of food • they not only form the chief in- 
gredienis of the Falls of all sorts of flesh, including the 
flesh of fiish^ but likewise of all other food, and of bU the 
food of animals. The alkaline salts of bread, vege- 
tables, and hay consist of potash saUs, and, with the 
exception of chloride of sodium (kitchen salt), soda 
salts are but rarely contained therein ; in fact, it may 
safely be asserted that without the potash salts our food 
would be quite unEt for nourishment. 

It does not follow, therefore, that these salt«, when 
taken in excess, like any other — even the most harm- 
less substance — might not eventually exercise an in- 
jurious effect. It is, however^ preposterous to apply 
the meaning which we are accustomed to attach to the 
word " poison " to the effects of such an excess. It is 
surely quite absurd to connect this meaning with 
substances which we dally take in our food, and which 
are quite indispensable to our existence. 

Dr. Kemmerich himself says (p. 31), " T do not think 
of the possibility tlmt beef-tea, in the form in which it 
is used for household purposes, could be the c^use of 
poisoning; it therefore does not require a medical 
warning to protect from poisoning with Liebig's extract 
of meat/' He further says, "In medical practice, 
wine, ether, camphor and musk are eminent analcptica 
(invigorating and refreshing remedies). Compared to 
these giants of medicine beef-tea modestly occupies a 
subordinate position. If, however, it be necessary to 
preserve the exhausted body from protracted illness, 
then there is no other remedy in the whole rich store 
of medicine which can afford sach assistance for re- 
generating tlie diseased organism as repeated doses of 
beef-tea." 

One of the three theses defended by Dr. Kemmerich, 
on his promotion before the medical faculty at Bonn^ is 
worthy of observation by the British navy. It runs 
thus: — 

Thesis 2, "The best remedy against scurvy is beef- 
tea, or Liebig's extract of meat,'* — Pharmacsaiical 
Journal. 

ON FOOD.* 

Bj DR. I.ETIIEBY, M.A.. M.B., ^bo. 

(CocUaufrd froio Am. Rcpr. Feb. *6<), p*f« 7*) 

Ptturvation of Food — Unwholesome and AdulteraUd 

Food, 
I coMi now to the last division of our subject — viz., 
that which relates to the sale and use of unsound and 
adulterated fijod ; and perhaps the most important of 
this kind of food is bad meat — that is, meat which is 
unwholesome on account of putridity or disease. Food 
of this description has always been a subject of legal 
prohibition. Among the Jews the prohibition dates 
from the time of Moses, who is supposed io have re- 
ceived from the Lord, during his sojourn upon Mount 
Sinai, certain oral commandments respecting the 
slaughtering of animals for food and the exaniiuatiou 
of their bodies for disease. There ia no account of 
these commandments in the written law. but thev were 
evidently communicated to the • 

• Tb« C»ntor L 



[EafUah EiUUon, Yol. XfiL, No. 470, psgas SB 



I20 



Dr, LeQieby on Food. 






1 



Moses, for he aajB. **Thou shalt kill of thy herd, 
and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given ihee, as I 
have comiDfinded thee." — (Deut., chap. xiL^ v. 21.) It is 
prcBumed, therefore, that these instructions were very 
specific, and they have been practised hv the Jews 
from that time until now. The Hebrew Jaw is, that 
no flesh shaJl be eaten, except of animals that have 
been killed and Bearched, or examined, by the officer 
(hodek) appointed for that purpose ; and the most precise 
rules are laid down for his ^idance in these matters. In 
fact he is bound by very solemn obiigationa to declare of 
every animal that he kills whether the flosh is proper to 
be eaten (cagerj^ or is unfit for food, by reason of its being 
diseased or torn itre/a). This expreaaion appears to have 
been derived fi-om an ordinance of Mosen, that no flesh 
should be eaten that la torn in the field (Exodus, chap, 
xxii, V. 31); the word torn {tre/a or tere/a) being sup- 
posed, according to the traditions of Uebrew sages, to 
apply noi only to amnials torn in the chase, or by wild 
beasts, or by the bungling act of the butcher, but also 
to those afifected with any disease that would shorten 
their hves ; and as it is thought that such disease is al- 
ways indicated by ihe condition of the lungs, the utmost 
care is taken by the searcher or bodek in the examina- 
tion of Lhesc organs. His rules or instructions for this 
purpose are very strict; but generally it may be said 
that he condemns as unlawful, or unfitfor food, the flesh 
of all animals in which the lungs present the follow- 
ing appearances : — Certain deficiencies^ excess, or dis- 
placement of the lobes ; adhealone, or false membranes ; 
tubercles, or abscesses containing matter or opaque 
wat«r; discolouratioas which do not disappear when 
the lungs are inflated ; ulcers, holes, and abrasions let- 
ting air through them ; consolidations that are imper- 
Tious to air, and rottenness of tissue. Many of these 
are, no doubt, uoimportant evidences of disease, and, 
therefore, although the flesh of such animals is rejected 
by the Jew, it is freely consumed by the Cluristiau. 
The Jews, indeed, make a sort of bargain with the 
unorthodox butcher, to take only such animals, when 
slaughtered by their officer, the bodek, as he considers 
lawful, and the rest are sold to the public, I dare say 
this has been the practice at all times, for there are 
frequent references to it in our legal and domestic re- 
cords. In JAber albiis^ for exainfJe, there is a memo- 
randum to the cflTect that on the 24th of June, 1274^ 
certain discreet men of the city were summoned before 
the king's council, to answer the question as to what 
was done with the unclean flesh of the Jews, and 
whetlier it was lawful for Christisms to buy and eat 
the same. Their answer was, tlmt if any citizen 
bought such flesh of a Jew, he would be expelled, and 
if convicted by the sherifl" ho would forfeit such flesh, 
which would he given to lepera or dogs, and he, in ad- 
dition, would be iieavily fiued To which the council 
replied that Lhey commanded them, in the king's name, 
to have the custom strictly observed. I fear, however, 
from the legal records of Liher albtis, that less atten- 
tion was paid in those days fo the sale of diseased meat 
than to that of putrid meat ; for, on examining the ac- 
counts of the citizens made and rendered irt divers 
cour(3 of the king, I find that while "judgment of pil- 
lory '• is recorded in twenty-one cases for ?elhng putrid 
meat, poultry, or fish, there is not a single instance of 
a hke punishment for selling the unclean meat of the 
Jews, 

In ancient Rome there were overseers appointed to 
examine the meat in the public markets before it was 
sold, and butchers were ohen fined for neglecting the 



law in this re«pect. Mr. Charles Roed has given us an 
example of this from the Acta Diurna, or Roman Ga- 
zette, of 585 years after the building of Rome, which, 
when transited, runs thus: A.U.C. dlxxxv,, Fourth 
of the kalends of April The fasces, with Licinius, the 
consul, and Lertinue, ledile, fined the butchers for selling 
meat which had not been inspected by the overseera 
of ihe markets. The fine is to be employed towards 
building a chapel to the temple of the goddess 
Tell us. 

In modem times, also, severe regulations have been 
made in all the states of Europe for the government of 
this matter, and in maby cases particular instructions 
are given as 10 the kind of disease which renders meat 
unfit for human food — it being the practice to examine 
the animal while alive, and its carcass when dead. This 
examiniition is entrusted to properly-qualified officen*, 
who are bound to condemn diseased and putrid meat, 
as well as the flesh of animals that have died otherwise 
than by the hand of the butcher, and no meat can be 
sold until it has undergone such an examination. In 
this country, however, although there are laws pro- 
hibiting the sale of unsound and unwholesome u>0d, 
yet there is no provision for tlie systematic inspection 
of meat, even wnen it has readied the public shambles. 
All that the law declares is that the local authority may, 
if it pleases, appoint an officer for that purpose ; and as 
the appointment would coat money, and is not com- 
pulsory, it ia rarely made. Practically, therefore, there 
18, except in a few places, an almost unchecked traffic 
ia diseased and unwholesome meat, and the worst 
descriptions of it are generally sold to the poor at night. 

Our forefathers made skringent rules to prevent thisj 
for, among other things, they ordained *' that butchers 
shaU close their shops before candle-light, and shall not 
sell flesh meat by light of candle." — (Liber albus.) 

Within the City of London the inspection is per- 
formed as carefully 113 it can be, but, nevertheless 
amidst the confusion dff business in the early hours of 
morning, a great deal of unsound meat escapc-a the 
notice of the in.^pectors. In fact, if it were not for the 
assistance affonled to them by the salesmen of the 
markets, it would he absolutely imposiiiblo to check, to 
any large extent, the sale of unwholesome meat ; for 
in the three markets of the city — Newgate, Aldgate, 
and Leadenhall, as much as 400 tons of meut are sold 
daily. It is brought from all parts of Great Britain 
and Ireland, as well as fi^om Belgium, Holland, and 
France, and even from the ports of ihc Baltic. Of this 
a large quautiry is diseased, and it comes chif.fly from 
our uwn country towns, where it is a common practice 
to forward to Loudon everything that is unsaleable at 
home. I cannot tell what ia the actual proportion of 
bad meat to goud, but wo seize and condemn about 
two tons a week, and this is in the proportion of one 
part to 750. Lust year the amount of meat condemned 
aa unfit for food w^as nearly 129 tons. And in the pre- 
ceding year it was more than 152 tons. In fact, during 
the seven years which have expired since the inspectors 
were appointed under my recommendation, we have 
seized and destroyed 1,567,810 lbs., cr just 700 tons 
of meat aa unfit for human food. Of this quantity, 
805,653 lbs. were diseased, S.68,375 l^S- ^^re putrid, 
and 193,782 lbs. were from amniola that had not been 
slaughtered, but h»d died from accident or disease. It 
consisted of 6,640 sheep and lambs, 1,025 calves, 3,896 
pigsi, 9,104 quarters of beef, and 21,976 joints of meat; 
besides which there were also seized and condemned In 
Uie city markets, on account of putridity^ 19,040 head 



I 



1 



[E&gUih Edition, Vot XIZ., No, 476, pas«« 30» 31-] 




^ exv JTrws, I 
iTareA, I^OO. \ 



Di\ Lethehy on Food, 



I2X 



I 



of game and poultry, 207 quarters of venison, and 
above 7,000,000 of fish, together with tBousands of 
buflheb of whelks, sbrimps, periwinkles, &c. 

It is to be regi etted that in the various Acts of Par- 
Liamcnt which relate to the condemnation of unsound 
m&at, there are no special rules for the guidance of the 
officers appointijd to investigate this matt*;r — tliere 
being onty a very loosely-worded general proviaion to 
Uie effect that the tncdiual officer of health, or the in- 
ter of slaughter-houaeSj or the inspector of nuisan- 
maj, at all reasonable times, inspect and examine 
any animal, carcass, meat, poultry, game, flesh, ^h, 
&c., exposed for sale, or deposited in any place for the 
purpose of sale, or in preparation for sale, or intended 
for the food of man ; and in case it appears to the med- 
ical ofHcer of health, or the inspector, to be diseased, 
or unsound, or unwholesome, or unfit fur the food of 
man, it shall be lawful for him to seize die same, and 
for a justice to order it to be destroyed. In this regu- 
lation there is no particular reference to the kind of 
ftvod which i3 unwholcsomej or to the circumstances 
which render it so, and therefore much is left to the 
discretion of the officer who examines it. In the city 
of London the practice is to condemn the flesh of ani- 
mals infected with certain parasite?, as measles, flukes, 
&Q, ; and of animals suffering from fever or acute in- 
flammatory affectionp, aa rinderpest pleuro-pneumouia, 
and the fever of parturitionj and of aniraals emaciated 
by lingering disease, and those which have died from 
accident or from natural cau-es, as well as all meat 
tainted with physic, or in a high gfale of putrefaction. 
A little practice is required to distinguish meat of this 
description, but generally it may be said that good 
TDeat has the following characters : 

fst. It is neither of a pale pink color nor of a deep 
purple tint, for the former is a sign of dlecaso, and the 
latter indicates that the animal has not been slaughter- 
ed, but has died with the Wood in it, or has suffered 
from acute fever, 

2nd. It has a marbled appearance from tlie ramifica- 
tions of httle veins of fat among the muscles. 

3d. It should be firm and elastic to the touch, and 
should scarcely moi.sten the fingers — bad meat being 
wet, and sodden, and flabby, with the fat looking like 
jelly or wet parchment. 

4th. It should have Httle or no odour, and the odour 
should not be disagreeable, for dii5ea;>ed meat has a 
sickly cadaverous smell, and aometiraea a smell of phj'sic. 
This is very discoverable when the meat is chopped up 
ftud drenched with warm water. 

5tb. It should not shrink or wasta mnch in cook- 
ing, 

6tli. It should not nm to water or become very wet 
on standing for a day or so, but should, on the contrary, 
dry upon the surface. 

7th. When betried at a temperature of 212° or there- 
about, it should not lose more than from 70 to 74 per 
cent of its weight, whereas bad meat will often lose as 
much as 80 per cent. 

Other properties of a more refined character will 
also serve \ot the recognition of bad meat, as that 
the juice of the flesh is alkaline or neutral to test- 
paper, instead of being distinctly acid ; and the muscular 
fibre, when examined under the microscope, is found 
to be sodden and ill-defined. 

The signs of parasitic diseases are not always observ- 
able without careful examination. In the case of the 
fluke in the Uvera of sheep, and of measles in pork, and 
of hydatids in the brain or liver, the nature of tlie 



disease is at once discoverable, but it is not so with the 
smaller measles or cystictrci of beef and veal, and it is 
still less 60 with the trichina of pork — the microscope 
being required to reveal their presence. 

And here, perhaps, we may ask, what are the effecta 
of diseased or putrid meat on the human sy.«item ? The 
question is undoubtedly very difficult to answer, for 
while, on the one hand, we have abundant evidence 
that such meat may be eaten with impunity, so on the 
other we have many remarkable instances of injury oc- 
casioned by it. In Scotland there is a disease cUled 
braxy, which attacks the ilieep and lamba in spring and 
early summer. It is the cause of at least half the deaths 
in the flock during the year. The disease kills the 
animal very quickly hy causing stagnation of blood in 
the most important vital organs ^ and as the carcass is 
the perquisite of the herdsman, he most invariably eats 
it — taking the precaution to remove the olTal, and to 
cut away th6 darker portions of the flesh where th© 
blood has stagnated^ He also salts it before he uses it ; 
and if questioned on the subject he will tell you that 
the meat ia not unwholesome. Every now and then, 
however, when perhaps the diseased parts have not 
been entirely removed, or when the salting has not 
been sufficiently prolonged, or the cooking has not 
been thorougWy effected, the most serious conse- 
quences result from it, insomuch that many medical 
practitioners who are acquainted with tho habits of tho 
Scotch shepherds in this respect, and have seen the 
mischief occasioned by the meat, declare that braxy 
mutton is a highly dangerous food for man. Again, it 
is a common practice with farm-labourers to eat the 
flesb of sheep affected with staggers, which is a para- 
sitic disease of the brain ; and even of animals dying 
from acute inflammatory diseapes. There is a story 
told on the authority of Dr. Briicke, the professor of 
physiology in Vienna, that some years ago, when the 
eteppe-murrain was prevalent in Bohemia, and the in- 
fected animals were killed and buried by order of the 
government, the poor people dug up the carcasea of 
the dead bullocks, and cooked tbera, and ate them 
without injury. In this country abo, during tho 
prevalence of rinderpest in 1863, enormoui quantities of 
meat from the dtseaaed animals were sent to market, 
and sold and eaten. The same has been the case with 
the carcases of animala suffering acute p!euro-pneu- 
monia; ami if, as Professor Gam gee says, the practice 
of making salvage oat of diseased animals is so com- 
mon that at least one-fifth of the meat which is sold in 
the public markets is diseased^ we may well a^k, in the 
worda of Mr. Simon, how it is that some gorl of pes- 
tilence is not bearing witness to the fact? How is it 
that catde having all the foulness of fever in their 
blood, hr liaving local sores and infiltrations, that yield 
one of the deadliest of inoculable morbid poisons, or hav- 
ing their flesh thronged with larval parasites, do not, 
when riaugbtered and eaten, produce a general poisoi 
ing? Parent Du Chatelet has commented in very 
forcible language on the apparent immunity from 
disease even when the most foul and lonthaome of 
animal foods are eaten. But ia it not possible tliat the 
danger is averted by the operation of cookingf Not 
that the human stomach has not also a wonderful pr( 
tective power in its own natural functions; for tba-l 
deadly poison of the cobra or the rattlesnake may be 
swallowed with impunity. It is posailde, however, 
that these safeguards may fail us occasionally, and then 
it is perhaps tliat the most serious consequences arise. 
I have ofien had to inveatlgate cases of mysterious 



[SngUflb Bdieloo, VoL SIX., No. 47<S, pacM 31, 33.] 



122 On an Artificial Specfnim. — On an Oxalate of Manganese. 



March, ISM. 



disease which had nndoubtedly been caused by un- 
aouud meat One of these, of more than ordinary in- 
tere^t^ occurred in the month of November, iS6o. The 
history of it is this :— A fore-quarter of cow- beef waa 
purchased in Newgate market by a sausage-maker 
who hved at Kingsland, and who immediately convert- 
ed it into sausage meat. Sixty-sii persona were 
known to have eaten of thnt meat^ and sixty-four of 
thera were attacked with sickness, diarrhoea^ and great 
^prostration of vital powers. One of them died ; and at 
the request of the coroner, I made a searching inquiry 
into the matU'r, and I ascertained that the meat was 
diseased, and that it, and it alone, had been the cause 
of all the mischief. Dr. Livingstone tells us that when 
the Eesh of animals affected with pleuro-pneumonia is 
eaten iu South Africa, by eiUier natives or Europeans, 
it invariably produces maliprnant carbuncle. lie aajs, 
indeed, that the effects of the poison were often expe- 
rienced by the missionaries who had eaten the meat, 
even when the presence of the disease was scarcely 
perceptible; and in many cases when the Backwaius 
nersiated in devouring the fle^h of such diseased ani- 
mals, death was the consequence. The virus, he says, 
is neither destroyed by boiling nor by roasting, and of 
this fact he had "innumerable instances. Now;, it is a 
remarkable circumstance that ever since the importa- 
tion of this disease (pleuro-pneumonia) into England 
from Holland in 1842, the annual number of deaths 
from carbuncle, phlegmon, and boils, has been gradually 
increasing. In the five years preceding that time the 
mortality in Engknd from carbuncle was scarcely i in 
10 000 of the deaths; from 1842 to 1846 there is no 
record of the disease ; but in the next five years, from 
1846 to 185 1» the mortality rose to 2-6 per 10,000 of the 
deaths ; and in the next live years it amounted to 62 per 
10,000 ; and in the succeedmg five years to 5-4, In the 
case of phlegmons, the increase in the mortality ia still 
more remarkable, for it rose from an average of 25 per 
10,000 of the deaths in the five years prccedmg the im- 
porUtion of the disease, to 8 1 per 10,000 in the ten 
years from 1847 to 1856. The Registrar-General of 
Scotland has directed public attention to this fact, say- 
ing that deaths from carbuncle are on the increase, and 
that the mortality from it has been getting larger and 
larger ever since the lung disease of cattle was import- 
ed into Scotland This accords with the experience of 
medical practice ; but as it is very difScult to trace the 
immediate connection of bad food with subsequent 
disease, there being so many circumstances to weaken 
the connection, it ia not surprising that differences of 
opinion should exist as to the morbific effects of un- 
sound meat; nothing, in short, but an experimental 
inquiry into the subject as has already been done m 
Germany in the case of parasitic diseases, will bring 
the question to rtst: and I see no reason why such an 
investigation should not be made on the persona of 
ihose who send diseased meat to the public market for 
gale • for as the common defence of their conduct is, 
that't'jc meat is good for food, they cannot surely ob- 
ject to the penalty of being made to eat it. Here, for 
example, is a specimen of pork covered wnth pustules 
of small-pox ; it was seized by one of the city officers 
on the road to a notorious sausage-maker, and it may, 
notwithsunding ita disgusting appearance, be good 
and wholesome food; then why not put the question 
to the proof by making the vendor of it eat it ? In the 
year 1862, when small-pox was prevalent among the 
sheep in several parts of England, it was a common 
practice to send the carcases of diseased animals to the 



London markets for sale as human food. Later still, ia 
1863, there was an epidemic of what seemed to be 
scarlet fever among the pigs of this metropolia, and 
their carcases, with all the bright crimson look of the 
disease, were invariably sent to market for sale as 
food. Since then the London pigs have been tlie sub- 
ject of a virulent spotted fever, of the nature of typhus, 
and these also have been killed in the last stage of the 
disease, and sold for food. Abundant illustrations of 
this kind are constantly coming under my notice, and 
I feel that tl;e question of the fitness ol' such meat for 
food is in such an unsettled state that ray action in the 
matter is often very uncertain, and I should like to 
have the question experimentally determined ; for, sa 
it now stands, we are either condemning large quanti- 
ties of meat which may be eaten with safety, and are, 
therefore, confiscating property, and lessening the 
supply of food, or we are permitting unwholesome 
meat to pass almost unchallenged in the public markets. 

(To be cODtiaacd). 



I 



FOEMATION OF AN ARTIFICIAL SPECTRTTM 
WITH A FRAUNHQFER LINE, 

BY A. WALLVER. 

If, by means of a Holta machine, at a short distance, 
the rapid discharges of a Leyden jar of about 30 square 
centimes are passed into an ordinary Geiasler tube, and 
if the tube is placed before the slit of a spectroscope, 
the spectrum of the gas which fills the tube is first seen. 
If the lengtli of the discharge is increased a little, the 
sodium line immediately appears as in the case of in- 
duction currents, by heating the capillary part of the 
tube placed before the slit. With a proper length of 
spark the briiliaacy ti the sodium line far exceeds that 
of the spectrum of the gas. By lurLher increasing the 
distance of tlie discharge, the calcium line is produced 
with.euch intensity that it cannot be seen to greater 
advantage by any way hitherto known. Finally, if the 
length of tlie spark is again augmented, the phcnoroc* 
non changes, the light in the tube assumes a dazzling 
splendour, tWa luminous line forms a continuous brilliant 
spectrum in which the spectroscope reveals a com- 
pletely black line instead of the sodium line ; this, there- 
fore, ia a Fraunhofer line. If the tube is attentively 
examined after this experiment, one can connect the 
phenomenon with the explanation which iL Kirchhoff 
haa given of the spectrum rays. The inner surface of 
the capillary tube is thickly corroded in consequence of 
the particles of glass taken away by each discharge, 80 
that by prolonging the experiment, tlve glass may be 
completely roughened. These panicles inamediately 
raised to incandescence by the discharge, give the sodi- 
um Une ; but soon the tube is filled with sodium vapoury 
which then absorb the light proceeding from the solid 
incandescent particles ; these form a kind of solid incan- 
descent nucleus surrounded by an atmosphere of vapour, 
— Ann. de Pogg.y cxxxv. 



ON AN OXALATE OF MANGANESE. 
BT PRor. now, D.C.U, 

WtXDBOB, KOVA iOOTUL 

Havhco, in the course of some experiments on niMl* 
ganese, of which an account may soon appear, observed 
the formation of an oxalate of the metal, which does 
not seem to have been accurately anfdysed, I offer the 
following notice of the salt The only analytical detail 



[Bagliih Edition, Vol XLTL, Vo. 478, paffl 31; No. 477, page* 40, 41.J| 




€mwmxcAL News, 1 



Ellagic Acid — Igniting Point of some Vapours. 



123 



hare been able to find on the subject is in Gerhard t*s 

Traill de Chiniie Organique," vol i, p. 254, where 

•tatemeat ctccurs : — " Oxalates de Manganese. — 

irsqu'on fait dissoudre le carbonate manganeux dans 

facide oxalique, il se depose dans la liqueur une poudre 

tbrnclie l^gerement rosiSo et crystalline, presque inso- 

ible dans Teau. Ello paridt contenir 5 atomes d'eau 

de crjBtallisation." I thiiik, for reasons now to be given, 

that the composition of the salt is not as it is thua ^aid to 

^appear. The subject of mj commuaication was formed 

'by precipitation. 

When a strong solution of oxalic acid is added to one 
of sulphate of manganese^ in the cold, an almost imme- 
diate precipitate of colourless needles begins to form, 
I which become more abundant on standing. When neu- 
IroJ oxalate of ammouiura is added to excess of sulphate 
of manganese and the mixture is briskly stirred, a co- 
pious while powdery deposit reguUa, which ia seen 
tinder the microscope to coiiBist of minute needles. Al- 
most the whole precipitate falls in a few minutes, and 
when it is deposited no oxalic acid can be deLf cied in 
tiie ftolution by salts of caldum. The crystalline dc- 
poMta from such acid and neutral fluids consist of the 
lame oxalate of manganese ; tbe aalt has a pale rose 
tint when collected. 

Bi the following analyses the water was determined 
At 212", the manganese by ignition. The accurate eBti- 
mation of the oxalic acid was not attained, because the 
■alt ia insoluble in acetic acid and is decomposed by 
unmoaia; apparently with formation, according to 
Qerhardt, ot a double oxalate of ammonium and man- 
ganoa-ammonium. In the two attempts made, one 
br adding to the salt first acetic acid, then excess of 
KHa, filtration from a small flooky precipitate, and sub- 
sequent addition of QuCU and acetic acid, the other by 
solution of the salt in dilute HCl, and consecuiive ad- 
dition of chloride of calcium and acetate of potaasium, 
the oxaiaVf? of calpium formed contained manganese. 
The salt was analysed in the air dry state • the result 
under i, was from a deposit from the neutral, the other 
numbers were from the crystals farmed in the aoid fluid 
described : — 



ter is really expelled at this temperature. The salt is 
efflorescent to a certain extent, and hence generally 

fives too httle H»0 and too much MnO on analysis. 
t has a neutral reaction, and does not dissolve in boil- 
ing water. It is curious to find this salt forming in 
presence of free sulphuric acid. 1 believe it not to 
be the only oxalate of manganese, for I have observed 
the formation of trantiparent granules, either globular 
or polyhedral with very sujall faces, among the needles 
in the neutral fluid, mentioned above, left standing. The 
oxalate analysed dissolves only partially in solution of 
oxalic add on boiling. 



FORMATION OF EiLAGIC ACID BY MEANS 
OF GALLIC ACID. 

BT M. J. LOWE. 

Bt heating nearly to ihe boiling point for ieveral hours in 
an aqueous solution of two equivalents of gallic acid and 
one of arsenic acid, a crystalline precipitate is deposited, 
which is none other than ellagic ac^id; the best way is 
to mix the two acids in the proportion indicated above, 
add water^ evaporate to dryness, heat in an air bath to 
120°, and extract with alcohol at 90"^, wbiL^h does not 
dissolve ellagic acid. The reaction is the following:^ 
C,»H,,Oa(, + 20 = C,»H,Oi, + GHO. 
In commercial tannin there is always galhc acid, and 
consequently ellagic acid which proceeds from it A 
cold extract of oak bark gives by degrees a yellow de- 
posit of ellagic acid, and it is, indeed, this same acid 
wliich constitutes that gelatinous covering whioh is 
formed over tanned hides. — Joum. de Chim. Prat* 



C»lc. 

.-* — _ 



Fotind. 



MqO 
C,0, 
3H,0 



= 71 — 36"04 
= 73 — 36 SS 
= 54 — 27*41 



I. 

3690 



II. 
3597 



ill. 

37«o 

2672 



197 



lOO'OO 



loo'oo 100*00 10000 



Th« experimental percentages obviously agree with 
those calculated, hence the composition of the salt is 
thown by the expression : — 

MnC,04 + jH,0. 
Aa regards the statement of Gerhardt above given, 
which refers to a salt resembling that now described, 
doubtless the same, I find the theoretical percent*^ 
belonging to the formula assigned to the salt, which is, 
in the notation of the period, 2(CtO.,MnO) + 5 aq,, ia 
23*93, and I think the loss at 212* must have agreed 
with this, while a prolonged heating at that temptera- 
ture would have brought the amount up to that given 
above. I say this because I have found that the salt 
of different preparations gives oflT the first quantities 
of water with unequal fticility, and sometimes loses 
the rest so slowly that if weighed at short intervals it 
may be considered dry when it is not so. In my ex- 
MEunation I thought I had at least two or three definite 
hydrates at 212', but ibund eventually that all the wa- 



ON TKS: 

IGNITING POINT OF THE VAPOURS OF SOME 
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS.* 

BT W. R. BUTTO.X, ESQ. 

It is a well-known fact that many commercial products 
at certain temperatures give off an inflanimable vapour, 
and my object in bringing this paper before the Chemi- 
cal Section is to give the results of comparative trials 
of the igniting points of a few of the leading articles of 
commerce, and also to explain tlie method employed 
by me in testing, which is very simple and sufficiently 
accurate. 

In commerce there are several substances which, at 
the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, are sufli- 
ciently volatile to emit enough v«pour to form, with at- 
mospheric air^ an explosive mixture. There are many 
otliers which do not volatilise at quite so low a tempe- 
rature, but which in a warm room, or exposed to tho 
sun's rays, do give off vapours sufficient to render 
them dangerous ; and there are others, again, that re- 
quire to be considerably raised in temperature ere vapour 
is evolved, and, in consequence, may be considered suf- 
ficiently safe where ordinary care is employed. 

I wish it to be distinclly understood that it is the va- 
pour evolved from ordinary commercial substances, and 
not tiie point at which the substance itjself will ignite, 
that my results refer to. To illustrate the difference in 
the igniting point of the vapours evolved from different 
articles of commerce, I pour into one glass a small 
quantity of sulphuric ether, and into another glass the 

• Read before tb« Cticcntaal Bcction of lh« Olaifow rhUoaornhlcal 
Bocietf, Dec Jttt, 1868. 



[English EdlUon, VoL XTX, Ko, 477, p«i« 41.] 



124 Igniting Point of the Vapours of some Canirmrcial Products, {^jKiXiST** 



Tolume of ordinary parnffin oiL The one sub- 
stiittoe — eLher— is known to be very volatile, and on 
bringing a light to within half an inch of il^ surface an 
explosion takes place; the other — paraffin oil — is found 
not Lo be explosive at the temperature of this room, as 
it requires a higher temperature to evolTe vapour before 
an explosion will take place. 

In the snhjoined table, shewing the results of ex- 
periments made by me, the samples having been pur- 
chased in the usual way, I give the Bpeoific gravity of 
the dirtertint commercial products, and the temperature 
at which their vapour explodes when alighted taper is 
kept at I \ inches from the surface ; and also the tem- 

Eerature at which the vapour explodes when the 
ghted taper is kept at only half an inch from the 
surface : — 

lOHITlWO POllfT OF THI VAPOUBfl OF 80MK COMMERCIAL 
PRODUCTS. 



8p«tflflo 
GmvUf. 



Sulphurio ether 747 under 

Biaulphide of carbon V2-J0 — 

Potroleutn ipirlt. ........ 706 — 

Parnffiu Hpirit 751 — 

Benzole, 90 per cent '861 — 

Crude paraflui oil '849 -^ 

I) i I lo naphtha '884 — 

Brandy................. '940 ^- 

Wood naphtha "840 — 

Crude parnfBti oil. ...... . -Sgi 

Ditto naphtha. -S^i — 

BoUaod gin -930 ^ 

Bum 936 — 

Methylated spirit -827 ^- 

Burning coal naphtha '859 — 

Spirit of wine -817 — 

WhiHky, 2^ O.P -893 ^ 

Ditto 1 1 O.'P. -905 — 

Potroloura oil 'Soi — 

L(ght pitch oil "920 

Rowin spirit. 923 — 

Turpentine -875 — 

Bhorry wiue. 993 — 

port win© 1*003 ~~ 

Rortned parafBo oil, ..... . '809 — 

I>itto -814 -^ 

ilHailoil 850 ~ 

oil "987 over 

[•avy pitch oil, '950 — 

It will be observed that the specific gravity bears no 
relntjoa to the tenaperature required to expel vapour 
IVom many of the products mentioned in the table, and 
Ihisi, in Forne instances, arises from the fact that th^^y 
art? not isolated chemical aabstancea, but consist of 
diatiDCt compound bodies mixed together, the lighter 
^0f which usually, but not always, distils off first. This 
li Vtry well shown from the results obtained in ex- 
j>crimonting on the two sanaples of crude and the 
lample of burning naphtha, the benzole having been 
fpparatt d frotn the latter by fractional distillation- In 
the crudf naphtha, there always exists a large pro- 
portion of tarry matter and naphthaline, and with a 
' gravity appt< caching lo "890 as compared with burning 
tiftphtha, which has been freed from all tarry matter, 
and has a gravity not exceeding *S6o; it is not to be 
exp«'Ctcd that the crude will give off vapwr as readily 
All the refined. This has been the casej however, as is 
' iRdiflitod by the table of results. The crude gave off 



T«p«r 


Tiper 


k iocbt« 


k inrh 


from 


fmtn 


U^uid. 


Liquid. 


53 


— 


53 


— 


53 


— 


70 


68 


74 


71 


74 


72 


78 


74 




«5 


88 


81 


89 


84 


90 


86 


— 


90 


97 


n 


100 


91 


104 


73 


109 


S3 


ito 


84 


iiS 


no 


119 


109 


122 


106 


130 


119 


— 


'30 


— 


130 


134 


>23 


138 


127 


140 


129 


2X2 


— 


212 


— 



vapour at a much lower temperature than the refined 
burning naphtha ; and the same remark applies to the 
results obtained from crude and refined paraffin oils 
from which paraffin spirit has been separated. In the 
case of apirit of wine and different proportiona of 
water, and also of hquids that will mix with water, a 
deduction from the specific gravity might be made, 
which would at once indicate the igniting point of the 
vapour, and also the percentage of spirit in it; this, 
however, I ha?e not gone into. The proportion of 
volatile matters to be found in different crude com- 
mercial substances Is exceedingly variable, and there- 
fore no line for guidance do I offer; but in manufac* 
tured articles of commerce, where a volatile and a less 
volatile mixture are together, the manufacturer and the 
merchant have it in their power to exact a standard 
at which the vapour will not ipnite. A very small 
percentage of a volatile compound is sufficient to make 
the whole bulk dangerous, and in some instances 
accidents from this circumstance are very apt lo 
arise. In the printed table I have light pitch od, the 
vapour of which explodes at 119' F.; tiiis point of 
ignition is not what is considered at all dangerous as 
compared with bisulphide of carbon or benzole ; it ia, 
however, equally dangerous, and for this reason — that 
the latter is known to give off inflammable vapour 
which ignites at n low temperature, while the former, 
on account of its familiar name — pitch oil, or creosote 
— is looked upon as not at all explosive. In this 
sample of light pitch oil, the volatile matter which gave 
off inflammable gas at 119" did not exceed 2 per cent^ j 
after which no combustible vapour was given off ' 
until a temperature of 180° was reached, thus clearly 
showing that the low explosive poinrs of the vapours 
of some commercial feubatances depend upon a very 
small p^jrcentage of volatile extraneous matter. 

Now I shaill explain the small aparatus tised in 
estimating the igniting point of the vapourf, and which 
is very simple. 

It consists of a water-bath, with basin thermometer 
and spirit lamp. In operatin;?, I put ihe same quantity 
of cold water into the bath each trial, in order that 
the time required to raise the temperature of the 
water is as nearly as possible the same. Into the 
small ba'^in I put a known measure of the liquid 
under examination (in this instance, also, the same 
volume i:« always used) ; the thermometer is then adjust- 
ed with the bulb immemed under the hquid in the 
basin. The spirit lamp is now lighted and placed 
Tinder the bath — the water in the bath is gradually 
warmed which, in ita turn, heats the Uquid under 
trial. The rise of temperature is indicated by the 
thermometer, and by means of a lighted taper and 
careful attention it is easy to catch tlie first flash of 
vapour evolved. In order to have exact comparative 
trials, it is not only essential to have all the experi- 
ments conducted on the same principle, as regsrds 
detiil, but it \% also of the greatest importance that 
the surface of the liquid, and the ta[>er used in catch- 
ing the exact point at which the vapour explodes, 
shall be at an equal distance in each case. This point 
is of the first importance to all who test the igniting 
point of vapours: and to explain this statement morci- 
clearly, I have printed on the table the results of ex- 

Eerimenta made on the same commercial sample 
eeping the lighted taper i^ inches from the sur- 
face of the liquid, in one case, and in the other at 
only half an inch from the surface of the sample under 
triiU. The results are as expected— when the vapour 



I 



[EnglUb Edition, Tot. XXX. IX9. ATI, pagMll, 43.]: 






\ Oil tlis delation of Hydrogen to Palladimn, 




hflfl to diffuae and mix with atmospheric air through 

a »p«ce of i^ inches, it ia found that a greater tera- 

•- '-^*:ire is n.'quired in order to evolve the larger quui- 

f vapour, than in ihe experiments of only half an 

-- between tlje lighted taper and sample; and this is 
explained by the circumstance that the vapour, im- 
mediately on being hberated, mixes with the small 
volume of atmospheric air in the experimental bus n, 
forming with it u mixture which, on meeting a light, 
explodes. In the other set of experiment^, a greater 
temperature is required to disengage a larger volume 
of vapour to mix with the greater proportion of air. 

In I his paper I have carefully avoided mention of 
the relative danger of the articVa of commerce ex- 
amined by me; the table gives, however, the names of 
serenU f** impounds the vapours of whieh readily ex* 
p!ode, and it is with the object of having a uniform 
method of testing that point of dimmer that I now sub- 
mit a method which I consider sufficiently accurate for 
all coDipiiratlve trials. Without a uniform method no 
two results wil! agree; but with a recognised method, 
both manufacturers and merchants would know what 
the igniting point of the vapour of commeicial sub- 
stances exactly means, and a security to consumers and 
others that does not now exist would be obtained. 

Note. — The Petroleum Act of 1868 enforces a uni- 
form method of testitig the point at which vapours are 
evolved to form explosive mixtures with sir; but this 
applies only to paraffin, petroleum, and coal oil pro- 
_ducts^ and does not refer to other commercial sub- 
_ incea, several of which are equally, and others more 
*4latigerous, than paraffin and petroleum oil. 

I>r, Wallace gave additional information relating to 
new Petroleum Act, and described the apparatus 
ich must be used for testing in order to conlorm to 
requirements. 

Dr. Clarke stated that, in the case of hquids having 
Tow indaming point, the tean^erature at which the 
flash took place was generally only a few degrees 
r that at which the bulk of the hquid was in- 
able, but that with liquids which had a high in- 
>g point, the temperature at which the first flash 
»k place was removed from that at which the Hquid 
itself miiamed; by 10' or even more. He also slated 
that he bcheved the insurance companies had divided 
oil into three classes, having different inflaming points 
^the first, or least inflammable, being represented by 
oUve oil; the second, by Price's cloth oil, which 
ignites at about 346' F.* an J the tlitrd embracing all 
oila having a lower igniting point than Price'a cloth 
oils, a margin of a few degrees being allowed. He 
also pointed out that the igniting point of an oil 
(the only test required by itjsurance companies) was 
criterion of the readiness with which it undergoes 
mlaneous combustion when spread over a cotton 



Tatlock believed that much misapprehension 
m from a misunderstanding on the part of corn- 
men as to the true meaning of the term 
•jgmung pomt,'* and referred to the fact that the 
utinjs point, properly so-called, of any gas or vapour 
seldom, if ever, under a red heat, whereas the 
iUHg point, commercially speaking, was simply the 
at which sufficient vapour was given off to form 
explosive mixture with air in contact with a red-hot 
body, the latter coudition requiring always to bo ful- 
filled before an explosion could happen. 
Vol, IV. No. 3. — March, 1869. 9 



ON THE RELATION OF nYDROGEN TO PAL- 
LADIUM.* 

BT THOMAS OaAHAJt, F.B.S., 

MAAT«a or Tui Mtiit. 

It has often been maintained on chemical grounds that 
hydrogen gas is the vapour of a highly volatile me(aL 
The idea forces itself upon the mind that palladium 
with its occluded hydrogen is simply an alloy of this 
volatile metal in which the volatility of the one element 
is restrained by its union with the other, and which 
owes its Tuetallic aspect equally to both conslituent*. 
How far such a view is borne out by the properties of 
the compound substance in question will appear by 
the following examinalion of the properties of what, 
assuming its metallic character, would fairly be namea 
hydrogenium. 

/?<.'«»%,— The density of palladium when charged 
with 800 or 900 times its volume of hydrogen gas is 
perceptibly lowered, but the change cannot be measured 
accurately by the ordinary method of immersion in 
water, owing to a continuous evolution of minute 
hydrogen bubbles which appears to be determined by 
contact with the liquid. However, tlie linear dimen- 
sions of the cliarged palladium are altered so consid- 
erably that the difference admits of easy measurement, 
and furnishes the required density by calculation. Pal- 
ladium in the form of wire is readily charged with 
hydrogen by evolving that gas upon the surface of the 
metal m a galvanometer cuntaining dilute sulphuric 
acid, as usuaLt The length of the wire before and 
after a ♦charge is found by stretching it on both occa- 
sions by the same moderate weight, such as will not 
produce permanent distention, over the surface of % 
llat graduated measure. The measure was graduated 
to liundredtlis of an inch, and by means of a vemiflr, 
the divisions could be read to thousandths. The dis- 
tance between two fine cross lines marked upon the 
Burface of the wire near each of its extremities was 
observed. 

Ej^it. I.— The wire had been drawn from welded 
pallmiiuro, and was hard and elastic. The diameter of 
the wire was 0*462 mtllimetre; its specific gravity was 
1238, as determiut'd with care. The wire was twisted 
into a loop at each end, and the mark made near each 
loop. The loops were varnished so as to limit absorp- 
tion of gas by the wire to the measured length between 
the two marks. To straighten the wire, one loop was 
fixed, and the other connected with a string passing 
over a pulley and loaded with 1*5 kilogramme, a weight 
sufficient to straighten the wire without occasioning 
any undue strain. The wire was charged with hy- 
drogen by making it the negative electrode of a 
small Bunsen's battery consisting of two cells, each of 
half a litre in capacity. The positive electrode was a 
thick platinum wire placed side by side with the palla- 
dium wire, and extt-nding the whole length of the 
latterj within a tall jar filled with dilute sulphuric acid. 
The palladium wire had, in consequence, hydrogen 
carried to its surface for a period of one and a half 
hour. A longer exposure was found not to add pen* 
fibly to the charge of hydrogen acquired by the wire. 
The wire was again measured and the increase in 
length noted. Finally the wire, being' dried with a 
cloth was divided at the marks, and the charged por- 
tion heated in a long narrow glass tube kept vacuous 
by a Sprengel aspirator. The whole occluded hydro- 

* Ke»d b«fckre Xht KoyaJ .Scxoletj J^uiuy 14th, 1869. 
t PrM4$iin^ ^ M« li»^olSoaM^^ p. «aa, iVA^ 



[EDflisa Edition, Tol.;ZIX.,tNo. 477, pagm 42, 43 : No. 478, paf • 90.] 



126 



On tlie lielatioti of Hydrogen to Palladium, 



Cmoncii. !frw». 



gen was Urns collected and meosui'ed; its volume is 
reduced by calcuktion to Bar, 760 m»m., and Therm. 
0° 0. 

Tiie original length of the piitladium wire exposed 
w^ 609.144 m.m. (23*982 inches'j, and its weight 
I '6832 pTin. The wire received a charge of hydrogen 
amount fng to 936 times its volume, measuring 128 
C.C, and therefore weighing 0*01147 gnu. When the 
gBfi was ultimately expelled, the loss as ascertained by 
direct weighing was o-on64 grm. The cliarged wire 
measured 61 8*923 m.m., ,«howing an increase in length 
of 9*779 m.m. (038s incb). The increa.se in linear 
dimensions is from too to 101*605 ; and in cubio capacity, 
assuming tbe expansion to be equal in all directions, 
from 100 to 104*908. Supposing the two metale united 
without any change of volume, the alloy may therefore 
be said to be composed of— 

By Tolume. 

Palladium.. 100 or 95*32 

Hjdrogonium 4 908 or 4 '68 



104.908 100 

Tho expansion which the palladium undergoes ap- 
pears enormous if viewed as a change of hulk in Uie 
metal only, due to any conceivable physical force, 
amounting as it does to sixteen times the dilatation ol 
palladium when heated from 0° to too" C. The density 
of the charged wire is reductd by calculation from 123 
to II 79. Again, as 100 is lo 49 [, so the volmne of 
the palladiunij 01 358 c.c. is to the volume of the hydro- 
genium 00067140.0. Finally, dividing the wtjight of 
tho hydrogenium, 0.0 1 147 gnu. by its volume in tho 
alloy, 0*0067 1 4 c.c. we find 

DcDsity of hydrogeaUim , . . . ^ 1*708 

The density of hydrogenium, then, appears to 
approach that of magnesimn, I743, t>y Uiia first experi- 
ment. 

Furtlier, the expulsion of hydrogen fi*om the wire, 
however caused, is attended with an extraordinary con- 
traction of the latter. On expelling the hydrogen by a 
moderate heat, the wire not only receded to its original 
length, but fell as much below that zero as it hnd pre- 
viously risen above it. Tlie palladium wire first 
measuring 609*144 m.m,, and which increased 9*77 
in.m., was ultimately reduced to 599-444 m.m., and 
contracted 9*7 m.mu The wire i^ permanently 
shortened. The density of the pallaflium did not 
increase, but fell fllightly at the same lime, namely, 
from 1238 to I2'i2; proving that this contraction of 
the wire is in length onty. The result is the converse 
of extension by wire-drawing. The retraction of 
the wise is posj^ibly due to an eflect«of wire-drawing in 
leaving the particles of metal in a state of unequal ten- 
sion, a tension which is excessive in the direction of 
the length of the wire. The metallic particles would 
seem to become mobile, and to right themselves in pro- 
portion as the hydrogen escapes ; and tbe wire contracts 
in length, expanding, as appears by its final density, in 
other directions at the same time. 

A wire so charged with hydrogen, if rubbed with the 
powdei* of magneJ^ia (to make the Qame lumiDousi), 
bums like a waxed thread when ignited in the flame of 
alftmp. 

EzfU 2. — Another portion of the same palladium 
wire wag charged with hydrof^en in b similar manner. 
The results observed were as lollows : — 

Length of pailadiutn wiro ^ 4S8-976 m. m. 



6*68 

1-3663 " 
4." 54 " 
1-0667 grnu 
O'o8o72 cc, 

75'2 

0. 00684 grm. 

0*003601 C.C. 

189S. 



m.m. 



griD. 

C.C 



. The same with 867*15 volumes of 

occluded gas »., 495*656 niJn. 

Linear elongation. , 

linear elongation on 100 

Cubic expansion on icO. * , 

Weight of palltidiuni wire 

Volume of pallmlium wire 

Volume of occluded hydrogen gas. . 

Weight of same 

Volume of hydrogenium 

From tliese results is calculated — 

Density of bydrogeniura 

ExpU 3. — The palladium wiro was new, and on tl 
occa.-ion was well annealed before being charged with 
hydrogen. The wire was exposed at the negative for 
two hours, when it had ceased to elongate. 

Length of pallatlinm wire . . , 5S'5'i85 

Sam© with 888-303 volumes hydrogen 563*632 

Linear elongation 7 '467 

Linear elongation on 100 i "324 

Cubic expaiisioD on 100 4*02$ 

Weight of palladium wire 1*1675 

Volume of ijallndiuro wire. o 0949 

Volume of occluded hydrogen gas. . . 84-3 *' 

Weight of Mme 0-007 553 P™* 

T ohime of hydrogemum 0*003820 c.c. 

These results give by calculation— 

Density of bydrogeniura i'977 

■ It was necessary to assume in this discussion tb&t t 
two metals do not contract nor expand, but renuiin 
their proper volume on uniting. Dr. Matthiessen " 
shown that in the formation of alloys general ty t 
metals retain approximately their original densities^* 

In tlio first experiment already described, probably 
tliC maxium absorption of gas by wire, amounting to 
935.67 voluracsj 18 attained. The palladium may be 
charged with any Btiialler proportion of hydrogen by 
shortening the time of exposure to the giu* (329 volumes 
of hydrogen were taken up in twenty minutes), and an 
opportunity be gained of observing if the density of 
hydrogenium remains constant, or Lf it varies with 
proportion in which hydrogen enters the alloy. In 
following statement, which includes the three expe; 
mcots already reported^ tlie essential points only are 
produced ; — 

Tablb. 





nes 

I an ij 

i 

are 1 



Tolum** 






Dentttr 


of Hydrogen 


LI new 1 


sipaniloD In 


of 


occluded. 


tDttiiiiietr«t. 


njdrogealam 




From 


To 




329 


4961S9 


498-552 


2055 


462 


493040 


496520 


1*930 


4S7 


370-353 


373126 


1*927 


867 


488-976 


495*656 


'^\ 


8S3 


556-185 


563-652 
618*923 


1*977 


536 


609'i44 


170a 



If the first and last experiments only arc compared it 
woidd appear that the hydrogenium becomes sensibly 
denser when the proportion of it is smal?, ranging from 
1*708 to 2*055. Sut the last experiment of the table ia 
perhaps exceptional, and all the others indicate eonside: 
able uniformity of density. The mean density of hyd 
genlum, according to the whole experimeuts, excludi 
that last referred lo, is i 95 1. or nearly 2. This uuiA 
mity is in favour of the method followed for estimating 
the density of hydrogenium. 

On charging and discharging portions of the sftme 
pallatlium wire repeatedly, the cuiious retraction was 

• PMIei(>pMcdl Tttmvx^im^ i860, p. 177. 



} ifl < 

i 



r{Ensliflh Editioo, Y«i. XZZ., No 478,paffe* da, 03.] 




€kir«icit. Nvirs, \ 



O/i itie Relcttion of Hydrogen to Palladiunu 



127 



frmnd to continue, and seemed to be interminable. The 
following expansiou?, caused by rariable charges of 
hydrogen, were followed on expelling the hydrogen by 
tbe retractions mentioned: — 

KlfingAtioB. Kotractlon. 

let experimeut 977 mm 970 Bi.in. 

and " 5765 *' &2Q " 

y^ ' 236 " 3'M " 

4U1 " 3-482 « 4-95 " 

2399 

The palladium wire, which originally measured 
609*144 m.m,, ha« suffered by Ibursucceasive discbarges 
of hydrogen from it, a permanent contraction of 23*99 
in.TO.: thiit i^, a reduction of 59 per cent in ita original 
length. The contractions will be observed to exceed in 
amount the preceding elongations produced by tlie 
hydrogt'D, particularly when the charge of the latter is 
less considerable. With another portion of wire the 
stion was carrie'l to 15 per cent of its length by 
effect of repeati^d diechargea. The specific gravity 

'the contracted wire was 12*12, no general condensa- 
00 of the metal having taken pface. The wire shrinks 
in length only. 

In I he preceding experiments the hydrogen was 
expelled by exposing the pallachum placed within a 
gwa tube to a moderate heat sliort of rednes?, and 
exhausting by means of a Sprengel tube ; but the gas 
was aLfo withdrawn in another way — viz., by making 
the wire the positive electrode, and thereby evolving 
oxygen upon its surface. In sueh circumstances, a 
slight film, of oxide of palladium is formed on the wire, 
but it appears not to interfere with the extraction and 
cxidatioa of tlie hydrogen. The wire measured — 

DlffereDoe. 

Berore charge 443"2S m.m. 

"With hj'drogon 449'90 *' + 6*65 ra.tn. 

After discharge 437*3 1 " — 5 '94 *' 

The retraction of the wire, therefore, does not re- 
quire the concurrence of a high temperature. This 
experiment further proved that a large charge of hy- 
drogen may bo removed in a complete manner by 
exposure to the positive pole — for four hours in ihis 
for the wire in its ultimate state gave no hydro- 
on being heated in vacuo. 

Tliat particular wire, which had been repeatedly 
charged with hydrogen, was once more exposed to a 
maximum charge, for the purpose of ascertaining whe- 
tlior or not its elongation under hydrogen might now 
be faciUtated and become greater, in consequence of the 
, previous large retraction. No such extra elongation, 
however, was ohierved on charging the retracted wire 
more than once j and the expansion continued bo be in 
the usual proportion to the hydrogen absorbed. The 
final density of the wire was ia*i8. 

The wire rctracled by heat is found to be altered in 
another wav, which appears to indicate a molecular 
change. \\*^hen the gas has been exj>elled by heat, the 
metal gradually loses much of its oower to take up hydro- 
gen. The last wire^ after it had already been operated 
upon six times, was again chargt^d with hydrogen for 
two hours, and was found to occlude only 320 volumes 
of gas, and in a repetition of the experiment^ 330"S vo- 
lumes. The absorbent power of the palladium had 
therefore been reduced to about one-third of its maxi- 



Thc condition of the retracted wire appeared, how- 
ever, to be improved by raising its temperature to full 




redness, by sending through it an electrical current 
from a batrery- The absorption rose thereafter to 425 
volumes of hydrogen, and in a second experiment to 
4225 volumes. 

The wire becomes fissured longitudinally, acquires a 
tliready structure, and is much disintegrated on repeat- 
edly losing hydrogen ; narticularly when the hydrogen 
has been extracted by electrolysis in an acid fluid. The 
palladium in the last case is dis^lved by the acid to 
some extent. The metal appeared, however, to recover 
iiB full power to absorb hydrogen, now condensing up- 
wards of 900 volumes of ga«. 

The effect upon its length of simply annealing the 
palladium wire by exposure in a porcelain tube to a 
full red heat, was observed. The wire measured 
556*075 m.m. before, and 55^875 ra.m. after heating; 
or a minute retraction of 02 m.m. was imiicaled. In 
a second annealing experiment, with an equal length 
of new wire, no sensible change whatever of len<;th 
could be discovered, There is no reason, then, to 
ascribe the retraction after hydrogen, in any degree, 
t^ the heat applied when the gas is expelled. Palla- 
dium wire is very slightly afTected in "physical proper- 
tics by such annealing, retaining much of its first hard- 
ness and elasticity. 

2. Tsnaeity. — A new palladium wire, aimilar to the 
last, of which 100 m.m. weighed 0*1987 grammes, was 
broken, in experiments made on two dilferent portions 
of it, by a load of 10 and of 1017 kilogrammes. Two 
other portions of the same wire, fally charged with 
hydrogen, were broken by 8*i8, and by 8*27 kHo- 
grammes. Hence w* e have — 

Teaacity of palladium wire 100 

Tenacity of palhidium and hydrogen 81 '39 

The tenacity of the palladium is reduced by the addi- 
tion of hydrogen, but not to any great extent It is a 
question whether the degi'ee of tenacity that still re- 
mains is reconcilable with any other view than that 
the second element present possesses of itself a degree 
of tenacity such as is only found in metals. 

3. Electrical ConducUnty. — Mr. Becker, who is fa- 
miliar with the practice of testing the capacity of wires 
for conducting electricity, submitted a palladium wire, 
before and alter char;j:ing with hydrogen, to trial, in 
comparison with a wire of Germau siUtt of equal dia- 
meter and length, at 10-5°. The conducting-jjower of 
the several wires was found as follows, being referrf»d 
to pure copper as 1 00 : — 

Pure copper * 100 

Palladium 810 

Alloy of 80 copper + 20 nickel , , 6*63 
Palladium + hydrogen 5*99 

A reduced conducting power is generally mbserved 
in alloys, and the charged palladium wire falls 25 per 
cent. But the conducting power remains still consi- 
derable, and the result may be construed to favour the 
metallic character of the second constituent of the wire. 
Dr. MatUiie^sen confirms these re^uita, 

4. MagnHism.^li is given by Faraday aa the result 
of all his experiments that palladium is " feebly but 
truly magnetic;" and this element he placed at the 
head of what are now called the paramagnetic metals. 
But the feeble mt^netism of palladium did not extend 
to its salts. In repeating such experimenta, a horse- 
shoe eleclro-ma^ct of soft, iron, about 15 centimetres 
(6 inches) in height, was made use of. It was capable 
of supporting 60 kilogiL, when oxdted by (bur large 



[English Edition, 7oL XllLt No. 478, fmg9* A3, M.] 



128 



0)1 Oie Melation of Hydrogen to Palladium, 



♦ Cnir*>tCK\. Nnwiv 
) March, IWBL 



Bunsen's cells. This is an induced niaj^raet of very 
moderate power. The instrument was placed with it3 
poles directed upwards ; and each of these was pro- 
TJded with a small square block of soft iron terminating 
laterally in a point, like a amall anvil. The palladitim 
under examination waa suspended between iheee points 
in a Etirru|> of paper attached to three fibres of cocoon 
silk, 3 decimetres in length, and the whole waa covered 
by a bell glafis, A ftlameut of glass waa attached to 
the paper, and moved a<i an index on a circle of paper 
on the glags shade divided into degrees. The metal, 
which was an oblong fragment of electro-deposited 
palladium, about 8 m,ra. in lengtb and 3 ra.m. in wi<ith, 
being at rest iti an equatorial poailion — that is, with its 
ends averted from the polea ol the tleotro-masnet — the 
magnet wa.^ then charged by conaectitig it with the 
electrical battery. The palladium waa deflected slightly 
from the equatorial line by 10° only ; the magnetiem 
acting against the torsion of the silk suspending thread. 
The aame palladium charged with 604-6 volumes of 
hydrogen was deflectedby the electro-magnet through 
48"^, when it set itself at rest. The gas being after- 
ward? extracted, and the palladium again placed equa- 
torially between the poles, it was not deflected in the 
least perceptible degrep. The addition of hydrogen 
adds rarinifestly, therefore, to the small natural magnet- 
iem of the palladium. To have Home terms of compa- 
rison, tfie same little mass of electro-deposited palla- 
dium was steeped in a «w>lution of nickel of ap, gr, 
ro82, which m known to be magnetic. The deflection 
under the magnet waa now 35°, or le=a than witli 
hydrogen. The same palladium being aflerwarda 
washed and imprcguated witli a solulion of protoaul- 
pLate of iron ot sp. gr. ro48, of wliich the metallic 
masa held 2-3 per cent of itg weight, the palladium 
gave a deflection of 50°, or nearly the same as with 
hydrogen. With a stronger solution of the same salt, 
of ap. gr. ri7, the deflection was 90®, and tlie palla- 
dium pointed axialJy, 

Polla<lium in the form of wire or foil gave no deflec- 
tion when placed in tJie same apparatus, of which the 
moderate aensitiveneas waa rather an advantage in 
present circumstances- but when afterwards charged 
with hydrc^D, the palladium uniformly gave a eenai- 
ble defieclion of about 20*^. A previous waahiiig of the 
wire or foil with hydrochloric acid, to remove any pos- 
sible traces of iron, did not modify Uiis result. Palla- 
dium reduced from the cyanide and also precipitated 
by hypophoBpboroua acid, when placed in a small glaaa 
tube, w^aa found to be not aenaibly magnetic by our 
test ; but it always acquired a sensible magnetism when 
charged with hydrogen. 

It appears to follow that hydrogeninm ia magnetic, a 
property which is confined to melaLs and Cheir com- 
pounds. This magnetism is not perceptible in hydro- 
Sm gaa, which was placed both l>y Faraday and M. E. 
ecquerel at the bottom of the list of diamagnetic sub- 
stances. This gaa is allowed to be upon the turning- 
point between the paramagnetic and diamagnetic class- 
es. Bui roagnetiflm is so liable to extinction under the 
influence of tieat that the magnetism of a metal may 
very possibly disappear entirely when it is fused or 
vapourized, a^ appeal p with hydrogen in the form of gaa. 
As palladium standahigh in theserics of the paramagnetic 
metals, hydrogenium must be allowed to rise out of that 
claas, and to take place in the strictly magnetic group, 
with iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium, and manganese. 

Palladium with Hydro^tn at a High Temperature. — 
The ready permeability of heated palkdium by hydro- 



gen gas would imply the retention of the latter ele- 
ment by the metal even at a bright red heat. The 
hydrogenium must, in lact, travel through the palU- 
diuM by cementation, a molecular process which re- 
quires lime. The Qrst attempts to arrest hydrogen in 
its passage through the red-hot metal were made by 
transmitting hydrogen gas through a metal tube of 
palladium with vacuum outside, rapidly followed by a 
stream of carbonic acid^ in which the metal was allowed 
to cool. When the metal was afterwards examined in 
the usual way, no hydrogen could be found in it. The 
short period of exposure to the carbonic acid seems to 
have been sutticient to dissipate the ga?. But on heat- 
ing palladium foil red-hot in a Same of hydrogen ca5, 
and sudtifoly cooling the metal in water, a tmall portion 
of hydrogen was found locked up in the metnh A volume 
of metul amounting to o'#62 c.c. gave 0*080 c.c. of hy- 
drogen: or, the gas, measured cold, was 1*306 times 
tlie bulk of the metaL This measure of gas would 
amount to three or four times the volume of tlic metal 
at a red heat. Platinum treated in tiie same way ap- 
peared also to yield hydrogen, although the quantity 
waa too Bmall to be much relied upoo, omounling only 
to O'o6 volume of the metal. The permeation of tliese 
metalfi by hydrogen appears, therefore, lo depend on 
absorption, and not to require tlio assumption of any- 
thing like poroi^ity in their structure. 

The highest velocity of permeation observed was in 
the experiment where four litres of hydrogen (3992 
c.c), per minute passed Uirough a plate of palladium 
I m.m. in thickness, and eatculated for a square metre 
in surface, at a bright red heat a httle short of the 
melting point of gold. This ih a travelling movement 
of hydrogen through the substance of the metal with 
the velocity of 4 m.ra, per minute. 

The chemical properties of hydrogenium also distin- ' 
gui.sh it from ordinary liydrogen. The palladium alloy 
precipitates mercury and calomel from a solution of the 
chloride of mercury without any disengagement of hy- 
drogen; that is, hydrogenium decornpo.WB chloride of 
mercury, while hydrogen does not. This explains why 
M. Stanishis MeunitT failed in discovering the occluded 
hydrogen of meteoric iron, by dissolving the latter in a 
solution of chloride of mercury ; for the hydrogen 
would be consumed, like the iron itself, in precipitating 
mercuiy. Hydrogen (associated with palladium) unites 
with chlorine and iodine in the dark, reduces a persalt 
of iron to the state of protosalt, converts red prussiate 
of potash into yellow prussiate, and ha£ considerable 
deoxidising powers. It appears to be the active form 
of hydro gen, as oaone is of oxygen. 

The general conchiaioijs which appear to flow from, 
thia inquiry are — that in palladium fuUy charged with 
hydrogen, as in the portion of palbdiuni wire now »ah- 
mitted to the Royal Society, there exists a compound 
of palladium and liydrogen in a proportion which may 
approach to equal equivalents;* that both substances 
are solid, metallic, and of a white aspect ; that the alloy 
contains about 20 volumes of palladium united with 
one volume of hydrogenium j find that the density of 
the latter is about 2, a little higher than magneaitim, to 
which hydrogenium may be supposed to bear some 
analogy; tliat hydrogenium has a certain amount of 
tenacity, and possesses the electrical conductivity of a 
metal ; and, Anally, that hTdrogenium takes its place 
among magnetic metals. Yhe latter fact may have its 
bearing upon tlie appearance of hydrogenium in me- 



I 
I 



• Proettdlng* of t\tBoyal SocM^n 18AS, p. 4J3. 



[EiifUab Editioo, Tol. XIX., Vo. 476, |>acM 54, 55.] 







Oil tlie SulpJuUea of Oodde of Atmmony, 



129 



Joric iron, in aasoclatioQ with certain other mxtgnetic 
fclementSL 

I cannot close this piiT>er without taking the opportu- 
^liity to return my best tlianks lo Mr. W. C. R^jberts for 
his valuable co-operation thro'ugbout Uie inve&tigation. 



OK TDK 

SULPHATES OP OXIDE OF ANTIMONY. 

BT W. P. J>KXT£H. 

Tire Tariona degrees of aaturntion of acids with the 

lirv-i ' .ixi<1»>^ have been cons^idered either in prcncral, as 

s of salts, or have been studieti in detail, 

na of tlie individual baaes. The recent 

iieraoir of Hr. SchiiUz, of Berlin,* has added largely 

to the number of compounds known aa acid siUts. In 

a work now nearly fitiisfaed, I hope to show that, of 

t^le alum-tbrming bases, the sulphates of alumina and 

sestijujoxide of chrome are capable of combining with 

ai equivalent of hydrated eutphiiric acid; that these 

.acid finlpitafefs stand in close connection with the ao- 

calle«l doulile salts of the neutral Bidphates of theae 

J. *ad t!iat they may be regarded m compound 

'nT which the double sulphates are the derivative 

With the view of extending tliis inquiry to the 

It4 of an oxide of similar composition, but of a dif- 

clasa, the following examination of the combi- 

of sulphuric acid with oxide of antimony waa 

rtaken. No compound wa8 hero found aoalogous 

lo the acid-sulphates of the alum basea, as no aalt* of 

►xide of antimony ia known which has the compoaition 

►f the alums. Theae compounds have been previously 

Investigated by Brandes, and more recently, and with 

[••jmewhat different result, by M. Peligot.' My own 

mclusions agree, as will be seen, with tho.>e of the 

[German chemist; but are given, witb hesitation, from 

fexperieuco of the difHoultie^ with which the prepara- 

*tioD of these bodies is al tended. 

Foe the purpose of demonstrating their existence, 
and exa.iiining their form under the microgcope, the 
sails are easily made by b:)ilng oxide of antmiony or 
Altr.iroth powder w.tb dilute sulphuric acid, until the 
\v arer of the acid is expelled. The bi$utphate remains 
as A whir^ sandy powder, while the concentrated acid 
deposits on cooling acicular crystals of the tersulphate 
or neutral salt By the acu.m of hot watex. these are 
cniTerteJ into minute crystals of the dl>ulpha(e. If 
the concentrafion of the acid has n<>t been carm.id fto 
far, Intermixed with, or in place of, the biRidnhate will 
bcfoiinl crystals of an intermediate salt, oi different 
form ; and the liquid, if allowed to attract moisture 
from the air, dep:mt9 still other or^^stalline compounds. 
one of which contains equal equivalents of add and 
base. 

The^e are the salts which I have succeeded in ob- 
taining in a sufficiently pure state for analy.*is. They 
•rci all crystalline, dissolve reaiily in hydrochloric acidj 
•nd with the exception of the disulphate, are decom- 
posed by the action of water. T'> free them from tlie 
wiheritig acid liquid, they were left for a considerable 
time U[*on a porous earthen plate, protected from mois- 
ture by a gkas containing a vessel of concentrated sul- 
phuric a^id. For the plates nothing was here to be 
found better than the red earthen, saucers upon which 
flower-potd are placed. I had also flat discs made of 
the s-ime ware, between which the salts, when par- 

* Pogg. ▲noL, exzxUL, 137. 



tially dried, were forcibly preesad by means of a steel 
screw. Ti»e plates, before u^e, were heated, first in an 
oven, arjd rhen over a large gas flame, or an antliracite 
6re, and left to cool in a close vessel, over Bulphuric 
acid. 

For analysis the salts were dissolved in hydrochloric 
acid, tartari*' addeil so that the solution could bo largely 
diluted without precipitation, and. the antimony throw u 
down by sidphydric acid : llie sulphuric acid was then 
determined in the filtrate as sulphate of baryta. If, on 
the contrary, the sulphuric acid be precipitated before 
the separation of the antimony, a sulphate of baryta is 
obtained, which alter ignition is coloured, and retains 
traces of the metal that cannot be wholly removed by 
digestion with dilute hydrochloric acid. All the tar- 
taric acid of cominerce which I have examined,, con- 
tains sulphuric acid J digestion of the solution in alco- 
hol with a hltle carbonate of bary:a removes the acid, 
but the tartrate of baryta is not quite insoluble in the 
alcohohc Uquid. With carbonate of lime no better re- 
mit was obtained. Through the kindness of Mr. Mel- 
vin, drnggist of Boston, 1 received a supply of tartaric 
acid, in large crystals, which were quite free from sul- 
phuric acid and all metallic impurity. 

The precipitated sulphide of antimony waa collected 
on a weighed filter, and dried at the temperature of 
boiling water ; fr«:>m its weight the quantity of the metal 
or oxide was calculated. "As the antimony was in the 
jitair* of oxide, and no nitric acid, oxide of iron, or 
other substance capable of decomposing the sulphydric 
acid, waa prescnit, an excesa of sulphur in tlie precipi- 
tate was not to be feared. It has been a.««erted that 
the tersulphide uf antiniony retains at 100' C, a quan- 
tity of water, not amounting to 1 per cent, and requir- 
ing for its expulsion a temperature above 200", by 
which Uie sulphide ia converted into the blar!k crystal- 
line toodificitlion. To determine tlie precise amount 
of the error from this source, as well as from I he pos^ 
sible presence of uncombined sulphur, the sulphide, 
after remaining many hours in the water bath, and 
until its weight varied, at most, one or two-tenths of 
a milligramme, was heated in a covered crucible, in 
an air bath, to 212*' — 220' for half or three-quarters of 
an hour at a time, with the following result: — 

08192 SbSt lost 2-1 0*4 05 

0*5445 '* " 1*0 0*3 milligrammea, 

no constant weight being obtained. 

The sulphide was then exposed to the same tempera- 
ture, in a bulb blown upon a narrow glass tube, while 
the air waa displaced by a slow stream of carbooio 
acid. 

08536 lost o'a 

0-3920 " 025 milligrammes, 

these being all products of different analyses; the sul- 
phide was complftely converted into the black modifi-^ 
Ciition, and the weight on repeated Irial remained un- 
changed The error, whaterer may be its source, of at 
most the tenth of I per cent, beeomei insignificant 
when compared with the tenfold greater errors inevita- 
ble in the preparation of the salt?. 

Tergulphate, or N^futral Salt— Oxide of antimony 
and AJgaroth powder are dissolved in considerable 
quantity by hot concentrated sulphuric acid, the latter 
with disengagement of hydrochloric acid, the solvent 
power of the acid seeming to increase with its tem- 
perature. On cooUng, a salt is deposited in sleuder 



EncUth Edition, Vol. XIX., No 478, page* ii, 56] 



130 f/7t tm mupnmes o^ 

needles, in such quantity, wlien the acid is saturated 
Bt its boiling pointj that tlie whole becomes a thick 
fiemi-fluid magma. The crystals nre long, four-.-idcd 
prisms, vf\l\i terminal faces, set often upon two oppo- 
site sides, alike at both ends of the prism. They seem 
to belong" to the oblique rhombic system. The con- 
centrated acid in which they have formed retains so 
little of the oxide in solution at the ordinary tempera- 
ture tliat it remains clear when diluted with water, but 
by sulpbydric atad a sUght precipitate is produced. In 
the actd, diluted with about half its volume of water, 
the oxide in the cold is much mort' soluble. 

Tn the preparation of the salt, the nxychloride was 
used in preference to the oxide, as the latter is not 
easily obtained free ftom alkah, and the acid was 
heated until all water was expelled, and vapour of 
hydrated acid abundantly given off. The semi-fluid 
mass of crystals was brought upon a funnel, ihe neck 
of which was imperfectly closed by a glass rod, and 
they were then further freed from tlie acid upon the 
porous platen, as has been describ«^d. These operations 
were performed as rapidly as poB?ible, in frosty wintry 
weather, and in a room wliich was not heated, and 
was entered for no other purpose. When dry, tlie salt 
formed a mass of fibrous texture, very much re- 
sembllng asbestos. 

My analysis shows thia to be the teraulphate, or 
Dcutral salt : — 

1. 05933 of the salt gave 0*3648 SbSi, 

2. 06792 of tlie fiame proparaUon gave 0'4I73 SbS|, and 

o-giSBaOSO,. 

3. 064 1 3 of another preparation gave 03999 Sl>Sj, and 

00859 BaOSO,, 

CulcuUkUid. I. II. III. 

SbO, 54-94 53-82 5278 53-58 

3SO, 45-06 — 46'4i 46*00 

, 10000 99*9 99*5^ 

The difference in the numbers found in the analyses 
from those given by calculation is to be asCTil>ed to 
impurity of the preparatinna, ralher than to analytical 
errors. It is obvion.'sly difScult, by presenre between 
rigid plates, to remove completely all adherent liquid, 
and an excess of acid was therefore generally found in 
the salts thu3 prepared. That this was in the present 
caae the cause of the discn^pancy will appear when it 
ia considered that the acid which adhered to the salt 
was hydrated acid, an^ii that its water would be repre- 
sented in the analysis by a loss. The loss, then, 
should correspond in amount to the excess of acid 
obtained j or, reckoned in eqiulvalenta as water, should 
be equal to the equivalents of the acid in excesp. 

Til© composition of the salt from the above analyses, 
taken in eqiiivalenta, is — 

11. nr, 

SbO, I 00 roo 

BO, 3'22 314 

HO (loss) 0*25 o'lj 

^ The earlier analyses gave — 

BnudM. miguL^ 

8bO, 564 502 443 

BO, 4J2 S»*9 53"t 

99'6 1021 974 

• The reqnlstte <t»tft for c*lwiti»tfon are (rlrrn only for ihc flrrt of the 
•mIriM of M. Pillgot. ir theK b« not a misprint, lh»re l.i in error 
la tnla enlcnlatlaa, u oeriire nSso In three nut of the fuarnn&ly^ea of the 
■a1ph»t«a oTuitlraoaT, of vbioh the clutatia ar« giveu. II from 166 of 
tbr Mlt^ 2-27 ItttOiMi ir«re obtained^ a> lUted In lbs memoir lii«re 
vtre 45-9 per cent of add, iMtnid of 51-9. 



MHffiouy, 



lie At Nitwi, 
MurcK ise». 



Mr. Pdlig-ot considers the salt to contain four atonna 
of acid, a composition which requires 4777 SnO» to 
53-23 SO9, if the equivalent of antimony be taken, 
as has been here done, at I22'34.* The question ia 
one of considerable importance ; for from the compo- 
sition which he has assigned to tlii8 sulphate, and- to 
the other antimonial compounds described in hia 
Memoir, M. P^igot infers that tlie salts of antimony, 
like those of uranium, depart from ihe rccognizeti 
law, according to which oxides containing three 
equivalents of oxygen require the same number of 
atoms of acid to form a neutral salt. The existence 
of such a sulphate of oxide of antimony is denied by 
him. "En effbt il ne m'a pas 6X.6 possible de ren- 
contrer un peul sel contcnant 3 Equivalents d'acide 
combing avec r equivalent d'oxyde d'antimoine; de 
sorte que pour les sels d'antimoine, de mcme que pour 
les sels jaunes d'urane, toutes les formulea calculus 
dans les tablcji d*^quivalent« de M. Berzehus repr^nt- 
ent dea sels qui n'existent pas."! 

But tlie neutral s^alt may be prepared in another 
way, with a composition agreeing po nearly with that 
required by theory as to leave no doubt of its exist- 
ence. By careful heating in a crucible of the oxide 
or oxychloride of antimony, with sid|»huric acid, until 
the excess of acid is expelled^ a while residue ia ob- 
tained, the weight of whicb, however, is not quite 
constant, a minute quantity of acid being continually 
given off, probably on acc(^unt of the moisture of ill© 
air. To obviate this source of uncertainty, tiie oxide 
or oxychloride was put into a bulb blown on the end 
of a narrow and tliick glass tube, bent in tlie slinpe of a 
retorty close t4> the bulb. The neck was then drawn 
out 80 aa to end in a point, in which, during the distil- 
lation, ft drop of add remained, and deprived of it8 
moisture any air which might pass through it, A 
platinum crucible, lined witli asbestos, Brrved as & 
bath, and was covered with a sheet of mica, per- 
forated for the passage of the neck, over which aRbcR- 
tos was also heaped. The heat was such as just to 
cause the acid to distil slowly over, the dlstillalioa 
from between one and two grammes of oxychloride 
lasting several liours r the temp-rature was above the 
melting point of lead. At the end, a miimte drop col- 
lected in the point, at intervals of from a quarter to 
half an bour. By too long continuance of the lieat 
tiie vapour of water- free acid is seen in the tubi?. The 
acid in the neck having been driven off, the point was 
sealed with the blow-pipe. The product was a cohe-^ 
rent, friable mass, crystalline on the surface to the 
naked eye. 

Of a preparation made from the oxide, 0*4471 gave 
0-2823 ShO» and 0'S9S3 BaOSOi ; of a salt made from 
Algaroth powder, 06177 g^^e 0.3946 SbS,, and 0*815 
BaOSj ; iu the hundred, 

Calcolfttcd. L II. 

SbO, 54-94 54-24 54-88 

SO, 45*06 4572 45'3» 



loooo 99*96 

(Ta be oonlLoued.) 



100-19 



• Pogg, Ann., c, 56*; 

t Ana. Oh. Pbji., 31a 8er., xx^ 397. 



LBacUsh HdlUoo, Vol ZIX., No. 478, paces 5«» 5T.] 







• 
CJiemical Chmiges of Ca/rhmi. 



131 



LECTURES. 



OX THIS 

CHEMICAL CHANGES OF CARBON, 

A COURSE OF SIX LECTURES • 

(Adapteu to a JuvEmLE Auditory), 

nxiireaED at tihb 

nOYAL INSTfTirnOX OF GREAT BRITAIN, 
(CHRISTMAS, 1868-9), 

WrLLIAH ODLING, Esq., M.B;, F.R.,S. 

- (^CLUMAX rKorraaoa of tutMijjTBY i» tm» iiorjii. msTtrtmoK). 

LECTURE L 

Marble— Lime— Ca.udo.vic Gab. 

M&KBLB, • brittle solid, rftpAhle of be|n|r cnuht^d nnd icroiiDd fbfio 
Powrl«T^tt5 want or Kcihm op, and ln»olublllt.ir,iu. wat*r— Occnr* 
reuce of cfforvf^cetice oti treatment of marble* wUIi vlno(fnr or 
ao«U4! ncid; al^o with othvr mx\i\<&. as inurintk «cl<i, for Inatitice— 
liffenre««'rriee <fut; U> Hheration of a particular klml of air or i^u — 
i*in» ktnil of air or L'a» evolved frnm iDarbl« by action of » red 
baal— MnrWi* p*«-.tFtd by iffnltton lijto above kln«l of air or ^mx, 
»nd«>r«$!' ' 1 Uine— HofulUn.g qtilcfcUrne <U9tlnfriil»h*'d fn>in 

orlsiaal n oixb wuyt — Non-occnrrenco of tiffprvescfiico 

OQ 1tj«t>"i' 'I ad(]»— Kvoliitlunoriieat on its b«iiiE nlaked 

\>j -^ ^ lUMniy lu water— Lime-water obaracterlsed ijr iU 

mil. I npon vop'table eolourlnji; intUters^ and iu pre«il- 

piij r^^nt mctaillo wlUi — Coiiibtniitlon with Dine nf the 

aix rv...v,>,i ir.trii ninrblu, to reproduce m&rble— Cheoilc&l IdcoUtf 
of ni^rble wllb chnik, Ilroeatone, calo-inAr, corsf, i««rl. ^c— ^olu- 
biUtx of all Tlicae fubetancee In murlano add with eff<frvi>Kenee, 
and tht'lr ei>Dvcr»l<m Into qaickllme by Ignition— Extinction of 
llsine of ordinary coinliii«tJbl«'» by air t^YotvtKl from nmrbli* — i nm- 
buftt'in of differi'-ril njciaU, as iron, ili>c, inajrn^'ficim. ftftd s><idliin). 
In Mrdinmry air — Co^lbu^Llun of eodlntn In air from mnrlde, with 
■•rpArall<>§ uf carbon or charcoal — air from uuu-ble fornierl/ caAed 
fl«rd oir <>n account of lU being fixed ar ab»<>rbeO by lime, m aa to 
produce chalk — Noir called carbonic (;aa,froin iti containing earboo 
or «-h»rcoal— ProiJu'tino of oarlionlc f^oa by burolof charcoal la 
ordiitMry air— Conv^rMon of suluble lime Into lnsotiu>le chalk or 
dr, a teat for carbonic gas. 

of you vtIio .ire flitting in tbe front benchofl, and tlic 
joutlWul FeUowiS wtioro I aee acaUered about the 
who form my oi^pofial andieoco lo-day, bave, I sup- 
moat of ycu, very rccotiUy been acquiring ot uchool 
jiuucb val liable knowledge with regard to words, and num- 
evcnbs; and now in your holiday time, like many 
ilioua of schoolboya before you, you come to tlie Royal 
tloD to learn a littte about fAin^a^-flbout material uh- 
that can be touched aod tiandled and weighed ; and in 
;tle lime I think most of you will be surpriaefl to fhtd 
very interesting and howcurioua thepnopertreaofeven the 
toat cotnmou-placo tlitnga arc wlion intelligenlly exjuuiutd^, 
[And in porticular how very remarkable are the changes which 
I this ooTuiuon nnd, ai ttrat sight, uomtereating looking subatatiee 
Itwcoal — isciipablo of undergoing and efl'ecting. 

' hough it ia my intention to talk to you about 
^or carbon, I do not intend to begin with carbon, but 
a very dilTereTit lookiog aubatanoe— ono which you may 
inchned to tliiiik can have but little conneclion with 
ifcoal at it)l» and yet which in reality, oa I hope to sh^w 
has a very intimate connection with it indeed. — I mean 
Bubfttance I hold in my hand, and winch you will at ouco 
im as a piece of marble — a alnb of mnrble. 
r, as we have only some half-dozen }n>ufs to talk of 
[l2ie many wonderful changee of this wonderful charcoal, we 
put aHide nil proliminariefp, and begin at once with an 
ilal enquiry into the properties of this while eub- 
irble, and ita relation to tiiat black substance, 
We will submit it to several teslg or trials, j^ind 
wo will see how it behareB under those trials •, and, first of 



^ fi«ttortMl TerbaUm, by pcrmUaion of Ihe Author, for tbii JuuxoaL 



all, we will try tbe effect of a blow upon it. If we take the 
irinrble, and hit it a rather sharp blow with a hammer, you 
will observe that the marble very quickly brcaka to pieoeiL 
Here we have a number uf similar pieces of marble that 
have been broken off in thiaroflnner; here we have a jar of 
broken marble, and here is tho same marble in a smaller 
state of divisioo. >'ow, if I lake aome ordioafy pieces of 
marble, and put them into a druggist's mortar and bring the 
pestle dovfn upon them, I have the power of reducing them 
to a powder of a greater or leas degree of fineness. Here 
we have some marble wiiich has been powdered in this 
manner; here is some in a rather coarser slate; here, again, 
is some which has been very finely powdered for a special 
pnrpof^e; and by chemical means we can get the marble into 
a much finer state of division, which we speak of as preci- 
pitated mnrbfe. Well, then, the first thing we learn about 
marble ia, that it is a very brittle sul«tance. That is not a 
great deal to know^ but it is »omelhing; and you will find in 
science that there is no fact, however small, that may not 
be found important If I put a piece of lead under the haro- 
roer and strike it I cannot break it ; or if I put a piece into 
a mortar I cannot powder it. Marble, then, is a substance 
entirely dilTerent from lead in these respects, iuasmuoh aa 
the marble possesses a property of brittienea« which is not 
possessed by lead. 

So much, then, for tho effect of a blow upon marble. 
Now let us try it in flomo other way; and first of all wo 
will treat it with wal^r In these vessels are two large 
thermometers, which I hope will be visible over the greater 
part of the theatre ; one of those vessels contains a sub- 
stance which is somewhat of tho nature of common salt; 
it is not ordinary common salt ; but it is a substauoo called 
salt cake— a kind of salt that cakes together a good 
deal ; in tho other vessel there is ooramon marble. Now 
we are going to wet both thciio substances, and to notice 
what happen^ Wo will tnke a little water, and first of 
all we will wet this salt substance a little with the water, 
and observie what takes plaoe. And, now, having wetted 
the salt subatanoe, we will wet the marble, nnd notice 
whether any difTe-rence is observable between the two cases. 
I think that yon will find, in the course of a Tery few- 
minutes, that the liquid of this thermometer which is 
placed hi the salt cake, and which originally stoc*d rather 
lower than the other thermometer, will rise rapidly, sIjow- 
ing that we get a large amount of heat evolved. Salt cake, 
then, ia a sabstanco which, when moistened with water, 
gives out a considerable amount of heat; whereas marble 
ia a substance which, when wetted,, does not give out heal^ 
Tou see that already tho liquid in the thermometer connect' 
ed with the salt cake is gmiluidly rising, and it will go on 
rising, I have no doubt, until eventusiUy it roaches up to the 
very top of the Elera, [At a subasquent stage of the liucture 
the professor pointed out that the thermometer had risen to 

oonaidorable height.] Wo find, then, that there is in this re- 
spect a diflfereuee between the marble and the other sub- 
stance. 

And now let us try the effects of water upon marble in 
some other ways. You know tlxat there are many substan- 
ces which, when they are put into water, dis^apixjar; in 
other worda, they diasolvo in the water. Certain other sub- 
stances do not disappear ; you have a verj- good illustration 
of this (B the case of sea salt and sea sand. You have ob- 
served, when you have been by the sea side, that tho sea 
salt remains in tlie water, whereas the sand ia deposited upon 
tho abore. Now let us ascertain whether marble is a sub- 
stance which, like sea aaltt dissolves in ^a tor, or, like sea 
sand, remaina undissolvod. Aa I have compared tbe marble 
with the lead and with the salt cake, I will now compare it 
with certain substances which are soluble in water. Ilere 

1 will take a substance which posi^esses a colour: it 
ia Borao of the substance called aniline blue, — one of the 
colours made fVom coal tar. Wo will throw some of this 
blue oolrmr into water, and now notico what happ&ns. You 
600 the beautiful streak's of colour which arc gradually d&« 



[Englljli Edition, Tol. SXIL, tta, 475, i»g«« 13, 14.] 





ChemiGol Chmiges of Carbon. 



) MarvK^Wm. 



I 



Bcendiuf^. You see in this case, in fact, that Tve are dealing 
with a soluble sulifitaxice — a substanco whirh dissolToa very 
rapidly in water, and by its solution gives rise to these 
beautiful ativaki" of colour. Here, then, we have an illuatra- 
tioa of a siubetaiicc which is soluble in water, and at the 
same time is possessed of a very brilliant colour We will 
DOW pass on to iho eonsidonitiou of Quoiher subEtat'Cc. It 
18 one which \& not very soluble in water, but is very readily 
soluble in dilute spirit of wiiio. We take some of thla sub- 
stance, and put it into tho funnel, and pour upon it some 
spirit of wine, and you see that in this case, also, the sub- 
etaDCo dissolves very readily in tlie liquid. You see at the 
present tiino a ntruak of red colouriiii; matter gradually de- 
scending through tho liquid, Hcrct iheii, you have another 
Ulustration of a substance wliidii dissolves in water with 
tolerable facility. 

Now, it is quite obvious, we must not compare marble 
with oue of thoi«e beautiful coloured snbfttances. but we will 
compare it wth some colourless substaoce, and for this pur- 
pose I will take some common salt. Into this futiuel I will 
pour a quaolity of oomcnon salt, so as in a great meusure to 
^U tho funnel : you see the funael is now HUed with salt. In 
the other funuel we will place* in the same way, some mar* 
ble, and we will notice whether any difference is observable 
in tho case of the funnel fiUfd with marble und tho funnel 
filled with Halt. lu thlR exi>crimeut we shall not ziee streaks 
of beautiful colour, but I think those wlio ore near will be 
able to observe that, in the caso of the comrnou salt, there is 
a straatn of liquid— which ia, in fact, a solutiou of salt- de* 
soeoding tlirou^h the water beneath ; whereas nothin^r of 
the kind will bo observable in tlie case of tho marble. 
Whether this ia obBervabl© or net there is one effect wliich 
I think will be notiued by jdl, end tluit will be, that in the 
course of ten minutes or ao tho whole of the salt which 
we huvo put into this funnel will disappear, whereas tho 
marble will remain. * 

We come, then, to this conclusion— that marble ia a sub- 
stance wlijch, BO far as we liavo gone, does not dissolve per- 
ceptibly in water. Here wo liavo some marble in a bottle 
of water, and it is quite dear that the whole of the marblo 
does not dissolve; but the question chemically is, has ony 
of the marblo dissolved ? Has tho water got any marblo 
dissolved in it? I will sh jw yoii the method which 
the clioroist adopts for tho purpose of determiDiug tiiis. 
He takes a funnel with some dlttring paper in it, and he 
poura tho liquid through tho fiiuiiol ; the object of this 
liltnition being to remove any part idea of marble which 
may be undisRoived in the wnter. Tho question then tliat 
we have to consider is whether the filtered water has got 
any marble in it, and to find out that point wo take some of 
the water aud boii it away. You know that when water ia 
boiled it gradually gets less and less in quantity, sod even- 
tually it boils entirely away. Now if this water is nothing 
butwaier, it will boil away and leave no residue ; but if it is 
water containing marble, the water will boil away, and tho 
marble will not boil away, but will bo left behind ; and thus 
when we want to know whether the water has taken any \ 
marble into solution we Alter tho liquid, tn this wa^', and i 
then boil it away, and observe whether there ia a resi- 
due or not So much then for the action of water upon 
marble. 

The next subatanoe of which we will try the action upon 
marble is a very common subatnuce, uarnoly, vinegar. For 
this purpose we will take some liuely powdered marble and 
moisten it thoroughly with water, and thrn we will act upon 
it with vinegar. We jjoursome vinegar upon Uie marble, and 
notice whether or not any efl'ect takes place. We shall see 
in the course of a minute or two that a considerable action 
is taking place ; you will observe that tli« vinegar will be- 
come covered with froth. Kow in this csbo the marble, 
which would not dissolve in water, is dissolving in tho vine- 
gar, aad not only is it dissolving, but it is behaviog very 
differently from tlie manner in which the common salt dts- 
lolved in this water [pointing to tbe solutiou of salt], and in 



which tbe magenta diwolved in this other vessel Tou o 
serve that the marble dissolves in tlie vinegar with a am 
siderable amount of froth. Now what is the nature of that 
substance? Vinegar, you know, is a sour substnnce; to 
what does it owe ita aoumesa? We Snd that it contatoa a 
sour substance called an acid. Chemists artt acf|uainted witli 
a large number of sour substances called acids, to whtch 
tlicy have given different names. This acid contained ia 
vinegar is called the acid acid, or ay:e//c acid ; but the amount of 
acetic acid existing in vinegar ia extremely sinall. Thcrerore, 
ifj instead of taking vinegar, we take some of tlie substance 
which gives its sourneaa to vinegar — the acetic acid itself— 
we shall flad, in thai case, that the aclioo is much more de- 
cided. I will now employ acetic acid instead of vinegar, and 
you observe in this case tiiat t!ie marble dissolves with con- 
siderable rapidity, and we get in this case a much better 
marked efff^rveacence than we had by means of the vinegar. 

Now, u.^ T have said, chemi*<ta are Hequaiiited with a great 
number of different acida. TJiere ia thia acetic acid, or the 
acid acid; Iben there is the acid which exists in soar 
grapes, «nd which is called tartaric acid ; then there is an 
acid exifttliig in eour lemons, called citric acid ; there is an 
acid existing in apples, called malic acid, and an acid exist- 
ing in sorrel, called oxalic acid ; then there is an acid got 
from Bulphur, called sulphuric acid; another got frtim ultra, 
called nitric acid ; and. lastly, there is an ncid got from tea 
salt which is called muriatic acid. Now muriatic acid ia the 
acid which w© will try next. 

You will 11 nd that muriatic acid is an acid which is much 
stronger than acetic acid, and that when we come to act 
upon marble with muriatic acid, we shall get a very much 
more rapid eOarvescence. In this caso. indeed, the effer- 
vescence is bo rapid, that I shall not need to employ the mar* 
bte in tho Une state of division in which It was when submit- 
ted to the action of the other aciii. I will take some of this 
marble in tho form of lumps, upon which the vinegar would 
be almost without action^ and upon which the acetic acid 
would have a very small effect ; but with the muijatic acid 
I can act upon the marble even in the form of these ooacM 
broken pieces, and you see that in this case we g^^t o veiy 
violent effervescence. 

We have now aaccrtaiJied Iheae properties as belonging to 
marble — that when it is aubjecteil to a blow from a hammer 
it breaks readily ; that when exposed to the action of water 
it does not dissolve ; aud that when acted on by vinegu*, or 
acetic acid, or muri^lio acid, it nut only dL^solves, btit also 
gives rise to this phenomenon of frothing or effervesccnca 

Let,us DOW examine into the nature of this efforvegoenoe ; 
and for this purpoao we will try to perform the experitueut 
in a somewhat different manner. I have hero ajar cootaia* 
ing some marble, and this marble is covered with water; a( 
tbe top of tho water la an inverted funnel, the object of 
which you will see presently. In this caso, instead of using 
acetic acid, wo will add stjme of the acid from the sea aalV, 
which we caM muriatic acid ; and you see that in this case 
we quickly get an abundant effervescence. We cover ihta 
with the funnoi and till up tho vessel with water, and in a 
minute or two you will see what is the nature of this effer- 
vescence. You see that it consists in the formation of a Urga 
number of bubbles of air underneath the water; aud hetd 
you see these bubbles of air rushing up through the neck ot 
the funnel into the water above. 

Now I wonder whether wo can collect any of these bub- 
bles of gas, end lind out what sort of air they consist of; we 
will try. Let us take thla glass cylinder and till it with 
water, and invert it over the bubbk-s. If 1 were to invorl 
tlie cylinder just as it is aller being filled with water, you 
would tlnd that the air would rush into the cylinder, and tho 
water would ainmllftneouHly run out; but if I lake the pro- 
caution to cover ilie mouth of the glaaa with a oard, and then 
invert it so as to keep out the air, under those circuro- 
stanoes the water will remain in the cylinder perfectly 
The rtir cannot get in, and consequently the water 
get out If I put this card on the end of the glass 



n 



lEntUmh EdltloOf 7oL XTX, »o. 476, pafta 14, 15, 16.] 



ctly welL ^m 
>T cannot ^M 

1 







Chemical Clutnges of Carbon, 



133 



k 



liferent the air from gaining: ncoeaa, ond conseqttentlj the 
WBler does doi encape ; when tho air cannot get in, the 
wai'T n.. ..... ^t out 

i another arrangt^ment of the aamo kind, and by 

H ^^ w eDdeovour to collect 8oni© of the gaa which is 

Oorntng up Jrom the marble. I Uike here a tube, filled with 
wnter, and instead of cloHing it with a card 1 simply close it 
with my thumb, and Biipport the end of it iitider lite water 
over the bubbles of pT»» ; and in this manDer, no doubt, wo 
ilimU bo able to collect under the water eome of theise bub- 
bles of air or pas which are risiug from tlio marble, ond 
whJdii bavo been generated by the notion of the murialic 
•dd upon the mitrble. We will now try to fret some moru 
of tbis gas of marble, by acting up*>a th« marble by acid in a 
bottle instead of in a cjHuder. Here is aonie io a bottle^ 
tod in this way we get a considerable eflfervescence; we 
put into Ute neck of the bottle a cork, wiiii a piece of bent 
tube attached to a piece of Tulcaoised tube. You see that 
b«re w© jjfet a jar full of (?aa in a minute or two, for we are 
now performing the experimeut on a somewhat large scale, 
while in the other case we performed it on a smaH scale. 
This efferveecence consists in the formation of bubbles of aJr 
I beneath the surfaee of the water, and these bubbles of air 

^K we are Mpablo of collecting. In a minute or two we shall 
^^^ hare this jnr full of the air which it given off from the mar- 
^^^^l^and then, hnviog obtained it, we'shull be able to ascer- 
^^^^Hp its nature. The vessel i» now full of the air from roar- 
^^^VH^And so we will close it with a glnsH plate and put it 
^^r Mide for a minute or two, until we require it. 
^V W© have, then, trit-d the eflect of water and of acids upon 
* cnr marble ; bow let us iry the effect o( hcjki upon it. For 

thia purpose we will take some of our finely powdt-red marble, 
and subject it to the aflion of a strong heat ; and at the same 
tiioe that I {Ibur some of the marble into tliis capsule I will 
alao pour some more of t^e same marble into a glass which 
Aall stand by Uie aide of the capsule, so tliat when the ♦x- 
poriment is complete we may know that w© have two speci- 
megu of the same substance — one of them being the sub- 
■lance before the action of heat upon it, and the uttier being 
ibe same substance afler it has been acted upon by heat. We 
will take thi;? platinum dtah or ciipsule coDtnining the marble, 
ond act upon it by a strong heat. I will let it be uncovered at 
first, so that you may see how hot it becomea, and then, in 
order that the heiit may bo greater, wo will cover it up with 
this plat jtmra coirer, which will oiuse it to bec^^mo still hotter. 
(The dinh containing tlie marble was tlicn aubraiUed to a 
blowpipe flame.] But I will also expose some marble to 
heat in another way ; instead of putting it into a dish we 
will put it into this platinum tube, and having filled the tube 
with marble we will heat it very strongly, and notice what 
happens Our lube is now full of marble ; we will, therefore, 
insert in one end of it a cork having a glass tube passing 
tbrcu;rh it^ and we will now heat tli% platinum tube very 
•tmngly by means of a blowpipe flame; but before we sub- 
mit it to the heat we will attacii to the glass tube ao appara- 
tus for the purp<Tae of ascertaining whether or not any kind 
of air or gas is given off under these circumstancesw For thia 
purpose we will take another glasa cylinder und fill it with 
water, and invert it in a dish of water uver ihe end of the 
tube from which the bubbles of gus would issue, just as we 
dm in the other cnse. We are now making our platinum tube 
rety hot by means of the blowpipe, and you will notice in a 
toiuote or two whether or not any gns is being evolved. We 
dip the mouth of the lube underneath the sylinder of water, and 
you will see that one of tho eiVects of heat U|H}n the marble 
oootaiacd in the lube is to drive off a kind of air or gaa. 

The pohit, tl^en, to which we have now arrived is that, 
wbelher you act upon marble by an acid, or act upon it by 
beat, in either ca«e you get evolved a particular kind of air 
or gxs, into tho properties of which air or gaa wo will pres- 
ently enquire. 

The rjiie^ion, then, that arises is this. What is the nature 

of the Kcis or air which ia given off in these cases? Is the 

kind of air given off by the marble under the action of 



heat as Is given off by it under the action of the acidp, or is it 
a different kind of air? Well, the only way to answer this 
question, as to answer a great number of others, i.'^ to try it. 
We will try whether the kind of air that is given off by tho 
aclion of heat is the eame kind of air that ia given off by the 
action of the acid, or a different kind of air; and for this pur- 
pose we will examine more parlioulnrly the nature of the air 
that is given off by the marble ttirough the effect of the acid 
upon it. We will take a solution containing lead, which ia 
very well known to medical men under the name of Goulard 
solution; it is a solotion of basic sugnr of lead. We will 
allow the gaa given off by the marble to bubble up through 
uiir solution of basic sugar of lead, and bpc whether any ac- 
tion takes place; we see, in point of fact, that there is an 
effect, and that the solution ia rapidly becoming milky. We 
w^ill now take another portion of the gas given off from the 
marble under tho action of the acid, and try in aTioihcr way 
what its properties are ; we will Lake a piece of lighted sliclc 
and immcrae it in the gas, and it is, as you aee, immediately 
extinguished. Thus we find, then, that Ihe air which is 
given off from the marble by meaiis of the acid has t)ie!*e two 
properties; it renders the sugar of lead solution white and 
turbid, and It extinguishes flamo. We will now take a jar 
of tJve gaa obtained from marble by tho action of heat, snd 
observe the effect of thia gas upon the solution of sugar of 
lead. Wo cause some of the gas that has been produced 
from the marble by heat to bubble up through a solution of 
sugar of lead, and you see that in this, as in the other case, 
the gaa evolved from the marble has the property of render- 
ing the basic sugar of lead turbid, just as did the gas evolved 
from the marble by the action of the acid. In this respect, 
therefore, the gaa evolved from marble by these two different 
agencies appears to be the same in both instances. Now we 
will ascortam whether the gas which is evolved from roftrblc 
by the action of heat bat also the property of extinguishing 
tlamo. For this purpose we will get onr cylinder full of the 
gas which bus been expelled bj the heat from the marble, 
and you see that directly I put in a lighted tnper it is extin- 
guished by the gas contained in the cylinder. We have there- 
fore tried the gas produced by these two different methods, 
and we find that it behaves in the same way in both cases, as 
far as we have experimented ; and, in fact, I may tdl you that, 
no matter how you subject to trial the gases evolved under 
these different kinds of action, you will find thattliey always 
behave the same, or, in other words, that the air given off 
from marble by tho action of heat is identicftl with the kind 
of air given off from marble by the action of acid?. 

Xow let ns see what sort of a substance is the resldne 
which remains behind ; and for this purpose wo will ex- 
amine tho substanco which we have been subjecting In this 
way to the action of heat. You will rememlner that in this 
beaker we had t^^me of the originnl marble which wo did 
not expose to heat ; and now we will t^ke some of the 
marble which has been exposed to heut, and see whotlier 
or not any diflbrence is observable in the Iwhaviour of the 
two sorts. Inasmuch as it is possible, or, in fact, very prob- 
able, that the action of the boat may not have been pushed 
sufficiently far, wo will not t^ke tho whole of the marble 
which has been exposed to hcnt, but only a portion of It, 
and the remainder wo will continue to submit to the action 
of the heat a little longer. Before experimenting with this 
portion of the marble which has been strongly heated, wo 
will wait a minute or two, that it may become a litUe cooler ; 
at present it is so hot that I am not well able to bear my 
hand upon it. When It is cooler I will try the effect of 
water upon it, and wo will see whether the marble which 
has been thus heated behaves in a different way fVom the 
marble which has not been lieaied. (It is now practioanj 
cold, if not absolutely cold ; but I can bear my hand upon 
it.) You will DOW observe that directly I moisten with 
water this marble which has been heated, ib gives out a 
great amount of boat and a great quantity of steam, and 
has now become so hot that it is impossible for any one to 
bear his band upon it; whereas this marble which has not 



(EocUal) EdittMV Vol ZXX^ No. 47S, pac«« l^ 17.] 



134 



Cliemwal Changes of Co/rhan, 



Miirtih, vm. 



been aubmJtted lo the action of heat Is quito uiutffecUsd bj 
the water with which I moisten it. 

Wo will now go on a litilo furiher, and notice whether 
that marbJe wJiieh has been so atrongU* heated will efler- 
vosoe under the action of an acid, and if it does ofl'crvei.cfi, 
whether itofterresccs to the same extent as the other mar- 
ble. In the case of the marble which hoa b(«ou heated, you 
see we get aome eflervesoeiite, although not in tl»e aarae de- 
gpTTO ; and I am in hopes* that in a short time, when tbo re- 
mainder of the heated marble has been subjected to the heat 
a little longer, we shall get a product which will givo ua no 
effervnacence. 

Hitherto I have been talking about the observation of 
facta ; here, you see, we have got a fact which T did not 
want, for it was my intention that the roarblo which had 
been heated should not oflervesce. Now, iu science we 
must interpret the langtiage of faoti* as they arise. This ia 
an awkward fuct: why did it happen? U was because we 
did not allow the action of the heat to continue sufBdently 
long. We aball have to go over the experinicnt again, but 
for the present you must take my wortl, thai if tho marble 
had been ignited sufficieatly long it would no longer have 
been able to eflbrveHii^. I will give you another iilugtralion 
of the gri>at amount of heat that ia produced by this residue 
when it ia wetted. Here we have some large pieces of the 
residue left after igultion, and upon inoiateuiug thora we 
shall get a very considerable amount of heat evolved. You 
will see the mass begin to steara iu a minute or two. Ii al- 
ready gets very hot; and if I place uix>n tliis niaj*s of resi- 
due that has been left after the ignition of marble a piece 
of phosphorus, you will see that the phospliorua will, in a 
minute or two, burst iuto liamo. You flte the pliosphoms 
now takes fire IVom tlie heat that ia ha this way produoed by 
wetting with water the residue left by the ignition pf lh« 
marble. Thus you see that the substance which ia loft by 
the ignition is a very different substance from the original 
marble with which we began the experiment. Now we will 
take a little more of this marble residue, which we will also 
wet with water, and wo will uotiee whether or not any 
other remarkable effect takes phu?© through the action of 
the water. We here take our marble which has been burnt, 
and we will notice whether or not wo get any solution ; and 
for that purpose we wiU treat this liquid which we pour 
upon it exactly in the aarae way oa we troatod the liquid 
that was obtained by the action of water upon the marble 
before it was burnt— that is to say, wo will filter ii — and 
then wo wiU take the liquid obtained by the action of 
water upon the residue of the ignition of marble, and ascer- 
tain whether or not water, which would not take up any- 
thing from the original marble, will take up anytliing from 
this residue of ignited marble. Here I have some of this 
solution being made— it is filtering through tho fhunel ; but 
here I have some of the solution already m«do. Ibirst of all 
we will try its effect upon this piece of paper. Here ia a 
pieoc of paper almost colourless: wo dip it in the solution, 
and we find that it is dyed ahnost purple, showing that the 
water which has been obtained ia this way has got some- 
thing in it. Hero is another 'piece of paper ; let us see 
whether the ."solution has pny effect upon that. You will 
obsorvo, on nty taking out this piece of paper, that, where- 
as the first piece was stained of a bright rod colour, this 
piece ia very quickly stained groou— not, I think, so decided 
a green as tho other was a decided red, but still I think it is 
very apparent ; j?ou see, then, that the product obtained by 
tho action of water upon tho residue of ignited marble has 
certain propertioa. Here wo havo another piece of paper, 
and yon see that it is dyed brown by the action of the li- 
quid. Here we have a piece of paper which hi olready red, 
and on our allowing this to come into contact with the liquid 
it becomes of a decided blue colour. .In tliis way, then, we 
are able to ascertain thnt the hquid that filters away from 
the residue of the ignition of marble has tho property of 
affectuig those bodies in thc-sQ dilTerent ways. But wo 
will try its properties in another way. Here are Bomo ves- 



sels containing certain metallic solutions. You wiD find 
that the water which has been allowed to digoiit on marble 
which has not been ignited, has no effect on the solutions, 
except that it makes them of a somcwbat paler colour by 
diluting them ; whereas I hope to show you tli^it tho water 
from the marble after it haa been heated, has a very de- 
cided effect. [Portions of the liquid filtered from the 
calcined marble wore added aucccssjvely to the various 
metallic solutions. ] Here wo get a blue predpitate ; here 
we get a block precipitate. To this wo add some of the 
llqui<i in the aaroe way, and we get a brown ; iuto this, 
again, we put some of the liquid from the ignited marble, 
and wo get a green ; bore, again, we get an orange colour. 
Lastly, we add some to this sjliitiou in the same way and 
wo get a white precipitate. Hence you see that, while tho 
water filtered from the uuburnt marble boa no effect upon 
these solutions, tho water which has acted upon the marble 
after ignition produeoa a very decided effect. 

Now, what ia tho nature of this substance which is left 
behind aflor the ignition of the marble? Well, this residue 
is known as *' quicklime." When you heat marble in this 
way you got a substance which differs very much fVom the 
original marble; it is no longer marble at all ; it hna not tho 
property of effervescence with acids, but it luis the property 
of fonniug a solution with water and giving out heat when 
moistened. Marble Is a substance which does not give out 
heat on being wetted, and does not dissolve ; roarblo efler- 
veaces with acids; but the quicklime docs not. So much, 
then, for the residue. 

Now, what »s tho nature of the gaa tbat is produood 
when the marble is heated and tho residue of quicklime U 
obtained ? Hero is an arrangement for obtainiug the gaa 
rather more ooDvcniont for lecture purposes than the one 
we employed before. It ia exactly or the satto character, 
only io this we have the marble in a separate vessel, and 
th%ocid can act upon it at leisure. ' Here we take some of 
our lime-water, nod we cause somo of this gas to bubble 
through it, and wo notice what effect takes place. When 
wo allow tho acid to come into contact with the marble we 
get an abundance of the air or gas given off, and we found 
that the samo air or gaa was given off by the marble whether 
through tho action of acid or of boat Wo allow some of 
this gaa to act upon this lime-water, and wo tiud tliat Wtt 
got a subatantw identical with tho original marble with 
which we started. Wo wiU try this product, and I have 
no doubt those who are near me will see that a gas is given , 
off whou I odd muriatic acid to it. [The precipitate eflfer- 
vescod on being treated with acid.] 

iVom what We havo seeUj then, we conclude that the 
lime differs from the original marble in tho absence of tliis 
parlicuhir kind ofgasor air which the marble gives off when 
it ia heated, and you noticed just now that when wc caused 
this gaa to combino again with the lime we got s substance 
possessing the proporlicaof the original marble ; and if we 
took thifl precipitate from tho lime water and acted upon it 
with muriatic acid, you saw that wc got the g:m once more 
driven off, and the precipitated marble dissulved. The 
precipitate which was produced we say is chemically the 
same thing aa marble. 

Now let me call your attention to some other kinds of 
marblo. Here is a piece of ooral ; hero is a piooe of sta- 
lactite j here ia a piece of calcareous spar; here ia a piece 
of limestone; and here is a pioco of shell If we take,! 
for instance, some liif these shells, and cover thero wita< 
water, and act upon them with munatic acid, wo shall get 
in this case, aa iu the other, a considerable amount of effer- 
vescence, due to tho solution of the shells in the acids and 
the giving utfof a gaa. Directly wo pour some of this add 
u|M)n them, tho shells undergo solution, and immediately 
they effervesce. Well, not onJy will shells or limestone act 
thus, but also pearl?. For instance, if we take some pearls 
and act upon them with hydrochloric acid we flhaU find that 
tho pearls dissolve and give off gas. I havo spoken of 
this gaa as being the gaa of marble : 1 might equally 



[EngUah Bditlottj Vot XIX., Wo. 475, pagM 17, 18, IB.] 







Chemical CJtanf^ea of Cm'hon, 




call \\ the g»s of poarla. We moisten these pearls wJlh 
watert &i>d &c^ tipon tbcm by mnriatietictd, nud we gret in this 
caae a rapid eflervosoenne, and ia this wny we mijifht collect 
the fras givfn ofl'by pearls. You will remerubor 1 dare say, 
the story of Cleopatra melting her pearl ear-riups iu vinej^ir ; 
well, all I can saj* is that either her vinepir must have Iwcn 
extremely strong, or she rauat have taken a very consider- 
able time about it, forpearlB dissolve very alowly in vineiiar, 
though they dinsolvo more readily in this strong raurintic 
I add. Wo wai facQitato the action of the muriatic acid upon 
^ tbe pearls by the appUcation of a gt^ntlo hiat, for, in the 
I «se of the pearls, although the subatance is chemically iden- 
tical with marble, it ia in so compact a atato that even the 
muriatic acid acts upon it very alowly, and the vinegar which 
I CSeopatra employed scarcely acts upon it all. Ut^ro we are 
ooUecting our gaa from the pearls, and the action wUl go 
00 in this way until we get our cylinder full of the gas. 
' I now want to call your attention, for ihe two or three 

roioutes that remain, to some of tbe properties of this gas; 
first of all with reference to the corabusUon of raetalfl in it; 
j for although the gas given off from marble is not capsible of 
I fopporting the conibu&tiou of ordinary conibualibles, nover- 
I theleas it can support tlie combustion of some bodies. In the 
^Urst place, in order to prove to you that meials will burn, I 
^Blrill show you the combustion of certain metals in air, and 
" then we wUl take one of them and buru it in the same man- 
ner in the gaa given off from marble. 

I will here ignite some zinc, and t}ien blow a current of air 
upon it, and you will JInd that in this way the zinc bums 
very readily in a current of air. Zinc, then, is a metal capa- 
ble of burning very readily in air. Now let u^ try the coro- 
lusiiou of the metal magnesiumi in the air; you have seen 
tljMt m^^t;*] burn in the air on several occaaions. Here is a 
pii^* of iiiHjxiiesiura burning hi the air very readily and with 
^^onsiderahk* biilliancy. Kow I want to show joii the com- 
^^Bustion of a metjil, both in air and in the gns given ofl" fr(jm 
^^narble, and that metal is^ot cither of these that we have yet 
^HboDsidered ; it is tbe one which I am now about to ignite — 
^^betatlic sodium. It ia now beginning to burn with very 
great brilliancy, and whilst it is burning let me draw your 
attention to the remarkable appearance which that coloured 

P-arn presents when illuminiited with the light given off 
urning sodiunj. What wero seen to be brilHantcoloura 
1 tbe magnesium was buroing, now look perfectly black 
r the influeuce of tbe sodium lijfiht. 
lO only other experiment to which I wish finally to call 
your attention, is the combustion of LUia metal — sodium — 
not in ordinary air, but in the particular kiod of air llist is 
evolved from marble. We take, here, our apparatus which 
is giving off the gas from tiie marble, and we cause this gas to 
flo^ through pumice-stone, moistened with oil of vitriol for 
le sake of rentlering it dry, and then we will receive it into 
k. We next heat our sodium as we didjost now, except 
tcad of heating it in the open air we will heat it iu 
in a current of this gas, and I want to show you then 
the effect will be. [A piece of sodium was deposited in 
which had been Slled with the dried gas; the sodium was 
tbeo itrnited by the appllcjition of a blowpipe tkme to the exte- 
rior of the llnsk.] Th« sodium has now, you see, taken fire, and 
is burning in the gas contained in the flask r and now the only 
her point tliat I have to call your attention to is tbe result 
thia burning. When we come to examine the contents 
the flask, what do we tind as the product of the oombus- 
of the sodium in the gas evolved from marble 7 As soon 
tlie mass at the bottom of the flask ceases to be red hot, 
will call your attention to Iti appearance. You now see 
I we have here a solid masa of thai black substance — char- 
coal — to which 1 directed your attention in the beginning of 
the lecture. Well^ now, where did this piece of charcoal come 
from 7 Thia piece of charcoal could not have come out of the 
■odium, aud for thia reason,— that if you take this metal and 

•burn it in the air, or in any other gas or under any of the 
iBooditiona under which sodium is capable of burning, in no 
usee do you get this charcoal except wheu it is burnt in this 



gns which is given off by marble. The point, then, to which 
we have arrived at the conclusion of this lecture is — that 
marble is capable of giving oil* a certain kind of air or gas, 
and that this air or gas cont ins charcoal us its essential con- 
stituent. 





LECTURE If. 
Carbokic Ga.s — Air — Oxides. 

rrodactlon f>r carbonic pi by oombasllona !n air of clisroonl, of coal, of 
WDQil, of candle, Hod ofgna; ulaubj jirof:e«9«* of <lcffl»y, ofreniK'nlatlon, 
of gcnniniilJoii, nnd of retplratlou— TUscliarire of air bonk giui from 
Mrth-flj'aurcfi and mineral springs— Invarljit.lo pxl'tcnec «f cfl,rbonlo 
pM tia a coMtltuent of air— Its pw»f>nrtion In tho external nlr rrry 
^mall— Mr * insterjftl mliataoce, rapuble of bf^lng fell anrt of being 
Wi>ighed, or bavltif Ihe properties of extension lunl ifiavlty — ConM- 
quenves t'f the welj^ht nf »jr— ExL-tinct- of (UffeiPiU sort* or kinda of 
ftlr, M onHinary air, fixed air, phloplKtlc air, rital iilr. IntUminiible air, 
4ir. — Some kinds of llquld.i mlftcible, otbern iminlftclble wHb each 
otfaer ; but oil kJnda of air or g^ai mlsdblo with each oIIh-i— t>r<lili*ry 
oSr » lalxttire.chleflirof two dl«ttnct kinds of air — A buorptlon of about 
tme-tlfth uf Ihe btilk'of ordinnry air bv different chcmlctti actiom, and 
pa}>eclRllj bj the ruHtlng uf melaJa, the buriiin£ of cmubastlblei, and 
tlifl breathing of imlinala, 

I FEAU that iu my last lecture I did not address myself suf- 
ficiently to those of you for whom this course of lectures is 
especially intended; that is a fault which I must try to mend 
upon this occasion. To-day, then, wo will have the lecture 
entirely to ourselveSf and disregard tltose full-grown people 
who sit upon the hinder benches. How, as I am only going 
to talk to \ion^ I shell i;ot hesitate to venture upon a little 
recapitulation ; and I wish to call your attention to some of 
tbe ground ihat we went over two days ago. You remember 
we began with marble. I told you that toarble ia character- 
ised by certain very well dellned properties. It is not one of 
those flubstancea which become hot when moistened with 
water; it will not dissolve in water, but it doea dtssolro in 
acids; and when it dissolves, the act of solution ia attended 
by that particular kind of action which is called eOervesceoce 
or ft-othing. Now you will remember that this effervescence 
realty consists in the formation or liberation of a particular 
kind of air or gas underneath the surface of the water. Here 
is the solution of the marble id acid going on. You see it ia 
accompanied with an efferveacence, and thia effervescence 
consists in the formation of bubbles of air or gas which we 
are collecting in this tube. Then we spoke of the action of 
heat upon marble; and you will remember, also, when the 
marble is healed vetj strongly — in this lube, for instance — 
that it gives out a quantity of air, and we tind that the air 
which is given out from marble when subjected to a strong 
heat is identical with the air given off from marblo by the 
action of acids. 

1 next proceed to examine the residue; of what does it 
consist ? We find that the residue coosiata of quicklime, and 
that this quicklitne differs from marble iti eeveml particulars. 

First, unhke marble, directly we moisten it with water it 
becomes extremely hot; unlike marble, it dissolves iu water, 
and forma the perfecily clear aolntion called lime-water. Lime 
dissolves in water, marble does not; and, unlike marble, the 
lime, when acted upon by acids, doea noi give off any kind of 
air or gas. W© find, then, that marble, when strongly healed,, 
ia resolved into a particular kind of air or gns which we are 
here collecting, and into a residue of quicklime capable of 
being dissolved in water. 

Now what will happen if we take some of the gos evolved 
from tbe marble by the action of heat, or some of the gaa 
obtained from the action of acids, at»d pass it through lime- 
water? Here you eed wo are separating our marble into 
quicklime which remains behind, and this particular kind of 
air or gas which is being collected. Here, again, ia tl^e same 
kind of air or gaB— generated in this case by the action of an 
acid, instead of by the action of heat — and we pass it through 
our lime-water, and re-obtain a substance which is no longer 
soluble in water. This substance ia, in fact, the same chemi- 
cal compound aa the marble with which we began. In one 
apparatus we decompose marble into gas and quicklime, and 
in the other apparaius we reform tbe marble by combining 



uUlali £diUon, VoL XXX., !ir» 479, page 19 ; Ho. 476, page 3S.] 




Ch^emix^al C/w^/i^ of Carhotu 






1 



with the quicklime the gas evolved from marble by ihe action 
of acid& But we maj alao form marble by ufiing the gas 
evolved under the action of heat If^ inatend of collcoting 
the gas produced from tlie marble by the action of heat, we 
allow it to babble up through this lime-water, you aoe that 
in thtacase, oiflo, we reproduce, in a dilT'ereiit form, the ir.arble 
which we are deoompcaing by heat is the tube. 

Now r call tbia precipitated substance '* marble," but, of 
ooarae, that is not Btrictiy correct, Tbia aubatance has the 
nine compogitioQ as marble, but it is uot marble itaelf, b«- 
caarn we apply the name '' marble," not to a cubstatice whidi 
merely has the same chemical compcsitioa aa marble, but lo 
a Bubstance having certain phyalcal properties. You will 
remember that, on the lastoccasiun we spoke about this pieuo 
of marble, I called your attontiou to the fact that it was a 
britile substance ; but this precipitate thut we have got is do 
longer brittle; in fact, though it is the aame thing r^ismt^'^i/ 
as marble, it is not the same thing imvkanicalltf. It la chem- 
ically the saroe thing as marble, In the same sense tliAt shells 
are the same thing as marble. Shells, for iuatance, when they 
are acted upon by acid, dissolve in it like marble, and give 
riaa alao to the phenomenon of efTervescenco. Here we have 
« piece of coral diaaolving in the acid with efTerveacenoe, and 
giving off exactly the same kind of gas as from marble ; ao 
that» although wo have hitherto spoken of this gaa as being 
the gas from marble, we might aliio call it the gas from shell, 
the gas from coral, the gaa from Uraestono, or even the gas 
from pearls. 

Now for a word or two abmit lime. lime differs froiD 
marble in the fiict that it does not eQ'erTosce' when adds are 
added to it, and the reaaon of thia you will very readily tee. 
The gas which is given oft by heating marble ao as to leave 
the qnicktiuie, is identical with the gas given off by the ac- 
tion of acids upon marble ; ^ and if we first drive off aU the 
gag by heat, of course there is no more gaa left in the marble 
to be driven off when we act upon it by aoida. The marl>le 
ao heated no longer eflbrvesoea with adds, becauao the 
whole of the air whidi it contained ha^ been driven off by- 
heat. In this way we learn that marble ia a compound of 
the quicklime with the air or gaa which ia given off. 

I told jou that tliia precipitate was chemic^y the same as 
marble, and as such it ought to be dissolved by acids with 
offervcacenoe, like the original marble. [Some muriatic acid 
was added to the water containing the prccipiute suspended 
in it] In this case you ao© we get a considerable amount 
of efferveaeence; there is a distinct frotliiiig on the top of 
the water from the offervescenco which ia now taking place. 
Well, all those substancce-^sholl, coraL pearl, this precipi- 
tated chalk, and limestone^are converted into quicklime by 
heating ; and all effervesce with adds, giving off this par- 
ticular kind of gas. 

Now, what is the nature of this air wMdi is given off? 
In the first place, we have seen thut it has the property of 
rendering lime water milky; in the next place we Hhall And 
that it has the property of extingui.««hing tlje Ikme of ordi- 
nary combustibles. To begin with, we will take this particu- 
lar portion of gas which we first produced^ and lower 
into it a burning rod of wood. You see the Kght is immedi- 
ately extinguished ; and not only will the fiam© of the 
burning wood be extinguished, but also the flame of burning 
gaa. Wo introduce a jet of ordinary gaa, and it is at once 
put out ; we ascertain, then, that wood and gas are two 
substances which will not bum in the aur evolved from mar- 
ble. Let us try another substance. We will take this small 
piece of candle, and observe whether tho same thing will 
happen to it Our piece of candle burns perfectly well in 
ordinary air; let us see whether it will bum in the air flrora 
marble. Wo introduce it; the flame at ono} goes out. From 
this wo learn that ordinary substances, at any rate, will not 
burn in the gas from marble. 

But chemists, as I told you on the last occasion, are 
acquainted not only with ordiimry combustibles, but also 
with extraordinary combustibles. Zinc, magnesium, sodium, 
and iron, although not usually regarded as combasUblea, are, 




nevertheless, combustible in the eyes of the chemist; lb«y 
hare the property of bttming in the air. Now this particular 
substance — sodium — -not only possosaes Iho propel 
burning, as ordinary combustibles do, in air, but it 
the property of burning in the gas from marble; and 
end of the last lecture, when heated in the gaa from marble, 
this sodium not only burned with great brilliancy, but it 
produced a very extraordinary result. Here is the flask in 
which we performed the experiment, and we found in it a 
large piece of charcoal. Wliere did that charcoal come from ? 
It did not conk from the sodium, aa we know, for Uiis i 
reason : you may treat sodium in all sorts of ways — bum it 
in the air, or in a variety of gases; but do what you will 
with it you cannot get any charcoal out by means of it, un- 
loss you employ some substance which, like the gas obtained' 
from marble, contains charcoal ; and we may not only get 
charcoal from the gas by means of sodium, but by a variety 
of other substances, and therefore we are led to tlie cundu- 
sion that tlie charcoal came from the gas of the marble, and! 
that this gas or air evolved from marble contaius charooalj 
as an essential constituent 

I have hitherto called this gas ** air or gas from marble ;^* 
1 ought to tell you that it was originally called ** fixed air,* 
beaiuse it is capable of bdug fixed or absorbed by limcr. IM 
is now called "carbonic gas," because it is the air or g**^ 
from charcoal or carbon. Marble, then, is a compound c€ 
quicklime with carbonic gaa, and is called chemically "oar- 
bonate of lime," 

The next thing to consider is whether, sine© we am get 
charcoal out of carbonic gas, we cannot produce carbonic 
gas from charcotil as well as from marble. First, let me 
explain to you the method of ascertaining the presence of! 
this gas; the test used for this purpose is lime water. The'f 
carbonic gaa forms with the lime-water an insoluble oooi- 
pound— chalk— and accordingly, when we find that a gaa, 
passed throuj^h liine-water converts it into the insolublfti 
Hubstance chalk, we know that we aro dealing with carbonic 
gas — the gas containing cbarcouL Now let us see wh©lhB^l 
we can get any of onr carbonic gaa produced from charooaLf 
Here is a tube passing into some lime-water ; wo drawsomeJ 
of the air from this burning charcoal through the hibe intoj 
the lime-water, and the lime-water, which at first was per- 
fectly clear, becomes converted into a mixture of chulk and ! 
water. W© convert the liiue uito chalk, a proof that we aroj 
dealing wilh that particular kind of gas which has tho! 
property of rendering lime-water turbid, and thus wo knoiT 
that by burning this charcoal we are converting it ' ^ 
carbonic gas. 

Now, carbonic gas la produced not only by the burning ol 
charcoal, but also by the burning of other ordinary cJombusU-J 
bles, Ucre are some bollloa, which in ihe ordinnry aocei^-' 
tion of the term are empty ; lliat is to say, they are full of airjj 
and nothing else, and would be called eoipty bottles. Wi 
will first hold one of these bottles over an ordinary gas flame,^ 
and then pour into the boiile a little lime-water; we shake il 
up for a minute or two. and you see onr lime-water is con-j 
verted into chalk, and, therefore, we find that ordinary gaff 
has also the property of forming this carbonic gas or fixed 
air. We will now try another combustible — a piece of wood. 
We take a piece of wood in the same way, and allow it Uyi 
burn inside the bottle, and notice whether, under these dp*j 
cumstances, we obtain this carbonic gas. We will add to ill 
some lime-water, and we shall find that our liroe-walcr inj 
this ease, aa in the other, becomes milky from the formation | 
of chulk, showing that not only charcoal and coal gft.^ but] 
wood also, when burnt, lias the property of produdug tins! 
particular kind of gas which we obtain from marble. We^ 
will now take another combuslible. Wo will take a taper] 
and burn it in the same way in this other empty bottle, and 
notice whether any carbonic gas or fixed air is produced ; wo 
observe that here, also, our dear lime-water Is converl^fd into 
a chalky liquid. We find, then, that carbonic gas is thrown^ 
into the atraoephere by all ordinary burning bodies — by th»^ 
btirning charcoal^ the coal gas, the wood, and by the taper. 



pUigliah Edition, VoJ. XIX,, No. 47«, imj«« 25, 20^ 97,] 







Chemical C/tanges of Carhon, 



137 



Now, ar© there any other monns by which carbonic gns is 
diachiirgcKi into the atmosphere? One other ia decay* You 
aR kiMw that in the autumn the leaves full ofl' the trees, luid 
•oniettmeA accumulate till tbey are up to your ankles, or even 
Wphw. 1 have oot any decaying leavea to experiment with, 
*)mo rotten wood ; and I wont to show you that 
i by tlie rotting of leaves, aowdiist, nnd bodies 
icr..t.ii.,v. we get carbonic gas. Here is a tube in the shape 
ftf tlj« letter U, conLatDiog some lime-water, and we will suOk 
the air from this tube through the li»no-wuter, and you will 
see that ihe rotting wood has tho property of giving off this 
caflKjuic gaa and rendering the liine-waler turbid. Decaying 
leaves and docayiiig sawdust would do the same. 

Another way in whidi this gus i« also discharged into the 
Ktmospher^ is by breaihing. Here wo will vary tho ejtperi- 
meoc A little by putting the lime>woler into the bottle tirst. 
1 u PI -K ,ve up the lirae-wftler to show you Uuit there is 
rued at prevent; I do not shake it very violently, 
<■ 1 form a froth which you might mistiike for the 

whii4ptiitig of the liquid by the foriDation of chalk. I now 
breathe tulo the bottle, and shake up the contenta an I did 
befi>re ; And 3rou will observe that the soluble lime ia at once 
converted into chalk. 

Tcu see, thcn» that this gas from chalk or marble is con- 
■tAitLly poured into tho atmosphere from endless sources — 
froni all l.finiing bodies, from all decaying bodies, and trora all 
I (linioJs. Kow is there any other source? In va- 

fi • fihe earth, more particularly in volcjinic dim ricts, 

we :iwU Uiut quantities of this gas issue from the earth with 
enonnoujj force. Indeed, so great ia the quonlity, that it is 
e that the amount of this fixed air evolved into the 
lero from Sssurea in the earth, and from cftvee, and 
?a, and sources of that kind^ far excoeds that which 
irged into the atmosplier© by aM the fires, all the de- 
' all the breathing animals on the surface of the earth. 
I cannot bring you mij of this niitural gns bottled up — 
wt, not very conveniently ; but we lind that it may b« 
>tained in other wayEi, The gus which isauea from the sur* 
I of the earth sometimes comes up in the form of gas ; but 
^ " * Iter aat'jruted wiih it — and this is the 

L llervescing waters, such as the .Seltzer, 

^-.. i .w.|, ,;U'd into this country in bottles, and of 

BrigtitOD, or artiticial Seltzer water, which is made to 

litate the natural water. In these waters a large quantity 

tb« gaa ia condensed, and it is given otT from them just as 

evolved from charcoal by buming it We will put a 

tap into a bottle of Seltzer water, and see whether we 

at any carbonic gaa evolved. We turn the tap, and cob 

nne of tlie gas which ia given off, and we tlnd that the 

evolved from Seltzer water ia identicnl with the corbonic 

wo have be«n considering. This illustrates one of the 

J nattiraj sources of this gaa. 

ou will perceive, then, that in consequence of the con- 
it occurrence in nature of the actions which I have men- 
jed^ the air by which we arc surrounded must contain cur- 
\\c gas, and, as a natural consequence, charcoal. The in- 
ible aif by which we are surrounded really contains chor- 
' in tho form of an invisible gasi, and you would, perhapa, 
k that from the existence of so many natural sources of 
gns. the proportion of carbonic gaa In the air ought to l>e 
large ; bat ia reality it ia extremely amall — amounting 
only hnll' a part in a thousand; in fact» it is rather less 
in half a part, but 1 state it broadly that you may remem- 
\%. Now, I can give you some illustration of the quantity 
roeansof an experiment. I have here a lube which cont^iwa 
lis carbninic gas, and iuto*lhe tube I put, not lirae-woter, but 
tUk of lime — a mixture of lime and water, containing more 
than the water car4 dtHtolve. Wo now shake up the 
ibe of ga«, and then open it under water; we pour in some 
►ore of this milk of hmc, and we shall be able by irepoating 
lis to dissolve the whole of this kind of air, which, you re- 
jrabt-r, is called fixed air, because limo has the property of 
ring it. I close tho end of the tube with my thumb, and 
Ee up the lime with the air of the tube, and again open it 



under water. Yon see, the water immediately rises to a cod- 
aiderable height in the lube, and if we continue to operate ia 
this way the water will at last rtae to the extreme lop; this 
shows that the lime has the property of completely absorbing 
this gas. Now if we take this other lube, which only con- 
tains common air, and treat it in the same way, the quantity 
of carbonic gas in the ordinary air is so v»ry small that you 
will not notica any absorption whatever. I close the lube 
with my thumb, and shake it np aa I did the other, and then 
insert it under tho water and open it, and you will obsenro 
that there is practically no absorption, or rather Uie amount of 
absorption is so small that you cannot notice it. It omouota 
to only half a part in a tlioosaad. 

Nevertheless, I can show you the presence of Uiis gas in 
the air if 1 adopt certain means. I will take some lime- 
water, and iulroduce it into tliis tu>>o In front of you. Here 
is a vensel^ termed an aspirator, dlled witli coloured water* 
and if I turn the stop-cock, and allow the water to run out» 
you will observe that, aa the water runs out, the air must be 
sucked through tho hme-water to fill its place; and I dare 
say that by the end of the lecture we sliall have drawn 
through the lime-water a sufficient volume of air to affect It 
and render it turbid. 

The action is here going on in another way. In this dish 
I have placed somn hrae-water, which wos originally perfect- 
ly clear and brilliant. If you louk at it after the U-cture 
you will see that it will be covered with a scum of chalk, 
due to the carbonic gas in the air of the room. In thia way 
we find that carbonic gas, and consequently charcoal, is a con- 
stant constituent of aimospheric air. 

I want now to consider how it is that this carbonic gas 
gets into the air — by what process cbareoal is converted into 
carbonic gas, and how the air comes to contain it; and for 
this purpose it is necessary that we should again turn our 
attention away from charcoal, and consider for a few minutes 
the nature of air. I must here call your attention to some 
historical facts in connection with it. What sort of a sub- 
stance ia airf 

The first point to which I want lo call your attention is 
that air is a real material substance. At the commencement 
of my first lecture I told you that you hud to come to tlie 
Royal Institution to learu about Oung-'i — about things Uial 
could be touched and weighed. Now I am talkipg to yoa 
about air. Is air a th%ng — eomethinir that can be touched 
and weighed ? Let os begin gradually ; if we lake a block 
of wood and press it betw^een our hands, we find that it ia een- 
flible to the touch. This capability of being felt has received 
various names. Sometimes it is called " impenetrability," be. 
cause one body cannot occupy or penetrate the ."ipace ihat ia 
being occupied by another body ; flometimes it is called " ex- 
tension," because the body extends, between my h.-mda for in- 
stance, and keeps them apart ; and it is more commonly 
called "resistance,** because the substance resists, aa this 
wood dooa, my hands. Whether you call this property im- 
penetrability, extension, or resistance, the word means the 
same thing. It means that the body is capable of being felt. 
A solid bt^y, wo know, is cnpablo of being fell ; bat when 
wo come to the case of sand, and when I precs it between 
my bands, ii does not keep my bands apart like the blo<'k of 
wood. H«*uce you might say at first sight that the sand 
does not possess this property of impenctrnbility or exten- 
sion or resistance ; but if we put the sand into a beg 90 that 
it cannot make way for my Angers, it then keeps my fingers 
apart^ and resists the pressure of them just as the block of 
wood did, and ao wo must say that it has impenetrability. 
A tight bag of sand might be regarded almost aa a hard 
solid Rubstauco ; it is capable of striking a very heavy blow, 
and, indeed, was formerly used for that purpose. When we 
pass from such a subetaace as sand to a liquid substance 
like water, we find that it keeps the hands apart still leas 
forcibly than the sand, and you may say that it is perfectly 
penetrable. Well, it is penetrable in one sense, but not in 
another. If I put water into a bladder, the water not beiog^ 
able then to make way for my fingers wUl keep them apart. 



[Engliih Edition, Vol. XIX., Vo, 47fi, pagaa 27. ttS; Wo. 477, pajo 371 



138 



Chemical Changes of Carlon, 






and that is wbat we call the cttpabilitj of being felt — the 
property onmpenetrabiliiy or extension. Again, wo cannot, 
under ordinary circumstauces, feel Iho air, but if the air is 
placed i« a b«g, like sand or water, we can feel it perfectly 
well Here I have a bladder of air, atid I can feel that 
there is something in it which my fingers cannot penetrate — 
which reaiala their pressure — which extends between ihem, 
and therefore we eay that the air is possessed of thia capability 
of being fell, which constitutes it « thing. But is ii also 
onpable of being weighed? Can we weigh air? I think 
we can. Here is a flask from which the air has been 
removed by a means to which I do not intend now to direct 
your attention. We place Itiia fla<ik on n balance, :ind it ia 
now more than balanced by a weight on tlie opposite side, 
for the weight is heavier than the flask. I will let the uir 
rush into the flask, and yon will see under these circum- 
Btances that the Haak will become heavier than the weight: 
at present the counterpoise is heavier than the flask. Now 
listen! [opening the slop-cock to admit the air.J You hear 
the air ^\ng in, and you see that the flask beeotnefi heavier 
than the wetght on the other aide of the balaDce. 

Not only is air possessed of weight, but it ts really very 
heavy. A cubic toot of air weighs something between an 
ounce and an ounce and a quarter. You might think that 
we ought to be able to feel its weight, and hero 'I will 
deyoie a few niitiutes to explaining to you the recognition 
of atmospheric uir as a ronteriat substance. Thoughtful peo- 
ple in all ages have taken notice of the air, but there mujit 
have been a lapse of at least 2,000 years between the first 
scientific notice of the air and the discovery of tlie fact that the 
air was a thing or sub.stance. It was noi until the ye&r 
1643 that atmospheric air was reeognised to be a substance 
posiiCBsed of weight and cnpable of being felt, so that, 
although the air is a weighty substance, yet its weight is 
not very easily apprecuited You are not yourselves cou- 
Bcious of its being weighty, and for 2,000 years after man* 
kind had begun to think of it, and perhaps for as many years 
before, they were quite unconscious that it was a substance 
poaaeaBcd of weight Thej aaid that if it was weighty its 
weight ought to be perceptible. Now the reverse is the 
truth ; if it is weighty you ought not to feel it. It would 
te nie tews long to explain Ibis to you, so I will give you 
iUustralion instead, and I want you all to see it. This is 
irge tube dosed with a bladder; at present it is nearly full of 
coloured water, and it is quite obvit'»u8 that the bladder has to 
support the wciyht of tlie water, and from tluH cause j'ou see 
itbeoomea extremely taut, and shows unraistakable evidence 
of the water pressing upon JL If I lower the tube into this 
jar containing colourless water so that the water is as high 
outside as it is inside, you wilt see that the bladder becomes 
uocnnsicioua of the weight of the water. There is water as 
before, but sull the water on each side ii so exactly balanced 
that the bladder is no longer conscious of it. Now again, 
[lifting the tube out] the bladder is extremely taut ; very 
likely a little more will burst it ; but directly I lower it into 
the vessel so as to have the water level on the inside and on 
the outdide of the tube, the bladder becoraes perfectly flaccid 
and insensible to the weight of the water, jnat as we are in- 
sensible of iho weight of the air by which we are surrounded. 
Take another illuatratiou. In each of the paus of tins baU 
ance is a pound weight, and the pans now perfectly balance 
one another. Under ordinary circumstances a feather would 
be quite incapable of raising a pound weight; but in this in- 
Btauce you will see that it will suffice to do so. If I take 
this feather in ujy hand and gently raise it under one of the 
pans containing a pound weight, it raises it up above the 
oUier ; the reason of this ia that the weight on one side is so 
exactly balanced by that on the other side, that the feather 
ii not sensible of the weight it is moving. In the same way 
we are inHensible of the weight of the air in which we live, 
because really that weight Ls not supported by ourselves, but 
by that of the aorroundlng air. So much, then, for the 
question of the weight of air. 
The discovery of the weight of the air was made in 



1643; from the year 1&43 to the year 1756 mankind we 
of opinion that there was only one kind' of air, allhouf 
many of them knew that air could difl'er in some resj 
They were aware, for instance, that the air of the town diffe 
ed from that of the sea — that porae air bed different properti 
from other air; but they never recognised these different; 
kinds of atr as distinct substances. They rather looked upon 
the difference as being of a siroilar kind as t|iat between dif- 
ferent sorts of water. You know there are rain water, 
river water, sea water, and spring water; but all iheee 
consist essentially of the same substaDce — water — to- 
gether with certain impuritiesL Well, from the year 1643 
to 1756 mankind thought there was but one kind of air, and 
tlmt ilio differences were duo to impurities which gave the 
various airs a different character, just as flea water differs 
from eummon water because there is a little sea salt dis- 
solved in it, and so on. In reality, however, there are essen- 
Ually different kinds of air. First of all, we tlnd that there 
are airs, of different colours ; here is some of a decidedly 
green colour ; in this other bottle we have some of a brown 
colour — BO that we are acquainted not only with colourleaa air, 
but with airs of ditfereni colours, just as we may have liquids 
of diflerent colours; but when we recognise no difference by 
tho colours of air. we may recognise them by other means. 
For instance, if I lake a taper and introduce it into what we 
call an empty boule — ihat is, a bottle containing ordinary 
air — tlie taper continues 10 bum perfectly well, but if I lake 
it out of this bottle ccnitaining ordinary air, and insert it into 
this other bottle, we find that the taper is at once extinguish- 
ed by our old friend, flxed air, or carbonic gas; and this waa 
the first air discovered as diftering from orduisry air. It waa 
discovered in 1756, and it diil'ers flrom ordinary air in contain- 
ing carbon. 

We will now take another kind of air, which Is colourleaa, 
and looks like ordinary air; wo will apply a light to ic^ and 
try what will be the effect — whether our hght will contini 
to burn. [On the experiment being tried, the light was ijn^ 
mediately extinguished.] 

This, then, is a third kind called awtic air. Those of you wb<^^ 
are Ureek scholnrs will know that axotiu air means hi 
*air, and it was so called because it will not support lifo; itj 
has also been called ;>Ato^is(("c air; it is now termed nttro(;fn 
gas, becnuse it is capable of producing, or being produced 
from, nitre. 

Here we ha%*e some avr, which, when a light is applied tOi 
it, burns with a ilimie. Ttiia air was originally called inflam- 
mable air; it ia now called hydrog^i}* gas, because it eat 
into the composition of water. 

You saw that when 1 introduced the taper into the azotic j 
air, or nitrogen gas, the light at once went out. In this 
respect, then, azotic air behaves exactly like carbonic gaa; 
but it differs from carbonic gas in this particular — that it \k\ 
not capable of l>eing fixed by means of hme-water. We wiU f 
shake up some of this gas with lime-water, and you observal 
that the hme-water renmins perfectly clear; whereas, if 
had taken the bottle containing carbonic acid, lb© lime- 
water would have become milky, in consequence of the 
formntioii of chalk. Therefore this azotic air corresponds 
with the Oxed air in not allowing bodies to burn it, but it 
differs from the fixed air in not rendering the lime-water 
turbid. 

We now come to another kind of air. It was discovered 
in 1774, and was originally called vital air; we now call it 
oxygen gaei On inlrodueing the lighted taper into this oxy- 
gen, we shall see whether the taper burns as in ordinary air, 
whether the gas takes tire, or what happens to the taper. 
We introduce it, and you see with what increafled brilliancy 
the taper burns. This, then, ie a fourth kind of air we are 
dealing with. 

I will dually call your attention to a llflh kind of air, call- 
ed martk gas; tlils ts au essential conatituant of ordinarj 
coal gas. You are all familiar with the appearance coal gas 
presents when it ia being used in the ordinary way for light- 
ing. You observe, when we sot Are to this marsh ga^ it at 



[En^Uib Editioo, ToL ZIX, ITo. 4TT, paf«37, 38, 39.] 



J 



JfturK, tS4», f 



Chemical Changes of Carbon, 



U9 






once burns in a (drntlar way. It wna originally called heavy 
iciflamfnable air, because it is much beavit^r than ordinary 
inflauitnable air, or hydrogen. Tiiua, you Bee, cLemiata are 
accinatnicd with a vanely of kinds of air. 

Wo will return to iliia tixed Bir, or cnrboiiic gas, or gas 
ftom charcoal, and the way in which it get« into the atmos- 
phere. And this leads me to make some remarks on Ibe 
misciblllty of diflwreot kinds of air with each other. I will \ 
illofilrato this by rererenco to certiiin liquidSj ond first let me , 
call your nttention to this cylinder, at the boUom of .which I 
have poured some of tlie heavy liquid mercury. Upon the 
mercury is the colourless liquid cblorororm, which is also j 
lieary ; and then upon that some water, which I have colour- 
ed in order to make it more evidonL Thus we have three 
dilTerent liquids in the cylinder, standing in layers one upon 
the other, and not capable of mixing. If I put a slick Into 
them, Aud stir them up, they soon settle again into dlsUnct 
layers. I can even pour upon the watijr another liquid — 
«ther — and in this way we sliall have four immiscible liquids 
log^'ther iu the jar. Thus wo have foulMiquidH lu the veasel 
— mercury at the bottom, chloroform next, then ilie coloured 
water, and the colourless ether at the top — four liquids which 
are not capable of mixing. There arc, however, certain other 
liquidd which are capable of mixing with each other, and I 
vill DOW draw your attention loaome of them. Here I have 
•aother cylinder, with some coloured liquid at the bottom and 
lome colourless hquid at tlic top ; the firet is coloured water, and 
the other is spirit of wine. If I stir up theae liquids, they mix, and 
•will not again separate. Now here ia a cylinder which looks at 
flrst mght as if it contained only one liqmd,but, in point of fact, it 
contains two — water at the bottom and spirit of wino nt the 
top; and I dare aay I can render this evident to you. If I in- 
troduoe into the cylinder a piece of wax, and allow it to drop 
gently into the liquid, you see it drops only half way ; the 
"ynx drops through tho spirit of wine, for it la heavier ; but 
beiog^ lighter than the water, it lljats on tlio top of it. In 
saoh cases, although the liquids are capable of mixing when 
ODe ie lighter than the other, you may, by using care, put tlie 
lighter Uquid nt the top of the heavier one. Now, if 1 ahako 
these together, we shiiU get a mixture of spirit and water 
containing ao much water that the wax at once floats at the 
top. In point of fact, then, these liquids do tiot differ so much 
from one another with regard to their miscibitity as the 
liquids to which I first called your attention, With regard 
to liquids, we tind, then, that some will mix and olhcrs will 
not With regard to gases, however, wo found that all 
gases will mix; we can put on© gas at the top of another, 
aad keep it !io for a Bhort space, but after a time the two 
gaaes will mix completely. For instance, here ia a brown- 
ocdoiired gas. Now I can put on the lop of this a cylinder of 
air, and we shall have in that way a co]ourles.s gns iicatitig on 
the top of a coloured gas, just as wo had a coloured liquid 
floating on the top of a colourlosa one ; but you will observe 
that the brown gaa will gradually mix with the colourleas gas, 
even without much agitation. 

We will now take another illustration, and ono in which 
we shall bo able to moke a comparison similar to the floating 
of the piece of wax on the surface of the lower liquid. Here 
ia a cylinder apparently empty, but in reality conlamlng Rt 
tho bottom of it some fixed air, and the upper portion of the 
cylinder i^ filled wi#i ordinary air. Thus we have two col- 
ourle*8 gnses in that cylinder, juat as we had two colourless 
liquids iu tho vessel we had before ua just now. I shall 
be able to show you the point to which the lower gas 
rites. If we introduce into this cylinder a jet of burning gas, 
it bums perfectly well while in the air, but when wo allow it 
to go a little lower it comes into the fixed air, and the flame 
18 immediately extinguished. You «ee, tlien, that this jet of 
flame finds out the margin of the heavy aud the tight gas 
just as the wax found out tho limit of the two li^imda. Di- 
rectly this llamo is lowered into tho carbonic gaa it ceases to 
bum. You see, therefore, thut you may have in the same 
cylinder two dlflferent airs floating one on the top of tho 
dther, just as you may have two liquids oue od tho top of the 



other; but event aally you wQl find in the case of the gases 
that^ whether thoy are in a state of agitation or in a stale of 
rest, they will mix perfectly with each other. 

Now oomes the question, — is the ordinary almOBpherio air 
with which we have to deal a single gas era mixture of dif- 
ferent gaaea? I might call your attention to a great many 
experiments illustrative of the fact, that ordinary atmo^pherio 
oir la really a mixture ; and hero u one. You know that 
many metals have the property of rusting. Some of them 
rust very quickly, like iron, others of them rust very alowly ; 
hke mercury, copper, or silver. Now, if you tnke auch a 
metal as iron, which rusila tolerably quickly, and put it into 
a confined splice of air, the iron grodually rusts, and as it rupta 
the volume of air grows less and less until, in fact, the five 
volumes of au* are reduced to four; now, this has taken place 
in the present instance. Here jou have a cylinder which 
was full of air ; some iron wire was put into it, and it has at 
Inst sucked up onetlflh of the nir. Here, again, ia a piece of 
phosphorua on the end of a stick, ond this piece of phosphorua 
is rusting just in the same way. The phosphorus will go on 
rusting until the liquid in the cylinder riges up one-fllth, and 
then the rusting will entirely atop. We find, then, that one- 
flflh of the bulk of the air \a capable of being absorbed by 
rusting iron and by rusting phosphoru.% and also by burning 
pboflphorua. We will take Bome phospliorua and burn it 
under a cylinder iDvcrted over water. We dry a small piece 
of phosphorus on a piece of paper, and place it on a piece of 
cork, and bum it under the cylinder, and as it bums you will 
find that the water will gradually rise in the cylinder until it 
reaches one-fifih of the way up. [The experiment was per- 
formed with the result described.) Now, instead of burning 
a piece of phosphorus, I will in the same way bum a piec« 
of caudle also floating upon cork, and you will aeo, as before, 
Ihnt as the candle burns iho water rises in the glass vessel, 

I must defer further consideration of this prnpcrty of dif- 
ferent-kinds of gas to mix with one another to my next lec- 
ture; but before I conclude I wish to show you two more 
exp-eriments m illustration of my lecture. 

First of all, I told you that air is a material subalance. 
Here you have an illustration of it ; here is a flask of coloured 
water inverted over whnt appears to be an empty bottle, and 
the neck of the upper ttask coromunicatea with the neck 
of the vessel underneath. Now why does not the water 
run out into this lower flask? Because that flask is al- 
readrjfuli. It is already full of air, and the air cannot get 
out, and therefore the water from the upper bottle cannot gtrt 
in ; but if I just for a moment allow the air to escape from 
the lower flask, the water will run in from tho upper vessel. 
If I close the receiver, you seo that in a moment or two tho 
water ceases to run, because the uir contained io the receiver 
cannot escape to make room for it. 

Tho other experiment is one intended to illustrate the way 
in which air tends to magnify the appearance of some sub- 
stances. Here wo have a large gloss jar which uppears to be 
full of cotton wool, In reality cotton wool occupies a very 
small portion of the jar, which ia tilted chielly with air. I 
dare say you will be surprised to flnd that the whole of the 
wool may easily be put into i\m cylinder which seems to be 
already almost full of spirit. [The ismaller cylinder was of 
about one-eighth the capacity of the large cylinder containing 
the dry wool, and was nearly full of spirit of wine.] Wo 
will colour the spirit blue to make it visible to you all [Tho 
lecturer then began to transfer the wool from the large jar 
into the small vessel containing the spirit ; the wool so trans- 
ferred was compressed at the bottom of the liquid by means 
of a glass rod. AHer continuing the operation for a short 
time the lecturer proceeded, — 1 We have put a largo por- 
tion of the wool into the cylinder, but the cylinder ia not full ; 
it is apparently no fuller than it was before, and if 1 put the 
wool in carefully I shall be able to go on until tho whole of 
the wool is transferred. 



[fiiif li»li EdiHoa, Vol StX,t H«. *"f !*«•• ^* ^ '» "o. 478, page <©.] 



I40 



Cheinical Clianges of Carbon, 






LECrrTRE III. 

Anc— 0x1 DS»—C Ansa M Oft CoAftcoAJL. 

X7ulnorii«d ffmr-flfthf of nrivtn*! cJr known u phloj^tatte alr^ or nitro- 

rust of m«rcOTT^ProrK>rUon 



fsn; XXB capat>li1ty of 
abaurb^d one-liftb of :< 
of ordlnnry air sbfortH 

tho riiint. k!iM\\ n a.- VI 

In.' 

of 

6i 

tl- 

or- 

bi- 

by ,■ 
boi. ■ : -■ . 

eombustlblv »lK>wnby 
apfjJuc'^ *'' '^» burni 
HhowD by oijcurreiice ot 



V , inrt cvoIti?.! by Iffnitlon tif 
'. • eiflrcme i»ow«?r of support* 
r iihuliuxj of ordinary air bv tdmlxtDre 
;ihJo)(b.tic air, or niLrogen— -Formaliun of 
:■ ti! 'iiibiUuiocsln air oro,t3';^'rj — Fonnji- 
.^usclon of iraenlc ; nf carboatc jicbJ 
of M»dlnin tixirte or sfKla, by com- 
I'-.n bvlt. ItMiJfion x*Uh arwnioiu 
■f fcxllun) 
n of cjir- 
xldheil, 
li^coai in tmj 
icofoarboa, a* 
riy GoabtuUble 
i\ tir i;.thk' ui hytlrugciL, a aprmluet of il* 
burtihig— Fn-iivnce of both carbon and hj'drogrn In ooal fw^hownbj 
occurrencu of both CA bi>nie ifM ftr»l waUTivi i-rirtlurt,-' <jf lu burning— 
With deflcienl flupiOy of air, prffcfenti.J ' fiie byjroffen of 

ooal ea«, wi'l partial fl*pftratf<»n of lis carb<s- iFbo, of the car- 

bon of ton! w'L'. ;li :i f.-sull of lU Ignition. ■ r t.otnre lo a red 

beat — < 'r 'ijrtion of ctiarooaJ frum ir«^tHl, i>«at, •i;<^, by Ihe 

nroeesu- ri'og »nd of l«;nitlon re9p«eU vely— lobunit car- 

bon ibe ' oonstltaent of v«i;ei>tabl« ti«iia« — Pa»age of un- 

bomt charcoal fiuui the Tegetable Into th« aoluuvt and mtneml klnR-- 
domi— Man u Tact iin< of animal obarcoai, O'r bon«-blAck, andurmlticraJ 
oborcoal or coko — Roniarknblc porohlty of certain: kinds of chAn^oal — 
XrtfM^lon fhim boxwomi chareosl <if maitj times 1U volumo of air; 
■iMWFptloo by bovwoikd chat coat of flfty-fiv« tlmM ita rolmne of aaU 
|ih«rett«d liytlroiccn ^x\ and ninety times tu volum« of ammonia 
•u; yet yrei»t<»r aL*orj»llye powir of cocoa-Jiut obeli chATOoal— Cbe- 
mlcal reaction* on eiurli other of different ptaes abaorbed Into cbor- 

coij Abt<irptluo and atrial oxidation nf putrefacilva vapourB by char> 

«oal-IMnfl|i'lo of charcoal vcntHatnra, ebarcoal reeplraion, kc~ 
AbAorpUonsof dklTertiDt «>>lourt{ig and odoroiu maltvr fr«>in aoluU^n 
by charcoal— rtiritUtt»n of wuCer by charcoal filters, with destruc- 
Woa as woU aa ab»urptlon uf haptiriiles. 

Tor will remember that when charcoal or carbon bums 
in «lr it Ih changed into carbonic gas ; we have now to 
couBider wlmt is the nature of this change — what it is that 
happens to the charcoal, and what it ij that happeos to (ho 
air ia which the charcoal burua. 

In order to find out what occurs to the air we must first 
know a little mon.^ about the air, and particulfu-ly whether 
ordinary air, in whicli th& (K)mbu8tioa of charcoal and other 
combustibles takes pLace^ cousists of one kind of air only, 
or ia a mixture of two or more difTcrenc kinds. You will 
remember that all kinds of air are miscible with each other; 
in this respect they difler from liquids, and accordingly we 
have tins morning to begin our consideration of the ques- 
tion whether uir consists of ono kind of air only, or of two 
gr more differeut kinds. But first I want to direct yonr at- 
tention for a moment or two to an experiment which, as it 
takes some little time, I wiU now commence, and in half an 
hour w« shall, perhaps, see the result. 

Here I have an orilinary transparent glass tube, which is 
flllod with pieces of broken white porcelain, and through 
this tube I am going to pass a current of ordinary coal gss. 
The coal gas is now passing through the tube; we will just 
letit blow out the air with which, the tube was flrst filled^ 
and then we will apply a light to it Now you observe that 
the tube U lilleil, and that the gaa bums in tho ordinary 
way in which coal gaa burns ; gas is passing through the 
poroelaiu, but it does not now produce any effect. 1 am 
going to repeat this experiment with this difference — that 
tho tube instead of being cold will bo made red hot, and 
after the porcelain has been heated some time in tlie furnace 
we shall see whether it has undergone any change. [Near 
the dose of the discouriw), the lecturer uguin drew attention 
to tluB experiment, and pointed out that, under tho influence 
of the strong heat which had been applied to the tube, the 
ooal gas bad deposited a portion of its carbon ; the separn' 
tion of tho carton being evidenced by the blackening of the 
porcelain] 

We will now proceed to the consideration of the nature 
of ordinary atmospheric air. 

When a body — iron vrire, for instance — ^nisla in the air, 



this ia the sort of thing that occurs. If yon take five meii- 
Burea of air, and put the iron wire Into them, they grow 
gradually less and les«a in bulk ; a portion of the air becomes 
absorbed by tho iron wire unlQ a certain point is reached, 
when exactly oue-fiflh of the entire quantity of oir lias been 
absorbed, and when this has taken plac«, the rusting action 
ceases. The absorption goes on no longer, but the remain- 
ing four measures of air arc of a very different character 
from the original five j metals will no longer mat in them, 
bodies will no longer bum in them, and animuls will no longer 
breathe in them. Apparently, therefore, the whole of the 
gaa which enables metals to rust, combuettbles to bum, and 
animals to breathe, exists in the one'ftClb oi the volume of 
air taken up by tho rusting wire. 

Now let us pass to the burning of a body. If we bum, 
in a confined volume of air, some highly combustible sub- 
stance, such as phosphorus or sulphur, the same thing 
takes place. The phosphorus goes on burning, and as it 
burns the volume of air gets les«i and less, until exactly 
one-fiflh part of it has di.«tappcared, and as soon as ooe-flfth 
is consumed the phosphorus is extinguished : it no longer 
burns, and we get exactly tho snroe kind of air aa iu the 
other case. Of our original five volumes of air, we have 
four remaining, and in these, metals will no longer nut, 
combustibles will no longer burn, and animals will no longer 
breathe. If, instead of burning a highly combustible bodj^ 
like phosphorus, we take one leas so, such as a candle, we 
find that it is extinguished before one-fifth part of the air 
has been taken up; but if we then introduw some iron wire 
it will rust and take up a further portion of the air, 
and when the iron wire no longer rusts in it we shall Qnd 
that tho quantity of air taken up by the candle, supple- 
mented by the remaining portion taken up by the rusting of 
tho wire, amounts to exactly a fiflh part of the original 
volume. Again, if w© put a bird or a mouse into a ves«el 
of air, it would go on breathing whilst our air became leaa 
and less, but it could not go on until it had entirely taken 
up tho fifth part of tlio original air. These animals are, In 
this roB|>ect, in tho condition of tho candle ; but if we take 
some alow- breathing animals, such as snails or fVoga« and 
put them into a conllnod ([imiitity of air, they will do exacUj 
what tliu burning phosphorus does — they will go on breath* 
Ing until tlKjy have oonsuroed the fifth part of the volume 
of tho original air, and they will leave four voliuues of air 
of the satno chararter as that left by the burning phospho- 
rus, in wliieli metals will no longer rust, combustibles will 
no longer bum, and aniinaia will no longer breathe. 

Now comes the question — what ia the nature of Ibeoe 
remaining four volumes of air 7 Chemical experiments tend 
to prove tliat they are of tho sort to which the Greek name 
o^imoUc or lifeless air was given. It was also called by ano< 
ther name> equally long, and far more barbarous— /lAio^Mfic ] 
air. It has also received the name of nitrogm gas, by which 
it is generally known. Hero is a bottlo of nitrogen ; wo intro- 
duce into it a lighted toper, and it is immediately extinguished. 
Now is it possible to recover this oiie-ttflh part of the air 
which has beea absorbed ? Yes, it is ; and it is ioterestioff 
to note that the particular experiment by which the oam- 
position of air wns jQ.rst ascertained by Lavoisier is the eanO'e 
which still best serves to exemplify its composition. 1 have 
spoken to you about tho r\i«t of iroi^ Chemists are ao- 
quaioted with a great number of metals, and in partictilar 
with that metal whic-h you see in this bulb, aud which jou 
know as quicksilver or, mercury. It is a very peculiar 
metal, and tho only one which is in a liquid state at the 
ordinary temperature. You know that lead, for instance, 
is solid at the ordinary temperature, but it will become liquid 
upon being heaEed, and even iron and gold when very in- 
tensely heated also become liquid. Mercury, however, is hot 
enough at common temperatures to exist in the liquid state, 
and It is the only metal with which chemists are acquainted 
tliat is so. At the ordinary temperature, whether in sum- 
mer or winter, and in any dinuite, mercury does not mst. 
It only rusta when heated, and then it does so very quickly, 



[EngUah Edition, Vol XDL, No. 478, {iaCM.49, 50,] 







Chemical Ni$w8 from Foreign Sources. 




and meanwhile maintains just the same 9ort of action as the 
iroD doea. As it rusts it absorba ono mcusuro out of tho 
15 vo mea^uroi of air, and wo obtaiD, as tho result, a quan- 
!.*T of the nwt of mercury, which is a red substance not un- 
like the nistof iron. This bottle contains aomo of it; it was 
nade bj ruitiug niercary in heated air. 

There U another point of interct^t in connection f^ith this 
mat — If you go on heating it still more atrougly the mer- 
cury which hiid become converted into rust, makes it« ap- 
pearanoe again in the original state, and at the same time a 
qaantity of air or gas is giveu off, the peculiarity of which 
ia that the amount of gas so evolved is exuctty tbo quantity 
of air or gas which the mercury absorbed in rusting ; so Uint 
if you like five moaaiirea of air and heat the mercury in 
them, aud so absorb one measure, and Uion take the rust of 
mercury so produced and re -heat it, you recover exactly the 
re of air which the mercury ori^aally absorbed, 
i experimeat arranged in Uiis small tube. We 

ii&vo lu tlie tube some of the rust of mercury. We 
will beat it rather etrongly, and lu the course of a little 
while we shall find that it hIU break up into the original 
mercury^ oud into a ttrtain quantity of air or gas, which, in 
_• few ininutca, we wiU collect in this receiver, iu order to 
Ita nature. This substance will take some little 
in becoming sufficiently hot, because, after it is heated 
' J re at which mercury rusts, it muat be hent«d 

ricL, that it may undergo this decomposition 
^th'- *ji .uiiial mercury aud into the gaa, [Ailor an inter- 
|— Our de<n)mposition has taken place in the tube. The 
•ir is now being given off by the action of heat, and 
up|)er part of tho tube we have the mercury in a 
' state. I will just show you what is tlie nature of 
rhich wo hare in our tube — oven this amatl quantity 
for our purpose. We introduce a match into 
A, and you see how yety brilliautly it will burn in 
air from the rust of mercury. 
wUl now ooosider what are the properties of tbia 
articular kind of air; ft baa Viis property— that if you 
ce the one measure of air which the murcury first ab- 
ia order to rusty and add it to the four volumea of 
that remain, you get exactly the quantity with which 
m started— viz., five volumes: and more ttjaa thjit, these 
re volumes so formed are undistiiiguishable, by any means 
'latevcr, from the original air with which you begao the 
experiment Now you will remember that this nitrogen — 
thia residual air — is a kind in which bpdiea will not rust, 
Dor oombu8tli>lcs burn, nor animals breathe. The breathing 
capabilities all he in the onc-tiflh part which becomes al^ 
•orbed. Then comes tho question, what name shall we give 
to this ooti volume upon which the breathing power of 
a&imalf ia exercised? It was originally called t'i^ air — 
and formerly all these diiferent kinds of gases were called 
airs; this vital air is now known as oxygen gas. 

Now, from what we have observed in. the experiments 
which have been explained to you. we learn that atmos- 
pheric air ia a mixture of four volumes of phlogii^tic air or 
nitrogen, with one volume of vital air or Guygeo; at any 
rale, this may be taken as about tho proportion between 
the two. It is not exactly correct ; the actual ligurea are 
— 79 parts (instead of 8o) of nitrogen, and 21 parte (instead 
of 20' of oxygen, to make up 100 parts of ordinary atmos- 
pheric air ; tliia, then, ia the composition of the atmoaphero. 
I will DOW proceed to direct your attention to some of 
the properties of oxygen. You will remember that in my 
£>Tmer lecture I called to your minds the fact that, in addi- 
tion to ordinary combustibles, such as candles, eoala, and 
fta, oliemists are in the habit of regarding diflere&t metals 
M OombttsUble bodies ; and 1 showed you how magnetium 
•od zinc might be burnt iu air. Now I wish first to direct 
jour attention to the manner in which iron may be burnt 
m air, aud then to the way ia which it may be burnt io 
oxygen. 

Wo will flrat bum some iron in air, and for that purpose 
we must employ a current of air, and also have our iron ia 
Vol. IV. No* 3.— March, 1869. 10 




a very fine 8tat« of division — vix., in filings ; for you know 
that iron in a large ouiss, such as a poker, will not burn ia 
air, but in the state of filings you will see that it will do 
ao, and with very ooDfliderable brilliancy. [Steel flhngs were 
showered upon a large flame from a gas blowpipe, and 
burned with their well -known star-like effect J You see 
that iu this way iron mrty very readily be burnt in ordinary 
air. Now I want to call your attention to the very different 
manner in which it burns in oxygen gas. When we buret 
it in the air it was in tlie form of filings, but we can bum it 
in oxygen in a much larger mass. We take just such a 
flamo as we had ia the last experiment ; but, instead of it 
beiag supplied with a current of au*, as the other was, it is 
supplied with a current of oxygen gaa, and in this we will 
now try lo burn a piece of iron. For this purpose, we will 
take an old knife, aud see what will happen. [A portion 
of the knife-blade was speedily consumed in the fiame, and 
the combustion was attended by copious scintihations.] 
Well, yuu see it ia very fortunate (if the expression is a oor* 
rect oue in such a case) that our atmasphere does not 
consist entirely of oxygen; for if onco these knives got 
thus heated they would bum almost entirely away, and we 
should have mme for use. So much, then, for the manner 
in which bodies burn in oxygen gas compared with tho way 
ia which they burn in ordinary air. 

We will now endeavour to burn another metal ia oxygen, 
and it is one with which you are not quite so familmr. 
There is a piece of metal in tliis tube ; we apply beat to 
the tube, and the metal will very soon be hot; you wiU 
theo see it burn in the oxygen gas which we now pass 
through the tube. We will have tho lights lowered that 
you may ^eu the very beautiful appearance it presents when 
burtit under these circumstances. It is ju^t beginning to 
take fire, and now you see it burning with great Lrilliaacy. 
Tiro metal upon which we are now experimenting is arsenic, 
aud by burning it wo have produced a compound of the 
metal with tho ox.vgen in which it burned, and this com- 
pound ia oxide of arsenie, or tho ordinary white arsenic of 
the shops, NoWj having burnt this suby.taace — arseuic — 
we are next going to do the same with cliarcoal. Wo have 
some in this dish, end the first thing we must do is to ignite 
it. You remember that when charcoal burns in oxygen it 
forms carbonic gas, and thia carbonic gas is an oxide of car- 
bon, just OS the white arsenic which we formed by burnitig 
arsenic iu oxygen was an oxide of arsenic 

Now, if instead of bitmiug the charcoal In oxygen, we 
burn it in the white arsenic, the oxygen, under those ctrcam* 
stances, would leave the arsenic in order to burn the cliar- 
coal. The charcoal Is burnt into carbouic gaa, aud the 
white arsenic Is corrospoudingly unbumt into metaihc 
arsenic. Hero is the experiment already perfurmedL Wo 
had here a mixture of white arseuic and charcoal; the char- 
coal took away the oxygen from the arsenic, and burned in 
iliat oxygen, consequently the arsenic Is deposited in a 
metallic Btate in the kirm of this black ring. 

I will now show you the oombustiou of one other metal 
iu oxygen — sodium — aud while it Ls burning I will again 
Imve the gus-Jighta lowered, and ask you to look at the 
appearance which tlie various colours upon tliis diagram 
exhibit when they are lUummaied by the sodium light; and 
now compare the appearance of those colours UDdtr the 
sodium light with tueir present aspect iu the bright light 
aflbrded by the burning of the metal magnesium. Now, 
when the sodium burus in oxygen it forms soda, or oxide 
of sodium. What then takes place with tlie sodium, when 
instead of burning in pure oxygen, it bums in cnrbooic gas? 
Just what I showed you in tho first lecture. It burtis in 
tho ox}gon which is already combined with tlie curbou ; it 
takes away tho oxygen from tlie carbon, in this way setting 
it free, just as when the charcoal burnt in the oxide of 
araenic it look away the oxj'gen of the oxide of arsenic^ 
aud set free the arsenic io the roetallic stale. 

(To ba coatinacd.) 



[BufUflh Edition, 7oL ZIZ., No. 47S, pafU M, 51, 53; ITo. 474, page 8] 




Sciefic^, 



FOREIGN SCIENCE. 



Paris, Dec. 30TB, 1S68. 

^Krraitmiict an index 0/ ptdre/oction. — Tht bUachinff of wood 
pulp. 

As index of the commencement of putrefflction in many 
animal substancea may possibly be found by tlie presence of 
kreulinme. In a nolo on the presence of this body in putrefied 
whey, M. Comnmillo, among other interesting things, men- 
tioTja the above fact. Some filtered whey wiia placed In a 
flaak, Bimply covered with p&per, and set aside for ntjout a 
year. The whey fermented and then putrefied; numeroua 
rntcrozymas made their appearance, and tho liquid became 
coloured a deep brown. Afterwards, tho animal life gjive 
place to a thick mass of sporea; the fostid odour was suc- 
ceeded by a musty odour only. The liquid thus altered was 
filtered, evaporated on Uie waterbalh, and tre.ited with 
alcohol of S^'y which became strongly coloured. Thia alco- 
holic solution was evaporated, and the re^stdue treated with 
alcohol of 90°, which removed a portion ; the substances 
obtaiued from tho evaporation of tho alcohol of 90" were 
divided by alcohol of 95°. That portion utidisaolved treated 
with water gave abundant crystals containing much mineral 
matter. Calcined, ih<yso crystals leave a white and Baline 
tsh ; treated^ after solution, wiih nltrato of silver they yield 
a volumiuoua precipittite which cedes to boiling water a small 
quantity of long needles, which are perhaps nitrate of kre- 
atinme. The portion removed by alcohol of 95" l\imlshe8, 
upon evaporation of Ihe liquid^ numerous crystals, which, 
under tho microscope, appear as rcotungnlar plale?. Theao 
crystals are soluble iu water and alcohol, insoluble in ether; 
they react as follows :^wiib nitrate of silver, a white mapraa, 
BOOQ resolved into silky needles of double nitrate of silver 
and kreatinino; with syrupy chloride of zinc, small maaaea, 
which, examined under ihe microscope, appear as fins 
needles in radiating gr^.nips; these ciystats are double chlo- 
ride of zinc and kreatinino; with recently precipitated bin- 
oxide of mercury, at ebullition, metallic mercury. Tho ki-e* 
atininei thus obtaiued la far from pure. Kreatinino (CiH^NjOj) 
occurs in the purified whey from the dfihydration of the kre- 
aiino (C,HiN,0|2H0) already present in the milk. Urine, 
which has been exposed to the air for some weeks, contains no 
longer krealine, bntonly kreatiDiue. It would thus seem that the 
small quantity of kTeatitiine found in beef tea and recent urine 
indicates an alteration, inappreciable, one may add, by other 
moans. Kreatine is, in fact, much more often found in fresh 
animal substances, than krealioine. The reason that krea lino 
has not been found in milk is probably the preat amount of 
other materials present with it; and only when the Inctine 
has been destroyed by fermentation and putrefaction, it be^ 
comes easy to detect in tho whey the derivative kreatinine. 
The detection of a substance hitherto considered excrement*- 
tious in milk is worthy of remark. A further analogy be- 
tween milk, blood, and meat is also catabliahed. 

A process of bleaching wood pulp has been made known 
by M. Orioli. H^ has recognised (1) that chloride of Jimc, 
however little In excosw, has a tendency to produce a yellow 
tint ; (2) that all the strong acids turn the paste red nnd*r 
the RCtioii of the sun, or in. Rome time without sunlight, in 
the presence of moisture; (3) that the slightest trace of iron 
ia sufficient to blacken the paste in a very short lime. These 
objectionable results are obviated by the following rabcture : 
— For 100 kilogrammes of wood pulp Soogrammefl of oxalic 
are employed, thia servinjpr the double purpose of bleaching 
the colouring matter already oxidised atid of neutralising the 
alkaline principles favourable to oxidation; 2 kilogs. of 
sulphate of alumina, perfectly free From iron, are added. 
The principal agent in thia new bleaching process is 
the oxalic acid, the energetic action of which on vege- 
table colouring matters is well known. The sulphate of 
alumina added does not bleach of itself; but it forms with 
the colouring matter of the wood a nearly colourless lake, 
which eDables the briUiaiicy of the product to be heightened. 



Paris, .Uy. 13TH, 1869. 

Reagent for Alkalouh, — Pttrtjieaticn 0/ Bitulphide of Cat' 
b^n, — Detection of Strychnine. — CrystaUination ttf G^geer" 
itie. — Detection of Mercury in Foifoninff Case*. 

Ins double iodide of cadmium and potassium has been pro- 
posed aa a reagent for alkaloids by M. Marm6, 

Thia compound precipitates the following alkaloids ft"Oin 
very dilute solutions mixed with sulphuric acid: — Nicotine, 
coiiicine, piperioe, morphia, oodeia, thebaine, nari^"' •"' 
narceine, quinine, qiunidiop, cinchonine, alrychoine, I r 
veratrint*, berberiue, atropine, aconitine, and some • 
The prxipitates are white and flooculcnt, but for Cbe ruo^t 
part b( come crystalline. Qiiinine and airyclmine, diluted 
with 10,000 parts of water, are entirely precipitated. These 
precipitates are insoluble in eiher, soluble in alcohol, ilightlj 
soluble in water, and soluble in an excess of the double 
i(Klide. Ky agitation with a suitable iolTent and the subse- 
quent addition of alkali, the alkoloids may be separated. The 
double iodide of cadmlnra and potassium does not precipitate 
glycosides (amygdaline, salic'mei, eaponine, digitaline, phlorid- 
zine, kc). 

M. Millon publishes a note ** On the Puriflcatioti of Bi- 
sulphide of Carbon." The sulphide of carbon ia first washed 
several limes with distilled waler, as in the puriflication of 
ether, and then transferred to a retort of largo capacity con* 
taining quick lime. After twenty-four hours' contact the 
sulphide is distilled oiT from the lime and received in a flask 
partially filled with copper turnings, previously roasted to 
remove all traces of fatty matter^ and afterwards reduced by 
hydrogen. The lime remaining in the retort is stroDgly 
coloured. All the disagreeable odour of ordinary biaulpbide 
of carbon is removed by this treatment, and when the nose 
Is placed close to the mouth of the receiver an ethereal od«mr 
ii only perceived. With bisulphide of carbon thus purified 
MM. Millon and Coraraaillo have .separated the perfume of 
Ih© iiiOi«t delicate flowers, and even the perfume of milk to 
the extent of recognising certain plants eaten by the cow, tho 
Smyrnium olmatntm among others. 

To detect llie presence of strychnine in cases of poisoning 
M. Cloetta counsels the following treatment: — Any albumen 
which may be present in the liquid is first removed, «ab- 
acotote of lead added, and tho liquid filtered ; the exceaa of 
lead is removed by sulphuretted hydrogen, another filtration 
made, and the flltrato evaporated to dryness. The residae 
thus obtained is left in contact with ammonia for twenty-four 
houra, then agitated with double its volume of chloroform, 
and the chloroforroio solution evaporated ; this rosidae is dis- 
Bolved in 2 c.c, of water conlainiog pure nitric acid, the solu- 
tion filtered, and to tho filtrate a drop of solution of bicbio* 
mate of potash added. At the end of a few days 
of chromata of strychnine appear in which the cbemi^ 
charactera of strychnine may be recognised, M. Cloel 
ofBrms that, by his process, he baa been enabled to prove 
presence of I'Zoth grain of atryehnine in 650 co. of urine. 

M. Werner has made some experiments on tho crygtalliaa- 
tion of glycerine. Ho was not able to form oryatals by 
agitation or by cold. Aa he had recognised the preaenoe of 
chlorine in some solidified glycerine^ he made the experiment 
of passing a few bubbles of chlorine through glycerine of 
commerce, and, under these circumstances, small octahedral 
crystals were obtained possessing great hardness, but de- 
prived of the sweet taste of glycerine even when melted. 

The following ia a method of examination for detecUng 
mercury in poisoning cases, described by M. Buchner. 
method was employed by M. Buchner in searching 
mercury in the remains of a person poi.waed by 
sublimate. Tlie organic remains having been distntegra 
by a hot mixture of chlorate of potash and hydrochloric 
the solution was diluted and saturated with sulphuretted 
hydrogen. Afler the lapse of Bome hours the sulphide 
formed was collected, dissolved in aqua regia, and redu 
by evaporation to a small volume. A little water be 
added, a bright piece of copper wire is placed in the liqui 
and when mercury Is present, the wire becomes grey, at the 








|£atU<k Edmon, TaL'.XIZ., No. 474, i»(»i Bjy ;;iro. 47«, pa(fis 33,|34,| 




GknviG4i NtTTt 



•\ 



foreign Science. 



lUesV »n I'^o d»y»- The copper U withdrawn, dried botweeo 
folds of blotting paper, aad h&Aled m a wide ttjat lube. The 
iBtreurj is moru easily dislingtiiabcd by removing the wire, 
4t»d placing io the tube a drop of Liocture of iodiue. M. Rie- 
derer, liaving remarked that the aulphtdo of mercury which 
is ibrnicd by this process always ooataina organic matter, has 
Koour>e to diulyaia. Ho operates iu the folloAviug manner . 
diflorgaDiaatioo by chlorate of potash and hydrochloric 
"le mercury in solution is precipitated by sulphuretted 
the sulphide collected dia^olved m a mixture of 
polOMh and hydrochloric acid, and dialy&ed 
'cc, of water; at the end of five daya the woter ia 
ited aud the dialysis repeated. Alter this trcalcneDl 
>latton ia again saturated with sulphuretted hj-dr^gen ; 
ipitate is waslied with animouia and sulphide of am- 
lUL, thi^n with weak nitric acid, and fiuaily treated 
with hydrochloric acid and chlorate of potash. Operat- 
doga with calomel, MRiederer haa rec*»gni8ed that 
gnvt^r part of the mercurial eompouud h ehmlDAted by 
excrements, and that fgr the rest^ more collecta iu tbo 
irer ihaa tu the musclea. 



Paris, Jaii, aora^ 1869. 

j« of Vrea — Experimenta with SulpJiurettrd Ilydro^ 
fen — PaUnt for tha Extraction 0/ Iodine — Bleaching of 
JXnuis, 

tAL errors are introduced in the ^limation of urea 
rlido the nitrate of mercury used is prepared by octiog upon 
meUl with aithc acid, the acidity of il:ie titrated solution 
T»riable, and the whole of the compound is not in tlie con- 
litiou of mercuric uitrai«. M. Byaaaon makes use of the fot- 
; ttiodidcatioD of Liebig « method : — Exactly 36 grammes 
oxide of mercury ure weiglied, and dijisuivod io 50 
tm of ordinary niiric acid diluted with half ita weight 
wttier ; the solution is genily evaporated until acid vapours 
tppear, and made up with distilled water to the volume of i 
itro, at about 15" C. If the dilution with water ahould 
a alight turbidity, a few drops of acid will render the 
lution clear. In this way a solution ia obtained in which 
the mercury is present as mercuric utlrate, end aa little 
as possible. A test Bolutiou of urea is prepared by diS' 
Iring 20graramca of crystalliaed urea in i litre of dibtilled 
^'water; i cc. of the mercurial solution already made should 
oorrespood to '005 grammes of urea. Daring the process, M. 
Byaaaon makes uae of a aotutioQ of 25 grammes of potash in 
litre, from time to time, to partly neutralise the acid Bet free ; 
>e urea aolution must never be rendered alkaline. The pot- 
sh BOlutiou indicatta the completion of the reaction, by form- 
ig a yellow precipitate on the sur&ce. M. Byu.<9aon'e reaults 
rith this process agree remarkably well. 
M. Boettger has made known the following experiments to 
be realised with sulphuretted hydrogen. A jet of this gun 
inflames by contact with tcroxide of thallium, peroxides of 
raangaoeae and lead, as well aa with the peroxide of ailver, 
obtaiued in powder by a battery. Many chlorates, iodatea, 
and bromatea behave Bimilarly. Other compounds occasion 
a Tiolent explosion, among these acetylide aud fulminate of 
ailrer and iodide of nitrogen. 
1^^ A. patent has been granted to M. Lauroy for a new method 
^^kf extracting iodine, and treating salts derived from kelp. 
^^HThen the lixivium has been freed from the less soluble salla, 
^^wid concentrated to a density varying between 44** and 55" 
^Hiaum^^ it may contain free alkali, carbonates, sulphides, sul* 
l^^phites, and hyposulphites of alkalies, os well as alkalino io- 
dides and bromides. The treatment variea, according as it is 
^^^CAtred to separate the salts contained, or to extract at once 
^Htt^ iodine and bromine. When it is desired to extract the 
H^ndiDd and bromine at once, the liquid is saturated with hydro- 
chloric acid; the deposit which forfus is separated, aod the 
gaatoua mixture which is evolved in the reaction of nitric 
Q organic matters (as in the preparation of oxalic acid, 
add. kc.) introduced. When these gases are prinoi- 
formed of binoxide of oitrogeu, a quantity of air ia 




admixed. The application of the nitrous gases moy be made 
in several ways — sulphuric acid^ iu which nitrous gases have 
previously been dissolved, may be udd^d to tlie liquid, or 
when the liquor contains suftioicnt alkuli, nitrous ntid may 
be admitted «s long as there is absorption, and any acid what- 
ever added afterward to precipitate the iodine. In whatever 
way one operates the precipitalioa of the iodine is determined 
by the reaction of the nitrous compounds. The precipitation 
13 complete, and the bromine not set at liberty. When ih© 
iodine baa been thus separated, the mother liquor la submit- 
ted to treatment, and the bromine extracted by the ordinary 
methods. « 

Before giving an abstract of a memoir entitled ** Researches 
OQ the Bleaching of Tissues," your correspondent would re- 
mark that the author ia M. Kolb, not M. K.olbe. In the 
rough fibre of Hnx, there exist, along with cellulose, two dis- 
tinct flubstflncea — the one, pectic acid, is abundant, and poa- 
aibly completely etiminated by alkalies; the other is a colour- 
ing matter which is developed in the sleeping. This substance 
tints the fibre grey, and resists alkalies, as well as all ordi- 
nary chemical solventa. It may be isolated by M. P«iigot*a 
aramoniacal copper solution. While the pectic products are 
abundant (15 to j6 per cent), tho amount ol the ^rey matter 
is inQuitesimal Chlorine water and dilute solutions of the hy* 
pochloritea deeoloriee this aubatance without dissolving it 
After decoloration it is still insoluble in alkaline soluLiona, 
whivh remain oolourlosa. When the three constituent parts of 
the fibre are separately submitted to tho action of chlorine 
water, the following is the result :—{ij the grey matter alone is 
decotorised by very weak chlorine water; {2) in slighUy 
stronger chlorine water the cellulose is disintegrated and then 
attacked, gradually passing into water and carbonic acid ; (3) 
the brown pectic products are only decolorised by decompo- 
sition in very much stronger chlorine water, and long after 
the alteration of the ceHulose. From this it results that, in 
bleaching, chlorine is necessary for the destruction of the grey 
colouration, wiiile this reagent must not be reckoned upon for 
removing the yellow tiuL TheoreticaJly, perfect bleaching ia 
reduced to two operatiooa— (i) removal of all yellow colour- 
ing matter by rigorous exhaustion with alkalies ; {2) oxida- 
tion, which simply decolourises the grey matter, but without 
rendering it soluble in lyea^ as hitherto supposed. Chlo> 
rine water, oxygenated water, and ozone, dry or humid, 
eiTect bleaching ; but is this phenomenon due to an abaorp* 
tion of oxygen by the colouring matter, or to a removal of 
bydrogeu? Experiments show that there is absorption of 
oxygen. Chlorine water can only be employed without 
danger very dilute, and at the greatest strength marking 10 
chlorimetric degre^B, Oxygenated water only attacks the 
cellulose when very concentrate:d. With equal strengths, 
and immersion for the same time, chlorine has a much more 
dealructive action, and, at the same lime, a smaller bleaching 
power, than oxygenated water. In tlie same conditions, a 
solution of hypochlorous acid bleaches better, and alters io- 
idnitely less, than chlorine water ; it ia^ to some extent, an 
intermediate term between cliloriae water and oxygenated 
water. Chloride of lime may be employed in three different 
ways in bleaching — viz., with hydrochloric, with carbonic 
acid, and simply in contact with the oxidisablo matter. Of 
the three, tho latter is the most rational, and presents most 
security. With regard to antichlors frequently employed, 
8i]ch aa hypt^aulpbito of soda, MM. Fordos and G^lta bavs 
demonstrated that If theAe substances remove, on the one 
hand, all tpaceof chlorine, on the other they favour the forma- 
tion of acids perniciouR to the cellulose. M. Kolb propoaea 
to replace them by dilute ammonia, which acts first as auti* 
chlor in producing nitrogen and chloride of ammonium, and» 
further, removes, at the aame time, all trace of acid from the 
tiasue. 

Certom fibres, perfectly bleached to all appearance^ talra^ 
after a time, a yellow shade; this is only the case with Uiooe 
which have not been completely deprived of their pectic mat- 
ters. M. Kolb his found ammonia in thia respect a valuable 
reagent for detectiiig at once tho possibility of thia result 



[EniUih BiiMtm, Vol XIZ^ Na 4T0v paf* 34; Ko. 477, pagM 44, 45.] 



144* 



Chemical Society, 



J OimciOAL KffWii, 
1 MarcK 16«»> 



Uking plHCO. All fibres which have been bleflchcd and rig- 
orously deprived of pectotw mny be plunged in «iroTDonJac«I 
water with impunity; but if the exhrtusiioo with lyea baa 
not be€D complete, an amber tint will be immediately ooiD> 
inanlcated. 



REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 

CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
Thunda^^ December 17, 1868. 

Dr. Warren de la Ruk, F.R.S., Prtaida%t^ m (he Chair. 
The minuiea of the previoua meetinjf having been read and 
conUrtned, and the usual lists of duDuliona and of viatiora 
having been announced, the followiuif <^rtiticate8 wore read : 
—For the first lime— Mr. J. J. Field, Highgalo, Mr. II. W. 
Keiima, AccriugtoD, Mr. E. L. Barrot, 44 Lanford Road, 
London ; fi)r the aecoad time — Mr. F, W, Hart, Mr. K. K, 
Maspratt, Mr. a VViUiama, Mr. J. F. Allen ; for the third 
time— Mr. T. Rowan, Mr. W. W. Stoddard, Mr. J. Hughes. 
The three last-named gentlemen were then balloted for mod 
were duly eloctecl. 

The iSmc&KTABY then read a paper " On the Isolation 0/ 
the Mumng SuiphuT Urea," by J. Emeraon Reynolds, Mem- 
ber of the Royal College of Phyaiciaoa, Edinburgh, Keeper 
of the Minerala aod Anatyat to the Royal Dublin Society. 
ibc. 

Just aa cyanate of ammoDiuoi under the ickfluence of heat 
yields urea, so aulpbocyaiiate of ammonium under aimilar 
oircumataticeB abould yield sulphur urea — 



<CS)" ) 



or ia^^ 
etri^H 

pho-'^l 



ON 

KH 

CN 
KH 



(CO)" 1 

(CSV 1 

= H, tN 



The probability of thia reaction induced Liebig, Volckel, 
■nd aomo other chemista to study the action of heat upon the 
aulphocyanate, but the results did nut agree with tbetr ex- 
pectations. 

Mom recently Dr. Ilofioatm^ described a number of aub- 
«UtuUofi derivalivea of aulphur urea, but he did not succeed 
in taokciug the urea itaelf. He appears to hav« regarded sul- 
pbooyauate of aramonium as the true sulphur urea, in spite 
«f its saline constitution. 

The author, in considering the points of aimilarity and of 
difference between the cyanate and sulphocjanate of atumo- 
nium, became oonviaced that the greater stability of the lai- 
ier co:npouad was the chief bar to its molecular rearr&nge- 
4Baont 

The temperature of 100° C, which effects the conversion of 
4be cjanaLti into urea, has no effect upon the aulpbocyanate, 
which, however, decomposes easily at a temperature above 
i8o* C. The author therefore tried the effect of a regulated 
temperature upon the latter salt, and waa rewarded by the 
isolation of the misaihg sulphur urea. He proceeded in the 
following munner; 

About 500 grammes of the well-dried salt were heated to 
170* C. for two hours by means of an oil bath, the author 
vemarktng incidentully that the true fusing point of the salt 
was found to be 159* C, instead of 147' as usually stated. 

The maaa was allowed to cool to 100° C, and was then 
treated with its own weight of water at 80° C. Wbeo the 
whole was dissolved, tlie liquid was Altered through a plug 
of cotton wool for the purpose of xejMrating a small quantity 
of black iubsUuoe< and was then allowed to stand until sn 
abundant crop of fine long silky prisms of the new compound 
had formed. 

After several recrystallisationa from the boiling water, the 
^rea was obtAiaed in a state of purity, and gave oti analyaLs 
Dumbere which led to the formula — 



Some diCBculty was experienced in the detenninatton of the 
carbon m consequence of the large proportion of nitrogen and 
sulphur present. It was fijuud advantageous to introduce 
into the combustion tube, after dlling with cbromate of lead 
in the usual manner, a porous copper rod, prepared by rolling 
One gauze so closely aa to leave no central tube. Thia ro d 
was heated, first in air and then In hydrogen, iu the uaosl^H 
way, and was tlicri made to lit cloael}* into the combustiofl^H 
tube. It was found to reduce completely the nitrogen oxidef 
formed during the combustion. 

The new subsiatice crystallisca iu long floe needlea^or ia. 
short thick prisms, in either case belonging to the triroetrf 
system. It is non-deliquescent in moderately dry air, is vei 
soluble in water and alcohol, and sparingly so in ether, 
solution froths slightly on agitation, has a neutral reactU 
and a somewhat bitter taste. Healed with water In a acak 
tube for some hours to 140'' C, it is reconverted into sulphc 
cvanate of amraoniuim, as may be shown by the iron lest 
^The urea does not give a colour reaction with the test. Heated 
with hydrate of potaaaiura in a sealed tnbe, it is docotnpoaed, 
in the following manner: — | 

(CS)" 2lI«N, + 2llj0 = 2NH, + CO, + H,S. ■ 

Hydrochloric and sulphuric acids effect a similar change. 

The aubstanoe fuses at 156** C. Heated to a higher tem- 
perature in a olosed lube it evolves sulphide of ammonium,] 
carbonic disulphide, and ammonia; the mixture blackens, m^ 
yellow oil distils over, and a white mass remains which 
strongly reserabloa Liebig^s bydromellone. 

A beautifully crystalliaed nitrate of the new urea was pre- 
pared by treating tbo strong aqueous solution with nitriej 
acid of sp, gr. 1-25. Its formula was found to be (CS) '1I,N| 
HNO,. No hydrochlorate nor oxalate could be obtained. 

Gvid Compound. — On treating a saturated aqueous solu- 
tion of the urea with neutral terchloride of gold, a reddist 
precipitate appeared at first, which quickly dissolved, wbeoij 
a yellow colour appeared In the liquid; it was slowly eva- 
porated and yielded pearly mouoclinic crystals, to whidi the, 
author assigna the aiogular formula — 
(CS)"H,N, 
(CS/'H.N, y Au 



n 

i 



)"HiN, 1 
)"H,N, [ 
CI 




When the gold aolulioa was employed in excess a rerj 
stable compound waa produced, which appeared to differ 
from the farmer one in contalniug only i equivalent of the 
urea and 2 of chlorine. 

Ptaiinnm Ccrnpounds. — By methods analogous to the pre- 
ceding, several platinum compounds wore procured. For the 
most chnracteristiG of them the author obtained the follow- 
ing formula: — 

(CS) 

(CSJ' **4"4 V Pi"" HCl 



"H.N,-j 




Silvtr Compound— Th^ action of nitmle of silver OQ 
urea yielded a'dky crystals having the formula — 
2 [(CS)"H*N,] Ag,0+4H30. 

This compound is decompoacMi by heat with slight Axplo- 
a ion, sulpbide of silver and a crystalline sublimate beiog 
fonned. 

When sulphur uroa and hydrate of silver are heated with 
a little water for half-an-hour. eulpUide of silver is formed, 
and the urea is converted into ordinary urea — 

(C8)''ntN, + Ag,0 = {CO)"H,N, + Ag^S. 

It is, therefore, probable that in the little-known process for 
the proparatioD of carbajnide by the action of oxide of silver 
on sulphocyanato of ammonium, there arc rouUy two Btaipet 
— one in which aulphur urea is formed, and one in which it 
is converted ioto ordltutry uroa and sulphide of silver. 



[ [EnsUmh EdlUan^ VoL XIZ., No. 474, pagwj, •.] 




€JttmMicxt. Nsw& I 



Chemical Society, 



;45 



Mereurial Componr,d8, — A crystalline compound was oV 
Uioed to which the author BBsigcs the formula — 

2[(CS)"U,N,].3Ug'0,3H,0. 
But it appears probable tlxat tho compouDda— 



P 



fCSl 
(CS) 



'UN, [ 
H.N. \ 



3Hk'0, 



Phcnyl-Bulphocarbamide 






^ 



are likewise produced in Bomc roactlona. 

All ureas previously obttiincd posaoss more or less 
■trongly marked basic properties, and tho author believes 
that xhe new compound is the first iostanee known or a ureti 
which maniltBta strongly marked acid and feeble basic 
propertice. It followB from thi^ invoatigaiioa that tho new 
compound is the true sulpho-carbamide, the primory of the 
»erie« of compound sulpho-urcaa discovered by Hofraann, 
and that aulphoK'yanate of ammoaium roust he regarded us 
ihe strict analogue of cyaoato of ammonium. Tho author 

Vistof Uofmann's compounds, and points out how 
hey all relate themselves to sulphur urea. The 
; will serve by way of illuatration : — 
(CS)' 
Sxilphocarbamide 
*,*v Miithor concludes by predicting the formation of sul- 
phur-urea by tho action of heat on aulphwarbamoto of 
ammonium. Such a reaction would bo perfectly parallel 
with that by which BasBarofF produced urea, namely, by the 
dehydration of carbamate of ammonium. 

Tho Presioemt remarked upon tho great beauty and 
Bimplicity of the primary reaction offoftetj by the author, 

i^rofeeaor ODLiiiQ had no obe«nratioQfl to mako in direct 
diECOS^ion of the subject of the paper, but its close connec- 
tion with uroa tempted Mm to make a few remarks on the 
interesting theoretical question of the constitution of that 
oompouucL The current belief at present was tii&t uroa was 
identical with carbamide, and some facts wore strongly in 
favour of tbi.s view ; but, as he had pointed out some time 
ago, other facta were discordant, and Meaars. Wanklyn aod 
Gamgoe hail lately, from experiments of thoir own, proposed 
a perfectly differejit formula for urea. There was a fuDda- 
mental difference in the two views, and^ in fuct, we could 
oot aa yet £ay that we know the modo in which the c-arbon 
or uroa was oonnocted with the nitrogen. In addition to 
fiieee two views a third had been supgoefced by Professor 
Eolbe, which, like everything that fell from his lips, was 
tutitled to the moat respectful consideration of chemisla. 
Solbe maintained that urea was not carbamide, but an amido 
of carbamic acid,, and bo wrote it« formula thus: — 

It appeared, however, to the speaker, that this was but a 
Tariation in the modo of writing tho formula. He fouod 
himself unable to perceive how the amido of carbamic acid 
could bo different substance From carbamide. Possibly 
Boooe disciple of Profeasor Kolbe — ^and most likely some 
w«re present — could point out where tho difference lay. 

Professor Wankltn had nothing to add to the argumeuta 
which he, ui conjunction with Mr, Gamgee, laid before tho 
Chemical Society on a former occasion. Ho believed that 
tirea was not carbamide, because ho found it wanting in 
some of the commoD reactions of the amides. 

As there was no further business before the Society. Sir 
Benjamin Brodie, whose re-appearunco arter a somewhat 
lengthened obsence was cordially hailed by the Proaident and 
Fellows, drew the utteation of the meeting to a very re- 
markable paper by Borthelot, published in the last nuralier 
of the Oomptcn Rendus. Berthelot had subjected a mixture 



of acetylene and nitrogen to tho action of tho electric dis- 
charge, and had thus, by a direct union of radicals, formed 
hydrocyanic acid — 

C,H, -h Nt = 2HCN. 
Nearly the whole of the acetylene employed ooroblned with 
nitrogen, and the ronctior. might be said to be strictly 
analogous to that in which hydrodiloric acid was produced 
by double decomposition — 

H, + CI, = ana, 

Tho meeting then adjourned notil January 2i, 1869. 



Thursday, January 21, 18691. 

Dr. Warrex de la Rue, F.R.S., Prenident, in the Chair. 
The roinutefi of the previous meeting were read and con- 
tirmed, the douadous to tho librar}' were announced, and tho 
following certiJicatea read: — For iho first time — Mr. E. D. 
Holditch, Mr. VV. Rossiter, Mr. A. K. Howard ; for the se» 
coyd time— Mr E. L, Barret, Mr. J. J. Field, Mr. H. W. 
Kearna; for the third lime— Mr. J. F- Allen, Mr. E. K. Mua- 
pralt, Mr. F. W. Hart, Mr. S. WiUiara* The Society then 
proceodod to ballot lor the four last-oamed gentkmcD, and 
they were declared duly elected. 

Tho 8£(mEfARY (Dr Odiing) announced that at tho next 
meeting of the Society a lecture would be delivered by Dr. 
WaJUoe, "On the Chemistry of Sugur Retluing; " Mr. Tom- 
linson had promised to give a lecture at one of the March 
meetings, "On Cathnnaui, or the Influence of Chemically 
Clean Surfaces;" Professor Williamson had likewise prom- 
ised a lecture; and the council hoped that Mr. Lowthiun Bell 
would do the same. 

The llr*t paper waa then rend by tlie Secretary (Mr. Ternon 
Uarcoiirt); it was entitled— '^ On tht Chemical Campotition 
<y Caiumha Wax,*' by Nevil Story Maskelyne, M.A. 
This wax is tlie product of a palm— The Copemida 
cerifvra — known to the Brazilians aa the Canaijba tree. 
The glaucous coaling which protects the younger leaves con- 
tains tlie WAX in tlie pioporiion of about 50 grains to the 
leaf. It is collected and melted into a mass, and in thu state 
constitutes a pale yellow or greenish body, somewhat harder 
and less resinous (hnn the wax yielded by the noble |>alm of 
the Cordilleras. Its specific gravity i$ 099907, its melting 
point is 84° C, and it yields o-ji4 per cent of aah. The crude 
wax was saponified by boiling with alcohohc solution of pot- 
ash containing 0De-«ixih of lU weight of alkali, until the 
liquid became clear. Tho alcohol was then diaiilled off, and 
the residue thrown into a solution of neutral plumbic acetate, 
which produced a yellow colour. The liquid was evaporated 
to dtynt'sa, powdered, and extracted with ether, which re- 
moves the wax akvhola. By repeated crjatallisntiona from 
ether, one of these plcohols, which appears to be meliaaio, 
was obuioed in a sute of purity. The insoluble lead-salt 
was afterwards decomposed by hydrie chloride. In another 
experiment the wax was sapouided as before, the alcohol dis- 
tilled ofT, and the acid* set free by hydrie chloride. The mass 
thus formed was dissolved in boiling alcohol, the acids satu- 
rated with ammonia, and then thrown down by baric chloride. 
The alcohol was now distilled o(t', the mass was thoroughly 
exhausted with water aiiid abohol, and the residue reserved 
lor an examlnalion of ihc acida The alcohofic extract was 
digested with ether, and after repeated recry stall isationa 
a body was obtained having the properties of, and corres- 
ponding in percentage compoaiiton to melissin, C„H440. 
To delerraine its constitution, it was converted, by heating to 
270" with potaah-lime into the corresponding acid. This 
acid, when very carefully purified, was highly electrical ; it 
melted at 91", and only dissolved in alcohol with the greatest 
diificulty. Its analysis agreed wiih the formula of meliasic 
acid — viz., CiiHt,(0« or C»«HtoO,, Its silver salt contain- 
ed 19-29 to 1945 per cent of Ag; C,,H,,AgU8 requires 
18 85, and CioUiipAgOs 19*32 per cent Ag. 

It appeared probable, u-om the large amount of nicohol* 
obtained, that they were present in the wax in the free «" 
400 grammes of the wax was therofore bQlti*«< " - 



[BngUih EdlUon, Vol. XIX., No. 4T4, page 8, IT*. 478, pasa 57.1 



14% 



Chemical Society. 




March, 1661. 



1 

4 



berortiznea with alcohol; this quantity yielded 126 gramniea 
of Aoluble ingfedieuts melting ac Si", oud 274 grammes iuaol- 
ubie, mehiii^ at 86*. The ftoluble portioQ coiitHincd a re* 
aiiioufs body, to which iho yellow colour previously observed 
waa due; this waa itcnoved by potash in minute quantity 
and plumbic acetate. A few crystjUlisiitiotia from alcohol and 
etber now yielded melissin in a statu of punty. 

The wax, therefore, coutaios no less thun one'lhird of its 
mass of free wax alcohol^ a fact of qo little tateri'St iu vege- 
table physiolojcy. 

After the separatioo of the first crop of roeliasin cryatala tho 
remaiuing alcohols, both from the soluble and insoluble por^ 
tiooB, were mixed and treated together. T^v recrystallisation, 
more melistiin waa obiuiticd, and by repeot^-d treatment with 
ether, benzol, and alcoboll, eeverul bodies were then sepa- 
rated ; the fullowing were analysed, and are described : — 

1. Au alcohol fusing at 105", and having a composition re- 
preaented by the approximate formula, Ci»H||Oa. 

2, An alcohol fusing at 78% and corresponding to formula 
C^iH^bOj. It is probably cerotin. 

These alcoliola are all present in the wax in minute quan- 
tity as compared with that of melissin. The ittubor did not 
succeed in preparing acids from any one of them. 

Further attempts to identify the chief alcoliol of the wax 
with melissin wore ahso mado. An iodide and chloride of the 
alcohol radical were prepared and analysed- The ktter^ how- 
ever, did not give satisfactory analytical rcsulu, aud was 
probably a miiitiirB. Arncaonm &tid aniline both act upou 
the alcohol, but iho products obtained were not fully ex- 
amined. Sulpiiuno acid gave au acid the potaBsium «alt of 
which agrees in composition with the formula IL'juHaiKSOi. 

A note attached to the paper mentions that the research 
was made iu the yeara 1S55-7; the author having since then 
been unable to complete it. 

The President, ia oQ'ering the thanks of the Society to 
the author, remarked that Sir Benjamin Brodie^ who might 
be called the fiither of the study of wax, was present, and 
would perluips fijvodr Iho Society with some remarks. 

Sir B. Bkumc, who observed that he hud not come in time 
to hear the coraraeneemcnt of the paper, hoped that its pub- 
licalioD would induce some other chemists to apply them- 
selves to the study of wax ; he Kaid clicmisis, because the 
neces-sary mvesugations were so tedious as to require the la- 
bour of two or throe pcnfrona. lie himsolf would be very happy 
to render any assistaoco he could to anyone who was willing 
to take up the subject. One of iJie chief obstacles to be en* 
countered arose from the extreme difliculty of deciding from 
the percentage composition the true atomic coristitution of 
the compounds. He regretted that Mr. Maakeiyne had not 
applied some of the methods which be had found useful hi 
fixing the constitution of these campoundH, The action of 
chlorine, for instance, gave substitution compounds analogous 
to chloral which were very charactertetic. In the same way, 
it would have b*^en almost impossible to decide by analysia 
whether the paraffins belonged to the ethylene or marsh gas 
series, but tlie action of chlorine upon them was perfectly de- 
finite, and tended to fix them in the latter. Another most 
excellent method of study consisted in forming the ethers of 
the wax acids, and examining them. 

In the study of wax, llie composition of the bees* wax 
produced in ojfferent countrlea would be found well worth 
investigation. He (Sir B, Brodie) had found that boos" 
wax from Ceylon waa quite diflTerent in composition from 
English; it contained no cerotic acid, whereas the English 
wax always contained that acid in the free stale. The ani- 
mal wax, called cerolein, loo, with its peculiar tea-like 
fragrance, should bo examined. Ita composition appeared 
to approximate to that of butyric aldehyde, but It was very 
little known. Possibly some of the candle-makers could sup- 
ply the crudo rnalerial. It must be extracted by alcohol, 
and the cold solution evaporated. 

"Oft ihe Connection Istweefi the ifechanicaX Qualities of 
MalUable Iron and Steel, and tin Amount of FhMphorua 
they Contain^'* by Dr. B» 11. Paul It is generally con- 



sidered that very small quantities of pho.^phorus in malleable 
iron and steel are most prejudicial totl^e quality of the metal. 
Quite recently, an eminent metnllurgiH has stJited as a fiact 
that much leas than 3 per cent of phosphorus produces a de- 
cided and injurious efl'ect on steel. The author hiis, how- 
ever, been unable to discover any evidence sufflcienl to 
justify such a conclusion, and still less any reasonable expla- 
nation of it. He has recently hud an opportunity of testing 
the truth of this conclusion, by determining the phosphorus 
in some samples of the iron and steel made by tlie new 
nitrate of soda proeesi fh)ra British pig-iron known 10 contain 
pho«iphoruB. Seven bars of Iron and two bars of ateel, 
made by the Heaton procesi, were examined; their ten- 
sile strength and extension had been determined by Mr. 
Kirkflldy. The iron bars had a tensile slrtngth of from 
46,547 to 53.S24 lbs. per square inch of area, and an exten- 
sion, when subjected to this strain, of from 2t to 2^*6 per 
cent of their length. The two cast-ateel bars had teonlo 
strengths of 80,916 and 106,602 lbs., and extended 3*3 and 
137 f>er cent of their lengths. In the iron bars, the author 
found "144 to -jS per cent of phosphorus (average -237 per 
cent)^ and iu the iwo steel bars '24 and -241 per cenU The 
author, therefore, thinks himself justified in asserting that 
the commonly received opinion on this subject does not al- 
ways represent the truth. 

Professor Miller had bad opportunities of examining some 
of these steels. In fact, he might say that Pr. Paul's ex- 
periments had been suggested by himself, lie had found 
in aomo careful analyses of Ins own, very unusual quanti- 
ties of phosphorus, even in samples of high class iron — iron 
which worked well cold, and also at a red and bright yelktv 
heat. It could hardly be doubted that iu many statemeota 
of the composition of iion the amount of phosphorus found 
had been too low. The old meth<Ki of estimating tlie phos- 
phoric acid, whicii involved the throwing it down aa iron- 
salt, was unreliable. The phospho - molybdot© proceea, 
employed by Epgertz^ waa undoubtedly the beat; but even 
thi« required the greatest care to avoid gettwg too low a 
proportion of phosphoric acid. It was very difficult to 
ensure the entire precipitation of the phosphomolybdate, 
Oue thing was clear from these experiments, namely, llmt 
the presence of from 2 to 3 parts of pho.sphorua in 1,000 of 
iron was not so detrimental aa was genenilly anpposed. 

The Pkesidekt inquired how the phosphorus existed in 
tbe iroQ, and the form in which it waa eliminated during 
Beaton's process. 

Professor Willer could not speak with certainty of the 
condition of phosphorus in tbe iron ; it probably existed aa 
phosphide. It. waa, however, most certainly elitninated in 
the form of phosphate. 

Dr. Price remarked that there was nothing new in th« 
statement that such quantities of phosphorus might exist in 
wrought iron, but that with regard to sttel he had yet to 
learn that 24 pt»r cent of phospliorus could be present with- 
out injuring the metal. TVilh regard to methods, he believed 
that the one at present In uso was absolutely correct, tluit, 
namely, in which the pliosphorus was separated aa phosphate 
of iron and then determined with magnesia. The molybdate 
method was oxcewsively tedious. 

Mr, FoRUES said that in Sweden they would not receive for 
making steel, iron that contained '( per cent of phosphorus. 
Many works had had to stop for want of ores tlmt were free 
from phosphorus. For one mine of such ore there were ten 
which yielded ore containing phosphonis, and they would 
most gladly uso it if ihej could. He could not agree with 
Dr, Mider that the amount of phosphorus In Iron was under- 
estimated. The molybdate proceas was thoroughly under- 
stood in Sweden, and had been in use since 1856^ Errors 
In the estimation of phosphorus could not be due to ignorance 
of that method. 

Professor Miller cxpkinod thnt he only Tneant to tmy 
that the molybdate process required care. No doubt tbe 
results obtained by Eggertz were perfectly correct. In an- 
swer to the President,, Professor Miller ihea gave a short 



i 
i 



[Snctlab Edition, 7oL XtX., No. 478, pagM 57, 58.] 







AcOidetny of Sciences, 



147 



mt of ihe Heaton process. A quantity of the nitre was 

lOfed in a wrought-iron pot lined with flre-cluy; on this waa 

perforated plate of iron, and t^ cwt. of melted Mfit* 

a cupola furnace were then introduced, with sand 

Ihiring the reaction, fumes, Hrst white, tlien brown, 

grey, were evolved. A violent Hame and a roaring 

>w© attended upon it. When again tranquil, the metal was 

iplted 00 the floor of the fumaoo ; the slajf ran out and the 

iftjr oiaai WAS pressed between rollers. He was unable to 

;11 the proportion of phoaphorug in the slag. The crude 

can iron employed contained r43 per cent, and the cast steel 

^ObtAined under -3 per cent. A part, at least, of tils' pboapho- 

losi was certainly to be found in the tXag. 

Dr. Pacl quite agreed witli Mr. Porbeft that Swedish 

Lwaa free frons phoaphorua. Aa far as he ootild learn, 

I waa no other evidence in proof of the injurious action of 

jhonta on steel. 



ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
Paris, Nov. 9x11, i6tii, 23D, akd 30TH, 1868, 

of CMorifU* af Sodium and PtfUuaium in prnt^nt* of 
lie VirfKfttri—KtUmation 0/ S'itriUt in pre*«nc* qf Nitrate 
•WW Orpdrtif Matttr-^C^nnamaU qf Bentil*. 

02? the 9fh Novomber, the following papers wero 

>ught before the Academy :^ — " Od laomeriG Compciuda 

tho Sulphocyauic Ethers, Uomologuea and Analogues of 

Ethylic Eaaence of Mustard," by M. Uofmanu; "On 

Theory of Scintilbtion,"* by M. Jamin ; " Eftccta of an 

»Tation of Temperaturo on tho Calorific Phenomena Ac- 

>mpanyiiig Eloctrolyais," by M. liauolt; "On the Pyroge- 

dc Formation of Acetylene from the Benzilic Series," by it. 

^srlhelot; "On the Atractylic Acid and the Atractylates, 

>iimate Constituents Extracted from tho Root of the 

Lfroc/y'w gummi/era,^^ by U. Lcfrano; *' On a Method 

litable for tho Formation of Emetica and Other Double 

iTartratca." by U. Henry ; and M. Poulet addressed a note 

Oa thd Effecte of tb@ Carotid Injection of Alkalice 

rratea." 

At the meeting on the i6th, tho following meTnoira were 
communicated :—" On the Scintillation of a Reflected Light," 
M, Chcvreulj '* Isomeric Compounds of SulphocyatiLo 
Compariaou of tho MetomorpboBefi of the Es- 
icea of Mustard and of SulpWyanic Ethers," by M. 
[ofmann ; " Researches concerning tho Mechanics of Atoms," 
.M. Lucas; ''EiperiEaenbi on the Electric Spark," by M. 
On the Theory of Kloctrodynamic Actions," by 
synard ; " Determination of tlie Heat from the Cora- 
ietion of Oil," by MM. Scheuper-Keataer and Meuaior ; 
"Do tho Production of Electric Diaidiarges in the form of a 

I Crescent by means of Holt's Machine," by M. GaiKe ; and 
p* On the Calonfle Phenomena which accompany Eloctroly- 
kis,'' by M. Raoult 
I Ou the 23d Norvember the following memoirs were aub- 
Biitted to Academy: — "Thermal Researches on tho Gal* 
■raaic Battery," by M. Favre j '* On the Behaviour of the 
fchiorides of PotajtBium and Sodium in tho presence of cer- 
tain MctJillic Vapours, particularly Sodium Vapours," by M. 
Le Roui: '' Re-seorches on Nitrous Acid," by M. Chabrier; 
*' Chemical Eiankiuaiions of Five Samples of (las from the 
Petroleum Springs of Xorth Araorica," by M. Pouque ; " On 
Cinnamule of Beozlle," by M. Grimaujc; '*A Reclamation 
of Priority concerning the Chloride of Silver Battery con- 
6truc*tcd by Drs, Warron Do La Rue and Miller," by M. Fm- 
19, completes the list. 

On the 30th Novomhor, MM. Milne-Edwards, Brongniort, 

[uorel, Elio do Beaumont, and Coste were formed into a 

>mm;sBion to projxjse a question for tho Bordin Prize in 

1869. M. Beoquerel presented a sixth memoir " Ou the 

Kectro-Capillary Phenomena of Difftision, the Formation of 

brides, silicates, Cryatalliaed Hydrated Aluminates, and the 

Effects of DifTuslon between Liquids which do not Mix." 

10 following other commuuicatious were also made at this 

ling : — ** On the Temperature of Pkmes and its RelatJou 



to Pressure," by M. Pevillo ; '* Study of the Obscure Calorific 
Spoctra," by M. Dosains; **0n aome New Carbides of Hy- 
drogen," by M. Frltzsche; "On a Phenomenon of Fracture 
produced in the middle of some Blocks of Tin by the Ac- 
tion of Intense Cold," by tho same author; "On a Modifl- 
catioQ in the Humid Method of Estimating Silver," by M. 
Staa ; ** On the Applications of Aluminium Bronze," by M. 
do 8t. Cricq Oasaui ; and " On the Transformation Suffered 
by Molecular Granulations of various origin in Solutions of 
Cane Sugar," by M. Le Ricqiie de Monchy. M. Elie de 
Beaumont presentt^d a specimen of devitrified glass, and 
pointed out the analogies presented by this gpecimen with 
certain rocks of igneous origin. M. Palmlori continues hia 
study of Vesuvius, and describes the eruption on the 15th 
November ; and M. Chacomac made known the results of 
his researches on the physical eonetitutioD of the aun. 

M. Le Roux has made some experiments with the vapour 
of sodium, and examined it» capability or ini.'apability of 
paaaiog through rf»ck salt Two crucibles of rock salt were 
prepared, a thin plate of tho same substance placed between 
them, and in one of the cavities sodium was placed. Not- 
withstanding a bright red heat majntained for several hours, 
the piece which was not tn direct contact with tho sodium 
vapour remained completely unaltered, oven whore it had 
been in contact with the plate already completely pene- 
trated. Chloride of sodium is not attacked by the vapour of 
sodium, but soda corrodes it energetically. A very snull 
quantity of soda suffices to hermetically seal two surfeoea 
of rock salt, sodium preserving its lustre for several months 
in a crucible of this kind. Potassium vapour does not 
attack its chloride, but it covers tho chloride with a bright 
blue substance in which, possibly, chemists recoguiso tho 
suboxide of potassium. 

M. Chabrier haa studied at nitriflcatioo works, in parti, 
cular circumstances, the different degrees of oxidation of 
tho nitrogou, and especially nitrous odd. He has devoted 
attention to the estimation of this actd in saline mixtures, 
where nitrites and nitrates occur together with reducing 
agents. Ho submits to the At*ademy tho result of the first 
part of hia researches. The facts contiiined in this memoir 
are deduced from the following toncluaiona: (1) in liquids 
eoQtainiag at tho same time nitrites, nitrates,' and organic 
matter, the nitrous add of the nitrites may be determined 
by the decolourising action wliich hyposulphite of soda ex- 
erts on tho iodide of starch, produced by the reaction of the 
nitrites on iodide of potassium in presence of starch and 
dilate sulphuric add ; {2) in the absence of nitrates aod 
organic matter the determination could be more easily 
made by the decolouration of indigo solution, operating with 
the aid of heat, but out of contact with the air. 

M- Grimaux prepares cinnamate of beuzile by placing in a 
flask connected with a Liebig's oondenaer disposed inverse- 
ly, alcohol, chloride of benzile, and dried cinnamate of soda. 
The cinnamato of soda being very slightly soluble it requires 
to be introduced in small portions at a time. The alcohol 
having distilled over water is added and the pasty dppoait 
washed with an alkaline solution to remove cinnair.ic add ; 
ether is aflerwards poured on and the deposit after this 
washing is dried over chloride of calcium, the ether re* 
moved by heating on tho water bath, and the oily residue 
distilled in a vacuum. Tho distillate collected Hear 225° to 
235°, cinnamate of benzile, is in the form of an oily liquid, 
which aftorwarda becomes a transparent solid. CinDamateof 
benzilo (CmlliiOj) occurs in small brilliant prisms, mcltlog^ 
at 39", and decomposing at about 350". M. Fremy's meta- 
cinnaraine appears to be pure cinnamate of bemtile and not 
Btyracino (cinnamate of styrone) as MM. Kopp and Kraut 
have thought. 



P.iBi8. Dec. 7Tfl, 14T11, II ST, 1868. 

Naiiv£ Arstniale of Zin^-^ Election of M, Jamin. 

On the 7th of Decem!>er I ho following memoirs were coOT' 
municated :— " TU© Mechanical E<iulrsl*"* 



tl!ii<llsh Editioii, Vol XLS., No. 478, pag* M: No. 474| pit 



148 



Mmickest^ Literary and Philosophwal Society, 



1 MitriiK iM». 



ed by the aid of -iKlher, tending consequently to coTifirm the 
oxialenco of this Fluii, univeraally difTused," by M. Hiirdiii; 
"Researches on Alloys," by M. Kiche; ** On a Natural 
Arseniate of Zinc occurring nlCape Garonne," by M. Damonr ; 
" Union of Free Nitropreu with Acetylene; Direct Synllieais 
of Hydrocyanic Acid," by M. Berlhelot. M. Jenxach ad* 
dreaded a complenoent to his note of the 2iat Sefvtemiber. " On 
the Fossilg from Rocks, termed Ernjplive." The physical 
section has prf«ented the following: list of candidates for the 
vacMQt place created by M. PouiUet'B deoeauo: — (i), M. 
Jarain ; (2), MM. Bertin, Desains, Favre, Janaaen, Lo Roux, 
Lia'wjoua, and Guet 

In a notice Inserted in the Covipies Ttendun, M. Friedel has 
made known the characters and compoflttion of a new mine- 
ral found at Chanarciilo in Chili, to whicli ho has given the 
name adamint. This mineral ia furmed easentiuUy of oxide 
of zinc, arsenic acid, and water and up to the present d»y i^ 
only found in very few oollectiona ; it haa lately been found 
in France by MM. Gory and De Boutiny, in the reftiae of a 
copper mine at Cape Garonne (Var). By a qualitative exa- 
mination, M, Gory haa re«ojrT>i»ed in thw mineral ihe presence 
of arsenic, ainc, and cobalt. At bia reqneat;, M. Daroour 
madtf a more complete examination of this mineral. The 
adamine of the Cape Garonne occnra in aniall cryataJa, in a 
qwarlz rock ; theao erygtala are uatially lonlioular, grouped 
and joined ao as to ofTer aomo reaemblance to a number of 
^aina of wheat Nearly all are tarniahed, aometiraea they 
we covered with amalJ needles of arseniate of copper 
(olivenite). Their colour ia generally grey, slijrhlly rose- 
tinted ; the hardncaa ia a tillle greater than that of cnrbonato 
of lime. The density at -^ 15' C, ia 4*352; M. Friedel 
found 4338 for the aamplea obtamed in Chili. The following 
are the cbemieat characters: — Heated in a tube, adamioe 
evolvea a amall quantity of neutral water; and takea a fuiiit 
h\\m\\ lint; on charcoal before the blowpipe flame, the 
mineral fuses into a blackish aeoria, disengaging white 
fumea and an arsenical odour. After cooling, a white ring, 
tinted blue at the border, ia obeerved to encircle the scoria, 
Witli borax or niicrocosmic aalt^ the blue coloyr cliDracteria- 
lic of cobalt 18 obtained. Hydrochloric, nitric, and sulphuric 
acids disaolvti Iho mineral completely. 

On Ihe i4lh December, M. Filhol prettented a memoir 
*• Oo the Action of Iodine on Iho MetuTlic Sulphides *' MM. 
TrooBt and llautereuillo communicated a memoir "On some 
Propertiea of rydnic Acid,'' and M. SchUeaiDs: a memoir 
•' On Ihft Estiraolifft) of Phoephoric Acid in Planti«." At this 
meeting M. Jamiu waa elected to the vacant place in the 
physical section. 

At the meeting on the 2ist^ the following memoirs were 
communicated ; — Memuir '" On live Phenomena of Sialic 
Electricity which Accompany the Rapid Destruction of the 
Adherence of Different Bodies." by M. Joulin ; "■ Action of 
Ammonia i^n Phosphorus/' by M. Blondlot ; *' On the For- 
mation and DecompogilJon of Sulphides of Carton/' by M. 
Berthelot; "Action of Organic Acids on the Nitrites of the 
Fatty Acid Series," by M. Gautier; ^'Itemarks on the Sul- 
phide of Allyl," by M. de Clermont; "On a New Formation 
of Octj-lic Alcohol," by M. Silva ; "On the Bromide of 
Ally V by M, Tollens. A rujle by M. Ferriere, "' On tSe 
Combustion of Phosphuretted Hydrogen/' completer the liat. 
Some account of these reaearches will appear in a future 
letter. 



MAKCHBSTEE LITERARY AND PHILOSOPUICAL 

SOCIETY. 

Ordinary Meeting, Deeanher 15, 186S. 

K W. BHfNET, F.R.S., E.G.S., Vice-Prenidcnt, in the Chair. 

*' RiHearrhes on Dimdh yl," Tnrt 11. by William H. Dar- 
htaa, Dalton Scholar in the Laboratory of Owen'j» College. 
Communicated by Prof. II. E. Roacoe, Ph.D., F.R,8. 

In a comraunicatlon madtt to the Society ia April last I 
showed that ethyl chloride was obtained by treating with 



chlorine the gas di-methyl obtained by eleclrolyaia, and that 
from this aub.stanco ethyl alcohol wna prepared. 

In continuation of that paper I beg to lay before the 
Society the reaulta of the examiimtion of the prop«rtie« 
of the diomctliyl obtained by two other procesaea; first by 
that of Schiilzenbergerf and finally by that propoeed hj 
Frank land. 

Tfko former proceaa consi.iita in treating acetic anhydride 
with peroxide of barium, when the two gaaea di-methyl and 
carbonic acid are said to bo given oCf; in the latter process 
the action of sine on methyl iodide in sealed tubes heated U> 
about 1 50'' 0. yields di-melhyl. 

These two methods were tried for the preparation of di- 
methyl but were abandoned for the electrolysis method for 
reasons which will be noticed further on, 

1. Preparation of D\-Mdhyi by Schiitzfnberg^^s Proca*. 
— When peroxide of barium nctn on acetic anhydride, a gas 
stated to be di-methyl is given ofif. 

If the peroxide is heated with the anhydride, as ScbuUeen* 
berger directs, violent explosions occur. This can be avoid- 
ed by mixing the perciide with dry sand, provided the fla^ik 
containing the mixture is not cooled ; if it is cooled, the neao* 
tion afler a time becomes 80 violent, probably owing to the 
formation of peroxide of acetyl, that explosions occur. 

20 grma. of peroxide of barium mixed with 40 grtna. of 
dry sand were poured into a flask contaiotng 20 grms. of 
acetic anhydride and mixed byabakitig; the paa evolved 
was collected in a Pepy's gas holder, and afterwards di-^placed 
by preasure, purifled by pasaing through a solution of caustic 
potash, and afterwarda through concentrated sulphuric acid. 
The treatment with chlorine, exposure to the sun'a light, 
and final displacement, was eflecled in the method described 
in the previous paper. 

The total volume of liquii r)btained from acetic anhydride 
prepared from one pound of phosphorus did not exceed 
25 c.e, and b^pan to boil at 40" C, the temperature rising^ 
up to SoX. This quantity prove*! too Bmall to admit of being 
fractionated, in order to separate any more highly dilori- 
naled prcKJucta 

In order to ascertain the cause of so small a yield of 
chloride, the gas was analysed, according to Bunsen'a 
method, and proved to be a mixture of carbonic oxide^ 
marah gas, di-methyl, with a small amount of oleflnei^ the 
following being the result;^ 

Carbooic oxide 4*29 

Olefltiea .....,*.....♦.,, 0*63 

CtH, JS57 

CH, 7651 

1 0000 

This analysLa clearly shows that SchiitzeDberger'a descrip- 
tion of the decora jxjsi tion is incorrect, the greater part of tbe 
gas consisting of hydride of methyl or marsh gaa. 

2. Preptiration uf LH-rntthyl by FranklaiuVa Method. — 
Schiitxenberger'a method not giving the required gaa. this 
process was tried. I took advantage of the directions giveti 
by Kchoyen for the preparation of pure di-elhyl. 

Into stout glass tubes closed at one end, metallic zinc, 
made rough on its surface, was introduced ; the open end 
was then softened before the blowpipe, thickened, and 
drawn out into a strong capillary, which was bent twice at 
right angles, as described by Frankhind. Through this the 
methyl iwltde was introduced, and afterwards the other, equal 
in volume to that of the iodide. The air was expelled bj 
boihng the ether and closing the capillary. 

Tubes thus prepared were heated to 130° C, until all tbe 
zinc was dissolved, then opened before the blowpipe when 
cold, to allow any marsh gas to escape which had been 
formed by thej)reaeiice of moisture, again closed and heated 
to 150" C, for several hours. The tubes when nold were 
then immersed in a mixture of salt and ioe: the end of a 
narrciw lube of thick caoutchouc drawn over the capillary, 
tbe other end being attached to a gas-holder containing a 



I 



I 

\ 
I 



I 



[Enf li«h EdiUon, Vol. SIX,, No. 476, fiagM d4. 33.] 



CuntfC&t Ntwi. i 



NewcaAth Society, — Chemwal Not\ 




n m6\ 



•tttomtcd Bolation of common eali, nnd the end of Iho capil- 
l«rjr WM then brolceo off. The jfna niahc'd into the holder, 
1' ' .A pressure frequently projectltij? some of the liquid 
< r tho tube into the p^iis-holder, where in contact 

V, .,.. ,.j*. water, decomposition look place with the formntiou 
of nuirsh gafl, it bein^ impossibte to rjecompoae all the Kinc- 
oietbjl. 

The di-methyl Ihoa obtainDd on treatment with cbiorine» 
^ jielded q amaU qunntily of a liquid which bej^n to boil 
•til" C and rose above So" C. The quftniity wais however, 
Imt amflil, in oonsMsquenco, no doubt, of the presence 
of inarsh-g:as derived from the tinc-mt»tli_vl, wliioh wng citr- 
ried over by the pressure of the yat in tlie tubes; and na it 
became apparent that considerable ditBcultj would be en- 
countered in preparing large qiJAUlities of lUe pure gaa b/ 
tbb tnehod, it was flbandoned. 

An Aniljsts of this gas, accord iog lo Bnnson''a method, 
shows that pure di-methjl is to bo obtained by this 
method — 

Foand. Crtlciiintta fiir 

DUmetbyl. 

Gm employed 1671 

Contmctioo 42*30 ,4177 

Carbonate acid ZZ'S^ • • • * '33 4^ 

I cfiinnot conclude U:.J« communicolion without expresatnp 

my ihttiiWs to Professor Roscoe and Mr. ^chorleininer for the 

tery jiblo aR»t8t«nce rendered to rue throuRhnut this research, 

*' On (I Property of the Electric Currrnt to Conlrol and 

^Mmdfr Synehr(fnou» the JiotaUoiis of the Armature* of a 

^wumhtr of KtectrO'Ma^ictk Induction Machines;" Illufr 

timted by Working Models; by llenry Wilde, Esq. 



yavtmher 9^, 186S. 

Dajjcbr, F.RJk.a, Prendenl of the Section, in the 
Chair. 



HTCROBOOWCAL AKD NATURAL niHTORT SECTION. 



^^Ql^ SioRBrvTHiM exhibited specimenii of the f^nll fly 
^^^B0^ Lijuicola 9ix\(i a number of tlie galls formed by this 
^HipMiea. He stated that thcKe galls iire very common, appar- 
^Kc&tly much more so than a few years ago ; be bud tried an 
j^y lixperiment to ascertain their commercial value, aad exhibited 
the comparative strength of Colour from tliem and from the 
btiie Aleppo gallsi, The English gaJls are much lighter, and 
in the experiment equal weights of each were used. The re- 
aali of the experiments showed that the EngUsU gnlis were 
about two-thirds tl»e value of the foreign onc«, or, according 
to the present market value, they would be worth about 66a. 
% hundredweight In the plantations where these galls 
■bound, ho thought a man might collect easily half a hundred- 
weight in a day, and, on tlte principle that nothing valuable 
should l>e wasted, he thought thai it was \CTy desirable that 
tbeae galls should be collected and made use of The galls, 
oven when in great numbers, do not appear to iftjure ilie 
trees, llie proper time to collect them would be the middle 
of September, when the flies have all eaten their way out and 
laid their eggs for another year's supply. 

Dr Ai.cocK showed a prep.oratiun preserved by corrosive 
lubhmale in a manner which he re<:ommended for fine dis- 
sections. The preparation had been kept in an open cup for 
twelve months, simply water being added oocasiouatly to sup- 
ply wiuit was lost ty evaporation. The advantages of the 
plan wore, vi-ry perfivt preservation, no necessity for closing 
up 80 tttNt the specimen could not be got at, no fear of losing 
A valuable disAectioD from accidentAi eTaporation, as where 
i^rit ia used, and cheapness. The method adopted was to 
prepare a saturated solution ofcorroeive sublimate in alcohol, 
•od when a diseectioa in water is io progress, a small quan* 
Utj, M half a teasprKynful, of the solution is to be added from 
daj to day if the aljghtegt appuarauce of putrefuction is ob> 
aanred, but no more of it is used than is absolutely necessary, 
And by the time the dissection is completed, the specimen 
bsB Ijecocoo imperishable, fixim the union of the oorrosive 



sublimate with the tissues, and it may then be kept in pure 
water, either open or mounted in the usual way. 



NEWCASTLE LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL 
BOCIETY. 

Ok Thursday, December 24tb, 1868, Mr. J. Lowthun 
Bell delivered the inaugural addreaa of the newly formed 
Chemical Society. Wo regret ihiit prewiTire on our space will 
only allow us to give a short notice of the address, which is 
full of scientific interest, and will, we have no doubt, be the 
means of increasing the zeal of the fuundera and members of 
the society. Mr. Bell reviewed the history of the various 
chemical compounds now manufactured on a very large scale 
on the banks of theTyne, and which furnish a field of enquiry 
and research rarely or never at the cmnmand of the man of 
science. As instances of tbe advantages po88e^sed by manu- 
fiicturers for promoting chemical science, the speaker quoted 
the discovery of selenium and thalltum. foujid in iuflniteaimol 
quantiliea in the slow accumulalions of sublimute in our vi' 
trio! chambcrii, while bromine as well as iodine were tlrsl no* 
ticed in the concentrated mother waters obtained in treating 
sea water and the incineruted portiooa of marine plants. Mr. 
Bell also made some excellent obeenrations on the diflooveriCA 
of Kifcblioff, Miller, Huggins, Joule, and others in connection 
with spectrum analysis; on the investigations of Pfofessurs 
Grohara and H. St. Claire-Devillo on the absorption and 
dtalylic fwparation of gases by colloid septa j on the produc- 
tion of the Bubmariuo cable by insulating copper wine by 
means of gtilta percha; and 00 Mr. Anaell'a ingenious lip- 
parotua for indicating the presence of firedamp in mines. At 
the conclusion of the address tbe speaker dwelt at some 
teng!h on the several means possessed by the merabenj of the 
society for promoting chemical investigation. 

The delivery of the address was frequently interrupted by 
applause, and Mr. Bell was rewarded with enihusiastic cheer- 
ing on resuming his seat. Mr. Lndd then, by means of his 
bctautiful apparatus and the electric light, exhibited a variety 
of spectra, iUusiroling the existence, in the stars and planets, 
of various metals, such as silver, oopper, zinc, and the new 
raetal thallium — which was discovered by means of the spec- 
trosco|.ve. Ue also prtijectod on the canvnfl a powerful elec- 
tric light, and by means of a battery showed the colours of 
various chemical substances, and produced ozone. 

Mr. Glovkk then proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Bell for 
his ablo and exhaustive lecture. In past times, they had a 
Hutlon, and a Bewick ; and in later times a Hugh Lee Pat- 
linson, Jamous for liis discoveries in the chemititry of manu- 
factures as applied to lead and the silvering process. They 
now had Hr Bell, and as long as they had a genUerosQ 
among them capable of delivering an addrei^s such as they 
hod heord that evening, Ihey might rest assured thot New- 
castle would still retain her place in the world of science. 

At the conclusion of the meeting a large number of the 
nudteoce inspected the specimens ou the table illustrative of 
the lecture, and the portfolio of photogrnplB of the works of 
ancient masters executed bj' means of Mr. Swan's carbon 
proceaa 

We hope to furnish our readers regularly with reports of 
the transactions of the new society. 



CHEMICAL NOTICES FROM FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 



Action of Potmaalnni CyanAte upon Anitdo-actds. 

—N. Menschutkin. — Un mixing with a saturated bothng so- 
lution of sulphuric aroidobenzoic acid, a satumted solution of 
potfflssiura cyanate, oxybenaiurttniiiiio acid is formed, which, 
on cooling, separates in small crystals. The fonnation of this 
acid is shown by the following equation : — 

retH.cNH,)6,}5 H,se»-f zKf Ne= 

aeo<€,H4e.He(H»N,-+-K,se». 



[Engll«h EdJtloo, Vol XIX, Ko. 476, page 33; ITo. 477, pagM 43, 44; Ho. 474, fiagt 10.] 



ISO 



Chemical Noiweafrcym Foreign Sources, 



( CacHioAL NrwA, 
( JrarA^ 1680. 



It ifl sparingly soluble in boiling water, better in alcohol, in* 
■olttble in ether ; its mlta are all soluble in water. Those 
which have been analysed (calcium, lead, silver) cooLaitied 
one atom of metal. The acid ia rcadilj nitrated by meaot of 
Blrong nitric acid. From aroidoxybeuxururnitiio acid, and, 
perhaps, also from the amide of the oxy-acid, the author 
hope«, by the help of his reaction, to obtain orybiureid.— 
{ZeiUchr., Ok, N.F., iv., 275,) 

Notes hy E, Erlenmeyer^ L. Darmstadirr, and Ticheppe: — 
I. Syntlic«l« of li*€tlilonlc A.cldk — The sodium salt 
of this acid ia readily formed if oxide of ethylene and sodium 
disulphite are heated together in a closed veasel to too*' G. 
The reaction t8 expressed by the following equation : — 

I e+Hse,eKa= | 
3i,e— , H,eso,eNa. 

If • Pormallon ordilorhrdroxypropf lfloIphonf« 
Acid (Chlormetliyl-liiethlcinlc Acld.)^ — Epitblorhjdnn 
at ic>o° C. combtnea ;vilh Bodiutn disulphite with formation 
of the Bodiuni salt of the above acid, according to the 
equation— 

H^eci n,eci na€ci 



L> 



+nse,ONa=H eoH 



or H€Se,OKa 

1 » I I 

111. Forinatlon of Alcohol from Stber. — On heat- 
ing ether with water to which hm been added a fimoll quau- 
titygjf sulphuric acid for some time to between 150° and iSo* 
G., the following reaction takea place : — 



I 






e.n, 



Iir, Decomposition of Vcrmentatlon I^actti^ Add. 

— Thia acid sphta up iuto aJdebyd arid lorroic acid when 
heated for several hours with diluted sulphuric jicid to 130' 0. 
The reaction most probably paaaes through tlie following two 
phases: — 

(I.) €ir, en, 

I I 






U 



em 

1 +HeH 
nee 

OH 

—(ihifi., y. /; iv., 341.J 

Dlehlorphenol.— F. Fischer.— Dichlorphenol ifl obtained 
by passing a current of dry chlorine through phenol, and 
purified by repeated rectifications and recrystallisatioua from 
benzol. ThuH prepared it ia a mVid body, crysuillisiug in 
long white needloa, which fuse at 42° to 43' 0.; its boiling 
point ift 209^, i.f., nine degrees lower than tliat of monochlor- 
phenolf which boila at 218". Dichlorplienol furras crystalline 
salts of no great stability. Its et!iyl ether, e.IljClseesH*^ 
U obtaiued as a colourless oil boiling at 226" to 227^ It is 
readily converted into the nitro-co in pound eiB[iGI,(NOt)OH, 
which shows all the properties of that from the liquid di- 
chlorphetiol, as described by Laurent Amidodichlorpbenol 
niay be obtained by the action of tin and chlorhydric acid 
upon the nitro-com pound. It ia described as a white crystal- 
line body which, whea moist, readily decomposes. — {G^U. 
Nachr,, 1S6S, 171.) 

BebAvlour of IVf«t«l« In the Gloclric Current. — 
P. Wfihier. — In addition to his experiments on silver (Chemi- 
cal Nkws, Ko. 463, p. l8g, Am. Jiepr., Dec i^6&,page 331 ), 
(he author describes the fallowing: — Palladium as poaitivQ 



electrode of two Buusen's cells, immersf^d in acidulated (sulph, 
acid) water, becomes gradually covered with on ahnoet bhick 
lilm of peroxide (PdOj). Upon lead and thallium brown 
peroxide aud hlnek oxide are depOi<iced. 0.sDiium, in the 
ordinary porous condition, is freely converted into oamlcacid 
(OaOi). if, as electrolyte, a dilute solution of sodium hydrato 
\& employed^ the solution asgurae« a deep yellow colour, while, 
on the negative electrode metal is depojiited. The *t«rae is 
the case with ruthenium. 0am4rtdium in its natural state 
readily dissolves in the alkaline ejectrdjte. — {GoU, Nachr,^ 
1S6S, 169.) 

Action of lodhf drtc Acid npon Lencin and T}^ 
ronin, — Qn Ijeiilinf; in a sealed vesael pure leuciu with 
fuming iodhydric acid to 140 — 150" C, for about l^ hours, 
the former takea up on© atom of water and splits up into am- 
monia and capronic ucld. Tyrosin, which is believed to con- 
tain elljylaraine, was expected, under similar treatment, to 
yield that base, but instead of it ammonia was liberated. 
The author concludes from this experiment that tyrosine is 
not ethylamidoparoxybeuzoic acid (Barth) but amidophlore- 
linic acid, which, hy the action of iodhydric acid, would 
break up into amraouia, phlorol, and cardonic dioxide; and, 
further, that the base which Schmidt and Nasae obtained by 
gently hcaiittg ivrosln is not eihyloxyphenylamine, but ami- 
dophlorol— (ZciWAr., C7i., N. F., iv., 391.) 

SynthealA of GuaIacol._y. Gorup-Beaanez. Tfamix- 
tare of equal molecules of pjTwatechin, potassium hydratCi, 
and potnsaium methylsuSpliate ia heated in a sealed vessel to 
160 — 170" C., a light brown, half-liquid mass is obtained , 
which has all the properties of guaiacol. It ia purified by 
repeated wa.<ihings with water. Its formation takes place 
according to the following equation: — 

— (/titi,>v. /:, iv., 392.) 

Snlptiolicnzyllr Acid. — 0. Bolder. Benzyl chloride, 
t^sHit-trlljCl, obtaiued by the action of chlori;io upon toluol, 
is converted into the potassium salt of a new aulpho acid on 
being boiled with a solution of neutral potassium sulphite. 
The compi^Jtion of potnssium sutpbobenzylate is €^fU»€H 
,.&0,K, The acid may be set free by decomposing iia lead 
salt with hydric sulphide. It is very soluble in water and in 
alcohol. Fuming nitric acid replaces one H by NOj. — (/Wd, 
N. F., iv., 440-) 

Ethyl lodate.^-K. Llaensko. A mixture of equal vol- 
umes of ethyl iodide and dry ether readily acts upon argentic 
iodate. If the temperature is not allowed to rise above 
+ 10^ C, the liquid remflins colourless aud the new ether 
uudecom posed. The solution distila between 37° aud 40'. 
The distillate at flrst floats upon the water with which it had 
been mixed, but on passing a current of air through the 
liquid, in order to drive off ethyl ether, it sinks to the botlom 
of the vessel. All attempts at further purification (tailed ;[ 
the liquid boils at 75° under decom^wsition.— (/6t<if N, F,^ ' 
iv., 455O 

fl.alpho*acld« of tl>e Mydrorartoonii ^p^H,,.— 0, Jtt- 
cobson has examined the aiilpho-adda and their salts of the 
isomeric hydrocarbons €i,H,-i, and ho has found that they 
aro BufficJeatly distinguiabed from each other to serve aa 
means for identifying the hydrocarbons. Cumol, prepared 
from caraphorone by the action of fusing zinc chloride, al- 
though its formula appears to bo e«na (fiH,) (Fittig, A%%. 
Chcm, Pkann.^ cxii., 309), differs from propylbcnzol (derived 
from cuminic add). A statement, Church's, that a hydro- 
carbon of the formula ObH*, was formed by dry distillation 
of barium eugcnute, the author haa not been able to confinxL 
{Ann, Chem. Pkarm,, cxlvi., 85.) 

CompoHltlon of the CryfttAln of Sndium EthylMc. 

— A. Geuthcr and E Scheitz.— The transparent crystals which 
are obtained by dissolving sodium in absolute alcohol and 
allowing the heated solution to cool, have the composition 
eiHfcNa0.2CslI,e. They are eolublo in either. In ■ 



[Engliah Bditioo, Tol, HZ, No. 474, pago 107; No. 475, pafo 22.] 




viCBum ortT »u!phurle add they graduflUy lose the two 
mdiecules of alcohol, and are coaverled into sodium etliylato, 
e^JSA^.—iJerv. Zeitschr,, F. M. and K, iv., i6.) 

Formatton and Constitution of Hacpmlc Arid.— 

A. Strecker In consequence of the relation existing between 
snooinic and tartaric acid, t^lO constitution of the latter (and 
idcnibtleafl also of paratartaric and the other raodiflcationa 
of •tartaric acid) may bo inferred from that of the former. 
Varioua formuka for tartaric acid are possible according to 
whether the part t-jHi in emocinic acid be considered as 
ethjleue or ethjUdcne. If succinic acid is — 

I 
tartaric acid will be — 

eH(OK).eo.eH 



or it might bo — 



t^H(OH).€^.OH 



k 



H,eo.eH 

bat if tho constituiion of succiuic add is — 
I 

€H,(oe.eH), 

en a nuniber of formulae for tartaric acid maj be set up. in 

' which^ however, the two atoms of oarbonjle would b© 

iched to the same carbon atom. ABHumiug tho firat 

ula of tartaric acid to bo tho correct one, tho author en- 

Tourod to obtain that acid from glyoxal, 




€61 



by the introduction into it of H.O0.OII, i.e, by treatment 

with hydric cyanide aud chloride. On miiing an aqueous 

wlalion of glyoxal with an excess of cvflniiydric acid emd 

chlorhydrie acid, boiling for sev(?ral hours, evaporating 

the water bath, and adding to tho rcBidue milk of lime, 

caJduin salt is obtained which is partly soluble* in ocotic 

Tlie insoluble portion was converted into lead salt, 

this decomposed by hydric sulphide- The acid pohition 

ms obtained gave, on evaporation, crystals of rocomiu acid, 

^H^Oa + HaO. The acid jb formed according to tho 

jllowing equation: — ejHsO, + 2trN'H+4H,e^€4lI«0« + 

I,, By tliia siynthesta tho constitution of this modiflca- 

of tartaric acid ia proved to bo the following j — 

ee.en 

I 

I 
eii.en 

I 

An analogoaa stmcture no doubt belongs to the other modi- 

ticatiooa of tartaric aci(L — {Z<iitschr., Ctt,, ^V. F. iv, 216,) 

KItroslfcrrln.— R Tilborg, Nitroglycerin (from the 

rks At iStookhohn) is decomposed when acted upon by 

lium hydriito : amongst the products of decomposition 

potassium nitrate, glycerin, ammonia, cyanogen, oialir, 

ici, and nitrous acid. When igiiitcd in a vacuum with 

sr oxide and copper, 2 vols, of carbonic anhydride, and 

t Toi of nitrogen are obtained, from wiiich numbers Ihq 

fonnulft ii^jUstNOjIiO is deduced Nitroglycerin diaaolvea 

in concootrated sulphuric acid^ forming with it a new com' 

pouod acid which yields crystalline salts. A combuaiion 

^hMTO 3 voL of carbonic aubydrid© to x vol. of nitrogen. If 

^^^^Htroglycerin is reg^rd^d as a substituted glycerine, end tho 

^^^^nlation between it and the new acid tho same as that bo- 

^^Bween glycerin-sulphuric aciri, and glycerin, the new com* 

|^Bk>nnd will be diiutroglyeeriu-sulphuric acid. — {Ot/vtrs, af 

M Akad^f F<trK, 18^ 25, No. 2, 75, ond Ji/«m., j* (7A., or., 254.) 




NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Ck&tnistry for Students. By A. W. "VViluamsos, Y.K% 
F.Ca Clarendon Tross, 1S6S. New Edition. 

The well-known text-book of Professor WiUJam?on has 
reached its second edition in a short space of time, and 
tliis will show the general appreciation of it by students. 
The length of our notice of the f.rst edition will render 
unnecessary many remarks on its nature, Ao., that otherwise 
would be only just ; but wq may mention that its charao- 
teriBlica remain, ^via., a strictly dicmico-philosoplii<»l way 
of looking at various subjects, with terseness and an 
almost universal omission of minute detail. 

Tlus has never been complained of, for Dr. "Williamson 
from the first has expressed h\A opinion that books of detail 
should only bo studied when important leading facte, that 
must always be retained for ready use, are first conquered. 
Millcr*s " Elements " and Watts's *' Dictionary " are recora- 
mended as EngUsh handbooks to tho stut'ent by our author. 
Early students thus have this book prepared for them ; 
it is not meant for school use ; but the ideas eiptjunded in 
these pages ore essential to all for the due appreciation of 
organic chemistry, the latest of its results especially. 

To the substance of the work no addition of groat im- 
portance has been made ; the number of sections re^main aa 
before ; the book is easeutially tho old book corrected and 
BlighUy improvenl The appearaneo of it Is much neuter, 
the paper now used being toned, and tlie sharpness and 
clearness of its printing would entitle it to a placx; on the 
drawing-room table rather than the coat pocket of the 
student. Two entirely new features are the addition of 
foot notes explanatory of subject matter, and squares for 
the amplification of the authors suggestion of iha use of 
an absolute volume. The foriaor mostly consist of equations 
showing tho symbolical forniulie of the process described; 
in them ore also given molecular and volumetric expres- 
sions io addition to Ihoso of equivalence before existing in 
the work. The squares aroused our curiosity; we wanted 
to know if Professor Williamson, hke Dr. Mdier (who, 
indeed, has always patronised volume-squares), would ex- 
press tho square of phosphorus as half the size of the hydro- 
gen or oxygen square, but unfortunately, this symbolic 
method is not carried on in the work further than the gaseous 
compounds of aulphiir. In addition to these improvomenta, 
tables, abeolute and comparative, arc given of the leading 
Falts of the elemonte, aud the well-known consistency of 
E)r. Williamson's nomcncbturo is even more rigidly than 
ever enforced in tho case of organic hydrogen salts. Wo 
will not say that answers are given to the problems, — fax 
better, the problems are fully worked out ; and this addi- 
tion is of special value. 

A very unpretending improvement will bo really found 
most valuable to the student. Wo alludo to tho table of 
contents, which has been enlarged to nearly twice its siM 
— for of all Ibings a deficienoy in this respect for rapid ref- 
erence is most annoying. This improvement, wo venture 
to say, is second to none made upon tho foroicr edition. 
Tho old edition further contained a page of matter now, we 
are delighted to see, omitted — we allude to the page' of 
corrections; the misprints also, not mentionc«d in that table, 
liQve been rectified, and we no longer find TO^Il,) n^present* 
ing sulphuric acid. 

The accuracy of the supervision of the text is shown in 
the new table of the ekinenb*, in order of their equivalency ; 
the atomic weight of vanadium is halved and placed in 
the triad group, but the place claimed for it by Rosooe, in 
the nitrogen family, between phosphorus and arsenic, is 
nut allowed. It will be interesting to theorists to team 
that ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium are retained by our 
author in the group of even equivalence, and are not con- 
sidered trivaleul^ 

This group of even equivalence compriaca, we are glad 
to see, dyads and tetrads, the hezada of MiUor, OdJingi 



[EDEliih I^Uoa, 7ot XIX., ITo. 47 Jy pac« U; Ho. 476, p«|« 35.] 



Notices of Books. 




Naequet, Ac., ar© also retained in this |?roup, and pontods 
as such, as far as elements ory concerned, are not recog- 
nised ; neither erbium nor terbium ranks aa an element. 
In our opinion, this philosophic caution deservea both n 
wido aud an early imitation. 

In oouclttsiou, we may express a hope that the new edi- 
taon may run as smxsesaful a career as the old, and that the 
next may bo Btill further improved, and, we hope, extended, 
by the introduction of the author's cdaasiflcation of clemeuta 
by their chemical reaction^!. 



Sckntific Blue Books, Ko. IT. Ninth Report of the Medical 
Officer of the Privy Council, with Appendix, London. 

(Concluded from vol. svli)., p. i6j. Am, tiepr., Dec, 1868, jwge 333.) 

A LARGE space has already been devoted to our abatrnct of 
Dr. 'Jliudicnm's original spectroscopie work, which we vcn* 
tur© to Kay could not have been condensed further without 
Horiou.^ loss ; a summing up of the whole now remains. 
The reader who has followed the whole attentively will find 
how gradually ho has been led to a brilliant result in eiperi- 
mental science. 

Attention has already been drawn to urocyanine, and its 
resemblance to indigo spectroscopically ; as tlie interest cen- 
tres here we will give the special features of its spectrum. 
The solution taken was 1 centimetre in thickness. Its 
colour and ppcc-trum remained unchanged by the addition of 
some sulphuric add. Tlie intensity was about half satura- 
tion {aa cipresaed in a diuKr^m)- After the solution had 
stood at rest for twenty-four hours, some bine matter had 
been deposited upMon the aides of the glass, and the particu- 
lar spectrum was replaced by an ordinary one. It was thus 
shown that Ihe urocyanine is FOluble in alcohol only in the 
nascent state, and soon becomes insoluble. Its quantity 
was BO small, tliat beyond a test with nitric acid, which 
showed that it was destroyed, leaving some yellow colour, no 
further reactions could be made with it. Several other gpe- 
cimeos of early urine of roactlon yielded aimiLir hluo and 
purple matters, which also odmicted of the ideotificalion of 
their absorption phenomena with those of the caM of M. 
WiUis. 

As this same urocyanlne has been described by some as 
Indigo, the follownng eonelusions are very valuable :^ — lo the 
indigo spectrum the blue J*, at all events, unaltered, and a 
blue ca&t is thrown over j^ellow and green. The spectrum 
of urocyanine shows no blue at nil ; at the end of green the 
spectrum in cut off; no manipulatioji, such aa those relnted, 
can make it appear, no concentration of the indigo solution 
that allows the band to appear extinguishes the blue part 
of its spectrum. The proof that Oiese bodies, if both are 
in a pure stale, are not cbe^ilcally tdentical^ however rela* 
ted, 1b complete. 

The colouring matter of bile h.ia long been known to pro- 
duce with nitric acid a blue colour among others, and as the 
reaction of cho!era urine had in the Bavarian report been 
likened to this reoction of bile pi;nnent, the following com- 
parison was made : — An ammoniocnl sohiiion of cholephaine 
(CmUjNO.) was fcreated with concentrated nitric acid until a 
blue precipitate was formed. Thi« was onickly isolated by 
filtration, aud after washing with water, dissolved in alcohol. 
It yielded a spectrum resembling that of iudigo and also that 
of urocyanine. Important differences in the spectra, however, 
showed that indii^o-urocyarnne and cliolocyanlne are chemi- 
cally dillcTCat. Cliolocyanine procured by the action, first of 
fmnuig sulphuric add, and Bubsoqncntly of water upon cho- 
lophaeino, showed an identity with ordinary oholocynnine. 
We are compelled to resist the temptation of following 
with our author the diagnosis of urocyaninc from other im- 
portant organic pigments or their products, but the omisRion 
of the note of myochrorae aa connected with these bodies 
in cholera patients would be inexcusable. It was found 
that the choleraic process had not changed the myochrome 
in its diemical composition ; the identity of the spectrum of 
myodu-ome, which includes the identity of the chemical 



constitution of myochromo with that of hemochrome, 
anew demonstrated. 

The urocyanine of cholera urine is present in such small 
quantities thot we can never hope to obtain int^ight into its 
composition and atomic weight by direct analysis ; but the 
information wanted has to bo obtained by syutlictical comi- 
parisons similar to those of onr authors. 

The following instructive list is given, when the ascer- 
tained spectra are arranged in the order of their succesaioa 
from the red end towards the violet : — 

Myohemine ..... .142** 42—142* i^'^^o" 30' 

Humine 142" 36—142' 6'=:o' 30* 

Urocyanine. 142 * 30' - 1 4 1 " 54' =0° 36^ 

Indigo.., 142" 24' — 141" 4S'=o'' 36 

Urorubkie 142* 24' — 141" S4'=o' 30' 

Ilematine 142* 18'— 141° 48^=0* 30' 

OholocyanJne 142* 6 — 141° 48' =0° iS' 

Cyanine.,.., 142* 12*— i4i' 2o' = o'' 42' 

Tl»o laFt-named body, a double base, obtained from animal 
oil, but containing iodine, possesses a spectrum which in 
several respects resembles the spectra below which it i« 
ranged for the purpose of illustration r.nd coraparisoo. The 
alcoholic solution has the same purple blue colour as urocy> 
aniiic, but, unlike this latter, it is easily and rapidly dis- 
colonred by acids, Like indigo it has the blue part of the 
epectrum bright and fully developed^ and diflera by this 
pcculinrity from urocyanine and the hemoclirome producta. 
*' I have compared many more subptanees with those 
above mentioned. Organic colouring matters, porticiUarly 
some from plants, yield spectra much resembling the hffima- 
tic series, e.*j., tincture of privet berry, which gives almost 
the htemntiiio spectrum. Inorganic bodies, such as oxalic 
solution of Pruy^iun blue, yield no separate bands, bui pe- 
culiar absorptions, particularly of the red end of the spec- 
trum. As these researches fail to throw any further lig' ' 
upon the particular point here mquired into, they cannot 
here related." 

Since this report w^ issued in the Journal fur Practia^tM 
Chemie of last July, Dr. Thudicuro has made further remarl 
on the colouring matters of urine and on uroraelatiioe, a d 
composition product of urochrome. It is well known, 
physiologists that every colouring matter in tlie human eoo* 
nomy has at least four or five different names, the x chromo 
of one author may equal the x xanthin of another, or the y 
chrome of a third with any number of permutations. If Dr. 
Thudicum would give to the world his ctilourcd spectroecoi ' 
plates aud his last researches, rotatning his nomenclature 
one volume^ the slough of despond would bo crosned bj 
railway, by which all could travel with a chance of flni 
both termini, not the one of departure only. 

We btrongly urge, then, the want of an arrangement upon 
an flccurnl© baRis, including the hist results of tliese pig- 
men ta ; if Dr. Thudicum does not caro to lace such a task, 
we know of no substitute for him. In default, the medical 
jurist and the pathologist must feel a debt of gratitude to 
the Government for this most valuable report aflbrded for 
their use. 



ec-^_ 

co«^| 
rDr. 

dii,^ 




The Scientific Feview : a Monihly Record of the Progress 

tkienoe and its Application to the At Li aud Manufi 

{uiith which i$ incorparaied Ike Journal of tin Jui^ntora^ 

afitute). Conducted by R Marsdek Latbam, E«q* 

It., No f, January ist, 1869, 

For obvious reasons, one aeientifle jounial iseldom critic 

a journal devoted to the same field of enquiry, nor slmll 

depart from this wholesome rule; but as this number has 

been forwarded to our office " with the editor's compli- 

raents," and aa it contains some very originali views and 

some trenchant strictures on world-renowned names, w© 

feel constrained io allow the Scienlijic h'evine to vindicate 

its peculiar claims to a hearing, confining ourselves mainly 

to quotations, but taking the liberty of italicising a Usw 

noteworthy passages. ""~ 



(EagliMh Bdlrton, Vol XIX., Ko. 475, pi^ W ; Wo. 477, pac* 46 ; Wo. 478, page 53.] 




^_ Of tbfi Ueatoa process for manufacturing steel, the editor 

^H " Any tyrv in ChtmisUy can porccivo how nitrate of 9oda 
^V ids in reiining: puro iroa, whatever be the qualitf of the 
^f pfxxiuct obtainod/' 

~ In uoticing the proceedings of the French Academy of 
Sci&noes, the editor calls M. Jamiu*s difforoutial refracLur for 
polATued h'ght — 

•*Ati ingenious optical iuatrumont, by means of which the 
torturing of a beam of light is pushed to a most exqui^ito 
degree of perfection." 
' The foUowing query will doubtless receiro the attention 

of the Academy of Sciences: — 

'• M. Gaube— a tiamo which ia new to ui — read a paper 
oa the oonipositioii of that beautiful little plant— the peat of 
oar gardens — AchUiea MiUe/oUum; pray why does the Aca- 
demy omit to print Otis noUf' 

Referring to M. Janaaen's recent spectrum obaervatioDB, 
we read— 

** The day after the famous eclipse of the fiun, M. Janaseu 

hna^ned thut by directing a spectroscope to the hordertt of 

the diac he might proiro that the great protuberances were 

fftm visible (or rather their spectrum), and found that such 

WM the caae, , , This siraplo observatioiip which might 

hamt wttggc^ted ii»ttf to a sckoolbojf of tm year^ of age^ has 

^^.giTOO riae to a considerable number of short notes addrcSfi- 

^■LCd CO the Academy, and would appear, from the interest 

^Kifttached to it, to be one of the mogt marvellous disco reriea 

nDf the age I " 

^K Professor Ilofmann ia next favoureil' with (he editor's dls- 
^K^ftragemcnt. — 

H|/ •* Professor Ilofmann continues his rosoarches on certain 

^" compounds isomeric with aulphocyanic ethers, and illustraUi 

ihertif as usual, with a ftost of useless formulte^ which detract 

considerably from the interesting facts which he briuga 

forward." 

And thus is Professor Tyudali's latest discovery estima- 
ted: — 

•' The author encloses certain gaseous aubstancoa in a 
laa tube, and passes through the tube a beam of electric 
jht. This gives riae to various optical phenomena ; certain 
jlours and forms are produced in which Professor Tyudall 
evidence of cJietmcal decomposition. We must conftss 
\ceda KOT s^ it" 
The longest article in the number, by Dr. Macvicar, is de- 
to '" The New Chemistry," The diatinguisbecl invent- 
of the tetrad will feel interested in hearing that the tetrad 
the basis of the system, and that — 
The four etberical atmoapheres or djiiamoapberes of the 
four constituent units of weight of the tetrad ore conceived 
^^ to be unified into a sphere, so that, while the nucleaa is te- 
^Klnhedralf the peuphcry [sic] is spherical, and the form, 
^Bthercfore, entbraces within its limits all possible symmetri- 
^Kipal polyhedra. ' 

^B Our younger readers who lately witnessed Dr Odling's 

^^ "brilliant experiments with the oiyhydrogen flame, will by 

t^ad to have the following lucid explanation o[' a phenume- 

InoD which the lecturer was necessarily obliged to descril>o 
•omewhat briefly; andl with the following ditbyrambic strain, 
Inspired by H and 0, wo cannot more litly conclude ; — 
► "Our hydr»gen and oxygen are so dissimilar In every 
toorphological feature, that whenever they have a chance 
fhcy must unite with great force ; the atem of H plunging 
with great velocity into the centre of in the line of it.i 
aiisi, and generating intense heat or palpitation of 0. Uence 
it ifl only to bo expected tliat when both exist in the firee 
«tate without any iretitagonal element prosent to be a mould 
for 0, Olid to sua'ain its singular from the latter in the in- 
I »ttot of the genesis of IIO will shake itself free of Jis pecu- 
^BUaiity of form, and open so an te let the axes of the five 
^Hsitetrads of which it conaiats fall parallel to ftint of the iticl- 
detit atom of U, which also acts as a linear force, and a 
iusisUugon this traasfonnalion/* 





CORRESPONDENCE. 



Mr. 3:an«s's Process fo" treating Animal Charcoal 
To the Editor of the Cbkmioal News. 

Sir, — In my paper on "Sugar Manufacture," reported in the 
Chemical News of the iSth inau (Am, liepr Feb. iSGg, page 
76), I have made a remark regarding Mr. Beanea'a process for 
treating aniroal charcoal witii dry hydrochloric acid gas, 
which I find I am not in a position to substantiate, and 
which I therefore cancel. I beg also fo express my regret 
for having published unadvisedly, and oo iuaulHc'ent evi- 
dence, ft statement that might prove injurious to the intereata 
of Mr. Beanes, nnd which that gentleman assures me is in- 
correct. I have elsewhere shown the superiority of the dry 
gaa method over those formerly in use for removing calcio 
carbonate, Aa. from chaccoal; and while my opinion as 
regards the use of any of these processes in connectiou with 
sugar refining in this country remains unaltered^ I am well 
aware that they are used with great advantage in continental 
factonea where different circumstances obtain- — I am, Ac, 

Wm. Waulacb. 

Oluerow, Doe, jg, t56S. 



Chemistry in the Examinations of the Departmeai of Scimee 

and ArL 

To the Editor of the Chkmicil News. 

Sra,— T am glad to Bud that my letter on the above mibjeot 
has excited some little attention amongst your readengi. One 
of your correspondents, "Woolwich,*' tjjkes an objection to 
my statement, that of every ten cliemicil leadiers aot more 
than one has ever heard of "'hydroxyV' and that of the 
remuiriing nine only one is hkely to obtain any inrornjation 
respecting it fVom the ordinary raanuala. Of course any 
estimate of this sort must necessarily be a matter of m- 
dividual opinion, and I siiH retain mine, that takmg the 
whob raasa of teachers in this country, not one in ten ever 
heard of hydroxyl until they saw it in the recent sjllabua of 
the Department; nor do I think that there is any discredit 
attaching to them for being unacquainted with it The 
special theory of a particular teacher, almost eutlrely on* 
noticed by the ordinary works to wliici) they are accUB- 
tomed to referlo for information, and from which they have in 
past times derived their own knowledge, it is scarcely to be 
expected that they should know atiy thing at all about. Your 
correspondent alleges that Dr. Frankland's views have been 
for some time before the world, and thut they are shared in 
by other chemists of note. The tirst of those facta is un- 
questionably true, and the second probably is also, but that 
does not at all disprove my position that the theory of 
hydroxyl Ib altogether too new, too questionable, and too 
impractical to justify its being coropulaorily taught to be- 
ginnore, who have more ihon enough to do to leara the es- 
sential and most elementnry facta; of the science. I moat 
fully admit that Dr. Frankland'a hypotheses on this and 
other subjects are very ingenious, and have much to recom- 
mend them, but I am equally certain that if teachers are to 
he expected to communicute tliem to the average students 
who go up for the examination of the Department of Science 
and Art. ihinr chances of success are inllnjtesimally small. I 
must fully coincide with your correspondent V. T- in his 
remarks as to the absurdity of expecting boya — and it must 
be remembered tliat most of the students in the classes for 
which the examjaationa of the Department of Science and 
Art are provided are really little better than boys in know- 
ledge,, even though they may be in years — to answer queo- 
tioua which involve a knowledge of a terminology whicli, 
though admirable enough in its way, is not yet by any 
means even generally, to say nothing of universally, adopted. 
1'he fact ia, that many examiners, though competent enough 
for their ptwfai^ u br as their penooal capabilities u scieu- 



{Baeliih SdlUon, 7ol. ZIX., No. 478, paga 09 1 ITo. 474, page 11.] 



Cor^'espondence, 



tific mea are concerned, are quite unfitted lo conduct ezamiaa* 
tioDS of the kiud of cuadidmtea with whom they have to 
dsaL They have beea accustomed to teach jotng nea of 
some education, and often of much intelligence, who are able 
to give up a good deal of time to tlie study ol" ppecial eub- 
jecia, and ibey forget that the great majority of the students 
in the ucienee clasaea which are now being eaUiblished with 
Buch difficulty in varioua parla of the country, have neither 
the time nor the capability to majsiter more than the mereat 
Tudimeuta of ecieDcc; and thla applies also to a great extent 
to the Bciencd claases in middle ciusa Bchoola. I shall look 
with some interest to t!ie results of the next exatninatiou 
of tlio Department; for if, as things at present seera to fore- 
shadow, they should show that tlie standard of the exatnina* 
tious haa been considerably ruined, I b,.Iore tt,a; a bl^w will 
be Btruck at science leaching in this country from which it 
will take yeara to recover. — 1 mn^ <kc^ 

A TKACHEa 



On, the Fuming of Certain Aad*. 
To the Editor of the Chemical News. 

Sib =-I wttB struck by the inquiry of a student in a late 
number of the Chemical News, why hydrocliloric acid 
ftimes whon let out into the ah-, while ammonia, which has 
a much stronger attraction for water, does not ? 

If the student contiouoa to read his chemiatry with the 
Bame enquiring spirit that prompted this question, ho will 
not only become a good observer himself, but ho will have 
an intiuenco in making our text-books better exponenta of 
observation than some of them are, in many respects, at 

It 18 not an unusual fault that our books contain too 
many bald facta olten adopted without sufficient veriflca- 
tion and too little reasoning. Facts are good soldiora; 
theory » good general ; but unless they work together, thero 
ia very little real fighting. 

But to the point. Wliy does not ammowacal gue fume 
when let out into the air ? 

1 took the speciiic gravity of a solution of ammonia and 
found it bo 0*889. Twenty-four dracluns of this were put 
into a fluak and heated over a spirit Uimp, It at once entered 
into brisk ebullition, and there was a great head of gaa 
bubbles from which very large bubbles expanded and bursL 
The thermometer rose slowly lo 100 F. When the lamp 
was removed the boiling ceased instantly, but two or three 
rapid streams of smaU gaa bubbloB continued to bo dis- 
charged for some time from bh»ok apecka ia the glasa, wliieh 
acted oa nuclei When the temperature was at 160" the 
lamp was removed, aud the solution left to eool. It still 
smelt of ammonia ; the lamp was replaced, and no gaa bub- 
bles were given off unlil the temperature had again risen to 
about 160'. The appearance of ebulhtion waa much less 
marked than before, aud the temperature rose to zoS% at 
which it became stationary (barometer, 28-69 iochea). When 
cold, only 10 drachms remained of the 24, The specific 
gravity was now 0-997. The liquid had a faint smell of 
ammonia and a slight action on turmeric paper; but on put- 
ting the glasa into another room, where the liquid could not 
re-ebaorb ammonm, it lost, in the course of some hours, all 
amell ; it had no action on turmeric paper ; it was, in fact, 
brought back to pure water. 

If a similar experiment be made with a Btrong Bdutiou of 
hydrochloric atnd, it will be found imposaible to boil away 
nil or neajlv all the acid gas. Jf we operata on tlie acid 
solution of the specific gravity r^i, it will part with gas until 
it baa a density of no (at 60 ), when it wiE have a boiling 
pomt at 233 F., and will distil unchanged. 

We see, then, th.'it although ammoniaeal gas and hydro- 
chloric acid gna ore greedily absorbed by water, there must 
be some important diiferencea in tlio constitution of the 
reapoclive Kolutiona. We Jiavo seen that the alkahne solu- 
tion ia much lighter than its own bulk of water, the acid 
solution muck heavier ; tbftt the presence of ammoniacal 



gas in water lowers its boiling point, white the presence of 
hydrochloric acid in water has a contrary elTecL Hence the 
mode of combination between ammonia and water mutt bo 
different from that between hydrochloric add nod watar. 
The one must be a case of simple adlicsiun, the other of true 
ehemicaJ combination as well as adhesion. 

Ammonia let out uito moist air, simply adheres to the 
moisture and increases its volume. Vapour of ftloohol, 
ether, ^., does tlie same. Now any amount of ftqtieotts 
vapour that the air cun maintain in an invisible ehiBtic tftitte, 
at a given temperature, it can maintain witluncre&sed effect 
in the case of ammonia vapour, alcohol vapour, Ac. Hence 
the combination with the»e vapours with the moisture of the 
air is necessarily an invisible compound. 

Ilydrocldoric acid gas, on tlie other hand, let out into the 
air, combines chemically with the moiature, producing con- 
densation or diminution of bulk. Ilence the compound ia 
riijible just as the condensation of pure steam in air pro- 
duces vigible vapour. 

Fuming nitric aoid and Nordhausen sulphuric acid are also 
cases in point Concentrated nitric add exposed to the 
air absorbs moisture until it attains the density of V42^ when 
it distils unaltered at a boihng point of 2^^". — I am, Ac, 

a ToacLiNSOs; 

fi)<b|»t«, H^ Dec 38, 1S6S. 



To the Editor of the CnEMiOAL News. 

Sir, — ^The development of atmospheric ozone during' the 
past month haa been very abundant I enclose the par* 
iLCukra of it as indicated by the test papers, scale o to 10: 



1st.— S7 
and. — 10 

4th.— S-o 
5lh.--9o 
6tb.— 90 
7th.^j'o 
8 th.— 90 

The test papers used were Schonbein's, as sold by 
Gasella; they wore hung on the inaide of the roof of my 
thermometer stand, and were changed every day at 9 a. tn. 

Some experiments made in 1S67 led me lo hope — as I 
mentioned in a abort communication to you (Oitemicai* 
News, No. 425, p. 48 [Am. Jiqyr, MarcJi^ Jb68, page 149J) 
that moistened silver leaf might be used as a lest for de* 
tecting atmospheric ozone ; but further exx>enmeuta modo 
in the beginning of last year on Beachy Head gave no 
reliable result — i am, 4c,, 

R. C. C. LiPPmcoTT, jmL, F.M.8. 

Oftr Court, near Driftio!, 
Jan. 5, i86g. 



December, 1S6S. 




9th,— 9.2 


17th.— 7 5 


25th.— 8-0 


loth.— 7'5 


1 8th.— 7-5 


26th.— 87 


nth.— 8'5 


19th.— 87 


27th.~90 


i2tb.— 92 


20th.— 7 2 


23th.— 8-5 


13th.— S7 


2IBt— 87 


29th.— 85 


14th.— 8*7 


22nd, — 92 


30th.^6.5 


i5th.-^7 


23rd.-.S.7 


318L— 87 


i6lh,— 8-2 


24th.— 87 





T^e Cohesi<m Fiffurts oj Liquids. 
To the Editor of the Chemical News. 



J 



Sni, — I had the pleasure, last night, at the soine given at 
King's College, of" seeing Frofeesor Woodward work the 
apparatus (contrived by him and described at p. 21 [Am. 
Repr. March, 1869, pag« 1 1 7] of your journal) (or showing the 
cohesion flguros of liquids on a large scale to an assembly 
of persons. 

The apparatus answered its purpose admirably. It is 
simple in arrarsgemenl and easy to nianope. The water 
surface, 3 inches in diameter, on which the drops are de- 
posited and Iho figures forraL>d, is quite accessible, and 
nearly as easy to work with as the water in my shallow 
glasses 4 inches in diameter. The heat of the lamp has 
an effect on the water, and allows the devolopmeot of 
figures on the smaller scale which would probably not take 



lEPfliah EdMoDt Vol. ZIX., No. 47i, pafc II ; No. 475, pagt 23; Mo. 476, p«g« 30; No. 477, p«E«* *^ 4<^1 




pbce at ordinary temperatures. The gcrpen^ 5 feet in di' 

■mister. Is woU fiUeil und tho de^itioa (^ood. Some of tbo 

tgarea are a little too faiot, owiog to the great expanBion 

lod the briurhCneas of the light, and for gimilar reaBons 

eoloar, which is so charmiog a feature in manj of the fig* 

ores, ia wanting. 

Xbe figuroB shown on this occanion were those of onlj a 

uids, viz., creosote, a miituro of equal parts carbolia 

icresylic acids, benzol, oil of larendor, and a solution 

- • benzol. I am satisfied from what I aaw 

■i of a largo number of liquids might ho 

iUi. . i oosc and in rapid Biicceasi on, provided the 

lecturer was asf iated by persooa who understood the con- 
ditions of the illustratioos. I maj, perhaps^ bo pardoned 
Sf I st&te briefly what these are, as success or failure will 
.irary moch depend on the mode in which these eoQditioDs 
V9 observed. 
Th© most esBcntifll oondition in the prodaeliou of these 
ia chemical cleanliness. To insure this, one water 
pient (No.i) (marked B in the fli^rurc, page 2i, ante) 
^ught to be in process of cleaning; a second (No. 2) ought 
to be clean, and flllod with water, while the third (No, 3) 
ifl o»i the point of being romovod from the apparatus. 
Thus there ought to be three water recipients in use. 

Next, as to the mode of cleaning. As soon as Na 3 

ia remored from the apparatus its contents are tn be emptied 

Into a waste pen, and clean water poured over it from a jug 

^^ fato the pan. It should then be filled with a moderately 

^H strong solution of caustic potash, which is not to be 

^Hl thrown away, but poured into a reserve potash jar. (A 

^K qdart PhiUlpct^s jar with a funnel in the mouth is a con- 

^H Teoient rectptade for the potash solution.) When the 

^H water recipient, No. 3, hna thus been washed with pota.sh, 

^B it ahould bo a^raiu rinsed with water, ond, lastly, filled with 

^^ dean or distilled water from a bottle — not from a washing 

bottle by means of a blowing tube, but simply from a clooa 

bottle, which is to bo kept closed when not in use. In 

filliog No. 3, it may be placed on a clean cloth or flat siir- 

Jaoe of sponge, so as to dry the flat bottom surface. By 

tills tiroo No. 2 is resting on such a surface ready to bo 

transferred to the apparatus, and No. i is in process of 

deaning. In this way there need be no delay iln producing 

the figures, anrt tiio lecLurer will be able to resist the temp- 

taiion, should a drop fail to spread, of waiting in hopes it 

will do so, or of trying another liquid on aa already impure 

Burfaca 

Next, as to the method of delivering the drops to the 
atirface of the water. It is comtnonly supposed that pro- 
Tided the drops reach tlie surface it does not much matter 
bow. They are generally allowed to fall upon tho water. 
This is quite wrong, and may be a source of frequent 
failure. A diattiict drop should be gently delivered to the 
centre of the water from tho ond of a glass rod, with a steady 
«tiand and the absenco of every kind of disturbance. Id 
this way wo get symmetrical figures of great beauty. The 
glass ro<l3, when not in use, should bo kept in a solution 
of caujftic potash. When one is taken out it should bo 
passed through clean water with a brisk stir and then 
wiped in a clean cloth. It may now be dipped into the 
<n1, Ac., and the liquid loft to drain, until it is seen that 
a dilstioct drop can bo fairly delivered. The ro^i is now 
to be wiped in a dirty duster (No. 3X then in a moderately 
clean duster (No. 2K«^ad, lastly, in a clean duster (Ka 1) 
before returning it to the potash solution. 

Pipottes and dropping tuboa should only be used for 
ether, alcohol, and those liquids of whicli the figiirts have 
a abort duration. A drop being delivered to the water sar- 
fkce, tbo hand should be removed for a moment, to allow 
an uninterrupted view on the screen, bat tho moment 
one figure has vanished another drop ahould l)0 deposited 
on the surface. In tliis way a perfect idea of tho figure 
will be gained from a auecossi(Mi of optical images. 

By a judicious use of the caustic potash solution the 
a^liaratus cau be kept in good working order ; but after 



using oils for some time the water vessels, glass rods, ka. 
require to be washed in strong sulphuric add and well 
rinsed. The lecturer will soon find out for himself wbeo 
this is necessary. 

Another source of failure in the production of tbeae 
figures lies in the impurity of the figure-producing liquid. 
One of the most difficult figures to produce is that of oil 
of lavender (it was adoiirably shown by Professor "Wood- 
ward's af)paTatu8) : one reason is that this oil is so com- 
monly adulterated with oU of turpentine ; another that 
the oil becomes partially resiuified by age. The figure, 
produced last night, was from a Mitcham oil about eight 
years old, rodistiUod by mo nearly three years ago. I have 
several specimena of these oils of dilTcrent oges ; they all 
give good figures, but some foreign oils that I have by me 
produce nothing but diaappoiDtmcnt. 

Solid carbolic acid in small fragments rotates 00 the 
water surface with immense Telodty, after tho manner of 
camphor. (Camphor also may bo tried, but the fragments 
should bo scraped firoro a freshly cut surface with the point 
of a pen -knife.) If a needle of the commercial acid be 
placed on tho water, it darts about, suddenly liquities, fonoa 
into a disc from which augrj'-looking waving forked tongues 
proooed, and so it wastes away. If the Hquid acid bo nsed, 
core must be taken to deliver it gently to the surface, or it 
will slip through and form an inert globule at tho bottom of 
the water. 

Carbolic acid, or a mixture of this and croayllc add, 
forms an active rigorous Qguro, and if a drop bo placed on 
the same surface with what ts left of the lavender figure, 
the mutual attractions and Fcpulsions form a surprising 
sight 

Crcsylic add leaves delicate silvery flakes on the surface 
of the water, and in this way the presence of a few drops 
per cent of this acid iu carbolic acid can be detected, 

I intotidod to have given a list of liquids likely to form 
good figures before an audionoe, but as this letter ia porhapa 
already toolong^ I must defer doing so. — 1 am, Jba, 

C. TOIIMKBOK, 
UlcbgaU, N^ Jaa. 15, 1869^ 



Oh the Arlt/idal Fortnatian cf " Atacatnitt,'* 

To the Editor of the CanmcAL Naw& 

Sib,— In the Jmmal of the Cltemical Society tar this month, 
p. 24, Mr. Church, in continuing his mineralogicaJ notices, 
stales that in 1S64 he comraenoed a series of experiments 
upon the action of salt on " cheseylite/' whereby he hoped 
to eluddato the formation of ataeamite when sea water acts 
on copper ores. The author continues:— '* The only really 
successful experiment was one in wliich tho following sub- 
stances had been placed togetlicr;— 200 cc, of a 10 per 
cent solution of salt gave^ 2 grammes chcssylito." 

Tlio word gave is doubtless the printer's error. The nen- 
tenco should read, I imagine, '' 200 cc vpon 2 grammes 
diessvlite.'* 

Mr.' Churdi further says :— *' The blue colour of the finely 
powdered diessylite slowly disoppoared, a pale green tint 
taking its place, white at the same time the saline solution 
became notably alkaliue (rora the couversiou of the sodium 
chloride into carbonate. In the following table tho compo- 
sition of chessylite, of its chlorinated product, and of ataea- 
mite are cocnpiaed together : 



53.6 
16-2 



This experiment recalls some researches of my own mada 
as far back as September, 1S5S, and published in tha 
Chamical GaxiU, vol xvi, p, 430, wherein it ia #*•**'' 



Chewy Ut«. 


CbloHnttcil 




ProduoL 


CuO 692 


5955 


CD, 256 




11,0 5-2 


18*14 


Ctt - 


1047 


CI — 


1170 



[finfUih Bdlticko, Vol. XXX, 80. 477, p«C«»4«, 47.] 



156 



CorreBpondenfice, 



{ JfoivH, 18#. 



that the oxide of copper meclianically brought over by th© 
draft from the caUciuiuii^ furnaces into a culvert nmning 
along the shore of the PaeiUc Ocean, the floor of which 
was coinposied of BADdy rock through which the sea water 
pcrinoatcd, bocaaae, after aorne months, entirely converted 
itit4i tho aulphtttOB aud oxjcUoridea of the metnl. After 
separation of tho former, tho oiychloriJe waa found to 
have the following compoaitioD : — 

5692 
16-30 



C11. 
HO. 



CuO. 
CuCl. 
HO. . 



.16 14 

.3073 
.16*14 



leading to tho formula, 30uO,CuCl + 4lIO, Native ataca- 
mite givea — 

Oa..... 57-13 

CI ', 16-07 

HO ..1607 

Mor« than S tons of atacAmite were thus obtained. — I am. 

FttEDERicK: Field, F.R,3. 



ITouaehfM Poisoning : The Tinning 0/ Saucepans. 
To the Editor of the Cueuical News, 

, — In connection with the extract inserted in the CnKin- 
OAL News of the i rtli ult. {Am. Repr., Feb. 1869, page 98 }> 
on ** The Tinning of Saucopana," I hope you will consider 
ibe following worthy of space in your valuable columns: — 

Kor some few months my wife, children, and self suffered 
exceedingly from pains in the stomach and bowela, accoropa- 
nittd by diarrhtsa. A sustained contest was kept up be- 
tween medicine and ilhiesA^ in which the latter was certainly 
becoming victorious. Uitiraately» on account of defeat, my 
wife's medicul attendant stated that lier i*ymptoma wero 
peculiar and unaccountable. This assertion excited ray 
suspicion that her sufforings resulted from paiHonin^'. Being 
most farturtateiy a cliemiat, I at once secured whut were at 
bund to tL*8t far poiaoaa; they were — i pint of toast water, 
about t pint of tea (the remains of my own breakfast), and a 
pint of driiikiiit' wat«:*r. Tlio three duids I mixed, strained, 
tested carefully, and analysed ; and, I may add, was horrii- 
fi«d, as well as gratified, to find aa enormous quantity, com* 
paralively speaking, of both copper and lead. Kliminative 
reraediea were promptly adraioistered. For two days my 
wife conthiuod to progress slowly ; tlie morning of the third 
day from the detection of the causes of her illoeaa she 
strongly perceived a diegusling metallic or coppery taste. 
her gums were discoloured and painful, and she sank into a 
Btate of collapse, in which apparently hopeless oondition she 
remained for three and a half houra. To the credit, how- 
ever, of medical skill aa a means, she was rallied, has con- 
tinued to progrea^^ and is now almost wholly recovered. 
Previous to sink'mg into thta stale, sho had vomited nearly 
half a wineglussful of a beautiful bright sad foo -coloured 
fluid, which I kept, and iu which I fouud a notable quantiiy 
of copper and lead, as well as a remarkable proportion of 
iron and magnesium phosphate; the iron was derived from 
the mains through which the water is supplied and the 
cooking utensils, and the magnesium phaBpbal« from toast 
water 

Now with regard to the tinning of saucepans; these, I 
regret to say, are not the only tinned cooking utensils. 
Here in the north of England, and, 1 believe, throughout 
the United Kingdom, there is nothing moro common in an 
ironmonger's shop than pots, pans, kettles, Ac., lined with 
this beautiful but dangerous metal I know doctors do not 
generally condemn it aa «uch ; I must, however, respect- 
fblty differ from tbem. I prcnume their reason for permit- 
ting its use is the fisct of air and water bat alowly acting 




QpOD it at ordinary temperatures ; boiling, slewing, and rout- 
ing, however, are not ordinary temperatures — nor are the 
fluids heated therein, as a rule, free from acids. Moreover, 
through negligence or ignorance, cooks pariiolly fill veaaela 
lined with this 8ul«tatice, and place them on fires which 
speedily evaporate or boil down the contents. The flamea 
now wrap the vessels, elevating the temperature of the ex- 
posed tin, whereby it ia rapidly oxidiseo. If not oxidised 
thus quickly it is soon dissolved by the liquors with which 
it is heated. When tin ia received into iho slomnch it at 
once comes into contact with the gastric juice, which containa 
free hydrochloric acid, with whiuh it combinea, forming a 
most irritant potson. 

Another most sorious objection to the use of tinned veiseUl 
is the admixture of lead mentioned in the extract above re- 
ferred to. About two months since, when iuvostigatiog the 
cause of my family's sufferings, I found in my house a small 
tinned pan ; the ttniiiag of this vessvl yielded on analysis 
over 18 per cent, of lead. Nearly the whole of the tin had 
disappeared from the sidoa; two amall lumps of alloy of it 
and lead remained at the bottom. I have since examined 
several tin pots, Ac, which had been in use for twelve 
months, and found them iin au almost identical condition \ 
they caused a great deal of illness and had to be rejected. 
The fact of tin being almost completely removed from the 
aides ia a practical proof, if such be necessary, of the oxida- 
lion and aolution before mentioned. Now I submit thai M 
copper, brass, and tinned veaaela for the preparation of food ^ 
can and ought to be discarded. Those made of iron, or xron 
porcelain-lined, would be uninjurious and excellent Bubeti- 
tutes. There are at present many victims to di^aae Ihe 
cause of which they are completely ignorant of, but which 
could be truibfuUy charged to brass, copper, and tin. Doc- 
tors are defeated «,nd discouraged, and numbers die an- 
nually whoao live.'! might be saved by the disuse of poiK)nooa 
metala for domestic purposes. If chemists of repute or 
status would bring this serious subject souTkewhat prominent* 
ly before medical gentlemen, the latter would not be slow lo 
adopt vahiableauggeatiooa, and their itislructiona to patients, 
without the nid ol law (as in France cud Prussia), would 
compel manulkcturcrs to desist from producing articles for 
which there would bo no demand. 1 trust the gravity of 
the subject will be a suflBcient plea for asking you to insert 
tbia rather lengthy letter.— I am, kc , 

J. G. Ln. 



[CnfUih Edition, 7oL HZ., Ifo, 477, page 47; Ve. 478, paga 60.] 



Ariijkial FarmaUaR 0/ AtacamOe. 

To the Editor of the Chewoal NsW8. 

Sm,— Permit me to refer, in a few words, to Mr. Field's 
interesting comrnunicfltioa to the Chemical News on the 
subject of tttacamitc {Am. liepr., March, iii6^ page 155). 

I was awtrc that atacamlte bad been formed artificially i» 
aeveral ways. But my experiments wero made vritb the 
intention of trying the action of chloride of sodium upon ail 
the common ores of copper oocurring in Cornwall. And I 
wished to do this under perfectly deflnito conditions. The 
paper in tho Joumafo/tht Chemical Socidy gives the only 
one of my results which approoched sttccosa. Other experi- 
ments, with malachite, rcdrutbite, chalcopyrite, Ac, have 
not yet been completed. 

It will bo recollected by tho renders of my papers on 
cupric oxychloridea in the Journal 0/ thi Chemical Soci^y 
(1864) that I therein showed that the Cornish atacamite, 
first described as an Knglish speciea by me, had the rame 
composition as tho Chilian epecimenB analysed and described 
by Mr. Field. * 

I need scarcely add that the correction suggested by Mr, 
Field in the wording of a sentence in my paper gives tho 
meaning intended to be conveyed by the paragraph ia qu^- 
fion.— I am, Ac, A. 11. ChdICH. 

HojOI Affiicalfcioml OoUflgtt, 





Mincellaneous. 



«57 



77»* Cohaion F^urea of Liquids : Oleographs. 

To tho Editor of tho Cheiuoal News. 

Sa — I YiATc receiTod a number of appUcotiona for an opmioo 
CO Dr. iloHal'a olooi^raphs of th& coljesion^giires of liquids. 
StTcral persons who deal in, or iiso oils largely, are siniious 
to make use of tho proresj, provided its results be reliable. 
Fsrhaps you will allow me to pivo my reply through the 
neniiuoi ofyour j^umuL 

Dr. ytotCul hd,^ been so good os to send me tliirty-aix im- 
pre«£ious illustrative of his ingenious process. I am sorry 
not to be able to report favourably on them oa types ofcohe- 
ftod %ure9. Their chief fault is the abdeaco of dislinctfvQ 
character. These thirty'Si-r oleographs are so ranch alike, 
thai Ihey might fuirly pass for voriations of one oli They 
oon«uit| more or le5,% of a lurge disc perforated with holes. 
This nriacs from allowing the oil to remnin too long before 
•B impression is taken. Tlicre is a moment in the existence 
of evory film, when the characteristic flguro is presented^ 
by whi''J» h f*f\n hw rccoguisod and the purity tested. If this 
cfaar&c urc could bo seized and fixed at tho right 

Boat I ess would bo of value, for wo shoultl theu 

n^* " ■ urea of great variety an* beauty (those of 

1 ing alike), but such tlfjurea would aerve as 

tv, , ifon: whether tho oloographic process is 

cspttbjo ot gm.<*ping this result, I cannot say ; but 1 think 
«R nrtpmpt ou^'hi to b« made with that end in view. I have 
I' I considerable Dumber of flgurea in which the 

i- ics arc presented. Some liquids, such as the oils 

c; air, turpentiue, coriander, &.C.. may have each two 
or n: jpt' i.iiaracteriatic phases; theso should, if posslbier bo 
tivou 
In tho Philo^f^ihical Magazine for June, 1867 (Plato W.), 
represented the three cltaractcristLc pha,sea of oil of 
ider. Now no oleograph of this oil would saciafy me 
did not represent these threo figures. The third figure 
group would print as a perforated disc, as in Dr. 
's oleographa, but this itself would bo of no value at 
""ftr it would distinguish nothing unlcfia associated with 
Other two phases which distinguish oil of coriauder from 
>r liquids. Oila of tho same fumity present figures 
features in corainoa, but with essontiuHy diflor- 

uls. No one, for example, would hesitate to dis- 

tgtiisU lietween castor and croton oils; but if tho figures 
>re left one, two, or three minutes on the water or otlier 
all character would bo Inat. Before any otie attempts 
fae figures, he should educate his eye (and this may 
done) by a careful study as to what one liquid docs 
dtfl'eront from any other liquid, how long it t^ikus in 
it, and whetlier the peculiarity in question can be 
at tlie right moment. 
Supposing the oleographic process to bo made capable of 
ig the characteristic forms of these figures, it can, I 
ippotsc, never be made to fix tho colours which often 
greatly heighten their beauty.— I am, Ac, 

C, ToitLiKSoy. 

IQgtigate N.t Jan. 191 1869. * 



MISCBIXANEOUS, 



The Rofnl mtntns: Acadomr In Brrlln. — As this 

linig Academy is a sciontifln institution of tho flrst rank 
Germany, tho following notice concerning it may be intcr- 
Ing to ibe KngUsh scitntific public: — The lectures of the 
Uning Academy are arranged in such a mauncr that a 
idont may finish the complete course in two years; tho 
idents also enjoy the privilege of inspecting the differeut 
ian mining and metallurgical edtabliabments during 
Tacations, and besides several tiroes yearly they have 
the opportunity of excursions to those establlKhments 
^In company of the profesaors. Tho lectures of the present 
^B^lf year, communciDg on the 2Qd of November last and 
^E^Vou IV. No. 3.— March, 1869. 11 

^^B [XncUab Editiooa, YoL SLIX.. No. 478, pagM 

' 



ending on tho tQth of Xtarch, i^^ treat of tlie following 

subjects:— 

1* Mining Technoh^gy — five lectures weekly by Borgrath 

Haucliecorno; 15a. half-yearly. 
a. Technology of Saltworks — one lecture weekly by Ber- 

gralh Hauchecoroe; 39. half-yearly. 

3. lieneral Metallurgy — four lectures weekly by Professor 
Keri ; i zs. half-yearly. 

4. Metallurgy of Iron — four lecturtia weekly by Bcrgrath 
Wedding ; i as. half-yearly. 

5. Founding and Moulding— three lectures weekly by Dr. 
DLirre; 12a. half 'yearly. 

6. Chemical Technology — two lectures weekly by Profeasor 
Kerl; 63. half-yearly. 

7. ijeneral Assaying— six lectures weekly by Professor 
Kerl; £1 7s. half-yearly. 

S. Blowpipe Afisaying^ — two lectures weekly by Professor 
Kerl ; 99. half-yearly. 

9. Assaying of Iron— three lectures weekly by Bergrath 
Wedding; 13s, 6d. half-yeariy, 

10. Petrography— four lectures weekly by Dr. Laspeyres; 
12s, half-yearly. 

It. Geology, with special attention to the Stratified 
Formations — four lectures weekly by Professor Beyricb; 
128. half-yearly. 

13. The GrBological Formation of tho Globe — one lecture 
weekly by Dr. Loasenj gratis. 

13. Ou Volcanoes— one lecture weekly by Professor 
fiotli; gratis. 

14. Mineralogical Repetitions— four lectures weekly by 
Professor G. Rose ; gratis. 

15. Mineralogical Exercises - four lectures weekly by Dr. 
Eck; 1 2 B. half-yearly. 

16. Lhemiatry of Minerals— three lectures weekly by Pro* 
feasor Rammelsberg ; gratis. 

17. Repetitions of An^ysis of Minerals — four lectures 
weekly by Dr. Fiokener; gratis, 

1 8. Practical Instruction in the Analysis of Minerals — 
(rt), quantitative; five hours daily by Dr. Finkener; £3 
half-yearly. (A), qualitative ; four hours weekly by Dr. 
Finkener J £t 4s. half-yearly. 

ig. Analytical Geometry— five lectures weekly by Professor 
Bertram ; 1 5s. half-yearly. 

20. Mechanical Science — six lectures weekly by M. Hiir- 
mann ; iSs. half-yearly. 

21. Applied Meclxanica — six lectures weekly by M. Hi)r» 
mann; iSa. half-yearly. 

22. Surveying of Mines— four lectures weekly by Berg- 
Assessor Kauth ; 12s. half-yearly. 

23. Instruction in Drawing — eight lessons weekly by 
Berg* Assessor Kauth ; gratis. 

24. Laws of Mines — two lectures weekly by Geh. Ober- 
Bergrath Ackeabach ; gratis. 

"Tl«© World or Tflroiidefii.'»_Tho first part of a new 
publica*.ion, issued by Messrs. Casscll and Co , the well- 
known popular ptibliahen?, entitled *' The World of 
Wonders," certainly more nearly approaches tho writing? of 
the celebrated Baron Munchausen than any modern publi- 
cation we are acquainted with. At tho very time the bulk 
of the press is endeavouring to dissipate vulgar errors and 
sow the seeds of true physiological knowledge — the impor- 
tance of which, in a medical point of view, cannot be too 
j fully inaiflted ou — we have in this cheap flyriol a collection 
' of all the absurdities and historical moustronlties of the 
middle ages, for the enlightenment of the public mind. On 
one page is a pioiuro of a mermaid and a monnan ; and 
though the opening paragraphs of the description mildly 
insinuate a douht of the existence of such beings, the 
authentic (?) details, dating from 11S7, 1430. and 1610, which 
are given at length, will go far to oonvineo the non-sceptical 
mind of their truth. Again, on the very v-^^' ^ ' '" ire find 
an artidc on "Wonderful Births," in v have a 

rrchat^ o( all the old women's tales of Oi rromen, 

winding up with the legend of Mr^ Ukimuiu wluk I 



5S CO; Vol. xvin, f- 



158 



MisceUaneaits, 






aeven children at one birth, all liviDjr, and all christened at 
the some fouti The "Wonders of Digestion'' fonn the 
subject of another article, in whit^h we uro luformod that^ 
the stomach is "a large hag, the whole of whose surface 
is covered with a aeries of tiny finger-like projections, from 
every part Oi which a thin fluid is pciuring out"! The 
following we do not pretend to understand, and wo should 
like to know what idea it will convey to the simple reader: 
— "As the c)iyle i« nhsorbed it changes ita character, 
Firfit^ the presence of fibrin begrioa to nrnni^est itsetf ; then 
it grudvially becomes coloured, white corpuscles, apparently 
identical with those of blood, being formed in large num- 
bers." The article in question concludes with an account of 
a jujrgler who pauaed a sword *MtK> far down the ivindpipe^' 
into his stooirtch, where it waa nearly all dissolved, only 
•' a foolish medical man ordered the conjurer horae eterciae, ' 
which led to "a severe iDt<?rnal wound and death." " The 
Living Skeleton/' ''Wonderful Frosta/' "A Wonder of 
Intrigue," ''Wonderful Women," '* Giants," all more or 
less flavoured with the apocryphal, are duly recorded; but 
perhaps tho niost '* Wonderful " paper is one on '• Wonders 
of Vegetation," with three illuptratioijB of a turnip with a 
bum&n face (grown iu ]682l, a radish in the form of a 
human hnnd (a.d. 1672!, and a partinip held by a lody'a 
hand (of unknown antiquity). We wonder who the compi- 
ler of such a farrago of absurdities can be, and imagine that 
he nauFt belong to the order of funny if not wonderful dogs 
which are not mentioned in the work— unless, indeed, wo 
are sufiering from tho " optical (klusion '* recorded in 
large type in the tamo pagea — LanceL 

Tho Pliolograplitt of il»e laCo Eclipne tnken In 

India.— S. AiideisoD, Lteiil. Royal Ktigintecra, AiiKiHtunt 
Instructor in Tiiotography at the Royal fcngineer K-tablish- 
inent, Chalhara, writes to the editor of tho I hvtoijraphic AVicj 
aa follows: — 

" Witli reference to an article thnt appeared in your im- 
prcsaion of 2yd ultimo, entitled " Failure of Photogrji piling 
llie Eclipse in India/' in which you have unjustly exprtesed 
an opinion that tlio phoiogrnpixera of the Royal Rngineers 
detailed for that expedition were not " experienced " in the 
art of pliotogrnpliy, I beg to inform you that Sergeant Phil- 
lips, R.K.. lite senior. pliotopiapher, bus been employ&d in 
Puleslitjo on two expcdllioria under the auspices of the 
Paleatiue Kxplonition Committee, and tlifit his name is well 
known in c^junection with the photographs published by that 
Society. Uo had, therefore, great experience of photograph* 
ing in a hot climate, but, in common with other pliotograph- 
era, he hud not had much experience in photographing 
eclipses, especially in cloudy weather. I may add thnt 
M«jor Tennant has expressed an opinion that his six nega- 
tives are equal in scientlBc interest to any tliat hove been 
obtained in Spain, and ho has valued Ihera at £150 each. 
The following extract from tlio hidia Gazette apeaka for it- 
self: — ' The aervices of Sergeant Phillips, and Sappers Talbot 
and Conway, of the Royal Engineers, have been great. They 
have had a good deal of hard nnd harassing work in making 
everything ready. Sergeant PhiKipy, in particular, has been 
most useful, and I hnvo much of tlic success of all prepara- 
tions to ihank him for. The partini failure of the pluto ob- 
servations has been from causes beyond these men'a control, 
and I would respectfully 8t»licit that His lixcellenoy in Council 
would be pleased tt> grant a montira donation of pay to 
each.— {Signed) J. ¥. Tennant, Major R K. As recommended 
by you, llis Kxccilency in Council sanctions the grunt cf a 
donation of one month's pay 10 Sergeant Phillips, and Rappers 
Talbot nnd Conway of tho Royal Kngineera.' hi conclusion, I 
may be permitted to add that even if this 'comparative fail- 
ure' had been ihe fault of the men, this would not have been 
logical ground for hinting that the RoyMl Engineer photo- 
grapherfi are 'not familiar with photographic operationsu' 
Lord Xapitr, in hia despatches, repeatedly mentioned tho 
•auccess obtained and good service rendered by tho Royal En- 
gineer photi.>graphers under most trying circumstances in 
Abyssinia. In ihal expedition phologroj>hy was the field 



printing press. Staff officers* reconnaissance sketches brought 
in during an afternoon were at once photographed, atkd re- 
duced to a uniform scale during the operation, in order that 
different Bketches, if they overlapped, might be eub.seqnently 
joined together. Tho sensitised paper was prepared during 
the night, and imfressiona etruek off in the morning. The 
prints were finally mounted on linen, and distributed through 
out the force. This was the principal work of the phot 
graphensi, who had also to take care of the rnulea, carry Ih 
arras, and march as other aoldiera. In addition to the Jar 
cohecliou of negatives of plans, they have brought home 
must valuable collection of about eighty negatives of general 
views, pniits from which will be exiilbitcd before the Photo- 
graphic Society this month. Sergeant llarrold, RE., tlio 
senior phologrt^pher, ahorily before taking (he iuteresting 
views of Magdula, was detailed as one of the storroiue partyi 
and for his conspicuous gali-ntry ot the asi«ult oi M^gda 
has obtained a medal for distinguished conduct in th 
Held." 

The following reroarka are appended by ilie editor of tli« 
Fhofographic News : — 

" Wo are glad to learn that llie pbolographio opernttoiu in 
connection with th% recent eclipse obsfervationa in India were 
more successful than tlie first report indicattd. Our corre- 
spondent m'ust remember, however, thitt our remaiks were 
based upon tho statements of M»y>r Tennant himself, who 
described the whule of the plnles as- 'covered with epotB»' 
and as * showing but (Jaiot Iraees of the coronti ; ' and he «l 
trihnted this to the 'concentration of the niLrate of eilvi 
folutirm' by heat. Now thus is a condition of things in n 
wise attributable to the eclipse. It could only have arisedi' 
from want of care or warn of knowledge, and it is fair to 
assume tiiat it was to lack of experience, and not any mora 
culpable cause, that such a ref>nlt was due. If we do the 
Kiigineers in whof^e car© the photographic operations were 
plaeed any injustice, we regret it, and can only point to 



llie 

c ft V 



i 



Major Tennant's rcfjort, and the contrast furnished by tha 
results of the German expedition, in justification of our re« 



marksi. (lur correspondent mistiikes us in fancying that we 
imply that skilled photographers are not to be foUud amongst 
the Engineer.**. We have lefore spoken highly of the akiU 
and success of Sergeant llarrold jn Abyssinia, and we h«ve 
had reasiCQ to believe that it was owing to the absence of the 
raoi?t nccomplihihed Engineer photographers in Ahvasinia that 
les-s able men were &t tlie service of Major Teauani'a ex- 
pedition. In our ollusion to the Engineers we merely put 
hypothpiical case, sajing if the men told off were not fai 
iliar with photogrBphy, Ac, Ac. It is much more pleaao 
to us to believe that this expedition was in some degi 
fluccessfni than thaL it waa a complete failure." 

AetloD of Water on Lead. —Professor Parkea. F.R.a, 
of Netley, calla attention to the fact that it has always 
seen that the action or non-action of water on !ead could n. 
bo entirely accounted for by tho usual Btateraents on th 
subject, and lately Dr. Franklnnd has made a curjoua 
servation, which may thrq,^ light on the subject. He feu 
that water which acted on lead lost this power afler paasirij 
through a Alter of animal charcoal He discovered this to _ 
owing to a minute quantity of phosphate of lime passing iot 
tho water from the charcoal; on comparing two natu 
waters, that of tho river Kent, which acts violently on lea 
and that of the river Vyrnwy, which, though very aol^, haft 
no action on lend, he found that the latter water' contained 
an appreciat>le amount of phoppbale of lime, while none could 
bo detected in the Kent water. This observation may prob- 
ably explain much of the diiscrepancy of evidence in reaper 
of the action of soft water on lead. — Jvurnai of Vic JSocit, 
oj Arts "^ 



tverH 
• ill ^^ 



Ilew Popnlar 8<^Ienee le irrJiten. _ In a letter 
" Poisonous Dyes," recently sent to tho Timejf, com- 
menting on the highly explosive nature of the dye which 
was aupposed to be used, Mr. Crookea wrote — •* It ia 
almost as explosive aa Dilroglyceriae, and baa alreadjr 



pecftfl 



[I^BgliMh Edition, Vol. XVIll^ ffo. 473. page 303 j Mo, 472, pa^M OSl, ?9ft, 091^ No. 471, ^ee S8$. 




Miscellmieous. 



^59 



wUl 



9jed ope factory, with loss of Hetenil lives. Should 
retain this ohoracter in the fabric, the wearers of 
;ka would bo able Ut vary the exeiteitietit ther arc 
[indulging in in a lii(?hly seoaalioaiil njanuer." This 
titUe jnkeling, |(orpotrnted two monilia ajjfo, has 
?k bcott diaiDierred by the editor of a coDlemporary 
[licti o<!casionally datrblea iu popular science, and now 
ira iu the following aliape ; — " Mr. Grookea biia 
mily asserted that woollen stocltings dyed with picrate 
poiH^h are liaWe to explode on the feet of thoao wUo 
ll t» near the tire." 
The Rofal Poljrtcchnl*.— The ChristniaB entertain- 
metiU of this institution includo a lecture ou " Sin^nng and 
Sensitive Flanita " by Profes3or Pepper, and " The Mys- 
terious Hand," which proro the spirit- wonder called the 
" Pliinohette'' to be n piece of juygltTy. The hand is placed 
on a aheet of transparent plale-};flas3, imd it distinctly writes 
answers to any questions proposed, the answers being eom- 
muDicated to the queriat on a card^ thus furnishing liiirt with 
ft Bpecitueo of the mysterious liandwriling. There is also 
a muaicol entertainment by Mr. George BuckLuifl, called 
"Aji E^isterti Story ; " nn instructive lecture by Mr. J. L. 
King, on the " Phenomooa of Nature ; '' and a magical illus- 
^tratioQ of the Old German Story, *' The Spectre Barber/' by 
[r. and Mrs. Ooota. Professor Pepper continues his ad- 
ible lecture oq "A Machine-made Wutcl:," and other 
msiog eutertaiumcnts are provided for ChristraaB visitors, 

I»«tcctlus tbo xldiiUeradoii of Olive and Sweet 

iltttond Oils.— Lipowit^ ha^i rocointuended tbo use of hy- 
}hlorite of limoj bleaching powder, as a means of det«ct- 
the adulteration of olirc and also of sweet almond oD 
th the oil of poppy aeed (MoliDol). When eiglit parts of 
olire oil or oil of sweet almonds \a rubbed up and 
ten with one part of bleaching powder and left at rest, 
" be seen ihatevoo after sorae four or five hours a layer 
deftD and limpid oil separates and floats at tlio top and 
face of the mijtturo, which layer is, if the oils operated 
ore pure, at leaat half the bulk of the original mixture ; 
however, poppy-sead oil is mixed with either of the two 
' ist lueutioued, end the same experiment then rcj^eated, 
" tture gets the apiieiiranoo of a linitnent from which 
separatea. Sweet oO of almonds, adulterat^ed 
one-eighth part of poppy -seed oil^ behaves aa if it were 
pure poppy-seed o'd. Biicliner and Brnnd have found 
lipowitz'a ataidioente correct as regards sweet oil of almonds, 
but not aa regards oil of olives ; hut they add that the olive 
" they operated on was already old. Tho action of Llpo- 
itz'a rengoDt h eiploiued by the fact of the rapid oxida- 
m of a]l «o- called drying oils whicli, on drying, jield solid 
IttCta before euLirely cliaii^^mg, by continuously absorbing 
Lazjgen into water aud cirbonic acid, Lioseed oil, hemp- 
[aeed oil, poppy-seed oil, oil from wulniits^, croton oil, castor 
ton, ore all drying oils. TJie frying of drying oild is, in fact, 
A process of glow oxidation of these oils. — iV. Br, Arch, 
SllTcrLiiar Glasis Specula.— Several oorrespondents 
ivLng made enquirie-g respecting Mr. Browning's sUveriag 

;aa, we are induced to reprint tho following: — 
lb Silver Glass SpecnUi — Prepare three standard solu- 
Sons. Solution A — Crystals of lutrate of silver, go grains ; 
UstiUtid water, 4 ouuecB ; dissolve. Solution B - Potassa, 
by alcohol, 1 ounce ; di'stilled wat^isr, 25 ounces ; dis- 
fiKolve. Solution C — Milk-sugar, (iu powder) i ouuco ; dis- 
^tilled water, 5 ounces. Solutions A aud B will keep in stop- 
pered bottlers for any length of time; solution C must bo 

The SUveriny FiHid^—To prepare sufficient for silvering 
an S-incli speculum : — Pour ? ouuces of solution A into a 
glasfl veasel capable of holding 35 ounc^os. Add, drop by 
dropi stirring all the time (with a glass rod) aa much liquid 
«miiionUk as is just necessary tooblaiu a clear solution of the 
grey precipituto tirst thrown down. Add 4 ouacoa of solu- 
tioo B. Tho browu-black precipitate formed must *je just 
jlved by the addition of more oianionia, aa before. 



Imost 




Add distilled water, until the btdk reaches 15 oti&oea, and 
add, drop by drop, some of solution A until a grey precipi- 
tate, winch does not redissolvo after stirring for three 
minutes, is obtained: then add 15 ounces more of distilled 
water. 8et this sohition a.side to settle. iJo not filter. 
When all is ready for immersEug tho mirror, add to the sQ- 
voriug solution 2 ounces of solution C and stir gently and 
thoroughly. Solution C may bo filtered. 

To prfpare (he Spfciiluvi.— Ptocme a circtilar block of 
wood 2 mehes thick, and s inches less in diameter than the 
speculum. Into this should be pcrewed three eye-pins, at 
equal distances. To lliese pins fasten stout whipcard, 
making a secure loop at the top. Melt some pitch in any 
couvouient ve-^sel, aud having placed the wooden block faca 
upwards on a level table, pour on it the fluid pitch, and oa 
the pitch place the back of tiio speculum, having previously 
moistened it with a thin film of spirit of turpentine t<3 secure 
adhesion. Let the whole rest until the pitch is cold, 

lb dean the iSpeciduuu — Placo the speculum, cemented tb 
the circular blo2k, fn<?o upwards, on a level table ; pour on 
it a auiall quantity of strong nitric acid, and rub it gently all 
over the surlace with a brush made hy plugging gla^s tube 
wUh pure cottou wool. Having perfectly cleaned the surface 
aud sides, waah well with common water, and finally with dif« 
tilled water. Place the speculum face downwards in a dish 
containing a little rectified spirit of wine until tho silveriog 
Maid la ready. 

7h Lnrneiae tf»e Speculum. — Take a circular dlah. about 3 
inches deep, and 2 inches Larger in diameter than the specu- 
lum. Mix in it the silvering aolulion and the solution C, 
aud suspend the speculum face dowuwards in the liquid, 
which may rise about f inch up the side of tho spoculum. 
tTlie silvering will bo completed in from 50 to 70 minutes, 
according to temperature ; 50 minutes wilt be found suffi 
cient iu summer.) When the silvering isoorapletod, remove 
the speculum from the solution, and Immediately wash with 
plenty of water, using at least two gallons, and finally with 
a little distilled water. Place tho ftpcculura on its edgo on 
blotting paper to drain and dry. When perfectly dry, polish 
the film by gently rubbing, first with a piece of the soflest 
wash-leather, using circular strokes, and fioally with the ad- 
dition of a little finest rouge. A "flat" may bo silvered 
by fastening w^ilh pitch to a slice of cork, cleaning as above 
described, and Ui^iug as much ailverlug thiid as will form a 
stratum about i iach deep beneath the mirror. 

ProroBor Kopp,_From a letter just roooivod from Pro- 
fessor ICmite Kopp, we understand that he is on the jiKiiut of 
quittmg Siiverno to reside at Turin, where he has been ap- 
[Kiirjted Professor of Technological Chemistry aud of MotaU 
lurgy m the Royal Museum of Iialiau Industry. Large 
laboratories are about to be erected under hissupehiitendeuce, 
in which prjvctical work will supplement theoretical tcach- 
htg. Wo undefstaiid that these appoiutments have been 
otrered to rroles3i.>r Kopp by the iLuliau Government, and 
be baa been induced 10 accept thorn in the expectation of 
having more time at his disposal for original research. After 
some remarks concerning the CiiKMic A L Nlws, higlily flatter- 
ing as coming from such an eminent chemist, he proiuitses to 
forfl'ttrd occasional cotitributtons from hia laboratory aiid 
records of the progress of science in Italy. 

Obltuary.-nr. Ceoree Lowe, F.R.S., n,© emj- 
tictrt Gna hlngineer, died on Christmas Day at hijj residence 
at Finchley. Ho was elected an Aasociate of the toatitutlott 
of Civil Engineers in 1823, transferred to the cImm of mem- 
bers in 1829, Rud for some years vras a most ueetut member 
of the Council. Ilia name is connected with many improve- 
ments in gas engineering, the mosc prominent' being hti 
system of reciprocating retorts and h'la motive-power metre. 

On JftDuary 4th the death of Jauxs KuwabdFoi 
D.UL, LUD., F.ILS.. late Principal of the United 
St. Salvftiloraad St. Leonard's, iSt Andrewa, wftsi 
The deceased, who was a aon uf the lal 
Baru, of Pitaligo, was boru in iSdiak 



IBngUtt EdM^^jLXVin^ No. 471, page 286; Vol XHL, Ho. «*, ^H^* ^^ ^ \ H^^.' 



i6o 



Miscellaneoim, 



educated At tb# nniveraitj of Edinburgh, whore he obtaiDed 
ci^reral priizea, aod where he held the profeasorshfp of Xaturul 
PUilosnph/ from 1.S3J till i860. In 1S33 he was elected a 
Fellow of the Society, and received tlie Riiii5f«:>rd niid Koyal 
Medula ; he si\m guined the Keith Mednl of the Royal Socielj 
of Kdiubur^h, of which society he was Vice-Presideut. He 
was ihe sttthfr of n number of works on physicHl science, 
us well n» of works in various departments of peoeml lilerq- 
ture, some of the inogt noted being '* Papers i>n Ihe Theory 
of Glaciers," "Norway audita Glaciera," and *' Travetfl in 
Ih© Alps of Savoy." 

Sale of PolnoitB A<*t._A very imporlont act of Par- 
liament — the Amended Pharmacy Act, or Sale of Poisons 
Bill— came mto operation on the ist inst. By this act it is 
directed that on and after the isi day of January, 1869, no 
poison fihall be sold by any person except those registered 
according to the acta now in Ibrco n» pharnyaceuticul chem- 
iats, or cbemiHtH and druggist,^; nnd that every box, bottle, 
vessel, or wrapper containing poison shal! be distinctly labelled 
with the name of the article, together with the name and ad- 
dress of Uie person selling the same. A schedule of poisons 
is given, divided into two sections. All those in section A 
nro alrictiy forbidden to be sold to any person not known to 
the seller, unless introduced by some person known to the 
seller; a register of the sale i? compulsory, and must be at- 
tested by the signature of the purcliaHer and hia or her wit- 
ness; while those poisons included in section B need only to 
bo properly labelled. All medicines must be compounded 
with nrticles prepared strictly according: to the Brituh Phar- 
tnaatpceia; and every adulteration of any article retailed 
shall be deemed on admixture iujurioua to health, punishable 
under the provisions of the Act lor Preventing the Adultera- 
tion of Articles of F(>o<l or Drink. The poisons defined by 
this act arfr— in Part i, arsenic and its prepiiTfttioos, prusaic 
ncid, cyanides of potutL^iuni, and all metallic cyanides, strych- 
nine and all poisonous vegetable alkaloids and their ealrs, 
aconite and its preparations, emetio tartar, corrosive subli- 
mate, cantharidey, savin and its oil, ergot of rye and its prep- 
arations ; and in Part 2, oxalic acid, chloroform, belladonna 
and its preparations, essential oil of almonds, unkaa deprived 
of its prussic acid, opiuin, atid all preparations cont^iinlng 
opium or poppies. Among the preparations which, accord- 
ing to this act, will have to be labelled as a poistun, we 
notice paregoric, elijtir, child's c<>rdial, syrup of pcjppiea, and 
every other syrup, tincture, or lozenge which shall contain 
the smallest portion of opium or morphia. Tho object of 
this bill ia evidently to prevent ignorant persons from deal- 
ing in articles tlio composition of which they do not under- 
alnnd. It will also servo as n check to Ibo poi*oniitig of 
children by tho administration tif auch preparations as child's 
cordial, sootliing syrups, &c. The fine for selling these arti- 
cles without being properly labelled is heavy, as it is also for 
aelling them without beuig properly licensed, 

The Ga» Supply of tlic City.— In tho month of July 
of last year an important act of Parliament was passed for 
improving the quality of the gas supplied to the City of Lon- 
don by the several City Gas Companies, and aLio to those 
paHta of the metropolis supplied by tho Chartered Gas Com- 
pany, whereby the quality of the gas was raised from a 
Blandard of twelve candles to fourteen, without increaso of 
charge to the consumer ; and with tho view of sGcuring the 
proviiiiona of the act, and enforcing penalties in all cases 'of 
default, a chief gns examiner is appointed by the Eioard of 
Trade to receive tho reports of the daily testings of the gas 
and to decide all matters of dispute respecting the quality of 
the gas. It is also the duty of the chief gas examiner to re- 
port to the Corporation, lo the Metropolitan Boai-d of Worka, 
and to the several companies, Ihe quality of the gas supplied 
during the quarter; and in this capacity, and in nccordance 
with the provision* of the 71st aeciion of tho City of London 
Gaa Act, 1S6S, Dr. Letheby has recently submiLtedl his 
report to the Corporation of London, from which it appears 
tJbjit since the act came into operation, on the ist of October 



last, the gns of the 8i«veral companies supplying the city haa 
been tested every nijiht at intervals of not less than an hoi 
between the hours of five o'clock and ten o'clock. The r« 
suits are as follows : — 

Illuminating Power in Standard ^perm Candkt. 

Maxlraam. Uioiinam. Av«rac«>" 
nijr of T/Otidon (las Li;rht and Coke Co. 1630 »3"09 T^J 

The rharlcrt'ii Oqn Llu:ht and Coke Cn. ifc'jO 14*13 IS'"^ 

The Oreftt Central G*t Oonjumtrft' Co. 1664 13*46 M'V* 

It appears, therefore, that the iltuminating power of the gtts 
has ranged from 1346 candles to 1664 — the overage lor th* 
quarter being 1513 candles for tlie City Company, 15*26 for 
the Chartered, and 1490 for the Great Cenirah The daily^ 
returns show that on three occasions only the gas has beea 
below the standard, and these were no doubt duo to cauBes 
which admit of satisfactory explanation. AVitb regard to 
the purity of the gaa, he reports that the gas of the Chartered 
and t'ireat Central Companiea has. always exhibited traceii- 
of ammonia, but that the gas of all the companies haa beea 
constantly free fmm sulphuretted hydrogen. The amount of 
sulphur present in the gas has ranged from 7 9 grair^a to 
26' 52 per 100 cubic feet, the proportion of this impurity 
being us follows : — 

Graint of Sulphur per 100 Cubic Feet 0/ Gas. 

MaxltaQin. M in Imam. Xr^rt^: 

nty of London Ga* IJaht aad Coke Co. jj jS 1064 if^ 

Tlie CharUTed <5k» I J{:ftt ami Coke Co. 7653 ifoi a«'9J 

The Greal CenlraL Gu Conaamcra^ Co. 1^94 7'90 14'<4 

The smallest amount of sulphur has been in tho gns of thA 
Great Central Company, and ihisisntlribuled by Dr. Letheby 
to the excellent system of purification adopted by that com- 
pany. The proportions of sulphur have been determined by 
the instrument known as Dr. Letbeby's sulphur teat, which 
ia that recommended for use by the gi^a referees appointed 
under the act. It is extremely desirable that this impurity 
should be reduced to the smallest quantity, on account of Uie 
corrosive action of the products of its combustion. 

CSla«sow PtillOMoplil<>ttl Sorlely (rbcmlcsil Sec- 
tion). — A meeting was held in the HtilJ, Andersonian Uni- 
versity, on (he evening of the 2iat ult, Dr, Wallace, Vice- 
President, 10 the chair. Six members were admitted, and 
six candidates for membership named. W. R. Untlon, Ksq., 
read a pnper on the " Igniting Point of tho Vaiwurs of some 
Commercial Products." 

Baal of Dr. I*Iu»pratt._Tb© eminent sculptor, Mr. 
Adams- Acton, is at present executing a portrait bust, in 
marble, of Dr. Mua[>ratt, the discoverer of the chlorido of 
iron spring, which is to be placed in tho New Pump-room at 
Uarrognte, over tho '" Dr. Wuspratt CImlybeale." The artist 
hopes to have tho bust ready for exhibition at the Royal 
Academy in May next. 

Faraday on tbe Crovemment BceoB^nitloii of 

Seloiiec. — The Purliamenlary Committee of the British 
Association applied to Faraday through Lard W'rotttaley for 
his opinion whether any and what measures could be adopted 
by the Government or the Legislature to improve the posi- 
tion of sciouce, or of tlie cultivators of science, In this coun- 
try. He answtred: — "I feel unfit to give a deliberate 
opinion. My coura© of life, and tho circumstances wUich 
make it a happy one Ibr me, are not those of persona who 
conform to tho usages and habits of society. Through Ihe 
kindness of all, from my sovereign downwards. I hove that 
wliich supplies all my need; and in respect of honors, I have, 
as a scientiEic man, received from foreign countries and sov- 
ereigns those which, belonging to very limited and select claBsea, 
surpass in ray opinion anything that it is in the power of my 
own to bestow, I cannot say that I have not valued such 
di."tlnclionB; on the contrary, I esteem them very highly^ 
but I do not think I have ever worked for or sought them. 
Even were sueh to be now created bcre, the time is passed 
when these would posseM any attraction for me, and you 
will see, therefore, how unlit I ftm, upon the strength of any 
personal motive or feeling, to judge of what might be intlu- 






I 



* 



[BaglUh Editfon, Yol XI3., No. 475, page* aa, 21, 2A\ «q. V16, Tia^ft^-ia, "36^ 




E 



CnrmrAL NrwB, ) 



Miscellaneous, 



i6i 



tial upon the ni»nds of otliera. Nevertheless I will maka 
oao or two remarks which have oftea occurred to ray mind. 
.... A Goveriimeat ahoutd, for its own *a/.v, honor 
the men who do honor and s<?rvic'> to tho country. The 
•riaiocraey of the cla^a should havo distinctions which should 

be unattaiuJtbld except to that of science But, 

besides, the Government should, in the very many case? 
which come before it, haviog a relation to scieiuific koow- 
craptoy mea who pursue Bcieuee, provided they are 
roeo of business. This ia, perhaps, now doue to some 
le«it, but to notliing like Ih© dejyree which is practicable 
rith ndvautago ty all parties. The rigiit lueana cunnot have 
to a Goveroraent which haa not yet learned to ap- 
and distinguish the cJa^a aa a wliole." — From (he 
Notice of Faraday in tha l^roceediwjs of the Royal 
&akfy, ToL xvii., p. It. 

W«w Source of Citric Aeld*^ — Professor 0, SUvestri, 
the Urnversity of Catann, haa recently discovered a great 

' " ' '" '" •■-'::* acid in the fruit of the Cyphomandra beto^cca^ 
1]^ to the family of Solanacea whicli is found 
iri the gardens of Sicily* It ia indigenous to 
[exicti, and has spread itaelf Into Peru and other parts of 
oulh America, where it is called Tmiair d€ la paji. It la a 
roody pluut, aud attains to ihe heiglit of 4 metres. On anaU 
ria the fruit gives from i to 1-5 per cent of pure citric acid, 
a acid, which probably exiai^ also in our edible tomato, 
already beea discovered by fie^tagiiiiii in the potato, atid 
Will doubliess be fouad in all pluuts belonging to thia tribe. 

TIfc« Preservatlois of Me«l»_The following is a copy 
4>f It decree, issued by the Argeutiuo Uovernmont, which tia^ 
been received by her Majesty's Miniater at Buenos Ayren, 
oflering a prixo of £1,600 to the inventor or improver of the 
bwt xaelhud of preserving meat : — 

*^ Drrrcfi, — BuLvnon Ayres, Nov, 2, 1S6S. 

'Itt pursuance of the authority given to the executive 

»wer, by the law of tiio National Congress of the 7th Sep- 

'Oaber, to apply the sum of 8,000 hard dollars to a prize, to 

given 10 tlie inventor or introducer of tho system of pre- 

jnrihff fresh meat, beat adapted, in tlie judgment of the ex- 

.rer, to its working on a great scale, the President 

nublic decrees tliat a tc^rm of six raoniiis is rt.xed, 

tram this date, in order that tlioao who shall cou- 

rivea in a position to try for this prize may pret^ent 

withtQ that time, to the ftjmiatry, to be ex- 

itne{||b the way the Gtivemraent may think fit — (Signed) 

ARMIENTO DVLMATJUS VeLEZ SABSFIBU)/' 

Preparation of Nttroi^n. — A new and elegaut method 

preparing nitrogea gas has h«ea devised by an Iialinn 

leoiixt, M. Muasiuo Levy. Ii consists in beating biehroniiito 

ammonia in a reto« t. *V^\q salt is trausformt'd into green 

juioxide of chromium, and disengages vapour of wal«r and 

litrogen. — Cokhws. 

American Inatltalo. — ^The following lectures are iu 
jurae of dehvery at the American Institute : — 

30. i36S.— Mr. James Hall. State Geologist, AI- 
**0n tho Evolutioa of tho North American Con- 
it" 

Jan. 6» 1S69. — Profyssor Ilorsford, Cambridge, ituss. ; " On 
Ihe Philosophy of the Oveu" 

Jau, 13.— Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Montreal, Cauiida; "On 
imevnl Chemistry.*' 
Jua. i2.— Prof Doremua, College of the City of New York ; 
On the Photometer." 

Jan. 27.— Mr. Waterbouse Hawkins, of Ijoodon; "On 
JCom para live Zoology,'* 

Feb. 3.— Pnjf. Cooke, Harvard College, Mass. ; " On the 
Upectroscjope/' 
Fyb. to ^W. J. Mo Alpine, Pres. Am. Soc of C. E. ; ^ On 
fodern Engineering." 

Reporta of those lectures moat iaterestiag to our readers 
ill appear in our columns. 



The Solar Prolaberanee«..:-.M. Janesen haB for 

warded a letter from Simla (Uimalava) to the French Aca- 
demy of Sciences in wlucli, after (jiving further particulars 
xespecliug liis discovery of the visibiHiy of the spectra of tho 
protuberances in full 8ur4ahine, he describes an ingenious 
plan by which he expects 10 be able to see tho acfUal pro- 
tuberances themselves at any time. The principle consists 
in getting one of the luminous linea iu the spectral Held, aud 
Iheu rapidly rotating the ."peclroscope. As the length of the 
luminous line depends njKin the heig'lt of that part of the 
protuberance which it represents, it ia evidout that the 
rotaiion wili cause the line to vary with the difforent widths 
of the protuberance, and if the rotation is BuCicieiitly rapid, 
the permanence of the impression on the retina will produce 
an uecuruto repreaealalion of the protuberance under ex- 
aminalioii. 

RpMcarcliea on Trluictltyl1»pnztne. This product 

is ol)tinn*jvl by pynthesis from xylene und toluJne. and the 
aubsiitution and oxidation products of this compound have 
been examined. In the sarue ix'search the presence of me«»- 
tyieiio iu tuiueral pitch, and ita production, by the action of 
liquid chloride of Kino on (»uopbor, is shown. — Nouv. de 
Gattiinfftt^. 

A New Ventilator— M,Damboiae.B6nard has designed 
and patented an apparatus for increasing the draught in 
ehimnoys, and promoting ventilation. The apparatus cooaists 
of H hood, which is placed on the top of the chimney; this 
hood is movable— ^that is to say, it rotates upon an axis. In 
the centre of the hood a narrow lube is flxed vertically ; the 
top of this tube is curved laterally and furnished with A 
funnel, and after deseendi ng a considerablo distance into the 
chimney, it ends in & alightly upward curve. The outer 
moving portion first mentioned contains numerous lateral 
openings, protected by wedge-shaped hoods, wliich prevent 
ingress of air; there are also four other opeaing« at the top, 
constructed so as to facilitate egress of air. At the back of 
the funnel a square piece of metal sheet ia attached, to act aa 
a sail. It is scarcely ueces^ary to pi:>int out how this ap- 
paratus works; the current of frc-sh air enters the funnel, i« 
obliged to traverse the narrow tube, and creates a current by 
which smoke and vitiated air are driven out through the 
openiitgs in the hood. The cenlrul narrow tube serves, be- 
sides the purposes already described, to balance the hood. 
According to stj^e, tho price of the apparatus is forty, lifty, or 
sixty francs ; the address of the inventor is Rue de Lille, 3.1 
Uoulogne-sur-Mer. We understand that the invention is 
well spoken of by the highest authorities, and is in use in 
itmny of the hospitals, bathuig establiahmenta, 4c, in Paris, 
Boulogne, aud other phiees. 

Olaagow PbUoMoplilcat Society (rhettnleal Sec- 
tion). — A meeting was heW in the Society's rooma, Ander- 
aouian University, on Monday, tlie iSth inst, at eight 
o'clock in the evening. Dr. Anderson, President, in tho chair. 
Six new nicmhera were admitted. A paper was read by 
Messrs. Bald «ad Mactear, ** On the Salt Deposit* of Siass- 
furt*^ We liopo to be able to give this paper in detail in our 
next issue. 

TeatluK the Strength of Acetic Acid. — In at* 
templing to determine the strength of acetic add by means 
of the hydrometer, it will bo remarked Ihut certain anomalies 
present themselves; thus, there ia no difference in the spe- 
cilic gravities of acids containing respectively 53 and 100 per 
cent of inie acetic hydrate, both having precisely the aame 
density, 1063, at 60^ Fahr. (water = 1,000). Tiie heaviest 
liquid acid ia that containing So per cent, the specific grav- 
ity of which is a trifle over 1,073; but from this point up- 
wards to the acid of 90 per cent there is no appreciable dif- 
fer«noe in the gravity. Again, a sample weighing 1,067 ^^J 
either repre$eul au acid of 60 per cent, or may contain as 
much as 9S per cent of true acid. It is, therefore, custom- 
ary to guarantee tho highest degree of concentrntton by 
specifung the temperature at vi)\\ch th^ acid becomes solid, 
or, rather, the highest point at which the already glociaJ 



lEnglUb Edition, 7ol. XIX^, No. 476, pagaa 36, 30; No. 477, pagei 47, 48: No. 470, pagM 92, 60.] 



Conitmjiorary Scitntift' I^resn. 



\ Cjif 



News. 



■J March^iita 



add resists liquefuction. Anotlipr guide which maj often 
prove serviceable io Ihe idcniifloniitm of nn add which, al- 
Ihoti^h of n high degree of concentration, is not octuuUy 
glftcial, IB the fact observed, we bt'lieve, indtpe-ndeutty by M. 
Berlhelot and Mr. E. Chambers Nicholson, thut such acid 
bt'coro^ inflflminable when Ifio lenipernlure ie rttised to the 
boiling point. If wo tnlte, fi>r instance, about n drachm of 
the acid of 95 per cent and heat it in u test-tube to the 
boiling point, it will be found iliJit tlie vfipour tukea fire on 
applying A lighted match, and bums steadily as long as Ihe 
ebuUitifin is nminLaintd ; \(, however, 10 per cent of water 
be mixed with the Rurrple, there will be great difficulty in 
cutisittg ihtlacntnntjon, and Ihe vapour when ignited will ordy 
burn with a lambent flunto of pale blue separated cones, 
whilst below this gtrcngtki the ncid vapour is altogether unin- 
flammable. By this test, then (avoiding a too-prolonged 
ebullition, which uicreniica the strength oi a weak acid), we 
have « ready toeuna of estimating the quality of liquid 
samples of a high degree of coiicentnition without resorting 
to the more tedious meihod of acidinjelry. It has only to 
be stated, in conclusion, that the boiling point of the or- 
dinary qualities of acetic acid, although higher, is ao little 
removed from that of water, that the indications of the 
thermometer are* not much more to bo relied upon than 
those of the hydrnnifter. In many respects carlx^lic acid 
imitjiles Ihe deport ntent of acetic add in the characters 
above described; it likewiso becomes glacinl upon sep- 
nnition of the least trftcea of water, — Tlie Fhoiographic 
Journal. 

N«w Alkaloid In Ferine nl^d lilqnors. — According 
to M. Oser, every time that solutions of sugiir fermtMit under 
the iniluenoc of yeast, bcsidci* alcohol, u new alkaloid is f»ro- 
duced, to which the autlior atmbutea the formula, CjuHaoNi. 
The chlorhydrate of this buse crystalliseji in hygroscopic 
tables, which become brown on exposure to the air. It ap- 
pears that all fermented liquors contuin the new alkaloid, or 
Ht least one of its compounds. Yk^o await further information 
on tills subject; the preaenco of such a eubtitance in wine 
and in beer, till now entirely nnknowr), will doubtlcits explaio 
certain effects of fernjented liquors on the aniraa! economy, 
effecta which caJinot bo attributable to alcohol alone. — CVu- 

Obituary t Baron Von Relrlicniiarti. — Tbfg philo- 
sopher died recently at Leipzig, aged 81, His res^archea on 
the products of the destructive distillation of coal nnd wood, 
and ilia great work on meteorite?, are well known to our 
readers. His iuve^ligaiiotia on the supposed new odylic 
force, also deserve notice as a r<^markable iustaoce ot philoso- 
phic enquiry applied to subjects scarcely yet within Ibe grasp 
of pcieniific rea.sontng. 

lloti- to Make C'larcti— At the meeting of the Poly* 
technic Associatiun of the American Instilule 00 Iho 7th of 
January, during a discnssion on the adulteration of wines, 
Dr. Van der Weyde is reported by the American Ariinan to 
have described a mode of making darut, viz., by allowing 
water to aouk throti;2;h shavings, aid adding thereto a certuin 
proportion of logwood and tartaric acid. This produced a 
wine hardly to be distinguished in flavour and colour from 
claret. 



CONTEMPORARY SCIEISrTlFiC PRESS. 



[Under thia fapftdlng ll U intended to give the iillei of alt t}ie rJjemical 
nnprrs Mrliloh are imblUhrd lu tfae prtDcipnl fcIendAc T>«r1odluIfl of thie 
Continent Artlnles which nro uorvlj rvprinu or ahstracttof p«per» 
aJteady atidce^d will be ^unitlpd. Abstracts of th« ninrc impurlant 
pa|>frB ht'P*^ aoaouacttd will app«af In Aitore ouuibi-n of the " Cuavi' 
lUi. Mawa.") 

Compts* RendH*. October 5, 1868. 
Citimiari,; *^ IifMtarchf»<»i ^pfrimental Methnd* in dumigtry.^ 
OaniaLKiiniRt '* On th4 £HJrperiiie« f'owtr of Oosm and VanoHrg." 
DeMAR : •• yoft pn Z>r<eA#<»r# Met/tod o/Prrpuriug Oralie And from 
Cifrhonic Acidy M. BorcnKRia: ** .\Wi? on tkt^ PrfMi^rtation qf 
Wood."" A. UouERAr : " On Testing Ciimpetwhy Wood and othsr 
J>yt att'fii.'* H, ZutJt: '^- Con^ibutiims to th* Knou:ltdg« f)/ the 



StiJbene .SartV*." JfioniDAiit: " On ihe Xntivt AUoyt of Gold and 
Mlvtr frfHti Uif Kongnbrrg 3finf, A'wwoy." A. GArnaa: " Oi» 
J*f>firo/)^k'iirhytiJtniH4 and laopropfflamiut.^ J, Net; "A Kno 
Gtilranie HaiUrf/:' 

October la, tS6B. 
r R. FRAVKiAftii r " On tk¥i c*>'mhuj,tiun if tfydrogm aiid Cart*on(a 

T't" ' " '- - '' ■' "— 'vre" J. Kola: " MetncHr f>n 

H' 'hf Sptetrvpifftht f'K'fuhtr'' 

if o/tfif Sun nf AuQMtt i». iSSS, 

ai Jomm-M. ,j ki-.iii. <'n ,.,,,, ff„iU if Jfon.*' K Paikuhhi ^^ <M 
Hi* Acettil of JHeAioH noted KthyL and on the Pitparation tjf 
0/doratr 

October i*)* iFfeS^ 
DrwAS : " A^p^* <>»• a D^citit-n of the Jmdt^my relatinff to Hemoirt 

if thtC - -^. - - 

Anylty and Per/t.ti 



I 



)rwA8 : AVit* OH n iMrt»ifn oj me Acnonny reianng to Memoirr 
S^rtntriftg th* (^rclf, JHipttcaUon tf tht^ 'Jubf, THttcUcn of th» 
ylty and Per/t^itiat Motion."^ 'Warkrm sk i.a Kra and II. Mvxm : 
• On a Xftr Couxtant BatUry." RAPATrL ; '^ Bri-orton tht Kclip»§ 
ff thi' S»» t^f A^fQUit i8» i.S68./'<>W Obttt^POtio*** tnktn bstttten ^ 
Mftdrn* itud CiiteutM."^ A. OAtrtiea: '* On th* iMi1otin» Product* ^M 
of CitrhyUimintt:* Dk Saist-Martih : ♦• I3» IA# Dentity if JkiUft* ■ 
SotnUoHt."' ^B 

BulUtin d» TAeaJimU Jmp^rtah d»a JSei*nee4 d* St, F*t^rAov^. 
Juae 4, 186S. 
P. Ko«imr#rfiF»ftrKt O, MaftonBAr : " On the Chrmtcnl CompogUian 
of tht Fm*il Sponge* if th* Jjiiiii^-^ r.f thf CrrU}f*im» Btd* of 
Xu*iha." N. ZiNiw : -A'ti<e> oti ' ' t»iK»: NicnuL*» vox 

LaocniuiBEiu]: "* AoU on Kof> ' mmrrrrittt, and Ptn- 

nint" H. Jac«>bi : '" Ott th* EU. . ■ .^. 'on (f Iron." Klkin : 
" On th'mtmi subject." O. SiairN* t ' On (ho A''ypfL'tt^n)t qfth* Ayr(*ra 
Bnteiili*." A. Faminizij* : " (M th* Action tf Light on C*U-d4ti- 
*ion in Spirogyra,^'' 



AnnaU* d^ Ck«mt* ft d» Physigtt*. 
Septembar, 1S68. 

P. ATTOOi-iir : " On th« V** of Liquid Jlydroearhfmsfor ohtoining 
ITigh Tf"' '"'"''"<** nitd fur ffioting StA'tin Jitdl*t'*." A. ItuWAiti*: 
"On th'- EttimatUmofZinc.*' E. B^n'Rqom ; "On **4 

Putt t<:k '■■ in Et*itrofyiti«." A. Mautin" : "An Impro^td 

Pnn-et.^ J t. :. . . , . ...t/ GlitMlry mtttn* of Jn^trifd Sugar." V. Scuur- 
tKxBKHuaN : '" *tn MHHf rieoftionttproaHcing Ovychtoridr vf ( (xrbo*i% 
Olid on ft X*ie Volatil* Platinum CompffunJ:' Iik I,AiT*aisT: 
• Report on Pa^itur* Methv<i of IWtercing Win^ by meuna qf 
Tleat" r. ScncTZKMnBTiuaR : *" Mttnoir on th* Cohering MatUr* «■>• 
tractedfrom Ptruan Berri***" 

BvUttin d* ta Soci^t* IndttstritlU d* Jfvlhcmi^ 
Jul/, 186$. SuppletneMt. 
J. KoLB: "Jf*tnoirun BteacAing Fahric*." H. KotiMUiHt ** <M 






I 



M>tn* Moritttnt^i, othtr ih<jn Aluminn and Iron, fot Gnm 
CiM^urM, vfith t*ptctat r*fhr*nce to <t ntiiflitd {grenat) I>yt obtaimsd 
xHth thriimium.'" A . ScitatriUta-KEATNaR and C Mkpsii:* : •*/?«- 
nmrchm on th* fomhwitifjft of Vo'it." C. Koii ulim: *'-4 PriKtssfor 
Eatracting tft* Colouring Matter frotn Wast* FtjbricA Py^d frith 
G'trttncin*,^^ M. I'araf-Jatal; '■-Note on a Method uf Prtttnting 
the Injvrioit* AcUon of Anilin* Blfict on ih* Copper vf Priutinff 
iiolitra:" HQtLiis^stmK: *' On th4*am**ulrj«ct," JUailxas: *'^ AT^ca 
Anilin* I>y«.** ^ 

Contpt** Jtendus, October 36, ifl6S. 
J. J AMI* : " On rt Difertntiat Jitf mi-tor for Polarised Ltght." A 
GiaABTD: " On a Ktw ValatiU <nui Saccharine Prii>c>)>h' Pi'*ri>verfd 
in Caoutchouc frof/t tft* ^iaboint.^'' A. Uxchamp ; " » 
sition vfthe Sulphi<let ofth* Alialit* and AUt^tti"- 
tion in a Ltirg* t?uanfuy of Water^ Wario n hf 1 ^ 
Method employeti by J. S\ I.octyer for ■ ; i,.-lrti -.j ikc Pro- 

tutitranca «t>m»rted during Total E< ■uii.'' Jaxshsk : 

" .Vid* OH ttune litJiult* of th* Autfior ',oif*of th* Toinl 

K^iip»,e of the Sun of A'^tfiist iS, iSfcB. at Guniuor, India.'* Fxrtl 
" Note (i firf/j^o* of the Tiro prectding I'aptr*.*' BKHtUKtOT : " (>» 
the Fai maiiim qf lfumi4oguet *f Htnsin* fry th* Ii*i.-ipn>cal Acii4fn 
t^Fr** ffydroetirbon* of more sivipl* Struct ur«*. On th* Carbonm' 
ceou* Matter contained in csrtoin Jfeleorite*," 

November 2, 186^3. 
Dkuaciiat : **0n the IHaeovery qf a Method of Obaerring Solar 
Protuberances at alt time*:' K. PcLidtn : ** On th* i.Tomi>tmtitm c\f 
the Chronitte* of Irnn.^ Jj, MttrMicn; " Analyitis of a Mtleorit*^' 
C. MARiGjtAC: " On the Latent tI*ot of Vol>itili»'itton of S^tl- Ammo- 
niac:' F, Joi-TBT and A. t'AHOttaa : ** Rentarche* on the Phi/<^ii4ogf' 
eat Action of Methyl-Strychnine nnd Ethtit-Stryrhnin*:' C. Ui.A«tB : 
*■ <M Acfte/iylheiistne, n ntte /fydrocarbon rfUte Aromatic Series " 
S. tin Li:<;* : " i'hemif-al t/fwf Therajietidtutl Btnean'ht* on th* 
Wttt*r* of theSolfitarao Pousaafes.' E. GiuLEii : '* A MeVtod of £!*«• 
sifying th* Eltmtntt bastd vpon their Vhsfnicai JSguicaUnt. * 

BulMin d* PAcademt* Imperial* ds* Sci*nc** dt St, I*$i*r9b«mrff, 

Ao^lt It, ig6S. 
F. BnLBT!ci:T and A. Krutaaao : " On Suh*titHted Atcohot* ami 
Alilehydeis.^ K. Nitcnor ; *' i>n som* Deriraiires nf Para-Chlorttn' 
•ylic Alcohol:^ J. Faiiiiscni: : " Kesearehe* on l/ydrocarb^m*.'^ N. 



lEngUah Bdiboo, 7ol. XIX^ No 478, page 60 ; No. 479, page.71 ; No. 480, page* 82, 83; No. 475, page 24 ; No. 477« page 48.] 





EtxiJi ;•'/>»» fl Pro^tufi of {h*. AcHon of r/y>irrtcJd,}ric Acid on Kb- 
[«c4ir« <(f BiU^r AlnU'Hila coutainittg l/ydrocffania Acid.** 

rh^mU Mud Pharmaoit, October, t86S, 

: " fif4«t2rchM on MtJiHyUn*. Fifth 

Utfiirocarfjon l^omfric Xi/lol." ' h. 

'tisoic Atnd. jKntf on it O'mpound of 

L. Camif* : ** A S'tfC SynihttU qf t\* 

i; : *' i>n I.fcitkinf, Oi% n new Mod* of 

^Ulon of SulpKir'AclJa." K. Uemdbk: 

M-'<fr of /■t'r>;i.i>i"nof 'SulpLr- KthyHc nnd IHmUpho- 

(U "* A. (."(iLLiiAN : " On a u&m M^'ile of Formation qf 

lie, htthinnU% and Snlpho-Actlic Acids" A SciiAirr- 

th& SidfiKnAeut^ of OitfferiHQ.'* L. T)ATUiBT*prKa : 

RtliUict^ ikifutitutlifth and on tom6 M&iamarpiu^Mi of £pi- 



MomaUtftricM d«r KJnigllcK PrenMijiehen Akadtmi^ cUr Wit sn- 

^ 4cAtJf(6n tu Berlin, * 

Julj, r868. 
E Wnrr.xi<Ajr?i : " (M th^ .V'i,j:>r'(Um of C%emir<il Compoundsr 
X i*x3tN: " Cv ' ti Vie KnovsUdye of (iu4inidiHt. 

f^Ovteric j'>UH'*j<suLc, JSthttt. — //. JJotfw- | 

Anulvtumij ■ i,4tiird Oil." 

Journal fur Prakti*cA4 CHemi*. 
OeUbor 17, jSM- 
Wrrrtr>5» : ** An An^i lyti* rf th» MtttmMt tchicAftli at Puituif, 
n Poland, on t/te yttJi uf Jiinuitry, 186S.'' J. LoWB : '• Un tht 




\ion and Cvmponition 0/ CnUeAuic Acid. 



ComptiJl ttrndu4. NoYcmbcrg, 1868. 
FTorM « !^T» : " i'>n th^ t'ompoundm fnomeric trtth M* Ai/p\o- 
'' ~ ■' ■•"--' ' -: : ' Analog u(t of fill of MinUrrd of 
on Sot'tr ProtiiJI/frit ncety — J A- 
< CBicrii«rL,o» ihti9\imt inhjtci. 

V : ■ ^^'i,' i'i\ A. ,1. An-j>ir<>t;\ n Majyit of thf Htditr ^ptn^rum." 
— J. N. L><^fiKTCK : " FurUk^i' R^mitrka oji thf Author't Mf*'u>d ofoh- 
iaiminff .Sp^tr,t 0ftheS»ltr /V<*^<'/<«rrin^y« "— F. If. Raohlt: "(M 
M« ^fftci of It Ri»f hi 'fVniptrnturton the Oii<fr{ftc Ph&nomtna nc- 
panying i\hffrolyniA,"—\\t.7ktHr.U)f: '-On Itua Pyrogcnont 
rtiittH o/t\^ .\,-ffft/lfn»of the Btniol S^ri**." — LKriiANo: " <?« 
" ' '" Aff'it<<4;ft'tf^Ji, nomentto Prmini'ts »ptracUd 
ra." — 'ii. FuKDHTt " j4 Method of Prtfpar- 
l'.itldn rarfrf/fa*."— A, CoMMAiLLK : '*0iith4 

Korember 16, 186&. 

' ftiyt : " On. thA C'im/>iiiind4 Tuomerio vith CA* Sulpho- 

Mf;*."' — '* Comp'ifi'on >f Lif Mittiimorphoi^ fjf Uift vf 

I oj the Sitlphoaytiiiir. JCtfi^m." — W^krkx or la Hvk: 

ivfjLt on a l*hn'ographofthMSun."—\. ^cucuKia-KKSTXEH luid U. 

" AtMorvhtu on th« ^Ct/mbmUon qf Ooui'* {fJontinu- 



JUrarf 



Prtuence. 






BmD^im d* fJead^mi* R^vot^ ff^ BeJffiqut. {Cl^UMt dei SeUne44,) 

October 10, 1S68. 

Stai : *' tttport on A Ritdiiia*xrk«C» Memoir on aom« Dfritative* 

^ P\^n^rl-Ar.*tf<' Aeiil."'—^, Haukiszbw^ki : " Ri'*fiifvhM on tome 

' "' '■ i yl-Ai^tU'^ Aekiy—C. Klas : " t'rt tht Fi(tor$*cent 

■c* of Mumitfiae,u nexe Ulucwiidt oOtained from 




T^yjend^riT* AnnaUn dtr Phymfk, October la, 1S6S. 

1 ''t'^Th^rmicfilitnjiChrmteiilArMOfGf/piiHmand 

• "^11 WAancKO : ** Ofjm^rMtioH* on the Iiirfu^nce. 

r.V T -^/„/^."-W. ItEKTz: " On tht, KlHt'ic 17- 

-: " On It yfie Constitut Voltaic Bat~ 

'd of obtaining an Artijiciul Spec- 

'■ r'g Line,** 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



inff C/fjM— I should esteem it a grtal farour if yon would 
metluKl of fMstiu^ (lint glmaa bj tbe liquid iu It U dnnc oq iLe 
And in !*t.jurbri.li5c. I can d<t It with tbe fluoride of «Fnnio- 
l^ydrtifluaric iicid mixed to^^cthc^; tbo fluoridcdoL's nut mix 
avid, »>> I have to put it uti wjth 1 bruati, mod It U very urieven 
i'erha^w some of tboie leara«d ehoinlsts wlioari' eonni^ctod 
raliiiiblo ivaper might be able to Instruct me ito thai I could 
:lkiklly. Tueriii 1- a way to do It wkh the fuuies, hut it is a 
jinJ ft v<»rjr bad way, and to very unhpalthy.— K. B. 
t(n the Spctrum. — Several roar* agi», when Ilunspn and 
Id I'arU, Pluoker an'l RburtikNitf prupu^ed lo them a 
'Bjwctrum AnalyaU," which they lUd tiot unswrr. 1 bavo 
Umif h9*n waltlKi; li» see an an^^wer. Tlit^ ditficully l» one whirh inccti 
apcftooat bli Qr«t t;Ut of a Bpectroecnpo. It b thU:— Tbe mpoar 





»pectr* are banda, nnt Iln««. Ukc Frnnnhorer't, and thrse handx vary in 
width with Ibe op'niag of the »ltt Take, *. ff., sodltun. A candle hoI<I 
In fnint of the slii glv6n a vuriribk*' band, n<il a lln<* or p:ijr »f Um s. It 
la not poMlble but lb:»t tbl* dlfflcultr h.w been mt>n fully explained ; 
but I have Dot bceo able to obtnin exjilitnaDon or cuii^iier the ditficuUy 
with a plain spectroacupe. The arm liiu'R ure quite fa:$ily bad, even 
with B comnion Tirfsin hi the hand ; not 60 vapour line* — L. K. 

Vitriol Chiimber.—\S\iiX I* the best shapt> b»r a vitriol chamber, anil 
on what <l<>ei the yii'^td depend? I wUh to know wrbcthor a chambL'r 
i*r tbe !«liajie of a cube would yield aa much as a loiigu-r and nanxiwer 
one of the tame jotiteiits?- G. N. 

Siam.—XKiMT corri-.-pondMUt. '^Orlona." who dmires informailon 
about tbe kinpdom of S^iam. will, perhaps, nmst reurllly liblii'n the In^ 
formation he reiiiiires V»y either pulilely aldrcwlni; ihe V^f^^l llun. J*lr 
J. Bowrine, who, according to the ** Atmnciarh <le Ootha '' Ttr i!i6<j, ta 
tbo Eavoy Exir*MriJiiisry and MittUter I'lenlpoi cutlery f-r >i;nn ti» tbe 
I'tmrt of St. Janie«, or by applyiug lo U. At. Maft-m, li»q., Ch'IWuI for 
Slam, r«*tillii(? In Londita.— D. ' 

Vitriol C/uuub»rt).—" O, N," wanU to know the bc»t shape tor 
vitriol or sulphuric aclil chinibera. Wltljoat eotorinp Into deiaiU eoo* 
cernlog the ibtory snd praetice of the rririnufaolure 'tf aulphuric add, 
full partlcuirvta <»f which arc given In Ukhard-on, Watt», nnl Knapp'a 
"Techn'-losy,"' it may be bdi-fly «iaited lh»t Hie shape u^umlly adopted 
ban bwen found to answer the purpose bi-at, becaiiai' it be^l ndinlts tbe 
pr.>p«r play of react ons to tiike pliice belwci-ri ihd various niaierialat 
wbb'h results in the formation of sulphuric add; if, instead of sulphur, 
sulphur ores (pyrit. p) are Hsod, tho oatpa Itv «f th<^ cb.iiubers should be 
relatively lirLfer t& obtain Ibe ssruo quanllty. The shape adopted for 
»ull('hur!r arid chamhere haa been found on i.>\perieiice to be ni<C only 
too most lultkble, but tbe only one pntotically auiLible lor snoceaaon 
the larj?e scale— I>a, A. A. 

/c» //ouaf.—\S'l\\ any pertoo acquftli.ted with the Bubjeet.kinftly 
fkiriiish me wUb 11 description aa to the beat tnctbod of cunstructing an 
Ice h(<uie on a flui.dl scale? — ZrkO. 

Pynnniite. — Your correspondent, Mr. Wheeler, will perh'vp* be ^'ad 
to learn thai dynamite mav be obtained from Mt'ssrs. Webb dt Co.. Cat- 
narvon. N. Wales, the s-de cunslgnecft In England frura Die [jatcntee 
and mnnufacturen — AtFiia. 

Stpurutiug Iron and BroM Dmt.—^i wish lo koow the nnuie and 
addnss of the patentee (or the maker) of nn elcctro-nngnetlB appara- 
tus fur <tepatatln;r iron frmii brass du>t. Thcnainoof any firm usihg^ 
one will answi-r our purpfuse as well, aa we wish to make enquiries aa lo 
the cnpabiliiles of the Apparatus. — HtaasKT it Co. 

S«i'nra:in{r Iron and Brufi />u»<,— Cc-Tteiin Improved spparatitt f r 
icparattng flllai/s «tr other amnll bits or particle* of lionnrBteMl from 
other metallic flJriRS, »iTapiu|k'«. cliippl'njf.v or otb<T ssnrill [)nrtleli'l or 
dust, Ity uto of jna^eta, Patentee, WlUiarn Thonia.t iii.«JieH Aliday; 
No, of'^ Patent. 67; dale, January lotb, 1860. Address, Keduall, Wor- 
ceaterablre. 

/c« i/i)u*e. — "Zero" toAy find a rery ^ood arconnt of the mode of 
eonstructlns an ice boaao In Uri^'t " Diciloo.iry of Arts. Manufiicturea, 
and .Vltnm," |iiiMI.«Led bf Longmans, sixth edition, T<iL il , p. 643. 
The article !« aLCain nuiLd by a wo'>d-cut, and h too lenuthy to be 
properly ahatric ted In " Notes and Queries;" the work jil.uded to Is 
found in tlie L'briirv of the OomnilasloQera of Palcnu.--AuQfia. 

Tin -Vtw Petnjttum AeL — l^an Buy of Um nuiiieroua correspoo- 
dcJlts of th.» CitKwiCAi. Nxws tell as If benzid comes undi'f tho 
operntloQ of Ibe uol? If U does, it will uffect u» rather serloualy. W^ 
prfftuiue ether Is not iocludeil.— A Wholksalk Firm. 

Mtinuf'ifture of Iron.— S new procea* for thi-' maonficture of Iron, 
wh^'rcbv the purJitling ppHiPsa is obviated, h now on lis rrinl nt Pltta- 
bursr*!. '^- S- ^^^ P^fi* **' crude Iron are molted, and whilr in a fused 
ttate, a qtinntlty of crushed ore la Intermlsed. The oxygen of the ore 
coiubiuct with thocnrban of ihe Iron ; the mixed mAa-i \i cull d a pl,e 
bto4Hn. Ifpon rehenlinx the?e pigs and sque<-ilne them In the oaual 
miinner, iron ofvi^ry irtii»d quality la obtiiined.— fii^'n/*/*. 

t^Aro/niMm AWe/.— It bos long been known that mn alloy composed 
**r sixty patls of chromium and forty purts of In n la jo hard aa to 
fkcratch glasa Ukn a diamond, and Bnch an alloy may be formed by heat- 
lojj oxide of chromium sind also cbrom» inm ore lo a blMt furnace; t( 
the oxidu* alone be applU'd, metallic In^n, of Course, should be added. 
Evpcrlnienta on Uic larjfe scale arc now being ''arrle-l *in la ptiKluce a 
spoclea of steel, suitable for ralN and other puri><*es, by uddlpiR chrome 
ore and mnnjcineae to the Iron In the poddllnff furnace— ft' ryi^if'en'nf?. 
LWorif-jjij/ JJiftr.— Zinc may be irlven a flno black colour by rrleanlns 
Its aurface with aand and dilate lulphqrle acid, and thfn Imraerslug It 
for an instant in a 64>lutlon compo.<ed of fo-Jt parts of julphale of rdckel 
and amjnontit In forty pari* of water ai-Mul;il«'d with on*? p:irl of sul- 
phurld acid, next wnshluB and drylnj? It. Tbe black oiialing adberea 
fiiraly, and takes abronie colour under the burnisher, Braas may l»e 
•lalned black with a Itqubl conlaininit tw<t part* arsenlous add, four of 
hydrochloric acid, one of sulphuric arid, and eltfhty of water, 

PrtMeixati/in of H'oot/.^Accordinp to statement* made by Dr. 
Feucblwaniier. of N<-w York, who for Ihe past IhSrIy «ix yenra has bad 
hb alteotion directed to the preservation of wood fVoin every apecieaof 
dc'cny, anl nU'^ to make It lnc<ombllstlbIe or flre-proof, not one single 
[irocesa attempted for thl* pur|>op>* has been alt*'nd«d wUh ptTmanent 
suifteas,, except the appliciUon of ellicaU's In llif^lr VBrluus f^-rm* to all 
organic mb.-.t incea. such aa woody flbre, pasteb^iard, Ac. Ut, Feucbt- 
wangeKs metbi>d h simply to steam the tuaJter, then Injeel a sohiUon 
ofalilcate of sodn for eight houra, and ihen soak the wood for tbe samo 
period in lloio water. 

Th«Sp«rHU< Gru'titttof SU*l ot^f:\W;i.x<- ' g. The 

hardening of the metal by tempering is a^ ruir Infijj 

ago i>bsnrved, by a nntablediiuinuiionof ^[" ' •tronbaa 

noted thit tbe apeciflc gravity of ateel dlmioUhea witti the Dumber of 
time* It b tempered. 



No, 477, |>age 48; No. 47^ page 72; No. 474, 1»C« 12; Ifo- ^73, pafo 34 ; Ho. 476, pap* 
page 4B; No. 47d, page 60; No. 479, page 72.] 



1 64 



Answers to Correspondents, 






ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



J. y. /*.— Tbers \* danirpr of the suhjiiol of Sdonce T«Mt)diiB beoom- 
Intf wwiri^oau' ti* tjur rca/lcr*. 

K. K. — t. Tlir iitw rilUlon of Fownes'<i "Monu»r' will prove vrry 
lucful !ti »i!tUtloti ».. Mlii I < '■ riiL'ini^trv " 2 Bfe NoU'« luid Qucrli't. 

JoMUphuM.^Ai^ ill eo n Rtronp injliillon 

of tbe (aM*. T" i<' li U much 1<-m ddtu- 

bi* In ^> it-r r . - rowy iil»o bo sepBraUul 

by * ; i!.i-U d.ir«Tcti.t vu.Al.lifj-. 

. ' I.110W of a book OD cotuur nalcing, applicable la 

tiif • *'». 

.'' apodal work on tbe tabject. 

a, ■! 

y< aeofammaniairtli answer all 

four ri'n\ilri'iiii:iits. 

J. //urdiitu ;i.—\tr%ir9, Trumm, Ilanbury, Buxt'io, and Cn. have 
one ivf lUti K'o luacLlnes j'oa mouLlon. Oav'ot iH-hano power woold 
Ouet £3.0100. 

J/f, BtiitfU't c<'iitmun1'>at1oa "On a Mercury rotnpi>unii of Acety* 
lene," tui:<?thi'r writh lh«>af of several olhwr currespOiKft*Dl«, are uoaTutd- 
ablr |>o«ti)one<l till ntrt week. 

Quff^i*}. — Otto \>i*.n (f( *iil|i|jar wlU diuolve It) about 3.000 piartB of 
gUcoHuv. nrut wc biMlevo \.he »<i]utlHn Lua been propt>iscd ol a IocaI np- 
]illi*nti«n 111 fttiitu' aJTci'liojm of the ?kti». 

OH^fM Juki " whetbtT there Ji, Jn the aervlce of Ihc Slameaa Gorem- 
tDrnt, ony l.J^^«f>lr^i^' f..»r a te*'bn«ilA)rio«l ohcTrjlBl esperlenred \y tb* 
analjriifl uf tirllii. ote4, rurnaco producU. nnd dr,vMtlt«-rlc«. and if ti\ 
wliaiwuiM be the cliuHJK*! for au npi>Ucant to oircr hl» strvic<ut" 
Perhapa ^time uf our corre^x^oo'lents may be ablo to aiiiwer this 
inruitry, 

«r ir'iW<K'«.— Tlie Sntltt.n d» la Sotitif fuduMtHtUe tie MuVtou^e 
«in be ohulneit tliroiiiih .itn f.r. irn bookif Her, or It can bo *c«a at the 
Pat*nl OtBcc Llltrarv, « -ir, 

l>r.J.n.rtf'h,—i\\i> hTj coTnmotitcfttloii on "f^rbollc 

Add" Is lUily rrcclvi'l, .: lnserl*>d Ui aii eitrly number, 

tt. f*. U'A,!tt{rr —MeAfii-. I'rtutJc* amll l*o.. Plo«rin:irket, tupply til 
the pre;inrutti>iis of gun cotton. We are not able to luform you wbere 
dyr^ftntiU' ii Uj be priicurwd. 

r, lloruftr.—i. A Runavik burner U prefenible ton fplrit lamp for*"!- 
perlmonii la upectriim aiiatrola. II yon reqiilrf inort' heat, use a fltie. 
bloM'-pllio flaiiia, hut iiottiing irill repUoo the imtuetion coil fur «>xperi- 
tnentinif uii iiiariy Tni'talllc cotupouuiU, 2. In makiiis oxygen from 
|]iantraiic<^c and chlnrutti of po()i4h th^.Te U nn itaneer provUled theeiU 
pipe* are wide etiotjgh to avoid (feitlnjr blocked up. j. A glaaa retort 
will not do to di'comp'Kio bfnoiido *A barliun In by beat, 

J. Bnnit* tf' Tt*. — Tbere will be no !«■ of delicacy If yon repUee the 
atetl itdif' <-i\i:fh at vcitar balanci^ by aaiate. We hiive oai-d aifat*^ edirea 
on ' NT yeim, and pr«f«r thi ra to hteel on anito, sg tbey do 

no' a Inborjitory, The shapi? of the knl^e ecfm-^ b the same 

lu -J i .11 will llrid It advUnblt* t«» hnve the alterutlun rtofc by 

k woi'Wuiaii ckiierleiiccd In the manufacture of baLLnces^ aft tbej wUt ba 
•lire to r('c)uir6 reaJjunlmoDt. 

C. /?. — To lureritiin the comp^aUlon of the aubstance forwarded to ua 
wotild luV'ilvo a •■heinlcal analyflCa. 

iS— 1. Applv lo Me«r«i, dohnwn and JJatlher. a. CoomiU CNellTa 
•M>lctl.in»ry of CuHco I*rintinpf." 

/Vr 3furt f'er T^mim. — An " assay renlner" Is an liideflnKe terh- 
nkial terra. It meant irxsunltaof wdKlit. In copper aiiMys, fur jo- 
attnoe:. the cmtniir i* frequently 400 ^raia«, 

7! 7VM>m/#«f»H,— PhoKptiale'nf Hfuej U decomp"«ed by ehnllltlon with 
an a(|ne<Mi!4 tulutlon of oxalic acid. l*robably this roactloa will be of 
lue In vour rci^earch. 

A. M. E>l.itit!i'\lif. — t- The prejonce of allcall prevent* In^n from rajt- 
Inir. and iy« fuct b f; oiiU'-ntly made u»c of, but we have not »i on any 
•Attiraclory i*xpljtn:itl'ii) iiflho drcumMjinec. }. Thalllurii and ita Hilti 
can be priWurod frcui Mesanu llopkln and WilUnnis, New Cavendish 
Street. Ltnidou, W. j. Tiiero la only one copy of vob Ix. at our office; 
iU prlof* la ioa, 

<?. F. /?,, and ofWr*,— It Is KTftttfyln(f to know that the aUeratlon of 
typ* which we have luiroduc^d wUh Dr. O.llluit'f Lectures jflvi'i ftuch 
aallefactl<iin, TUe fout, which hn^ been ppL-elat|y east fur us, i.o pjurticu- 
lariy legible, retidnln? n11 the plctiireM<; le nunJutnesa of nntlqon style 
wllh tha ui:itbenrrl!c:d accuraey which cliarjictcrlwa modern tyj)e. 

T."- Av. ' /; \^( J -..(.'.f/ v-vifr/— The followinir»tarttlfltf news ap- 

p<*: tiituooement hoA recently been made 

l<> V of Enfiland of the ditcovery, by 

tUKt. *. ijcrto unknown eurdope of iraseoUl 

matter tmrfuu ^ a tbicknrai uf seven or eltibt tb'«u- 

wnd innet. l! t baa not yet been d>'Termlnod, but 

will I. r. .:..-,', K' _ :ulnetl." It U to be hoped that Im- 

Hi' Kikuii iM r«icuv the Fellows of thii Warned body 

fr.i 'Ulon. 

/,. . .. - (Communlcntl^n "On the Icnltlnf Polntof Petro- 

lettui " i» u(ia*Mliiiibl> pmtpotied Bnill next week. 

C. irutit^r.—i*ne cdl of a battery will tint eftlclently decomipae 
water; you will require two or ihr.e ct lU »t lenst. If the sine pUtei 
ftre prop4.'rty amaltraniaCed there will be do frothhii^ In the cell. 

1/; ir r.— Wo ctirtnot undertake the rcpoaiHjUlty of suliie whether 
any partlftilar Individual if a "rospi-ctable pr lieUtlum^r" or an "advar- 
(Ufnf; qurtck" A« a rule, respecialde practiiiom-r* do tiol ndrerfUe. 

/*. £f, — We l*now of no biKik whieh lreat.i on the furinatlon, fitting- 
up, and manner menl of a lal»nr«l<»ry. MiKh defend* tjp"0 the kind "f 
work to be done in It; wbelher research, or commercial anslyae«; how 
miny aaiLotants aru employed, and If pupils are Liken. L*'n};tQ of purie 
t» alao an Itoporuuit conibleration. As, you any expeute will be 00 oon- 



idderatlon, the best tlan wHl he lo «»e as amor pr^rato and e»obI 

laboratorilM as po*-!* " t riaefbl pr.f ' '- r-- - ^fi, at 

then draw oul a pi. -.i wi:i ftrul 

conBuUi;revill« W I. •fi.bcuik.il 'hi 

ImTv dt'cidlflg about tlif li.-iul irraiii;<iiu-r]l. 

RijirintM uf our Ktriy yumbtt'«.—]r\ deferenre to llie wlsb« oJ 
numerous subM-'rlbert, we havu decided toTt-l-'.. ...in.v «■»! our e*rli«r^ 
numbers whl< h have loa^ been out of pHi.; manner wa , 

*Iuill rtbonly b<^ able to nupjdy all the earll-r 3. !>««'«*'] 

b*r i(, iSso, 1*111 be reoily for li*ue lu about u - ■- - . - - 

A. VT. A. — We citnn<d reocMuniend any partU'iilar chemist In tblfJ 
colmno. Bend a pHtai© addrcea, with particulars, and we will ooua-j 
manicato with you. 

W. fVjrjM.— The whole of tl»« Inlbnnntton ytm wtrrlrc T*fprrtlnc *>»•] 
beat and tnosl nnodem work* 00 Iron, its nalnrr aid ' ' , wlH) 

be foum! In the seciind volume of Kf^rl's " .Metatlu d b# 

publiabi-d in Uie C'^ar^a of a month or two by MeAtnt 

Pht^Iihorie Aeid, — A correspondent who mnkeo aome romarlts «*J 
this subject, lit Inf4iritked that Ma letter la so burtty written aa t»» be al-l 
most unintclllfitble. The •i«:iiatDre U bopd»>sly involvv^ in floiubbei^^ 
and tt ia only hero and there that a word can be deciphered. 

r. />.— Be*hJea the worka quoted laat week, tli^re »• v?v. ■.-.I oth/^rs, 
chiefly In tbe.tteraian lanffunj^e. givlnn dec ' ' 

Thero aro^ for lofttance, descrlptlonft cf th. 

CarUrnhe, |*ra(rn*. L'i»*ftlj<- h'Tbut: In tli.' <, « 

excellent work I'h": ' 

to ibe subject of ar! f 

Duflos, of Bresluu I : a :__ _l 1 . = 

but very excellent, wutk uu Lliih buLjt^ci. • 

CofumurtifatiOnAhor^ be^n r#tWp«f from Dr. Angtxt Snaitb, F.RJ.$| 
S, Wilson; Dr. OdUnn, P.U,8.: iJrlmwade. Kld'ev, and Co ; d H. Sai 
yer; J. I. hindalr, AtickUnK S.5C, ; W, T. Suirofk; T, iMcker; \t<^f 
Townsend and Adama; F. U. Baker; R, Broadh^jnH; d, Wo'«dlj' 
Spragne; Marahall Hall; Dr, H. Benc« J-mt^ F.RS. ; H. 
M'aLM.fi; K, U. T4tlo<'k ; K. K^rnan; the Prior of the Monaslt 
dineph (wllh encU^rire); J. Prydo; J. Mackie; Corbt'tt 

B. Nlckela; V. J. Kav-Sbuitlewrtrth ; W. J. Bnah and Co. (wllh 
BUre); W. T. Suffolk; 11. Sanders; O. MarTi»«-o; J. Dicker: W, 
Salter; Df. Letbeby; O. Itkhler; J. Wilson: E. Kopp; L. Cmtk 
(with endoflure): J. I*rido (with enrlostireU S. FC. MuMratt ; T. V««i 
A. N, Tate; T. Watts; J. Parnell; Dr. R. Anpus Sr^inlth ; lilvln^oti 
Co.; W. MoNamara: J. A. Brand: 1) Forbci. F.R.S.; O. 
(with endi'sure); D. W. Ladley ; J. W. f*utre; cV K Jewelt» Qi 
(with enclosrtre); l>r. H. Anpii Smith, F.R.?*. ; (i. F. Kodl 
Mellor; W. T. Suflolk; a. Fo^rd . O. MarrUon; K. F. Wj., .jI**! 
Wharton Himnson, M.A.; Dr.~8herldflri M'jspratt; Ur, .1i>' 
Chicago; J. %Allace; Mt^ra. Mulr, Brown, ami Co.; C i 

Otto Rkdjtcr; d, Br'ide and Co. ; Dr. E. U<'hrljf; K. F. Ta'i . , ■-... 

C. f^t/mford; J. Morrb (wJth enctoaure) ; W. Brlgi,'* (wUh (.'ti>.l«i«urei; 
R. Mallet, F.RS. ; SunUlai* Meunbr; J. and F. fitiircc; J. A. Brand; 
M A. <Uge; O. Maiwell; Muj-iiratt, Bro*., and llmf < v i >lmi|ry; 
T. Blair; t\ Burielt <wllh emelosurt^i: J. Monrln 1 1^ »»; J. 
Wnllaee (wllh enclosure); Pn.feasor Watiklyn ; R -■' - ; W. 
T. Suffolk; K. s^ianton; Pr-.fw^nr A. M. Kdwar>L-. w 
Little ; Ihbbert an<l t^o. ; E. P. II. Vaiighin : J. Su'ie ; J 

L'Al.b; A. lUmy ; G. Keyworth; E. Po<;kndl: MA-s*ni. T 
Ad^m*; E. W. Ball; J. F. LHcfceon; <'. K Jewett, Gott 
enc|(«nr*); B. iiuliuan; J. J. Ward; Klvlngton and Co 
sure); A. F. Fnind*; I>r, Wallace (with enc'.jiurel; J. ' 
Nickels; Qnskell, Peafwin. and Co,; O F. K.Hlweif 1 
Lndwtic, f^ufa, G^pt; W. M. W'atia; IVofea-or R 
endofure); Dr. S, Muspratt; Dr. 11. An t;ij* Smith, i 
wdl; II. Rcnshaw; E. Hart; J.W.Clement*; 1: 
llunter; J. taiiiuelson ; W.T. Suffolk; Profift»or R 
(1. Henry: A. M. Scotl (Willi enclosure) ; A. Wti; 
IL ^IcLe'otl ; A. N. Palmer; J. C. Lee (with eTid<j*Ui. 
N.Shaw; Mottenhead and Po. (wllh encbisure): B. K 
OdliriK. F.R.9. ; T. llfU ; J. Splller ; D. Saul ; and Profe^ar, 
Fretre -Marreco . H. Mallet, F.U.S. ; K. Carter Moff.it ; C, * 
S. Mellor; C. Orevllk* William*. F.R.!3. ; Dr. Aflrlald ; V, 
Rnaadl; J. E. Morffnn : Dr. Letheby; E. Blntkwcll; W. 
l>aD% Melhriurne; R IL", Clapham ; Clark and Company, 
Prof-Mor Moi^ror.l ; R. R. Tatlon-k ; W. CaM; ArcliR.iild ' 
(with enclosure) : Mawaon k ttwan ; J. 8, Bnuier ; F. Bad. 1 
Iludftnn ' wUli encl.»aure>; A. Delft* (with endoeure\ ; t M 
encUj«urc>; Rev. R. C. Junes (with endoBure>: >' 
Murinaii : Tlie Kew (,ib»ervatory ; A. Gfyirer; W. J 
dosuTfl; Runcorn Soap ami Alkiill Co. ; J.Turner ,. li.iu v s.i 1 
and W, Little (with encloaure). 

^or*t» ^#cWcr<i.—''tll»t<drede« Doctrines Chlmlqne,T>epol» I 
filer Ju»qu'aNoa.Ioun." Par Ad. Wurtx. Paris : L, linnhelTc an M 
Twe'.'dle'i '* Teniperance Y<yir Book of Facl-'s ai>d lll^lorv." \ji' J 
W^. Twv'e<llo.— -The Journal of Materia Moai,.' N, -i L.bn 
Y. : TlJden iind Co —The ♦* Photnyrafl 
*'R»*port r>r Annn,nJ MiH-tlng of M*-"ml 
A«94>clation."— Van Noatrandi " KcIp* ■ 

I, voL I.— "Town Life amonj Ibe IV-ort*!.. ihv Air Ibey Ilfei»tbe 
and the Houae-B they Inhabit," by John Edward Morgau. M. K., M.l>., 
Oxon. London : I.ontrtnnps, Green A Co. ** Report on the l^an; 
Itafv Ctmdlti'jn of the City of London fi>r the rear 1867-W," by 
Leiheby, M.B.. MJL., Ph.D^ tc; The American Journal of 
January, iSo^. 



[dnsUab CditlcQ. VoL SIX., Na 474, page U 
72; No. 474, page 12; No. 475, pace 24; 
IST; Ifo. 477, pmg9 48; No, 479, pne* 72. J 



; No. 475, pa^e 24; No. 476, page 36 i 
No. 476, page 36; No. 477, page 48 i 



No, 477, pag^e 48 ; No. 478, page CO; No. 479, paga 
No. 478, page CO: No. 479, page 72; No. 474, page 



I 






^ meviean S'Uj)j:dc7ntn t. 



165 



AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT. 

New York, Marth, 1869. 

The rmcklnfi of OU». 

To T«t Edhok of the SvppLE^rENT — Tn your i^mie 

of the present months I find a critiL-ism of niy arddc 

on the Disiilhtioa of Hydrocarbons ftt high itinpora- 

lure*, etc., which appeared ia the Jumiary number of 

le A mfriean Juurmtl of Science, 

I take no exceptiou to the criliciBm, as nn cxprcR- 

lion of the individual opinions of the author, either in 

tts remarks upon the style or :&ubjfct-matt«T of my 

)aper ; and I am only led, in the present int-tance, to 

lotice it from fear that by niy silence I might be un- 

dcrsrocd to assent to the opinions therein expressed. 

^It 13 but justieo to myself to say that the article of 

Iff* p^ge3 was not wholly, or in large part, devoted 

ft criticism of the theory of Dr. Hirsch, as the re- 

ricw would lead one to suppose. It is, to on equal 

)xiBnl at least, employed in a descripiiun of experi- 

i«it3 the results of which had. never before been 

I»ublished, which bore directly upon the subject, and 
brmed the most conclusive evidence upon which I 
formed opinions dlfl'ering from those of Dr. H. Mote- 
I he ariicle in question w« not simply an expre.*- 
ioo of one in<iividual opinion or theory as oppos* d to 
"ler; buT, in addition thereto, it contaitsed a de- 
►n of experiments the results of whicli were 
ible of exi>lanation upon the opposed hypothe- 
Bft, vi»., that of Dr. Hirsch. 

But, as my reviewer pays, "the substance is of more 
liraportance than the form," and to the substance of 
this remarks in the f>urth paragraph of his article I 
iost cmphalically object. I do not dedro *' credit for 
[Jcnowing better" than to repeat the Btattment that the 
process of " cracking "' PennsylvaniB or any other 
rcrude oils conKists in subtraction of carbon. 

Four series of homolog^ues are thua far known as the 
'.possible vol.itile products of ^' crackinp,*' with a few 
I isolated bodi. 8 hko naplithaline and the more dcn.«e 
[products enteriiijEf into the composition cf coal tar, 
Iwhich have thus for been but little s-tudiod. Tl-e first 
two of I he four series hnve been named by Prof ssor 
Dana tln^ " Naphtha " and '* Beta-naphtha" series. They 
lore iHonieric. and their composition is represented by 
the general formula C.H^,, bcin^ homologues of 
inarBh gas, f *n< * The thiid series consists cf the 
Olefines, or Pittolcum Group of Professor Dann, and 
their composition may be represented by the general 
formula C.Hs,, being homologues of olefiant ga« 
CHj. The fourth series is the Benzo'e series, repre- 
sented by the lormula C,H^.e, This K^-t jpronp, to- 
geUier with the cot\l tar products mentioned, ujay be 
considered as f-»rrairig with the coke the less volatile 
and more liighly carbonized residue of the "cracking" 
of bituniiu'Mis cool, while the large volume of pas, con- 
tAining a much greater number of equivalenfs of 
Ijydrogcn than nf carbon, escapes as the distillate. 
That "cracking," in this instance, consists of subtrac- 
tion of carbon, I ihink no one will deny. 

In the many experim'^nta ma<!e by my^'^elf, P have 
not, however, yet observed (hat these c«>ftl tar pro- 
ducts are found among the produda derived irom 
perrokMim by "cracking.*' 

Although! dr> not agree with my reviewer that 
Warren's apparatus is the one "least suitable for 



• c=is. 



petroleums," I will suppose that it be admitted that 
petroleums fractionated by it are more or less 
" cracked." The conclusion incvirably follows that 
Ihe products of "cracking" are chie/l^ formed on 
the marsh gas type, and belong either to the Naphtha 
or Beta-naphtha series. The amount of carhon 
varies in this class of bodies fiora eighty-five per 
cent in solid paraffin, to seven ty-Gve per cent in 
marsh gas, tlje proportion decreawDg as the density 
decreases. I think that no one can deny that " crack- 
ing " the more dense members of this series must re- 
sult in subtraction of carbon. 

There only remain the olefines, with a constant for- 
mula CJI^. Each member of this group has the 
same percentage composition of carton and hydrogen 
as the others, viz., eighty-five and seven-lcnthB per 
cent of carbon, tnd fourteen imd three-teniha per 
cent of hydrogen. The density of the different mem- 
bers depends upin complexity of moVcuIar arrange- 
ment. It is evident that "cracking/" in this genes. 
might result only in a re-arrarfgetucnt of atoms to form 
less cojiiplex molecules, without subtraction of car- 
bon; but, if the members of tliis group were 
" cracked " into those of the mar^h gas seiief, deposi- 
tion of carbon must fi»now. 

I grant that chemists knc^ comparatively nothing 
regarding the more den5e portinus of Pennsylvania 
petroleum, and otlier kindred substances, to the treat- 
ment of which the process of " cracking " is applied. 
What is known, however, points to the supposition 
that those substances contxdning paraffin contain the 
olefines in comparatively small volume, while thorC like 
California petroleum, which do not c nta^n paraffin, 
are, in aB prubalility, made up chiefly, if not entirely, 
of olefiQC!*, or some other more highly carbcnized 
series. Thi§s gupposiiion is strengthened by the fact 
thiit the distillate from California petroleum of the 
same density as the commeriiJ oils manufactured 
fiom Pennsylvania petroleum docs not burn as well 
with the satne dralt, and evidently contains more car- 
bon than tliose oiK 

Kow, one experiment is worth more than volumes of 
speculation. I have shown that homclogues of marsh 
gas cannot be "cracked" without subtraction of car- 
bon ; and also, that, if the members of the Benzole 
series are formed at all (as they niny be, towards the 
clcSd of the operation), tlicy are rather to be classed 
with the more highly carbonized residue than with the 
more highly hydrogenized distillate. In all of the 
many experiments made by myself upon California 
petroleum, not one instance of "cracking" occurred 
witluiut dcpt sition of carbon, and the distillale no 
longer appeared to contain an excess of carbon, but 
resembled, in physical properties, the ordinary distil- 
late from Pennsylvania petroleum. I think, therefore, 
that, in the light of both theory and experiment, I 
hazard nothing in repealing the statement that the 
process of " cracking '* consists essentially in subtrac- 
tion of carbon, and not in a change from a more to a 
less complex molecular arrangement 

In reference to the problem proposed, I think it will 
require very htUe study to convince a candid mind 
that the essential conditions are impossible of occur- 
rence. Is ii poesihle that air should enter the interior 
of the still through the worm, agninst the pressure of 
Iho ascending vapors? Again, if water io pro*luced 
during the dbtillation of a pure hydroc^b<>u, it must 
be by combustion of the hydrogen. If it were 
possible, docB any of my readera suppose that any dia- 



iUU 




American Supple^iienl 






tiller would allow oir to ifflliFHle interior of hm still » 
second lime, in sufTicient quantity anil at such a tem- 
perature as to produce eomhustion of tht hydrogen? 
Whoever fonnil water in liw disiillato, either put it 
into hid si ill or hnd a \viikj condensing apparatus. 
The presence of the deposit resembling albertite was 
fiimply due to tbc fact that the operation was sus- 
pended before all of the volatile proitucts had escaped. 
In the many dlptilhitioiis that I have made of a great 
variety of hiturninous aubstancea, the restdue has 
varied in appearance from that of the hartl, difficultly 
combustible coke of tlic gas retorts to the ordinary 
tarry residue of Pennsylvaniu petroleum. 
Very respectfully yonrsi, 

S. P. Peck HAM. 
Pro/fssor of Api'lied Chemistry in WnnkingUm 
and Jejfvrton Collcgt^ Wushintftun, Pa. 
February 33, 1869. 

[Our readers are indebted fur tlie above infereating 
paper, in part at least, to a little niisapprehenalonj by 
its author, of what we intended in our remarks in the 
February issue. We asserted that "cracking" does 
not consist in the subtraction of carbon, meaning' 
thereby that the taking away of carbon did not coni- 
priae"tiie whule of Ihc chemical change. Prof. Peck- 
ham's expression convej^d to our mind the idea of a 
molecule of'h\^drocarbunoeing changed only by lessen- 
ing the amount of i a carbon, — a theory which 
surely does not cover the whole case. If the three 
articles in question be compared, it will be found ihat 
the difierences of opinion are far less than would be 
inferred from reading only ihe last ; the differences are 
much less than tlie coincidences. In short, with a 
little softening of the style of putting things, Prof. 
Peckham and the ediior would appear to be fast allies. 
We begin to think that manner often approaches iti 
importance to substance ; our philosophy is often too 
positive. — Ed.] 



I 

1 
I 



Xho Pfc"*!' Oxfiico, Proceiis— An Apolosy **Jiiiit 
Once*** 

Wk are sorely grieved that our worthy brother of 
the American Journal of Mining is not content wiUi 
our eflfortd at furnishing chemical news. He scolds us 
roundly because we have not given the latest nt;ws 
concerning the mar\ufacture of oxygen in this city, and 
he finds us, touching tlds case, " sadly behind the times," 
But he kindly suggtfatSj "* In difuult of better means 
for Bvoitiin^jf such an unforhmate oversight in future, 
let him " (meaning the writer, of course) " provide 
himself with the Journal of Mining and a pair of scis- 
sors." We are grateful enough for the evident good 
intention of the advice, but in justice to ourself we 
think it ouglit to be made known that we have always 
held in the very hij^diest esteem the Journal of Mining 
and 8cis>ors as aasL<tants in performing our duiies. We 
have been among the constant readers and admirers of 
the JouTunl of Mining since its very first' for years two 
copies of it have come weekly to our office, and we 
are lavishly provided with scissors, fur they are our fa- 
vorite and trusty companions. We really and honestly 
have found no news about the oxygen proceaa in the 
Journal of Mining except that which appears simulta- 
ncou«ly with the complaint against us; if it had been 
printed there we do n-jt see huw it could have escaped 
our scrutiny and our scissors. Wo protest, therefore, 
that our bt other i^ a little hard on us; let it be remem- 
bered that we are only a Supplotiienti barely four 



months old. \Te might say other things in deprecatioa 
of future censure, but we must not lorger detain oar 
r» a'iers from the momentous news of the oxygen pro- 
cess; we wilt not omit a syllable of it r 

** Ablaut .'1 year ago a company was formed in New 
York, which is now successfully introducing to general 
use the oxybydrogen light, having oorcome tlie diffi- 
culty hithtrtoattenilant upon tkat ]i;.dit, namely^ the 
great expmse of the oxygen gas. The proceirS em- 
ployed is founded on the discovejy that manganate of 
soda, when steam \a passed over it, will give ,ofl' pare' 
oxygen, an'l, wiien air is aub=;eqtK'ntly passei over it, 
will reabsoib oxygen from the air, and that this alter- 
nation may be repeated indefinitely. Works have been 
erectt'd, in which oxygen is manufactured at little more 
than the coat of common street gas. By tbc u«5e of 
common gas and oxygen in a burnit»g jet thrown npon 
a small cyHnder of magne:ii:a or hme. a light may be 
produced far exceeding in brilliancy that of ihe same 
amount of street gas liurncd in the usual way ; and 
this process therefore promises a great nnd sweeping 
improvement in the dhimination of buildings, s'reet*, 
etc. The ftrinctpletof the Heht is not new : it is iden- 
tical with that or' the Bo-oalled calcium or Dnimmond 
light; but the discovery by which the oxygen is so 
cheaply manufactured renders it applicable on a large 
scale lor all sorts of puiftOJes. 

*' In view of this great and much-talked-of diseov- 
ery, ahead y introduced into practical u.'^e in thiacountryi 
though originating in France," — here he FColds 118, 
und gi'ts the laugh on us. A little further on he sets 
forth the rapid coming into use of oxygen, l>y r^a^on of 
itd cheapness, affirming the Toodhe prneiple of political 
economy, that tlie supply regulates the demand, and 
continues: " In truth, the new ]>^oce^s 10 which we 
have alluded leaves httle more to be expected in that 
direction. It surpasses the most sanguine hopes of iti 
projector?, and satisfies every requirement of a cheap^ 
continuous process — the closest imitation of Nature's 
own alternate oxidations and reductions. The [>roduc- 
tiveness of the process even improves, tlie longier 
Uie apparatus is kept in opiration— a point which 
we will not here pause 10 explain." And then 
he put^ in another blow. Here ends the complete and 
authentic narrative; and at last the readers of the 
Slpplemknt are only a few weeks behind the readerfl 
of the Journml in g«"tting it. 

There are very low quei^tions which hnvc only one^H 
aide, and it happens thnt wo have n little to say by wn/^^ 
of exculpation for our neglects Our readers have a 
right to know why it has hnppened that a pnpcr not 
specially devoted to chemistry has beaten us on our 
own ground. Therefore we present the following stale^ 
ment and plea in extenuation and for mitigation 
punishment, and then, as a lawyer advises us. we flbaU. 
throw ourself upon the country : 

As soon as the agents of the Ftench process wen 
publiclv known to be in the city, we called on them 
the f office and found them polite, like all Frenchmen 
while at the same time they freely and fnlly answers 
questions. This was early last summer, We wrre in- 
structi.'d in detail, by the u^e of a handsome model of 
fumaee, &c., how they proposed to marmfactnre oxygen, 
by (1st) setting it free from permang mate of soda^ 
in pairing over and through the permanganate pu- 
perheatod steam ; and (2d) repro hnii^tg tho perman- 
gAniite by passing over and through Ihe residue of the 
first operation a udxture of air with siipcrljealed steam j' 
the process was then to be recommenced, and so repea 




JS?T 



jSLmenemi affippt&mem. 



iW 



ed ir . We al«o leiurnod that ihe French agents 

had A nor wj|t«r-ga3 process, which consislvd 

►uag iji retorts a mixture of hydrate of Vuuo and 
Now, our poor chemislry led * us to tho ct.nvic- 
that these processes were not good. In fact, we 
Drere so hiiity as to conclude that it was 50 utterly im- 
Ucablc lo reproduce penuang^anate of sotia in thu 
proposed, thut we considered it well-nigh impossi- 
'; Wc were so poorly up in speculative chemistry 
that we were unable to conslruot atiy formulas or the- 
ory wh.ch could give any show of reason ablcricsa to 
it* Aho, the water-gas process, as a practical project, 
seemed to us ab>urd ; but we had assisted at the funer- 
als of sererai water-gas ptoceases, aud we might have 
been prejudiced; we are. of course, ready tu ihink dif- 
ferently about it when the Journal exposes our eh'or. 
But the oxygen process was celebrated in the newi^pa- 
J>€r», aud it wad endorsed with entliu?iiisto by the most 
eminent of Ntiw York chemists. Thus it was till we 
become an editor. Observing ihen that the public 
miod was awake to the importanee of oxygen, we 
►Wore anxious to coutribuie our little mite in the dis- 
►^Oussion. But we lixid established as a principle in our 
i^iOonduct as editor, nit nisi bonum^ concortung living men 
iiind priJOesse', as well as concerning the di:ad, and our 
ini*oiab!e tenacity of opinion left ua very little to say; 
»nd, bfsid<»3, who would blame u? for not daring to put 
^Durself in opivosition to the most eminent of the New 
York ctiemidts? One day, however, whnt seemed to 
» very happy thought occurred, and we put it in ex- 
nation. We sent a letter, as pohte as any Frenchnian 
mid write, to the Oxygen Company, Eetting forth 
iftt we were in search of news about thvir process!, for 
ublication, and that if consistent with the r conve- 
nieDce, interests, &c., they would kindly assist us. To 
ibis letter there never came any reply, and we resolved 
to say nothing uiitil the ciicunistances should be great- 
tlyclmnged. In the meantime, we ought to a ty thnt 
^Mie hydrogen process was not mentioned in publi<', and 
langonale was by degrees substituted for perniaug.ifjate 
[Wbea the oxygen process was alluded to. The sulsti- 
Jtion of the maugaaate. moreover, brought the oxygen 
jes3 into a certain degree of favor with us, for we 
rare able to comprehend that the residue, on decom- 
liagirianofanate of soda by superheati'd steam, couM 
reconverted into mauganate of soda by superlieatod 
rteam and air. But aloal our coQsUtutional persistence 
diminished Uie little favour by suggesting such queries 
M, Wtjat has the superhLated stram to do with it? 
id the old Adam sneered, Ha I ha ! somebody has 
been actually trying the pL-rmanganate process and 
found that it needed improvement I So at hist we were 
Tcry little nearer a realkation of the vast practical 
lue of the project than at first. 

There were also other things besides our poor chem- 

Itry which mi-led us. Boauiiful hydro-oxygtn lights, 

ider the name of the new French light, were ex- 

libited at the nflioe of the agents, at chemical lectures, 

It Ball &: Black's store, and much was said about using 

'*ic new French ltg]jt at Booth's and other theatres. 

^^e saw tome of the exhibitions, and testify that they 

rere brilliant; but mischievous persoua, in whom, 

»wever, we then had confidence, told us that iiU ih« 

Oxygen used was njade from chlorate of potash, and 

b^ a person who bad been in the business for a long 

iitne. Wc ought not to have been to iniposi-d upon. 

•ny one ha? a hngering doubt tViat what was told us 

slanderous, let him enquire at any of the places 

n&med. 




Thus wc ha^-e made a clean brr ast of the whole 
matter, and in the moi-t unequivocal manner. There 
are those who hold that ignorance or well as poveity is 
a cdrae : from these we expect no mercy. But we 
appeal to the Christian men who lind the essential 
quality of aelions in the intention. At all events, 
whatever guilt and puui>hment be adjudged, there is 
this consolation, that our case might Ciis^ily huve been 
worse: If we had presented our false facts aud crude 
chemical theories before being enlighteneil by the Jour- 
nnl of Mining f nnil thus hnve come in direct collision 
with eminvnt authorili'iis I E-pecial]y when (as the 
Journal truly remarks) the Supplewext is only an 
appemlagc. 

In conclusion, we reiterate our profound respect and 
admiration for the Journal ; in fact, idl the foregoing 
is a iributG to its superiority. If we had the space, 
and it were appropriate in a scientific periodical of lim- 
ited scope, w^e might show how eminent the Jovrnat 
is outside the range of all the sciencis ; how it excel* 
in suavity, in wit, and in honesty. But there is one of 
its characteristics, the crowning pride attd glory for any 
station in life, and yet so rare, that we will not forbear 
to mention it; wc allude to its sweetness i-f tamper. 
Commend us to hini of jovial disposition. Everyone 
is a friend to the man of cheerfulness ; a laugh is the 
open sesame to the hardest heart. The Journal is a 
niodefTi Democrilu^ As a good illustrahon of this ad- 
mirable trait, the Journal dificov.rs a Httlc blunder of 
ours when we sai 1 that tlte seUing price of oxygen was 
$2.50 per hun*lred cubic feet when we ought to httve 
said $25. Now, the Journal sees only the ridiculous 
side of this bhmdcr and finds it "matter for laugh- 
ter,** and no doubt had a hcjdlhv luugh over it. We 
envy and praise a disposition which can find mirth in 
such little things. In future wc protm'se to redouble 
our scrutiny ol the Journal^ and, if necessary, to pro- 
vide another copy of it and a new pair of scissors. 
And we shuU strive to be among the first to chronicle 
tlie triumph of the new oxygen procetts over ail its de- 
tractors. 



JL New Seir-Actlng Blowpipe. 

Dr. W, T. Rcsc«i:Lr, in the Amiviean Jovrval 0/ 
Dmttil Science for Ftbruaryf descrilxs a modification 
of the Rus^siaa blasL-lamp, by which the blowf ipe jet 
may bed irrcted downwards nnd sidcwise ir sleiid of up- 
wards. The alcohol boiler is a strong copjier cylinder, 
closed at top and bottom, three indies hij-'h and two 
and one-half inches in diameter. The vapor-pipe i§ ft 
tapering tube one-quurter of an inch in diameter at the 
top, nnd one-eighth of an inch at the iK.ttom. This pipe 
passes through the centre ol the bottom of the boiler, 
and terminates just below the upper end of the boiler; 
the lower end of the pipe is provided with a nozzle or 
jet piece, having a blowpipe aperture, lu the top ia a 
one-eighth inch feed-hole provided with u wooden plug. 
The instrument is made comnk-te by soldering to the 
5ide of the cylinder a stout wire to swerve as a handle. 
To use it, from half an ounce to an ounce of alcohol is 
poured in at the feed-hole, the plug securely inserted, 
and the alcohol rjpidly boiled over a flame. The jet of 
vapor is now set on fire and directed upon the object 
to be heated. It is evident thai the character of the 
blowpipe flitme and its direction are under very easy 
control, and that the instrument is a very preat im- 

fjrovtment over the ordinary forms of automatic blast- 
amps. 



1 68 



Artiericau SujfpUnurU. 



Cir rmr 41, 



An ImproTemeitt In tbe mauttfklture of Nltro* 
Klycerlno. 

From a pnpcr read before the Franklin Institute of 
Philadelplim, we compile the followin,!z particuhirs of an 
improvomont in the manufacture of nitroplycerinc, 
recently invented by Stephen Chester and Otto 
Buratcabindcr. 

The inventors take, by tf eighty 

Sulphuric acid, 6 parts, 
Nitric acid 3 " 
Glyccriao i ** 

The strenptb of these ia not distinctly stated, but It 
is understood that the nitric acid and ih** glycerine are 
highly concentrat4*d; probnbly the sulphuric acid may be 
used at 66\ The avorago product of the formula is 1*5 
parts by weight of nilro^-^lyccrine ; the maximum yield 
was 1*8 parti?. The peculiarity of the invention conssists 
especially in Use method of securing the uniformity of 
temperature, the exclusion of air, the intimate mingling 
of glycerine with the acids, and the complete Bolution 
of the glyLcrine. 

The mixed nnd cooled acids are placed in a jar of 
about the capacity of fifteen pounds of the mijcture, the 
jar resting on a rovolvin;,? table. In the mixture is sua- 
pendcd a gluss; tube, having radial arms of various 
lengths and in different planes, but each terminating in 
fine orifices. When all is ready, carbonic acid gas is led 
into the gloaa tube from a reservoir containing con- 
densed carbonic ncid, and at the same time a stream of 
glycerine, whose flow isrejfulated by a stop-cock, ia al-o 
led into the jur. The othce of the gas is to keep the 
contents of the jar well stirred up and cool, rsud to make 
a stratum above tlie liquid to exclude the nin As the 
effect of the glycerine ia'to heat the mixture, nnd of the 
gas to cool it, a constant low temperature \& secured by 
suitably proportioning tlieir flow. The paper states 
that " practically it L> found that the thermometer may bo 
kept vibiating within two degrees with but htde troa- 
ble while tlie oil ia rapidly introduced." Also the 
operator may attend at the same time to sever.1l jars, and ' 
as these maybe of the capacity of Fixty pounds (>f aci«l, 
he may n»ix every forty minutes what will produce at 
least twenty pounrls of nitroglywrine. Tht? working 
temperature is not plainly indicaterl, but wo suppose it 
to be that at which the glycerine will readily dissolve 
or disappear without any destructive renotiom 

The paper continues: "After the union of acids and 
oil IB complete, the mixture docs not present au olea- 
ginous appearance, and llie completeness of the chemical 
union can only be guessed atby the clearness of the mix- 
ture. This should then be mixcl with twenty times 
its bulk of water, in which it apparently unites, forming 
nearly a clear fluid, without oily appenrauce. In 
twelve hours, however, nitroj^dycerine will precipitate, 
and as its specific gravity is 16, will be found on the 
bottom of the vessel, and the residue of aijids and oil 
tglycerineV] not previously conaumtd (if this term may 
here be used), by the acids, may be poured away with 
the Tupcrnataiit water." The nitroglycerine so pre- 
pared i« now fit for use, and may be kept in a cool p!ace 
for six or eight days. But if it is to be transported or 
stored, it must bo thoroughly washed with abumlancc 
joS w^ater. 

The paper, although very favorable to the use of 
ItToglycerlne for blasting purposes, yet bears unequi- 
Tocal testimony to the fact that it ia liable to spontane- 
ous and dangerous change. When newly made it bears 
rough handling, and is with difficulty exploded by per- 



cussiod; but in course of timf? it come*? into thai cond>« 
tlonwhen it cannot be handled with impunity. The 
paper deiaila experiuieuts made near s»,., Irti.lm 
1865, to illjslrato the safety of using ' 
and remarks that the nitroglycerine - ^ . wi 
newly made and expressly for tlie cxperunonl*. 

Some of our readers will be plea.sed to Vutxx that the] 
raav find th'» whole of this intercsl ing pa; er in the Jcmr- 
nalo/ihv FrankHn Institute for February, 



Tlie Board t>f ncaUh and tUc Gitm l^aUanc*. 

In New York, as in most cities, the dluminaUng gatj 
is purified from sulphur by causing it to come in con- 
tact with dry lime. The lime pretty rapid y becom- 
charged with ?ulphur, and its efficiency is gone in 
day or two. On oienlng the hme boxes to replace thftj 
exhau5t<ed lime with fresh hme, tlie impure gas getr 
into the atmosphere, and thus becomes a nuisance U 
whom the wind brings it. The stench is a little worsj ^ 
than that of tlio gas as it leaks from ihe burner*, *<>'''*] 
conies from gas which is more impure. The leoplf 
complain, and the Board of Health very properly saJ 
to the gas companies that the nuisance must be nbutct 
But they st^irt out with the preamble that the ofTetisivd 
odors are poisonous and deleterious U» health, an< 
hereon the gas companies join i;^sue for an aigUmcnf 
Gas companies are, moreover, large bodie*, and ihc" 
move extremely slow from outside influi-rjc?. Tl»U3 
has happened that the debate on the henUh queali* 
is abntjst interminable, and the nuisance is not abated. 
A private titizcn would scurcely dare to Uoublc his 
neighbors as the gas companies do theirs; and if tie 
Board of Health ordered hira to abate Id's nui&ance, Le 
would obey willy-nilly. This gas nuisance question 
has been up sint-e 1S66, and still ihe MetropoUtAu Gas 
Company discharges its foul stenches into the Dosiriis 
of the people. Is it more riJiculous or more shouj. 1 il 
that all this should go on, when a few hours* work of a 
good machinist, and a few hundred dollar* expense f .r 
apparatus, would end it? All\hat is needed is to I4.>w 
this foul gas inio a fire, with simple precautions acaust 
explosions, or into an absorbing or oxidizing ini.\tdre. 



NEW prOLICATIONS. 

A Skw rimos.vnr or CnKMtsTKV.— Adc»lr»h Wurtz tiai awoclite* 
with liluin>lf Boul«, i *verlon. D» Ck>rmont, D^-t.ruy. ItcUf^to, U«l*» 
fontJiIno, Frlfik.l, UauUer, Grlmaux, lluutc»iulll.\ Ko; p. l.'>TT«*t, L« 
ISlinn:, Naqiiet, •^iiltt, Schutliilmrv'cr, Troosl, juiii \\lUih ^ 

pfcrttttoii »nd luihlJcntlou of A tfi'^it thtuiiral wrnrk. t ' 

*• DlclU.ftii:ilrc de Chwrule Purv el A|«|«Uquei " It 1' 1'. 7 
And whch com|»lotcd (bow won i.-* not iifoiii - ' 

iroluinc« of ulKstit 1.500 rW*"'- Th** ftrat pu' « 

u*, »rMl is a [nn-'limlnrtry ijtici>unM> jettina fori , •' 

theorUrs bi-glunlOir with LavotsU-r's and eUtMhl;n>; 1 ■ ih j-i-^. '^ urn*. 
The flr>t parneraph of Uk' hbtory reaJa thui: '•Ctkcinlsiry U a '!*»« 
•cleoce! (L& ctu rale ert uin? science fnin^al** ) U was nrpanlwl 
(*c««i«tlt»4o"( by Lavi.IsUt, of lrni;ni>rt*l memory, F«»r u - ^ 

oalf a. collecIluD uf obscure rt'oelpt^, often Ijlng, in ti- 
seurcherit nftcr tU*' pihllosoplnr'B stoue, ant! at a latrr tu- 
».«arohf r» after the elixir of Mf*. In vain a grp&l matt, > 
SUhl.lvid ftU. Mi|.lL'il at the beginning of Ui« «. iKbUruUi < 
irlicralstry n Briontilk l»fl*<a. Hla systeiu wiu not »»-l«.' f' 
of fticts and the iio^vcrful cr!Hcl*in «*f Liivi>blcr " 1 
doM nrit ftbow cleJuly that chtiiilslry U a Fret: 
Gcrtnanj, ami Knubud are refo;inl»pd, ami fivt'ti i-*. 

The t-hriiilcftl hUlory which should mako no tin'inl -n "f lit tzcliuf, 
Lieblg. Davy, And Hattoo, would b« lean hidcNd. 

Th« iiawiiiu'e wo hnViC quotfd is, bowevei 
not to havi* been written, and the book li < -. 
valuable. No odi* cun doubt tliat M. Wiiri/ 
with all the materbil facts, and whatever h- 
ditwrUy clc-ir md brilliant In Us ^tylc. Tlas 
nilUbk companion to his '•Introduction to Ci 
liule«d we amem It Bo Uighlj that we purjiow lo 
cuiioB. 



CniaticM. Krw^ I 



Atfierican f)niggid^'' Price-CurreiiL 



169 



AMERICAN DRUGGISTS' PRICE-CURRENT-NEW YORK -JOBBERS' PRICES. 



[DRUGS A?fl» €HE:tIlCAI.S. 

Met«tt i>er "X 

Add, Acrtk, No, a J>cr lb 

tp. LT. t,04TU.B.P. per lb 

Oiemloslly Pore .p«r lb 

OlftcUi ..., , per lb 

l«n«olc, cjrrmoii ,...-. ► . . .per «s 

«cic, imre ...p«r1b 

Itrie per lb 

iwrlc, 1 lb boitles ptr lb 

>rni»e pfJrlb 

Uic , . . . jicr lb 

lydf»^lii)«litaoroti4. >p«r lb 

Lai'tIc .,...,.. per lb 

MuritiUc«18 (icgrces ...per lb 

rhemical porft. -per lb 

KItric, IJoi tlcprecB...... ,. ,. ..per lb 

chti-micalptire.. ,,,...f«T lb 

»Uc. pnterjt ....pw lb 

tphoric, glfldal.. p«rlb 

i«ir -,,-., ♦....» p«f fit 

Jpburlc iHsr lb 

chcmiciil pure .p<T lb 

Vultrinn .per mi 

jTartftriCt powdered ............per lb 

ll4M^vu **«.».»..,# .....pcrlb 

perdr 

lAlbA per lb 

I. 90 pT ct. P«rnl 

Cftp*', powiltTiMl ,. per IB 

Stjcotrine, powderwl .....per lb 

Itzm, Komati......,,, ♦.».,.,..,,.,..... ..per lb 

Inrriii *..,....»..-*.. -P«r lb 

iborzri*. irraf perns 

Anuaonla Curbonutr, balk .per lb 

Id jan per lb 

Mnriitli ., .....per lb 

AmtDonlA Ak^urh, 20 (lejrrt^es .per lb 

1*6 cirtfrti«s per lb 

n vpophosphlte .per lb 

Ox&l«ttf per lb 

P{iiu<ph«Le .p<»r lb 

8u]fihuU>.... ..per lb 

ilum Vat.rlnD. CTystaU . , . , , per WD 

lum Br..rnl.ir. ,,.p«r lb 

U>i1toM]Jpharet p^r lb 

loiUde.. piprtb 

imjBtliiUQ ...per 01 

Amiraoay and Potue per lb 

Iiuttffr... per lb 

Imlca L«»a»'c* per lb 

Arrov Ruot, Uermi](bi,...«»< per lb 

M, Vincent ..per lb 

ArMnio. white powdered ......per lb 

red palv per lb 

red. lump .per lb 

Anenle Solution, FowleKa per lb 

lodidu . , , ..„,,...... .per n« 

SuL, Doouvas'l .per lb 

, ...per lb 

irsgfn per OS 

Atropla .«i...4,. p«Tdr 

IFulphiite., ..'... ,....*♦ ......perdr 

VftkrtmD per dp 

DalHLtn iu ....per pi 

<'Ml^alv», ....per lb 

rcn»irl«n per lb 

Tolu. true per lb 

Barbadb^s r»r .. ....,..,....,.,.... perlb 



Anenle i 

^Vipaniiri 

f Atropla . 



k 



k 



Bark, Flm perlb 

Baric, Culu.Ti-a.qulU per lb 

R<(1 quill perlb 

nia^u perlb 

Crtjoirllfe per lb 

M-irjie'tfon.,. * perlb 

Bajjf afnui .per lb 

BMytaXfurittte p<'r lb 

Niiraur per lb 

B»yRitm per gal 

Bebcertii, pori« per oa 

!^ul|>bato per o« 

BeUadonim Lrrtvet pvr lb 

IHwitiirrii It - ^o&x .per lb 

VMIferomute Potash... perlb 

MrUUIc .per lb 

end Ammonln Citrate itolnble perm 

and Ammonia Citrate SolttUoD. . , .per lb 

OKvcliloriila per lb 

Fabcrttbon per lb 

Siib-NUrate perlb 1 

Tjifitiate peroa 

Vnlcrianate per m 

Black Dn.pj . perlb 

Jii' - V... , perlb 

a true perlb 

I ,.,,.. ., ........perlb 

r.., ,., r*>ll.,... perlb 

ae - pwlb 

per OB 

Learaa,toD(p ...perlb 

e/wrt ,,.,....... .per ib 




to 85 

IS t<» SO 
to 25 
to lU 
to t 60 
to S5 
to 85 
(0 1 80 
to 290 
to 8 00 
to 4 00 
to 4SS 
(0 4S5 
to b 
to 88 
to 1& 
to 88 
to S8 
to S 00 

18 


£0 
1 40 

80 

S3 
600 

60 
% SO 

to 1 25 

to II 

to 4^^ 

to 14 m 

to sa 

to S4 

to n 

to 12 

to » 

Vi 4 S5 

to 1 » 

to S 00 

to 10 

lo 1 BO 

to 4 00 

to T5 

to 10 <no 
to 8 7A 
to 1 10 
to 80 



to 

to 

IS to 

8 to 

to 



to IT 

to 90 

to 88 

to 15 

to 850 

to 8 M 

to S 00 

to 4 60 

to 4 76 

to B.") 

to 6 00 

lo 1 aa 

to m 

to IS 

to 1 M 

to 1 sa 

to 80 

to 14 

to Vi 

to 11 

to 80 

to 40 

to 8 75 

to bOO 

to 8 bO 

to Sb 

to T 

to 21 

to B 50 

to ay 

to 1 SO 

to T fiO 

to 8B0 

to 8 00 

to 1 bO 

to fi 40 

to & on 

to h% 

to 10 

to 40 

to SfiO 

to 8 75 

to « 

to 8b 



Bnrifqndy Pf toh, true perlb 

Cadmium, Bmiidde.. per 411 

loiUde.. ..per 01 

Mctallie ....„.,.,... perlb 

Sulphato. ............. ..........per lb 

CrtfTelne.. ..,.,... ....per oz 

Calcium Chloride per lb 

ItMiidi*. ■;>er lb 

Calomel, Hvclroaub.... ......,.„,.,..... ..per tb 

raniptmr, ilcflaed ..perlb 

Cuoriflln Albii ,,,.,....., ..perlb 

fAoth^rMt-A. ttowdcr«*d ...„.., ...... ..per lb 

Curljollc AcUJ i-ry«tAlj .per ea 

" iolutlon perlb 

" *' " eominon ..perlb 

Carbon Bl-8nfphuret .......... .per lb 

Csucarl lift Bark .perlb 

Tft^lii Bud*., , ....per lb 

Caslnr OU p<?T gal 

raiislic t^uda ,,,.....*,.,..., ..per lb 

CcJitaurr Minor ♦.,.„..,. .«...,p<'r lb 

Cer|uin,'Oxal;ite , [►er o* 

Nitrate . . ,. per ok 

Chalk. lYedp-, Knglbb per lb 

Clierry Liiurel Water............ ..per lb 

Oitomre I'lituAsi, l-Zngllth,.... imt lb 

CTilorldrf l.ime. , , , , , .per lb 

Ditorofomi per lb 

ClDMnmotv Cejrlon, true ytj lb 

CUrlnc OlQtment .ptr lb 

L'lvt<t ....,,....,. .per 01 

(otalt , per lb 

Cocculue Indlctu. . 4. , . .4 ». « . , , per lb 

Cvcoa Butter. perlb 

Codeine. ptr dr 

Cn^l Liver IPfl ....per fbI 

Cod Over OJl, (*' ghore OH 'V -..per Ral 

Cod Liver OU, J. C. Baker k Co.*s per doji 

'* "* *• pergrijea 

** *• " . - .6 grot9, per gr 

Cod Liver OW, llaaard &. Ca^weU'e per doa 

" " ** ....per« 

Collodion per lb 

rantharidal .,...,,,, ,..,,....p«r doz 

Colocynth, powdend .per lb 

CoQlectlij liewiP pertb 

£><fiintf .per lb 

ConlomLeaTM,... perlb 

lonllo , -i^er ox 

Copper .'Vmraunlat^d i»er lb 

Plufk UxUlo ....per lb 

rart'onste. , ,. .per lb 

BDl^ihurr pore....*.., «, per lb 

Coppema ..per lb 

CMrroblve SiibUinate......... , per lb 

Cream Tartar, powdered, pare .per lb 

Cnheb» por lb 

C iib«-t»lD per dr 

Cuttlfflnh Bone ♦#„.. .i^cr lb 

Dl-Uttlla Herb per lb 

Digitallne ,..,. , per dr 

IhiverV Powder per lb 

Dra^>n's Stood, masit per lb 

reeds ..]ver lb 

Pn'cnmara Stems........,,,.,...,.... perlb 

Emetine.,,. f^roi 

fcLinery Com.... ........ ....,.,,,.. .......p^-r lb 

Flour ....per lb 

Epsom SaJie per lb 

EncotjOew ....j^er lb 

Ercoiioe.... , ..|>er oa 

Ether, Aoetlo. ......per lb 

Butyric oonceDtrated per lb 

Butl'raci'OU*.... ,, .per lb 

C liloria p*r Jb 

concentrated. per lb 

Formic per lb 

bulpbuHc per lb 

wasbed.... per lb 

conrrntrated .per lb 

Extr. .Jockejanb^Chlrli... ......perlb 

Kxtr- Km. Bouquet, CbWa perlb 

Kittr Banana, euperlor.. .per lb 

Extr. Orange, »ap«riiir perlb 

FltiorSpar... per lb 

FlowerBi, Altbea pvr lb 

Arnica.... |ier lb 

Bnrrucfl .per lb 

C hatni'tnlle, German per lb 

Chr* niomlle, tU>tnan, 1867. per lb 

Lnvt-ndtT ....per lb 

Malva, largo ....per lb 

ftniull. ....... ......**,.. .perlb 

RoMinarf per lb 

Tilfae perlb 

Violet i>erlb 

Fusel Oil, purlfled.... pfr lb 

>*rro - Pho5iihorated Elixir of Calleaya J per doa 
Bark, Hazard & CuawcU'e, J per gr» 
Oatnhi>ee perlb 



90 



1 85 



1 15 
a 75 



to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
GO to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



9 75 



IS 
55 

TO 

4 eo 

8 GO 

900 

90 

8 50 
] 00 
1 SO. 

SO 

1 00 

U 

85 

3S 

80 

1 SO 

9 £0 



88 

1 «0 

1 T5 

S8 

M 

58 

li 

140 

1 75 



5 50 
S9 
80 
1 (B 
a ftO 
S 85 
SSd 
^ 00 
90 00 
to 87 00 
to 7 ftO 
to 00 00 
t. J 70 
4 AO 

m 



4S 

48 

iS 

760 

1 SO 

3 80 

9 SO 

88 

4 

5t 
«5 
S» 

80 

IB 

8 (55 

8 00 

1 00 



10 
!S 
65 
11 
S 

45 
15 



4 10 
1 75 

80 

1 00 

4 15 

841 

00 

1 llA 



to 

to 

to 

it 

to 

to 

to 

to 

10 

lo 

lu 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

lo 

to 

to 

to 

lo 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 08 

lu S S5 

to 12 on 

t<>144 00 

to ] 55 



lyo 



Amei'ican Di^uggiati Price-Current, 



{QnonOAL KbwIi 



GeUtlDe, White French per lb 

Cox's per dos 

Ginger, Jamaica, bleached per lb 

Ginseng per lb 

Glaaber Salts per lb 

Glycerine, common per lb 

concentrated per lb 

•* Bowcre " per lb 

" Price's " per lb 

Glyoerole Hypuphosphite per lb 

GraiiiB D'Ambrette p«r lb 

Paradise per lb 

Gam Acroides per lb 

A iiiber per lb 

Ammuniac. per lb 

Arublc, Turkey, sorts per lb 

l^t picked, Trieste per lb 

2d " " perlb 

8d " ^ perlb 

Biirbary perlb 

As^afoetida per lb 

Itcnzoln, cimmon. per lb 

prime per lb 

white marbled perlb 

Copal, Accni per lb 

Kengaela. per lb 

Kuwrle per lb 

Damar, Uatavla per lb 

Singapore per lb 

Eleml, Aromatic per lb 

Kuphorbium per lb 

Galbanum perlb 

strained per 1 b 

Gedda per lb 

Gnalacum perlb 

strained per lb 

Kino per lb 

Mastic per lb 

Myrrh, Turkey, powdered. per lb 

Olibanum per lb 

tears per 1 b 

Sandarac perlb 

Shellac, CampbelPs D. O per lb 

Uornet per lb 

No. 2 perlb 

Native per lb 

Senegal per lb 

Tragacanth, common per lb 

flake per lb 

flaky sorts per lb 

Harlem CMl, Dutch perdoa 

Huffman's Anodyne per lb 

Uydriodate Potash, Atkinson's per lb 

Conrad's per lb 

Hyoscyaml Leaves ; . . .per lb 

Bypophosphite Ammon per lb 

Iron per lb 

Ume perlb 

Manganese per lb 

PotJish per lb 

Soda perlb 

Iceland Moss perlb 

Indian Herop, true i»er lb 

Insect Powder, true per ib 

Iodine, Resulilimed per lb 

Crude, In bulk .per lb 

Irish Moss per Ib 

Iron, Alum per lb 

& Hydrogen per lb 
b. Proto per lb 

Preclp per Ib 

Citrate and Ammonia per lb 

Magnesia per lb 

Quiuls per lb 

strychnine per Ib 

Hypophosphlte per lb 

Iodide per lb 

Pyrup per lb 

Lactate per lb 

Phosphate, Precipitate per lb 

Pyrophosphate per lb 

Syrnp perlb 

Sesqulchloride per lb 

Sol perlb 

Sesqulnltrate per lb 

Subsulphate per lb 

Sulphate, pure per Ib 

Exslccat perlb 

Sulphurct per lb 

Superphosphate Syrup per Ib 

Tannute per lb 

IndUiInk perlb 

blngiaas, a merican per lb 

I{a96Lin, true per lb 

Juniper Berries per Ib 

Juniper Tar Soap, Hazard & Caswell's perdoz 

Kreoeote, white per lb 

Lactncariuiii per ox 

Lead Acetate, pii^e per lb 

LIcorloe Paste, solid per lb 

Sicily perlb 

Calabria per lb 

Imitation per lb 

'-fTWJco perlb 

perlb 



* 85 to 


1 00 


to 


2 60 


tu 


82 


to 


85 


8 to 


4 


to 


85 


to 


60 


to 


80 


to 


1 15 


to 


1 75 


to 


60 


to 


80 


to 


24 


to 


60 


60 to 


75 


to 


56 


to 


95 


t) 


75 


to 


65 


to 


40 


to 


60 


to 


9U 


1 00 to 


1 10 


1 10 to 


1 15 


to 




to 


80 


to 


45 


to 


60 


to 


45 


to 


45 


to 


V> 


to 


95 


to 


1 00 


to 


80 


60 to 


65 


to 


70 


to 


1 10 


to 


426 


to 


75 


to 


80 


to 


40 


to 


65 


to 


60 


to 


65 


48 to 


60 


48 to 


60 


to 


60 


to 


60 


1 80 to 


1 60 


to 


60 


to 


60 


to 


48 


to 


6 60 


to 


5 40 


to 


26 


to 


4 00 


to 


8 60 


to 


400 


to 14 00 


to 


400 


to 


400 


10 to 


12 


to 


1 80 


to 


1 10 


to 


6 75 


to 


660 


to 


10 


to 


1 60 


to 


2 80 


to 


45 


to 


25 


to 


1 45 


to 


1 85 


to 10 00 


10 00 to 12 60 


840 to 


8 60 


to 


825 


to 


80 


to 


825 


to 


67 


to 


1 f5 


to 


65 


to 


1 45 


to 


60 


to 


44 


to 


1 70 


to 


9 


to 


17 


to 


8IJtf 


to 


65 


to 


6 60 


to 


1 75 


to 


1 65 


to 


6 60 


4>tfto 


6 


to 


8 76 


to 


120 


to 


75 


to 


100 


to 


42* 


to 


> 


to 


to 


87 


to 


60 


to 


60 



Ume, Carbonate, Precipitate per lb 

Uvpopbosphlte perlb 

IfiSde pe»lb 

Phosphate, Preelpitate perlb 

Sulphite perlb 

Lime Juice per g^ 

Dnt, Taylor's per lb 

Lapis Calaminaris per lb 

Laurel Berries per lb 

Leaves per lb 

Liquid Styrax per lb 

Long Pepper per lb 

Lunar Caustic, pure per oi 

67 per cent., N. S per oi 

Lveopodium per lb 

MagneBia Cnrbonate fier lb 

Cdcloed per Ib 

ponderous. per lb 

Citrate i»er Ib 

Sulphite per lb 

Manganese, powdered per lb 

Siixony i»er lb 

Mamia, small flake. '67 perlb 

largo Alike, '67 i»er lb 

sorts, new per lb 

Matico Leaves, true per lb 

Mercury per lb 

cum Creta per lb 

Magnesia t . . ..per lb 

Cyanuret per lb 

Sulphuret per lb 

Merearial Ointment ()^M) per lb 

(>iM) perlb 

Mo.-phia Sniphate i>er oa 

Ac(aate per oi 

Muriate per ox 

Valerianate per ox 

Musk, true i*er ox 

In grain true per ox 

Nux Vomica per lb 

Oil, Amber, Crude per lb 

Almonds (Expressed) Allen's per lb 

Essential, Allen's per lb 

Anise perlb 

Bergamot per lb 

FF, new crop per lb 

BerRamot, Donner's per Ib 

Ber^ramot,— Sanderson's per lb 

Cade 1 per lb 

CivJeput , per Ib 

Camphor i»er lb 

Caraway per lb 

Seed per lb 

Cassia perlb 

Cinnamon, true per ox 

Citronella, prime per lb 

Winter's per lb 

Copalva per lb 

Cn»ton per lb 

Cubebs per Ib 

Cummin per Ib 

Fennel per lb 

Geranium per lb 

Chlris per Ib 

Prepared per lb 

Turkish per lb 

Jessamine per Ib 

Juniper per lb 

Berries, true per lb 

Lavender, Garden, forte per Ib 

fine per lb 

Flowers, Cblria, No. 1 per lb 

Lavender Spike per lb 

Laurel, Kxpressed per lb 

Lemon, Dnnner's per lb 

Lemon,— G. U. A Co's per lb 

— Sanden^on's (new) per lb 

Lemongrass,— Winter's per lb 

Mace, Expressed perlb 

Marjoram per lb 

Myrrbane per Ib 

Neroll Bigarade per ox 

Chiris perox 

Petit Grain per lb 

Olive, pure per gal 

Marseilles, quarts per box 

pints per box 

Orange per lb 

Origanum per lb 

Patchouly per ox 

Pennyroyal per lb 

Peppermint, pure per Ib 

Rhodium per lb 

Kose, KIssanlick per ox 

Rosemary, French per lb 

Trieste per lb 

Chlris per lb 

Sabine, pare perlb 

BaMaflriu, cans per Ib 

Sessame, Salad, fine per Ib 

Spearmint, Hotchklii per lb 

Spike perlb 

Succlnum, crude per lb 

T« tlfifed... .perlb 

Twoyv— **^*»tni»nV .V .V«V* 



» 

8M 
48 
81 
80 

1 80 
8 
IS 
IS 



180 
90 
70 
45 
1 80 
1 80 
1 75 
1 SO 
8 
Vi, 
1 85 
S60 
1 46 
50 
85 
64 

1 sa 

6 80 



9S to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

to 80 
to 66 
to 06 
to 14 CO 
to 14 00 
to 14 00 
to 16 00 
to 16 00 
to8S 00 
to 18 
to 00 

to nyi 

to 88 00 
to 485 
T 00 
660 
T 00 
T 00 

1 00 

2 00 
1 76 
8 T6 
6 60 

4 10 
1 60 

5 75 
8 60 
800 
485 
4 60 

to 10 00 
to 8 00 

18 00 to 82 00 
to 18 00 
to 26 00 

14 00 to 18 00 
to 860 
to 1 80 



6 00 t(t 



4 75 



860 
1 06 
1 85 
8 70 
1 00 



460 
600 
600 
TOO 
8 60 
to 1 70 
to 800 
to 600 
to 600 
to 88 00 
to 860 
to 600 
to 786 
to 480 
76 to 1 60 
to 4 80 
8 76 to 4 00 
to 600 
to 10 00 
toll 00 
to ITO 
to 1 10 
to 885 
to 800 
to 160 
to 860 
<60 to 
to 

to iO 
to 70 
to 089 






American Druggists' Price-CurrenL 



I Thyme, 



rhnc. 



mTmc, wBllc, pare , t»er lb 

VfiI«;rUn-,.,. ..|J«rlb 

Wlnl*raTeen ....\>vt ib 

Wlnteryrron, Tan Deu&ea Broi p«r lb 

W»*ntwiio«l,. per lb 

WormAeed, Wf*lem .per lb 

BuUimora , »...!)« r I b 

B)a<ic Pepper,. »,t». -....pwlb 

Cttant i ptfroi 

Krcok per OS 

perib 

ij» Dudi or Apples ,. <,.... per lb 

Coracoa iUb»» ,.„„.,...,.., .per lb 

Bote, pare ,..,... .per oi 

cointntTclkl, .. ....>*.>.«..,.. ...pifr U2 

[M>r9, ZauiibAr ^....... ...per tb 

ftpborufi per Lb 

Amiirpbotis. per lb 

fn ,...,,, ,,.,,.,, per na 

rlliR , . . . , .per n.« 

p«r lb 

A«eUte per lb 

•nute .per Ih 

per n> 

tic, commoa per tb 

while .per lb 

C3tr»te ,,...^.,>. ......»,,,...... ..per lb 

earn Calce, .... per lb 

llv iri«fih>i8phlU" p«r lb 

P«rmri]i|riiQaU>, ordinary P^t lb 

Pbojiphuto prrlb 

1*r(i««i(it4* ,„ .per lb 

BnlphnU' ^ «.. per lb 

T*rtrn»c pvrib 

Jtn ,-, ,,.♦.,,,..„.. per o» 

Bro:itl<le .....per lb 

Cjranlde, ha..... per lb 

Bran ....4..... pvrtb 

Todlde .-.,..... ,..•... ..par lb 

Snlpbiirvt .per lb 

Otraf e. iciih Iron .per o» 

8ulpb(4te, Amerlcwi pvt nt 

FriMiob ..... .;..*...... .per ox 

Qn».*ih. ri.*|Mfl , per lb 

K«?d l^ialk Fingert...;^ .per lb 

Ued I'r. cli-lUU; * .per tb 

ResiD fvf .1 lap, pure per Jb 

RiwhrUc S(vU jv^rrlb 

Ac4<nlte per lb 

Atkji.net...... .,,....,. per lb 

AHbrft .....per lb 

AD£vllca per tb 

Culivintift per lb 

rolclilf um .,***.♦,..,♦,,,..... per lb 

C«l«mb'j , p«r lb 

Cuiven« .p?r lb 

Dimdelloti ,,.,..... .pt'r lb 

Oabngal ....portb 

Gentian per lb 

Ginger, Il»r«, African .pi?r lb 

Jamaica, Bleached per lb 

C^Id<>n Seal . per lb 

llellebore black .....per lb 

white, powdered p^r lb 

IpeeacaoDhiB per lb 

. powdered ...............per lb 

Jelap, perlb 

powdered per lb 

1 JiH«ric« per lb 

Mandrake . .. perlb 

Orrla, Florvnllne perlb 

Verona ,,.,...,,,.. per lb 

rink „. perJb 

tthatany , .per lb 

Rhubarb, R. I p«r lb 

Turkey per lb 

Srurftapsriila, HondaraK. ... . prr lb 

Mexican. .per lb 

Turbt'th \>tt Jb 

Voieriari, Enirlbih .per lb 

Dutch I.... ppr lb 

German , p<?r lb 

Vermont ,por }b 

eiwke, Virginia..... perlb 

Seneca.. ... per lb 

Xeavea... pi-r lb 

irjr Leaves...... per il» 

Perti ,, per lb 

, .\merlc*n, new ...per lb 

J^'PStiUh, ime............. per lb 

Sap, Pearl , jht lb 

Fandn . . . ........................ per urn 

Sal Aw'trtwdia per lb 

Aiiiin<>iilar> , , .,p»er lb 

»<«!*, Newca«t1e. pt^r lb 

6antotiiii»i .,, .pi^r oi 

J*a^»ft-»ts Bark , per lb 

8camim>nv, Tirif., true .perlb 

Strcda, Aube per lb 

•tar per tb 

CMiftrr, Dutch .per btmb 

Bmyma , ..per bnih 

Cardamoni, Malabar ^<tr U" 

Ow«l. perlb 

.,./»er lb 



11 




to 


S75 


to Id 00 


bo 


6SS 


to 


&8S 


>0 lo 


7 2.1 


to 


2 Tn 


to 


8 fiO 


to 


1 £) 


to 


8M 


to 


&1 


to 31 00 


to 


18 


Ui 


SS 


00 tu 




to 


TW 


to 


88 


to 


1 20 


to 


8 25 


to 


1 60 


to 


W 


lo 


85 


lo 


eo 


til 


48 


to 


S6 


to 


6A 


to 


9A 


to 


1 15 


to 


i5 


to 


A& 


lo 


80 


to 


% T5 


to 


44 


io 


Id 


to 


1 (IS 


lo 


«76 


to 


a 00 


to 


m 


to 


X 60 


to 


ASS 


it) 


85 


to 


gd 


to 


S60 


to 


943 


to 


. 7 


e^to 


T 


t» 


1 15 


to 28 00 


48 tu 




to 


!4 


11 to 


18 


«3 to 


88 


to 


35 


SO to 


W 


to 


20 


to 


24 


to 


20 


to 


23 


to 


13 


to 


11 


to 


SO 


to 


89 


to 


80 


to 


IS 


to 


65 


to 


2 90 


to 


8 00 


t4» 


2 2ft 


to 


3 85 


to 


1.^ 


lo 


15 


to 


16 


to 


U 


tn 


83 


to 


80 


ao Ui 


400 


tn S4 00 


to 


MH 


to 


80 


to 


do 


to 


65 


t.> 


40 


141 


2fl 


lo 


40 


to 


t6 


75 in 




to 


950 


to 


12 


to 


Ifl 


to 


2 25 


to 17 m 


to 


12 


to 


♦) 


1(1 


W 


to 


10 


to 


6 


to 


I 80 


lo 


13 


to 20 00 


to 


2'^ 


to 


65 


to 


525 


to 


5 2. 


to 


500 


to 


n 


to 


75 



Seedi, Clover ...perlb to 18 

Colcliieum .,*.....,........ perlb to 24 

.Coriaoder — .perlb 10 to IT 

Cummla.. * perlb to SO 

Fennel......... perlb to 20 

Fojtjugreek .♦ .......porlb lo 19 

Ht-mp — per buab to 2 55 

Litueed, AmerlcuQ clean , . .per tierce fci 

rough ...pcrbu.Hh to S 60 

B^^»tnbay (goldJ per bn«h to 2 60 

Calcutta (jgotd) perbu^b to 2 60 

Mojlard, brown,.,. perlb to 16 

white..... perlb to 16 

Rape per bni^h to 5 96 

TkrtoUiy per liuah to 5 00 

Worm....... .....perll> to S3 

MdlllK Mixture perlb to 4jt 

Seuua, Tlnnevtilily...,.^.^,. ,»..,......,., ..j*er lb 28 to 80 

Alexandria..,.. perlb 45 to 

E. I perlb u> S5 

SmnlLi, liluc perlb to 29 

i»f)U.ir, Loriilard'ft M AOcab«)y perlb i*> 78 

Coarte Uappee ...pcrlfj to 1 00 

Irlih HighToaaL por lb to 85 

Preah Bcotcb ......perlb to 85 

Soap, Cartlle, Mottled............ perlb IT to 18 

Wiilte^ r*rlb 25 to 27 

floating per lb to S5 

Low'* Brown Wlndsur per jfrs to 16 60 

Soda Acetate................. perlb to 80 

Chlorate .........perlb to Sift 

Chloride, Liquor.. ...pi^rual (o 4fi 

('Unite .,««.♦,,.,.,.., perlb to 1 00 

Hjdrn#ulphate.. r»cr lb to 1 05 

Hjpopliospbite..... ..perlb to 4 10 

Ilyposulpliite.. .....pHiTlb io li) 

Nitrati', pure ....perlb lo 22 

PlKiffpbite perlb to ai 

PjTOp'i^wphate..., ..,..,,.. ., ........perlb to IM 

PiilpUlte... perlb to 82u 

Aah perlb lo 4 

^odiom per lb to 11 CO 

Iodide,. , , perlb t4> 8 00 

Spirit AmicoiQla ...perlb lo 55 

Aromatle perlb to SO 

Lavender.... perlb to 05 

Nitre Dulc per lb to 45 

Koseinarjr. ■ per ib to 60 

Sponges, Bahama................. ....perlb to 90 

Hiitblrig, Funnel , .per Jb to 4 (K) 

CvKirat! Hrowa perlb to 60 

Floe, m f diuta per tb 6 00 to 7 00 

iSurgcon'a. per lb 4 00 lo 7 00 

Zlmocft. perlb 2 fW to 8 00 

Cpp,TQrkey perlb 20 Otf lo 80 00 

Trie*le ..perllj 4 60 to 1» 00 

Fine Tolkl, bleached. perlb 12 do to IB 00 

Fine Trie&te, •mall ..[tarlb *4 00 to 4 50 

Glore .per lb ^ 75 lo 8 00 

GroM. ......,,„, pvr Ih 90 to 25 

S bee ii*a wool. ...,. j«r Ib 1 40 to 150 

Sar Cholx perlb .to 5 60 

Squills. perlb to IS 

St, Jivbn's Breiul perlb to B 

Struntla, Muriate ..per lb to 80 

Nitrste. perlb to 80 

Oxalato. per Ib to 1 80 

Stryclirtla, Acetate peros to 8 75 

Cntrale peros to 75 

Nitrate. poroi to 8 75 

Pare, eryitalHiod. p<»r oi to 8 60 

powdered... per i« to 8 25 

Rulpll***-- pero» to S 7S 

Vakrianate per r>i to 5 50 

Styr&x Calami ta perlb to 6S 

SugarofLend perlb to 49 

Buprof Milk ...,..,l. perlb to 69 

!*>iiiiphnrStibHnieL .....perlb 6>fto T 

Tatnarinds perlb to 10 

Tuinin — pi<r lb to 8 00 

Ttiploca, i<!ast India, white perlb to 10 

Pearl... perlb to 18 

TartAr Etaetic^ powdered ...perlb to 95 

orj-BlalUxed ,.., perlb to 115 

Tin Foil, thin perlb to 45 

French, No. 15 .,.,, por Ih tO TO 

Tobttceo J perlb to 40 

Tanqna Beana, Para perlb to 76 

Attguatora |ierlb to 85 

Ura tFroi, American -per tb to 19 

French p<r lb to 18 

VaulUa Beans, Bonrhon , per lb to 11 00 

Mexicoo ..per lb to 15 00 

Venlnt TurpeDtine perlb to 80 

Veralri* , .pcrot to 6 25 

Vltriol^Blue ...fiorlb lO)tfto 11 

Green. .....perlb |o 9 

White,... perlb to 9 

Wax, White,— J. L Elkew perlb to 75 

No. 9 perlb to T9 

Phllllpa' , perlb to 90 

Trllow.... , perlb to 69 

White Wax,— Leonbardt't ...perlb to 90 

. OckmW .^itV\» Vj Vfik 

' &uu-YA«a.&\ie4 .vet"^ v* *W» 



172 



American Druff gists* Price-Current. 



( CnMIOAL 



lOAL Rawa, 



"Whtte Prtclpitate pflf Iti 

'WlxUeTt^^pi-er....-,.. p*r lb 

Wine, CokKlcum^ftedi.....,.., *.,........ per lb 

"WockI Saphrfiii ,.,,, „.,,..... ..jwrlb 

'WoirawniMj tti<rb.., ,...-, , per lb "*" 

TeUuw Bark. ,....,. ...pwlt> 

!>Mk. ..per lb 

ZftffM........... — *.. — ..,,,.. p«rll» ^ 

ZlDc, AcstatB,,,,, ....... — ...„.,.. pep lb 

Cblurid* ,,.,.,. perJb 

D^es AivD hyesttpfs. 

AdIUda BIoo......... .per lb 

KeniL. .,...., ,-.,.. ..........pef lb 

VlulL't. „.,,-.. p*rlb 

Annstto,. .--pen lb 1 00 

Coebl&eaLt Hunduroa. , ................ • p«r lb 

Mexican. per lb 1 ffi) 

Cwdbeftf....,.,.. .-......., pep lb £8 

Culcls l'vga.6 „..,,,,.... .per lb 

Gambler... , iwrlb 

Indigo, B*»iBJ, fine. -per lb 

gofHt............. parlb 2 150 

inlildlitig p«t!1» S 00 

lfadn\flne,.. ...,....., ...per lb 1 80 

tirdlnaiy ...pcrlb 1 UO 

Kwrpah . , ,....,.. per lb 

Gu«Lti>fUB!a>......... ....pi-rlb 9 DO 

Cjir**aiB« . .„.,,...,, -per lb 

Lae T>re. gmd t* flue. . . . , , ^jw-r lb 65 

Logwood,' Vwuprachj , ,.....,. .....per lb 

Hp^ndunis, .tier lb 

JpiiiAlai.... .'....> ........per ib 

lAgurtA .per lb 

BL liismltigw ...... , per lb 

Extract, .per Jb 1» 

" iDbuUt^..- ,....^. -...--. per lb 

Ltmii Wooa (gold) ..porbW TO 00 

M«ltler, Duteli.... , per Jb 42 

¥Ti wih , ^ pi-r lb S8 

Nfltasll*, Biui?, Alcppg - p«r lb 40 

Oroblile... ...,...;. .............ptfrlb So 

Pertlaji Btrrtct . , per lb 60 

Bamowep........ per lb flO 

Sapiiftvrood ..,...,,....,. .p&r lb 12 

Tiirmerie .....*....... .....per lb 15 

UltrnnarliiB.... .,.,...,,,,,...., per lb S§ 

Wowl .". pwl^ IS 

DBUGGISTS' VLASSWAAB. 
[PACKAQ« r^tces,} 

OTeen Eottlei atwl vl*.1t — ..... ,B0 pisre^ ntA|« 

Ckmiia Flint Bt-Hlct Rnd I'laU. , ........... .SO " 

Flint BtftlltflJiodTlal*.. .55 " 

Furalttire W*re. .10 ** 

Peffnmcr'i Wftre... ......35 "• 

Oiffiiikal Wm«^--. .......art ** 

Svrloirt. ...- 10 " 

HoTOt&upatbmvkli ...10 

IVAVAIj btobes. 

HtcJi^Clty..... *,. ■'■Et!;V^' 

B^Jila, Eiiw*rjilB.. ...poraSOlbft 

Pfll0-... 

Iffll... 

No,S..... " 

Strained..... ..*.. " 

Coromt'ti .... " 

8pWt^ TurpeptlUB (Nortb CwrffUna) ....... per f*l 

TorpoutliM!, Sflft- -■- per^aolbi 

011.8. 

Llnieed OD, Amerleao. ,. ^ .per f»l 

fci]gUflh ...,,.... .....per gAl 

PalmOU ....,..,. ^ptrXb 

Paradltie Lubrlcatlnf Oil. ,.. . . . .per gtl 

BptfttiH Crude. ...,..-..-. ...pep gtl 

Bper tn. Wliilcr. unbleached. , ,..,„.♦,,.... per eiU 

Lard Oil Priin#. 1, 'hy * . .per ^l 

B<>d 01:1, illy distilled .. ^. .*.,... .^or fiX 

Red iJll, Sajionlfled. .,.,..,,......., .p«r fU 

WhrJe, Orude ..per gal 

■Wbide, DleiiiUcdfWIater..... v^&l 

FAINTS {DBin. ^ 

A8phaltutD, flpt, ,,.............,--. . . .per lb 

BftiTteji,Forelffn.,. ....... ....... .....per ton 

BaTTtoif Amuricui. ..................... .-}»or1b 

Blftck Lend P*r ib 8 

BUck iTory, drop. falT, - .per lb HJ 

food.............. .... ... p*rlb 18 

.It.... ,. ....per lb Ht 

BloeCelesHftL ggcrfj...... .per lb 

Chlneic -per lb 

PtumImii. fair tn b*-**,... pef lb && 

UllrftTnarLDii, fair t« beat per lb tS 

ChatX Lump. ]wf lb 

ChlQA Clay ..,.,..... per ib 

Chalk... ..,., .perbbl 

Oroeo pBria, fair to beii per )b W 

QTt*a ChroDie, fblr t« b^st .per lb 8S 

LuDp Black— CotKh Patntcr'f^L. Hkztln 1 ^. .^ ^ 

*G9.^,... ....fl»fl'» ^ 



to 1 6& 

tb m 

to t 40 

to 9^ 

to 2& 

to SO 

to as 

to 1 15 

to 1 2S 

to 1 80 



ta t 60 

to e 00 

lo 1 ?5 

to 1 M 

ta 1 40 

to 4A 

U lA 

to 8 

to a £& 

M S TS 

to % 10 

to 1 e& 

to t & 

to 

t« 9 10 

to 1 05 

to 60 



EM 

S 

103* 
13 
toTl 00 
to £4 
to SB 
tA 42 
to 0& 

to es 

to & 

la IS 

to 1ft 

t^ 45 

to le 



dlaeoaoL 



B 00 
7 00 
5 00 
4 00 
4 00 



t« 4oa 

to 

t« 

tn 

to 

to 

to a TO 

to 

to e DO 

to t 15 

to I 15 

to 10 

to 40 

lo 9 iiO 

lo S fCO 

to 1 80 

to TO 

to n 

to 1 au 

to 1 40 

to T 

to 4^00 

to 3 

to li 

to 1^ 

Ut 20 

to B^ 

to 14 

to 1 00 

to 1 00 

to 4fi 

to >1( 

to a;tf 

to 4 50 

t4 &0 

to 42 

to 25 



Lamp Black, tirdlaary p«r btpto' 

Litharge, powdered, Amerloaa ift J^gTlib. . .per lb 
Oshrtv Yellow, French, dry. .............. .per lb 

K«l VunttUn .., „..pfPlb 

Ited Indlaa, fair tob»t........ , ...........per ||» 

liett t«a4, Amoi lean ....,,..,., per lb 

KnglUh.. ....per lb 

BtweFluk..... per lb 

tllenaa, Ametliuui ........................ .per tb 

Italian, fTnt per lb 

Haw ......,,,,,.... par lb 

Umber, Cniffa, Torlsef ., ... per lb 

burnt .ptfT lb 

Hsmau'* C«Hf. Vi-nnillon . .per lb 

T\uv Ciu-nihe .............. ... per lb 

ftiilable Blue .......,,.,,,..,.,,. .p«r lb 

yen&DloQ^ li^ngiiBb, palu , , , per lb 

de*p perlb 

Ameiiroa .per lb 

l.1Nlurwr ,,, .....per lb 

Tri«i# p«r»b 

White, Chtna........ per lb 

Cfvnuilita .per lb 

Leiul, pure. ..pvrlb 

gnad ...... ptTlb 

Plarts .... , , , , , .prr lb 

51int AniedcMi per lb 

iSinc, Ffeticb per lb 

WbltlJig... ....per lb 

PAINTS (IN Oil.). 

Rbwk concb. ..per lb 

BluLC^ ChVuL^Ae .per lb 

Pru^lBii, rnSr to best. , ..per lb 

Browa, Van Dyke, fair Lo bcat^ ............ .per lb 

Itj^cr, Patent, dVinerfora per lb 

Etiifllili. pirlb 

Q»«o, Chr«fine ............. .......... .i*f lb 

Irhp*i'rlal ................. .per lb , 

Pftrls .....,...,*... , , , , .per lb 

Vinliwrlft pt'f lb 

Potty, In biaijd«fi per lb 

lu bulk . ..,.,.,. .per lb 

Red Vfinetlim+ (oir to best ,^ .. pet lb 

Slcntia, burnt, fair lob*at.... , , , , ..ptr lb 

White L*ad, KntlWi, B. B ...........perlb 

Alnorlc;:!!], pure. per lb 

etjod.... ...per lb 

lair.......... -jatr lb 

Wbitc Ztne, AnierieaD. ,., .,.,,... ..per lb 

FrenLb. , .. ..per lb 

Telloir Oobrs..... ....,,.., ......... .pt-r lb 

CbraEQit, fi4r to bett .....,,.., p«r lb 

SPICKS. 

Caislp, lamata... ....p*rlb 

(^0 vesL .par lb 

Olngvr^ Haco, Afrlean, ,,,,..,,,.,,..,.,.,. .pir lb 

Mace...,. p«r]b 

Niitinf'pii, Ktt. 1 .p*r lb 

PepjMf ..,..,.... ,...,.. per lb 

HtoieEito^ Jamaloa,. ..................... . .p«r lb 

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by W(lqltfl),, 
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per oetitt diacouDt oSTlbe above rtcefL 



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Kngliah tolla at 10 






I THE CHEMICAL NEWS 
I Vol. IV, No. 4. American Reprint. 



Science mid Violence, 



173 



SCIENCE AND VIOLENCE. 

HraroRrAKS tell ub that there is a vein of thought nin- 
nini7 through even the empires of Uie battle-axe. We 
: : the vein in many cnscs tliin, and especially in .in- 
:i: times when the elementary instinct of power go- 
Teroed more fully than in laU?r days. The motives of 
men become more eoinpllcaied od ilieir Affairs become 
more numerous, and nations contain as many reasons 
for action as they contain Familie?. In old times men 
were not afthjinied to confe-'s their simple love of grcat- 
nem and, in default of that qnality, their love of admi- 
rarlin, Thcy liked to becari i"jd about Jike 5ome Queen 
I : iliCi May, or with elephanU to increase their apparent 
*^i7e, and numbers to atone for their itctual httleness. 
We must not despise these promptings of nature — 
T ' ; -e undefined strivings after tiie beautilul and the good. 
. . irding lo an old northern paying of onr people, *' it 
. <' up the back to do so," explaining an unknown 
iLse by a vague feehug that the whole column of tlie 
Ludy was filled with a power that took its own direc- 
tion. 

When victory produces aelf-satiafaction and leisure, 
tlitre is an attempt to think more clearly, and we have 
nation giving out with tiiore or less lulness its own 
of it?e1f and its relations to the universe. They 
risdom for a little and encourage learning, but 
with the rod in hatul, always letting ypunnder- 
ihat above all stands power. Their rights are 
of ihe New Zeakndera — '* I ate the former pos- 
Bemor." 

Still thi6 love of wLndom has taken a very brilliant 

form atsoraf* courts, and in part the love has been sin- 

The old laws of Manu enjoined it^ and gave 

to the king to learn *'from those who knew tlie 

Vedas the triple doctrine comprised in them to- 

jer with the primeval pcienceot criminal juRtioe and 

ind policy, the syateras of logic and metaphysics and 

iblime theological truth ; Vrom the people he must 

the theory of agriculturo, commerce, and other 

PMCUc&l artg.*' Here va seen the Ijve of wisdom and 

^" "■ which has burnt in the Enst at various times 

ilooes more violently than we cau now imagine, bo 

some periods it seemed certain t) t;ike the lead 

governrnentfl. Kings and courts were dazzled by 

'ri-d'^e, and wise men were invited *ind honoured, 

tema of abstract thought grew up in such va- 

it i^ hard to find one in Europe which has 

.Uul ■ "vioiwiy in theEast. So familiar, indeed 

I^Ium) t [jie that many sank down by a naturjil 

ly t-j loss serious thinkers, and after various trans- 

jrn^ations, when their masters dieJ, fell exhausted in 

ignoble reductio ad ahsurdum. That this is true 

^V illustrate by the account of the ostler srealing hii 

r^s horse and caricaturing the idealists by saying 

there wt8 no horse, it was onl}^ an idea. The 

jastcr returns the same answer after he gives him a 

^ging, saying that in reality, he ha^J received no 

in./: I x.intly as Johnson and Boswell laughed at 

td of the fir-disrant Fartosh. It is mel- 

]:,'reat thoughts coming down in the world 

decayed families, as a Grreek emperor might have 

ha^l he looked forward, his descendants intended 



for a throne, dyinc^ unknown and lonely on the extie- 
miiy of oar distant island. We tretnljle for our race 
Vol, IV. No. 4.— Akril, 1S69. 12 

[Engliih Edlttea, Tol. ZIZ-, No. 479, pagv Gl.; 



when we think of the East and look on men who loved 
truth so devotedly dying apparently by millions, rubbed 
oflf tiie lioor of life fty the sweeping liaud of the sclliali 
!ove of power. These sc-unes were in sirugijie? for 
maguiOcence, in which sun.-ihine and glitter had the vic- 
tory. That is a wondorlul place where the sun shmes; 
and the greatest pun perhaps ever made was the say- 
ing " Light couies from the East," — for after all it id a 
pun. 

Passing over times and places, we find that to invile 
wise men to courts became such an admired taste that 
King Arthur, we are told, had two hundred philoso- 
phers at his court. Notiiing shows the bent r)f men 
more than the i?tatements of romance : there men do 
exactly as they pleiise. We had certainly an inclination 
to run through the ages, and examine the relations of 
men of science and learning to power. It is a good 
habit, we think, the comparison of times ; and we do 
not care to be laughed uut of it by the story of the Ger- 
man writer on policc',who began his history,whether re.al 
or mythical, in the words "Adam was the first police- 
man.'* We have seen with our own eyes a ckim made 
for thisnatne as (he first freemason, a no less wonderful 

f>iecsi of hterattjre. We move more freed from present 
mman pi ejudiccs in ancient timeti ] as soon as we ar- 
rive at the breakage of the Roman Empire, or perliaps 
rather at llioso ages where the busy roOU* of modern 
life grew in darkness, men became as cautious of si>eeeli 
as if they were at the back of their friends. In old 
times there began a simpler relationship between the 
men who liad original thought and those who had 
power. But the two powers did not coalesce well, and 
one thinks with shame even now of Plato attracted, 
shufllbd cfl', and re-attrocted to one Dionysius after an- 
other, only to be repelled at last. In earlier times one 
feels sorry Ibr poor Croesus .seeking the, sympathy of the 
wise, and one k*arns by such things that they knew their 
position as well as any car* know it now, although 
they have been obhge'd to tnove lo the side as the 
sword came in their way. Indeed^ we feel that it must 
have been a great country that lelt, even in tlie ad- 
vanced social period, that Diogenes wa-? a fKJwcr. A 
em all people would have despised him, and it would re- 
quire the most choice of our time to treat such a one 
with attention such as he met. 

In reality, however, we have not much to do with 
such men ; they were not the intellectual ancfstprs of 
chemists, although, being somewhat reljiU-d, since men 
who th Hjght on matter and miud were not mure allied 
in old time than with us, we think it interesting to ?ee 
how, as a ruce, they were treated by the men of action 
nf the time. Whenever these dciiired to llgibt for their 
interests, they cleared the ground of all such impe^i* 
ments as learning produced, just as they would have 
removed beggars and stroUirg minstrels. Perhaps scien- 
tific men are rather the descendants of astrologers and 
magicians that graced the courts of the Ea*t, aiid wao 
at times seemed lo have real power, and at other times 
were superior slaves. The time of action came, and 
I hey were scattered like munmiers. The scientist* may 
sprmg from the physicians of Egypt, who advanced ao 
far in" thoir division of labour that it was consideretl thit 
one part of the body was enough for the study of one 
man. They must have risen high when one who was 
sent to the PiT.-ian court was so incensed by the r©* 
moval from his wife and family that he found means to 
cause an invasion of Ej.n^'pt, accoi-ditig to a repurt. But 
although we may view them ^ we do, cultivating ctu 



ra:ca! ^owledgc with somu* sucjesi on the Nile, w« 



174 



Science and Violence. 



April, 1S6». 



see tbem also as unhappy instances of the fact that Uie 
man of mere action has had his way, and the nation ha« 
lonp: suffered the deepest degradation* 

Ever will the man of mere aolion put aside the best, 
that his Uttle purpose* may flouriah. We have heard of 
an engineer who projiosed in this, our own island, to 
drive a railway through a park which had been ihe 
property of the citizerts longer than history couki tell, 
Fo a«t to 5ave a slight curve, such as !je often made ap- 
parently for his aniusement. We have heard of an- 
other who proposed to CArry a sinjilar road through an 
ancient church, in which the bodies of kings and queens 
had lain for centuries, and had fascination to delude 
others into the crime, and now the spot is made the 
stable of screeching and unfeeling locomotives. It ia 
always the same with the man of mere action ; we 
have seen Mm in various condition.*, but he is always 
one. He has cheated us at marbloa^ where his princi- 
ples were fully developed as a chicken's are from tlie 
shell; we have seen him groxvii into manhood, imd he 
has bullied, and browbeaten us, and we have seen him 
old, when he has wheedled and made use of us. Mia 
demands are for himself. We have known him wan- 
dering over Europe for inventions, for which he obtains 
a ])ateDt, carelesjs of the faiLt that auoiher is the inven- 
tor, and when this has railed we have soen him trying 
to prove that no man haa a right to keep his own dis- 
coveries to himself, ho[)ing by tbia means that the 
sharpest eye and lonpjest pnrst^ will Beize and keep 
tbem. He has even obtained the apparent conFent lor 
the time of some most emiueut men, having deceived 
the very elect of the naiion. He wiahea to seiz;e the 
golden egg as soon as it is laid, but he cares little for 
the life of the hen. That egg wjH last his day. Every- 
where he is the sara*; he wdl open the world with hia 
sword ; it is to him a mere oyster or food supply, and 
it matters nolhini' to him if he sacrifices the life of a 
smint or a fly. Shakespeare saw one undisguised on a 
heath near Forres, when describing Inmsclf in thei«e 
words : " and like a rat without a biil, I'll do, I'll do, I'll 
do." This expresses activity without thinking. 

There is, however, the man of action in the highest 
©ense inspired by thoughts and working tliom out. 
Him it is probable no man can equal ; such have he- 
come the moat admired of mankind, but as every one 
has his hero we shall miike no alhi.sion, as it is not of 
consequence to stir up opposition on a point little to be 
regarded here. 

The man' of mrre action, whose princrples are aelf, 
differs so much from the man of action governed by 
love of his race, thai in narrowness one can only com- 
pire him with the bridge of Sarat whieh^ if be ever 
cross, it will be because he surpasses it in narrow- 
ness* To us, he seeras betler named the man of vio- 
lence. He has never learnt principle?, and to a man 
who cares not for these we need not speak of science ; 
its volumes turn into receipt books. 

It has been said that the govemment of this 
country does too little for scientific men. The work 
of science, like other dcpartmenla of thought and 
action, has been left to be developed by the genius of 
the country. Looking at thehistory of scientific ideas, 
it seems to iis that our nation has not much to fear in 
comparison witli others. Wo shall even go farlher, 
and say that for breadth of views no nation can go be- 
yond us. We are even still more prejudiced, nqd are 
mclined to tliink that, taking the larger and wider the- 
ories into consideration, we have doue more than our 
ahare. The DatiooAl foroo has been great, and that m- 



stinct which has produced so many poets of the high*| 
est class has also j»roduced bold thinkers leaping oarJ 
fields of thought with seven-leagued boots, whilst 
workers on the fields have been too few for full cultiva 
tion. We are not quite prepared to prove all this, bal 
we hare long thought it, and it ia not a matter ool 
which to prwluce rapid conviction to an onponent 
But, fjom whatever cause, we consider ourselves lag- 
ging : our powers are not made the most of; we con- 
sider that in this country the number of purely sc>et 
lific men is too small. We tliink, too, that the powi 
of the whole are not fully brought into action. Th< 
13 algo a want of care to produce a supply, and, wh< 
produced, to give them position. The country m\ 
tsulTer by this in every department where science is 
value. 

The first result of this belief, which is held by ftUmes 
who think on the suhject^ is to bhime the government 
We, too, have had an inclmalion to do so, and there we 
must seek help ; but as a question of morale, who is 
blame ? If we search the factories of this country, 
we^ find that the manufacturers have been before tt 
government, and that tliey have made such use of 
cntific men and scientific knowledge as to enable tliet 
to stand guiltless? Our behef ia against this. Wi 
stand guilty as a nation of an attempt to ride ov^ 

[irinciples of science and to obtain results by the vi 
ence of our aclivities. 

There have been many wise men who have devot 
great sums to the nation, that ihose afYer tliem migl 
be txiught without cost, but ever these witches froB 
Shakespeare have come and have wrested the pow 
from their hands, turning it to baser ends. The man 
of selfishness and mere action baa been, as usual, at 
the money boxes; and he has dune more : he has lived 
on tho brains of whole cities and countries. He hai 
darkened whole generations for whom his father had 
provided hght; and it ia not much to say that for 
every day's food a family has been ruined. Canni* 
are more ea^ly taught, and les^s hkely to return to the; 
feasts. In early times we have seen ihem in the gi 
ernmetits; in modern times they are more difficult to 
find: they hunt aller charities provided for the poor 
and ignorant, or take hold of others' shaJres that make 
them rich as princes. 

We desire protection from these men of violence. 
We look on the keen minds of our ancestors, and say 
to ourselves : '^ If such men as these had found peace 
and fair-play, what a world we should now have." Wo 
read the words of Roger Bacon, written 600 years ago, 
and most interesting to chemists : — '*The elements are 
made out of y/p. and every element is converted into the 
nature of another element, and everythiu^ into ev^ry 
thine; for barley is a potential horae — that is, by its 
occult natiirCj and wheut ia potentially man, aud man 
is potentially wheat." When men begin to put the 
problems of nature so sharply before them, they en- 
quire. Let us suppose yU to be the substance of the 
metaphysicians, and we have" an opinion little differing 
from one lately put forward to account for elementa,, 
although disagreeing as to the transmutation — a poin 
that most chemists will very M'ilUngly concede in the 
ry. Well, this style of enquiry was eupptesscd bT 
authority, and it ia for others better a<:quainted with 
our old universities to say if up to this century a more 
advanced knowledge of matter was received by those 
who studied at Oxford. Six hundred years have beei 
given for the study, and we think we have met man_ 
behind Bacon. He certainly thought Oxford a proper 



lor 

bal^ 
heH 
rov^ 



[Eatliib Bditljo, Vol XIX., Ko 479, pafM 61, 62,] 



I 

1 

a 
re 

sr 111 






On the SuZpJiaites of Oodde of Antimony, 




plAco for such studies. Let us imagine the worlds if he 

liftd beea cncotiraged to make a school ; but one step 

i»y destroy a life, and that solemn truth standi be- 

U3 every day. We seek protection from |j;overn- 

*iits, all bough they in old time have <le8troyed so 

ich that thoughtful men built; but the men of vio- 

ice luivu changed their beat, they are not in authori- 

r, tbey find more to bo gained by lurkln;^ in secret. 

It U not for sin;>le individuula to protect tbemselves 

^y stand &3 nothing before their fellow-men, on 

occosioos exce[ite<i, when they become representa- 

re * it is not even possible for a community to protect 

jlr— it live*, but it^ organisation doea not continue 

jrtn*nent except in its government It ia only the 

tmortal thut cin protect us through generations; and 

the State we have the nearest approach to that con- 

luanoe which savours of imraortaUty. It ia for this 

m, then, that we must look to governments, nol 

men unable to help themselves, but as men who, 

lesj* than a century to live, implore for the 

the aid of thut whose hfe will remain to long 

There has been in England a pride of individual life 

rhich has brightened its annals in a manner peculiarly 

"istening^ but has greatly prevented the concfDlration 

ita power in many directions. Its too practical eye 

never seen the abstract living government moving 

through all generations, muttering its thoughts 

through changeabtu men, and has failed too much to 

know that this could act as a lens whereby the people's 

"* >wer could be intensified. As men, we are not nar- 

and there is an elnsticity in our institutions which 

lows of great width ; but from wliatever cause, our 

Iversitiea have been lacking in breadth, and they 

ive taught our statesmen. Out of the earth, deep 

long the root3, hag grown the sap of new inatitu- 

ms, and the nation mu5t drive on the learned men 

^ho were appointed to lead it It is a misfortune, and 

iXi&ii of tliia it «eems needful that universities shall 

longer be few in number, so that all the country 

lould be shaped in one groove, but sufficiently numer- 

la to present onpositiona to any body of men who 

rill too ejcclufiively pursue one idea. The existence of 

»uch will be a safeguard to the nation, who will be able 

Rhave a choice of education for their sons, whilst 
e control of government will prevent them sinking 
to those private depths of selfiahnesa which have 
owned so many endowments. If education is not 
idcr a great public control the funds will be again 
*v rested from their proper ends. The government 
only can protect the land from " tJie violence of men 
that dwell therein." 



I 



. ON TUB 

STTLPHATES OF OXIDE OP ANTIMONY. 

BY. W. P. DEXTER. 
(CuDcIadfid from American E«pr., Maj^h, 1869, page 130.) 

ic S'lU*, — The baeic sulphates of antimony form a 

t of salts in which the oxide is combined with two, 

and half an equivalent of acid. Besides these, 

ere appear to be others, only one of which I have 

.mined, and which are probably combinations of these 

pier salts. Tbey occur under various and often un- 

pected conditions; but, in general, the degree of di- 

^on of the acid seemed to have the greatest influence 

their production. When oxide of antimony is boiled 

Vith Bulphurio ncid diluted with about its; volume of 



water, a turbid liquid is obtained in which, under tlie mi- 
croscope, no distinctly cryst^nlline body f'an be perceived. 
On continuiuf' the ebulliti!."U, when the acid has reach- 
ed a certain degree of concretration, the liquid, provi- 
ded more oxide be present than it can dissolve, becomes 
suddenly clear from the subsidence of a heavy snnd-likc 
body* If the boiling have been stopped as soon as this 
takes place, the substance will be found under the mi- 
croscope to consist of flat rhombic prisms of considera- 
ble size. By continuing the boiling but for a few se- 
conds these disappear, without any cliange of appear- 
ance perceptible to the eye ; but by the microscope the 
pristps are SfCen to be replaced by octahedral crystals, 
u-enerally, however, tlie prisms are from the first min- 
gled with the ocLaliedral salt, from which it is very diffi- 
cult in this way to obtain them quite free. By a slij^ht 
concentration of the acid, as lias been said, the octa- 
hedra are left perfectly free from the prisms. 

These octahcdra af pear to belong to the regular sys- 
tem, are frequently more or less distorted, but very 
seldom show any replacement or modification of the 
crystalline form. The faces are striatetl, and to these 
little projecting angles, acting like prisms, is due it 
seems to me^ the sUght amount of colour which they 
exhibit in polarised light. As the liquid in which they 
have formed cools, crystals resembling those of the neu- 
tral sulphate generally separate. To prevent admix- 
ture with these, the porous plate upon which they were 
collected was covered and imbedded in hot sand. Iq 
their analysis were obtained — 

1. From Ii663 8alt, 0-S63 SbS, and 1-1815 BnOSOi. 

2. From ri359 of another preparation, 0*847 ^^83 and 

11724 BaOSOi. 

C«!ca1aled. I. I!. 

SbO, ,.64-65 6357 63-91 

2SO, • .35-35 3479 3544 

loo'oo 98-36 99*35 

The salt is the bisulphato, and its formula SbOs2SO,. 

Mr. Pfiligot, by the action of fuming sulphuric acid 
upon oxide of antimony, obtained a salt '* in the form 
of small, brilliant crystals," of which he has given the 
analyses — 

SbOj 630 64-3 

SO, .....371 350 

and wMch therefore seem to have been the salt just 
described. In fact, hydratedi sulphuric acid, gently 
warmed, unites with tlie oxide to form this compound 
which is then dissolved at a higher temperature, with 
production of the neutral salt. 

In the formation of both the octahedral and prisma- 
tic crystals, there appears to be direct conversion of 
the undissolved oxide into the salts : they are also de- 
posited from a solution of the oxide in sulphuric acid 
of the proper concentration. There is^owever, a pecu- 
harity attending their formation. When they have 
separated from the acid liquor, they can be decom- 
posed by addition of water, and again reproduced by 
concentrating the liquid. But if by still further evapo- 
ration they have been rcdissolved in the acid as neutral 
salt, or if the oxide be at first dissolved in concenlrated 
acid, and the solution in cither case decomposed by 
water, on evaporation the octahedral crystals will not 
be obtained, or will be obtJiined only in small quantity ; 
the separated basic salt re-dissolves at last completely 
in the acid. By arresting the evaporation at the pro- 
per period, as has heen said, octahedral crystals may bo 
deposited from the liquid on cooling, but ho conve^oa 



UiDsllsh EdittOD, 7ol ZJX., No. 47^. P«KM ^ .^d 



1 76 "^^^ On the Sulphates of 

oi' the basiic salt into them soems to talce place. By 
decomposing iho basic salt with carbonate ^f soda, and 
treating ihe resulting oxide with dilute acid, the octa- 
hedral cryetals cm be aj^ain produced. 

Finding it difiicult to obtain the salt mentioned as 
occurring in flat pi i«ms freu from the octahedral crys- 
tals by concentration of the acid liquid in an open ves- 
sel, expeririicnts were made with acid of various de- 
gree* of dilution. An acid of sp. gr. greater than. 1*6 
gave b}' boiling with the oxide octahedral crystals ; at 
1*597 ihe prLMiris first appeared ; at sp, gr. 1*57 the ox- 
ide wa«i converted into prisms free from the other salt, 
but smaller than t hope produced by the gradual con- 
ceritratitin of tlie liquid ; and at r554 the product con- 
sisted only of needles. So tbat ihe production of the 
body in qu'^sfion is confijicd within narrow limits of 
concentration of the 0^:1 d. The suit wa5 drit-dj like the 
bisulphate, upon a plate surrounded with hot sand. 

Of two diflereut preparations, • 

0-624 salt gave 0-4864 SbS» and 0-571 BaOSOj : (i). 
0*524 " '* 0-4097 SbSi and 0*479 BaOSOa : (i 1). 

Whence their composition wm 

f. li. 

r N t ^ — V 

eqvtL cqTia. 

SbO 66-97 300 67-17 300 

SO, 3142 516 31-39 513 

BO (loss) 161 ri7 144 105 

10000 lOOOO 

and their formula SbOi, 5SO1, HO, which requires 

SbO, 6775 

SO, 30S6 

HO.. --139 

100*00 
The salt 38 most probably a compound of two atoms 
of bisulphftte and one of protosulphate^ — 

2SbOa. :S0, + SbO,SO,,nO. 
This composition explains the facility with whicB it 
is changed by prolonged boiling and concentration of 
the liquid into the bL*ulphate ; it being only necessary 
that the equivalent of water be replaced by one of acid. 
Ttecrv stale of this salt appear large and well defined 
imder the microscope with medium powers. They are 
four-rsided prisms, having for their section a rhomb* 
With very unequal angles, and terminated by two or 
four faces, which, frotu the flatness of the piismsi, are 
not ^tincUy visible : they belong^ apparently to the 
right rhombic system. Formed by the gradual con- 
centration of the acid, they have alvvaysi the same form ; 
but by exposure of the liquid, or of a solution *of the 
oxide in ddute acid, to the air, crystals are obtained ot 
the s'Bme.generul appearance, which seem to bo of the 
oblique rhombic system. 

By exposure for several weeks to tlie air of the liquid 
Irom which .the prisms had separated, a fine white 
powder was deposited, consiisting of minute irregular 
needk'js, in which, wi«h a power of about 600, no further 
shape could bo made ouU The quantity was only 
sufficient for aue analysis, and a subsequent attempt to 
form tbem did not succeed. 03447 gave 0*2668 SbSi, 

and 0*2167 S0». 

Cnlciilalod. Poo ad. 

SbOi..-.. 7492 73% 

SO, 20*48 21*59 

HO 4'6o (4-43) 

100*00 lOOOO 



Omde of Antimony, \ ^TA' iST ^ 

The same salt^ without the atom of water, was made ^Kt 
by Brandes V>y the action of alcohol upon the neutm! ^| 
gait. I have obtained in this way a salt in Bmall 
needles, but which was not analy«ied, 

Tiie last of these basic salts, the combination of two 
atoms of oxide with one of acid, has been described 
and analysed, both by Brandes and by Pdligol, It w. 
produced by the decomposition by water of the neutral 
salT, or its soliilion in dilute sulphuric acid. Procipttated 
from a solution, I have found it amorphous, but by 
standing two or three days in contact with the liquid, 
it crystallises in needles. According to Brandes, tJhej 
amorphous salt loses the greater part of its acid by* 
washmg with water. The neutral salt, or rather the 
magma to which the solution of oxide of antimony in 
concentrated acid congeals on cooling, is resolved rnto. 
irdnute crystalline needles, when decomposed by warm , 
wat^er, or when by the dilntion of the acid sofiieienti 
bent is evolved. They subsided readily in the liquid, [ 
and couM be boiled with repeated portions of water] 
without changing their oppearance, or ihe nrodiictionj 
of an amorphous sul:>8tance. When brougnt upon ili 
filter and washed copiously Avith boiling water, th* 
nitrate contained constantly a little sulphuric acid, antf] 
deposited oxide of antimony on cooling. From the] 
agreement of the result of their an.iilysis with the calco- 
Jated composition, it would seem that in the cry&tiUine^ 
state this salt is not decomposed, or is but slowly 
decomposed by hot water. 0-8334 ^^ ^he soli prepared 
in this way, and dried by pressure in paper, gavel 
0-S393 SbS, and 0*2735 BaOSO.. 

ColciilRted. Foand. 

2SbO, 85-66 4^6-52 

SO, 11-71 " *7 

HO 263 (2*21) 

1 0000 100*00 
Brandes* found in the salt 3 per cent of water. I 
Peligot obtained it water free, and also with two atoms 
of water. Heated to 100 it lost one-half per cent; 
tho rest of the water required for its expulsioa a 
temperature above 240". 

The series cf the sulphates of antimony resembles | 
those of the earths glucma and zirconia, considered its^ 
seaquioxides. The neutral sulphate of neither of these 
eartlis combines with hydrate of sulphuric acid to iorm 
an acid sulphate,* and the most basic compound of both 
contains two equivalents of base to one of acid. Jn 
place of a bisulphate, they have salts with three atoma' 
of acid to two of the earths, and no intermediate salt, ♦ 
like that of antimony, has yet been discovered. From 
bijsrauth tlio antimony Rcries difi'era in that the salts of ^H 
the foniier rautal are decomposed by water, according ^| 
to Heinz and Huge, into basic saltn containing equal ^m 
equivalents of acid and base; here, also, no intermediate S 
salt is yet known. A more important difference lies in fl 
tho fact that oxide of bismuth apjvears to form cue, if ^| 
not two, acid salfdiates. I have analyses indicating the ^ 
exiBtcnce of compounds of the neutral salt with three 
atoms of hydrate of sulphuric acid; and also of a suit 
crystallising in beautiful pearly scales, and cootaining 
equal equivalents of the neutrd sulphates of bismuth 
and potash. A salt with three equivalents of sulphate 
of potash has been deacribed by Heinz. The further 
accoimt of these bodies mu^t be reserved until their 
analyses ht»ve given more trustworthy results. — AmeW-J 
can Journal of Soimce^ 1868. 

* Zlrcanln, Benc«ltns, littt perbapd not quite cortolu ; glucJun, BoraaU'i 
iaj», aad my owa oxpertmcQtA. ^ 



[Easikh EditioxH Vol. ZIX., Mo. 479, pages €3, 64.] 1 







I OsVKICil. Sk 

^^ Aprils IIOI 

^m THE s 



TJte Salt Deposits at Stassfurt. 



THE SALT DEPOSITS AT STASSFCRT. 

BT MESSRS. BALD AND MACTEAR.* 

Tnt eoufhem part of the North German Basin is divid- 
ed by the HnrtJ5 into two portions, which are known 
aa tlje Thuringian and ihf MagJeburg Halburstader 
basinSj in wliich salt has be<;ii raided for & knigihcned 
period in tho form of brine* 
Tlie basin covers a surface of 120 English fquare 
5, and is filled with new red fiand.«.ti>nej which is not 
jken up by nny of the older formation?. It is 
^iiit(*rspeT?ed by elevations of pyfisurn, wliich is con- 
[tidured a certain indicaiion of the presence of common 
In the Prussian mine at Slas^furt, in tlie Magde- 
>arg basin, after passinj^ througli 27 feet of alluvial soil, 
iDickne&3 of 576 of new red sandstone is at once 
.then 213 feet of gfypsura, anhydrite, and marl, 
being found at a dt-ptli of 8(6 feet. In the An- 
It mine (half a mile from the Prussian one] the snnd- 
tone Is entirely wanting, the ?alt bed being reached at 
depth of 4S0 feet, after passing through 20 feet of soil 
460 feet of gypsum, anhydritje, and maji The 
>reholes at Srhoneheek (ponie milt-s from 4Sta'?fifurt) 
very distinctly the various strata with which the 
is filled up ns the salt^ gradually got deeper and 
jeper. Thus, at boro No. S, the salt is 1000 feet from 
le surface, the intervening strata being 200 feet 
alluvial soil an! 800 feet of new red sandstone. At 
To. 5 there is 37 feet of nOuvial ao'l, 166 feet of mussel- 
ialk, and 1,277 ^^^^ <^f "^^ red sandstone, the salt 
ring 1,480 fi-et from the surface. At No. 6 there is 
30 feet alliivial soli, 877 feet mussel-chalk, and 47*3 feet 
new red sand.stone, the salt being 1,380 feet from the 
surface. At No. 4 there is 25 feet alkivial soil, 211 feet 
of what in Germany is called kyuper and let!enkohle 
(literally, copper and letten coal). This keuper is tho 
equivalent of the snliferous and gypseous shidea and 
sandstones of Ches-hire, a member of the "Irias" or 
new red sandstone formation. Lettenkohle is a variety 
of Ugnite known in the district as brown coal. Next 
we have 1,067 feet of mussel-chalk, 377 feet of new red 
Bandstone, and the salt at a depth of i,6So feet. Bore 
'*'''o. 3 18 somewhat similar to No. 4, tht-re being 30 feet 
lluvial eoil, 435 feet keuper and letfenkohl<\ 1,087 
lussel-chalk, 2t2 new red sandstone, the suit being 
,764 feet from the surface. 

In the Magdeburg basin the salt reata on new red 

ftud in the Tliuringian basin on mussel-chalk 

jsian hmestone. 

It is only at Stassfurt and Erfurt that the salt ia 

mined ; at all the other places it Is obtained by meatia 

>f brine wells, the liquor Irom which is coneenlrat4*d by 

\e graduation proce*=t, which consists in aUow^ing the 

rcak liquor to trickle through walk mode of bundles 

thorns and brushwood. 

The graduation houses comist of a timber framing, 

lIo jwhich the faggota or thoma are built in regular 

ralK The structure is covered with a roof to protect 

from the rain, but the aldea, of course, are open to 

Irait of the free passage of air, wliich, together with 

le solar heat, forms the evaporating medium. 

The walls are from 30 to 50 feet high, and of immense 

mgth, the celebrated one at Sehonebeck being fully 

lore than an English mile in length. They are plac^l 

in the manner best suited to obtain the full benefit of 

the prevAiling wind. The house is divided into several 

sections, and the weak liqitor is pumped up into a cis- 

• Re»d bcforo tli« Ctiomical Bectloa of the Glaagow Pklloaophlctl 
r, /*nu»fy 13, 1363. 




Jern, from which it is led by me.ins of a perforated pipe 
along the top of (he first division, down the sides of 
which it trickles* into a large wooden timk uuJerneath* 
From this it is pumped up and aPowed to trickle 
through the second division, fromundenuath which {% 
is pumped on to the third, and so on until it reaches 
the Iftsr one. In graduation houses, where the num- 
ber of compartments does not exceed three, and, indeed, 
in all of them, to a greater or Icfss extent, the liquor is 
pumped through tlio ?ame division several times. The 
weak brine at 8chonebock contains 7^ per cent of com- 
mon Balr, which, at the finish of the graduation proce?«, 
is raised to about 22 per cent. In this state it is run 
into large tank?, of which there are eight at Sehonebeck, 
of an aggregate capacity of about two and a half mil- 
lion gallons. Frotn these tanks it is drawn off lo tho 
evaporating pans a* reijuired for bailing down. At 
these worka the process of graduation cau be carried on 
for an avemge 01^250 days in the year. 

The boring operations were commenced at Stassfurt 
on the 3d April, 1839, and in June, 1S43, had pene- 
trated \xy the rock salt region. In January, 185 [, when 
it had reached a depth of 1,851 feet, the liquor from the 
bores contained— 

Siilphato of mflgne^iura 4"oi 

Chloride of magiicsium ^9*43 

Chloride of potassium 2*^4 

ClUorido of sodium ..« 5*61 

Total aalta, ... 31*29 

However, in 1848, Professor il a rchand gave it as his 
opinion that the salts wore not mixed in the manner re- 
presented by tho brine, but that pure rock salt would 
be found at the bottom with the more soluble salts 
overlying it; and so much weight was given to his 
opinion that in December, 1S51, after having penetrat- 
ed to a depth of jnat as many feet us there were then 
years in the Christian Era, the sinking of the shaft 
"Von der Heydt" was commenced, Ibltowed in Jima- 
ary, 1852, by that of the &haf< " Von Monieuffel ; " and 
in' iSj6 the pure salt was found i,o66 feet from the 
surface. 

The shaft pDSses through — 1st, 27 feet of alluvial 
soil ; 2d, 576 feel of sandstone, wnth some schist and 
grey hmestone; 3d, 192 feet of gypsum and nnhy<!rite; 
4th, 21 feet of bituminous matter mixed with anvhy- 
drite and common salt— making in all 816 feet. Next 
tliereis 158 fe^-t of abram or potash salts, the value of 
which was nut recognised at first, but which now play 
a very important part in the industry of the country. 
The shaft then passes through 92 feet of rook salt, the 
upper portion of which is rather impure, being mixed 
to a considerable extent with anhydnte. This makes 
a total depth of 1,066 feet, and nt this point the lateral 
workings were commenced. These consist of large 
galleries, the principal of which are from 40 to 60 feet 
broaii, 20 to 25 feet in height, and about 200 feet long. 

The salt Is wrought in a manner somewhat similar 
to our \on'i, wall system, a series of holes of sufficient 
depth, about 6 leei or so, are drilled in the luce of the 
salt about 5 foet from the floor, and this depth of ma- 
terial IS removed by a series of small blasts. This opet^ 
alion is repeated until a considerable space has been 
cleared under the overhanging mass of salt. Bore-holes 
are then drilled close to the roof, and by a series of 
simultaneous blasts, a large maj^s of salt is dislodgedt 
In one of those halls or galleries which we visited 
there was lying on the floor a moss of between two and 



\iBngliih Edition, Vol. HX^ Wo. 479, FagM;M, 65.] 



178 



The Salt Deposits at' Stassfuri, 



jiprU^Vm, 



three thousand tons wLich had been removed in this 
manner a few days previously, A number of boya are 
employed to piek out the pieces of pure salt, which 
only recjuireii grinding to fit it for domestic use. Tlxe 
Bait is rerjjoved to the nit bottom in hutches running 
upon rails, exactly similar to those in use in our own 
coal pits. From this they are liHted to the surface by 
ail engine of 130 horse-power, and removed to the 
grin Jing mills, ol which there are twelve at the mines. 
There \b also a 200 horse-power engine for pumping, 
which lifls 13 cubic feet of water per minute. 

The workings into the potash salts are opened on 
the other side of the shaft from the common salt gal- 
leries, for although the salts are deposited one on the 
top of tlie other, still aa they dip at an angle of 30^ 
tliey are all wrought from the one level. 

The total thickness of the salts is 1,197 feet, and tliif 
may be said to conaist of— 

Rock salt. . , 9S9 feet 

Anhydrite 36 " 

Pol/balito.. 13 " 

Kicaerite. 51 " 

ClamaUite 98 •* 

Hydrated chloride of Magno- 

eium. 13 *• 

This gives a composition of— 

Chloride of sodium 85-82 

Sulphate of calcium 4'8S 

Sulphate of roagncBium 470 

Sulphate of potUBshiiu 040 

Chlori Je of inagneBium 2*5 3 

Chloride of potasBium.; i "67 



JOOOO 



We will now consider the beds aerintim^ beginning 
with tJje lowest^ which is called tlie anhydnte region^ 
and consists of 685 feet of pure rock salt intei^iwrsed 
with thin layers of anhydrite a quarter of nn inch or so 
thick, and dividing the salt iit intervals of froui one to 
seven or eight mches. The sail is pure and colourless 
when pulverised. 

The anhydrite is anhydrous snlplmte of calcium^ and 
contains a small quantity of a bituminous matter which 
impnrts to it i<a char grey colour ; traces of organic re- 
mains are aUo proved by the presence of a gas containing 
carburt'tted hydrogen which, according to Biachof, has 
the following composition : — 

Cnrburctted hydrogen. 85 

CarboiHc auid ♦, ., 3 

Atmospheric air 12 



It is present in quantities of about 3 c.c. per kilo- 
gramuie in the rock salt and about 8 c.c. in the kali 
salts. It presents the appearance of air bubbles in the 
transparent crystals. Tlie sppcific gravity of anhydrite 
is 2'9i68, and it is soluble in water to the extent of i part 
in 500. 

In the second or pol^halite region we have, beafdea 
• the common salt and sulphate of lime, a deposition, 
from what might be considered the mother liquors, of 
the sulphates of potassium and magnesium which have 
combined with the sulphate of calcium to form the salt 
poly halite, from which this division takes its name; its 
composition is given on the table: — 

.CaSOt +MgS04 H- K^SO* -I- 2H»0. 



It has a specific gravity of 2720 and is in 7 

decomposed by water. Specimens of it ;i i 

found pure, as they generally contain from 2 i" o I'tf 
cent of cliloride of sodium. This bed is »bout 200 
feet thick, and has an average compoaitiooj according 
to Steinbeck, of— 

Chloride of sodium 51-20 

Anhydrite..., 0*66 

Polyholito .^ 6'33 

Hy drofced cliloride of magnesium . l '5 1 
the upper layers, however, being the more impure. 
In the third or kieaerite region the gradual disapp< 
ance of the more insoluble salts is made manifest, for it 
contains on an average only 2 per cent of anhydrite, 
and about 60 per cent of common salt, and from 17 tOi| 
20 per cent of kieserite, which is monohydraled 
phate of magnesium, the former being — MgSO« + Hi 
Specimens found in the mine generally contain from 
to 2 per cent of cldoride of souium or magneiium ; it ' 
amorphous, greyish white, and transparent, and in ll 
air has a tendency to pass into epsoms, becomii 
opaque during tlie transformation; it is soluble in 
rather more than twice its weight of water (40*9 parta 
in 100 HaO). When the tjuantity of water is not st "~ 
ficient for complete soluiion this salt has the pectilii 
properly of absorbing a certain quantity of it and 
ting into a hard mass, more resembling a piece of flii 
than anything else, and with, of course, a considerabl 
increase of volume. 

In the fourth and last division, which is called the eat 
naUiir region^ the insoluble salts are entirely gone, ai 
even the common salt gives plttce in quantity to l\ 
more soluble carnallitej the average composition Uiing : — 

CnmalUte * » ... . . 55 

Common salt. •«»•»..>.. 25 

Kieserite • 16 

Hydrated chloride of magnesium. , 4 

Carnallite, when pure, consists of KClH-MgCU+6HaO, 
having a specitic gravity of I "618, and dissolving ia 
about one and a half times its weight of water at 18* 
C. ; it is crystalline, clear, and colourless, but as found in 
the mine it varies from pui-e wliite to a deep red colour, 
owing to the presence of minute quantities of peroxide 
of iron. This peroxide of iron, when separated from 
the salts, presents the appearance of a coppery bronsd 
powder, but when viewed under the microscope it is 
found to consist of distinct crystals of exceedingly 
beautilul appearance, varying in Colour from golden 
yellow to dark red. 

The camallite is very deliquescent, and, on cxpoBure 
to a damp atmosphere, the chloride of magnesaam 
gradually drains away, leaving the chloride of potas- 
sium behind. This probably accountA for the presence 
of syh'in, or pure chloride of potaasium, small qitauti* 
ties of which are found underneath the camallite ; it ia 
rather more abundant in the Anhalt mine, and this would 
further tend to prove tlio theory iliat it is the product 
of the decomposition of carnaUite, as the chloride of 
magnesium is found to preponderate in the lower lyii^ 
level of the Stsssfurt mine as iacfkydrite. 

Sylvin is variously coloured, and has a bright Bbining 
appearance, which has been not inaptly compared 10 
mother-of-pearl. Its specitic gravity is 2*025, and 34*5 
^arta of it dissolve in 100 of water at iSf C. 

It is occasionally found in large perfectly transparent 
crystals, which, according io Professor i^. Magnus, of 
BerUn, are as transparent to heat as rock salt ; and this 
diathermic property does not change with Qic iempera- 



[EnElUh Edition, 7oL XIZ., No. 479, pages 66, 66 ; Mo. 480, pace 77.] 




April, t9«». f 



The Salt Deposit's at Stassfurt 



179 



Uire of the source of heat nny more than rock paU does, 
Attd which has hiiherto been the only substance known 
to p<j6«ess thf latter quality. 

The lachydrite already raentioned Ls a suit having the 

same composition as camallite, but in wliich the 

potassium is replaced by calcium, it? formula being 

CoCU + ^MirClj+izHsO. It la very dcliquesoent and 

very {soluble, 100 partd of water at 18 Jo 0. dissulviug 

i6o*3 parts of the s^alt; it is tiio only salt which raii^os 

K the temperature of the water during soluttou, all the 

■ other* having the property of lowerinjj it during that 

H operation. 

^L^Besidea aylvin and tachydrit©, there ejcwts also, 

^HftAilfrh in such irregular quantities that it cannot be 

^IflScniated upon with certainty ^^ a salt called kianite, 

Jiavinsj tlie following conni position: — llgSO^ + K^SOg 

t+HvO. It is evidently the product of a secondary de- 
compofiition, arising from the action, probably, during" 
a low temperature, of sulphate of magnesium upon 
chloride of potaafium. 
We also have what ie probably the most peculiar and 
unaccountable compound in thci^e mines — viz., bora- 
cite, the composition of which h 6MgO,SB.*Oi + MgCl4 
(gp. gr. 2'3); it is found scaltered all over the deposit 
in nodules varying in sixe frum tlie most minute up to 

17 or 8 inches in diameter, rtnd, although occurring; in 
the most soluble salt beds, is of itself almost insoluble 
in WAler, and, in fact, is with difficulty decomposed by 
acids; but its greatest peculiarity is, that it always, 
and without exception, contains a kernel of the easily 
soluble carnallite or lachydrite; it does not exist in 
any great quality, the annual yield being somewhere 
about 10 tons. A small quantity of bromine is also 
found in thi^ region, existing as LroraiJe uf magnesium; 

■ caesium and rubidium canaL-o be detecteil ; but hitherto 
all attempts to prove the presence of either litMum or 
iodine have been witliout success. 

The ingr<?dient9 in this region do not exist as a 
homogeneoud ina'S, but are deposited in diatitjcl liiyor^^, 
which repeat themselves fiequently, and vary in thick- 
ness from a mere line to several feet. 

It is from the impure carnallite that the manufacture 
of rauriat« of potash is so largely carried on in the 
neighbourhood. This salt, whicij is coarsely ground at 
the mlnos, has an average composition of — 

Chloride of potassium, 16 

•Chloride of magnesium 20 

Chloride of sodium 25 

Sulphate of inagneaia 10 

Water , 29 

100 

rt also contains small quantities of sulphate of lime 
and bituminous matlLT, which ocmsion the manufac- 
turer some considerable trouble, as in strong solutions 
they are hght and flocculent, and, consequently, some- 
what difbcult to settle. 

The mannfiicture of the muriate is entirely a ques- 
tion of the solubilities of tljc various srdts, the key to 
which is the fact that the double salt, of chloride of po- 
tassium and magnesium forms only from solutions con- 
taining exactly double the quantity of ehloiide of mag- 
nesiimi which exists in the carnallite. You will find 
it stated by various anthurities that the ''carnallite 
crystalhses only from solutions containing a large ex- 
cess of chloride of magnesium," but this has been 
Ijroven by experiment to be a definite chcmicttl quan- 
titj, Yiz,, 4 parta of chloride of raagacaium, and I part 



of chloride of potA=Bium, or, in otlier words, 2 parts of 
chloride of ma^inesirim, hold in solution up to a certain 
strength i pan of carnallite. So that 00 dis-iolving 
«hu crude salt in water, the chloride of magnesium 
lakes up its quantity of chloride of potassium, whilst 
the remainder crysralli-=ea out as muriate, mixed with 
common salt and a small quantity of sulphate pf mag- 
nesia. The mother hquors are then Further boiled 
down to obtain a crop of artificial carnallite, which in 
lum is treated in a amilar manner to the raw salt, to 
obtain a further supply of muriate. The muriates pro- 
duced vary in strength from 75 to 98 per cent. 

Epsom ?alts are also prepared at some of the works 
from kreserite, whilst at others a considerable quantity 
of the double sidphate of magnesium and potassium, a 
compound containing one equivalent of each of the 
sulphates^ combined with 6 atoms of water, is made. 

This salt is largely used as a manure for ihe sugar 
beet. It is generally understood that the beet grows 
equally well with soda as with potash, but the culiiva- 
tors prefer to utte the latier, as it is nearly all recovered 
in the state of carbonate, and of course ie greatly en- 
hanced in value. This leads us to con:!sider what would 
have been tlie present state of the potn^h trade had it 
not been for the opiiortune discovery of this deposit, 
previous to which our only sources of potash wero the 
muriate and sulphate from kelp, principally wrought in 
Glasgow and the north rd' Ireland, and tlie carbonate 
or potashes of Nortfi America. Whether iho supply 
has regulated the demand or not it is difficult to say ; 
but it is a fact that the produce from the two last- 
nained sources has rather increased than dccrensed, 
whilst we have in addition the large supply obtained 
from the Stassfurl deposits. 

This, of course, hag been followed by a correspond- 
ing reduction in price — muriates of So per cont, which 
in 1S63 sold at ;^2i 103. per ton, can ow be purchased 
for ^8 10?. 

The carbonate has not fallen in the same ratio owing 
to the increasing emj>loynient of it in the arts and 
manufactures. 

There i;*, consequently, a great prize in store for the 
chemist who, by his ingenuity, can discover some more 
direct process than tiiat at present in use for the conver- 
sion into carbonate of the vnst quantities of chloride 
stored itp in these German mines. 

To the scientific chemist and geologist this deposit 
presents a vast field weJl worthy of attentive study 
and resoarcli. 

The generally accepted theory b J.hat it is the pro- 
duct of ihe slow evaporation of some vast ocean, by a 
process similar to that which is at present going on in 
the Dead Sea, the waters of which are sup posted to 
have already been evaporat^ed down to 1,300 feet from 
their original level. If we examine an analysis of this 
sea, we find that it contains 6^ per cent, of chloride of 
sodium, I i of chloriiie of potassium, 2 J of chlori<le of 
calcium, »o^ of chloride of magnesium, and about i of 
bromide of magnesium. The sulphates have almost 
entire ly di^appearetl, and, looking at the preponderance 
of the more soluble salts over the chloride of sodium, 
we are forced to the concli^on that there must be 
already deposited at it» bottom a vast quantity of the 
latter salt. 

The great salt lake of North America, and some 
others in the ^th of Russia and in Asia, which eon- 
tain almost nothing hut chloride of sodium, must be 
regarded as fresh water lakes, wliich derive their saline 
matter from some already formed deposits of salts. 




[EnsllAh Edition. VoL 3LIX., No. 480, pages 77, TB.] 



{.irumarmj Coiwuiric Acid^ aitd MeliJ otic Acid. { 



In August, 1867, the Prussian government com- 
meni-ed boring for salt at Sperenberg, nm\ at the end 
of August last year (186S), they had penetrated to a 
depth of 952 feet, principally through ^Trpgum, wlien 
ihey Buspendc'd operations to admit of more powerful 
instruments and machinery beinf? made. These being 
now supphed, rfio work is again gating on. There is ro 
doubr tljftt they will reaf-h the salt s'Tata, and w«3 iiwait 
the re.sult with considerable interest, to sec if the pot- 
aah salts exist there n!8o. 

There are others besides scientific men to whom 
ihesf^ mine? are a source of considerable inleresf. To 
the poUtical econora st they mean an almost inexhaus- 
lible supply of the " savour of the earth," employment 
to the people^ trade to the country, and pounds, shil- 
lings, and pence lo the merchant and tnanufiicturer. 

To the visitor, be he scientifie or non-scientific, a 
visit to the mines will amply repay him for his trouble. 

The appearance of the workings in the kali salt por- 
tion of th*? mine is no less heautilhl than wonderful, 
»nd is so entirely nnUke what we see in mines in this 
country that we are entirely at a loss for anything to 
which we can compare them, and it is utterly impossi- 
ble for any description to prepare the visitor for the 
novel sight which meets hi-s eye when he enters these 
workin<;s lor the fjr=t time. 

All have heard of, and many havo witnessed, the 
wotiderful grandeur of the Miiuimoth and other eaves 
of North America, with tiieir unfathomable subterra- 
nean river--»j where size and form, together with the 
light and shade produced by the flickering' torches of 
the guides, are whjt excites the admiration of the 
traveller. 

At StAS!?furt we have neither the rivers nor the vast 
size, but we have space, which, in the bowels of the 
earth, seems gieat; we have beautiful form in the I 
sparkling urregular angles formed by the pick and in ihe \ 
cavities left by the bLsf, to enlmtjce which tliere is the ' 
magic charm of colour — colours of nearly every tint in 
the rainboAV, passing from is. deep putple through crim- 
son, bright red, orange, and yellow, to snowy white, 
all in regidar kyers, but varying in size and arrange- 
ment, and Irorii the angle of the dip each layer formmg 
an almost perfect arch. The effect is further hoightened 
by the nodules of boracite, which have the appearance 
(as graphically described by a Glasgow gentleman wl»o 
is well acquainted with the mine) of having been shot 
at "random from a park of artillery, so irregularly arc 
they scattered, and so firmly are they imbedded in what 
meanwhile seems to us an altogether foreign place for 
tlnnn. 

On the ocf.'asion of our visit, after having been coa- 
ducLed through such a gallery as wo have attempted to 
describe, we let\ the main working, and after going a 
few yards through a narrower j>fl.«!SAge we found our- 
gelvcs in a small chamber about 20 feet !«qunre — the 
pn liminary opening for a new working. Underneath 
what is now tlie roof of this cavern there had been a 
lodgment of water, which had completely dissolved all 
the more soluble salts, and left, the coniuton salt and 
chloride of pot jii'si urn in majunificent crystals of absotute 

fmrity ; ihis fonned a dome-shaped roof, which, spark- 
ing and glistening in tlie light of our lamp?, rivalled in 
bciiuty anything we )^i{ ever imagined of the cele- 
brate] Valley of Diamundi*. 



ON THE CONSTITUTION OF COUMARIN, COU- 
MARIC ACID, AND MELILOTIC ACID.^ 

BT PROF. BUDOLPU FITTIC. 

At the conclusion of his very interesting treatise 00 
he artificial production of coumarin {Jour, of Chcm, 
Soc vol. vh, p. 53), Perkin develops hia views on Ite 
formation and cunstitution of coumtirin and coumjirii* 
acid. He assumes that iu this reaction the hyibi 1 
of aoeto-Halicyl, at a later date prepaied by him {Jour. 
0/ Chein. Soc, vol. vi., p. 181), at first results, and that 
this then gives off water :- 




Na 



and 



|0+C,H,0J 



Hydride of oceto Sftllcyl. 



Hjdridc of M«t94aIJk7l, 

COH 

an, } f. +C,H.O^^^ 

Goumailtt. 



/CO \ 



0-H,0= 



/CO \ 
VCH.J 

/co \ 



Coumarin would thus have the constitution — 

C.H, 

andcoumaric acid — 

C,H« 



(CO 
ICR.Oj 



5 COHO 
\ C,H,0 

Those formnlop, however, do not at all correspond 
with the behaviour of the two compound.*, and at first 
sight even it appears improbable ihst an atom of hydro- 
gen from ihe benzol residue pbould be used to the ftnTJift-l 
tion of water in the artificial production of coumaiia,] 
According to my view it is exceedingly probable tliaf 
the reaction discovered by Perkin takes plaice in th« 
same way as that discovered by Bertagnini in the ar- 
tiiicial preparation of cinnamic acid from oil of bitter ' 
monds and chloride of acetyl — 

C,U,i CH0+CH,C0C1 = 
=C.lf.^ CH— COHO-HlICl. 

As hydride of salicyl is identical with hydride 
oxybenzoyl^ — 

-^'^* \ CflO ^ 

it must give in the same reliction oxycinnamic acid, ^.f. 
coumaric acid — 



Hydrido of anllcjl. 
C,H, 



CoamaHe add. 

=co--cono+ciH. 



<H0 
]CH= 



Hydride of lodlnm-satlo;], 

C,H, I ^*g+(CH,CO),0=C«H. { NftO^ 
=0H-^OHO-hCH„ COFIO. ~ 

Cotinurlc ncM. Acetone of fioiUom. 

U=C.a. |J;'g^cH-COHO+™"CO>"'0 

At the liigli temperature, and by the excess of the an- 
hydride, the resjlting coumaric acid is decomposed iaj 
the same manner us lac lie acid by ita transition int^ 
lactide, in the anhydride, i>., coumarin and water — 



* CommtiDteated by tbo AutZior. 
tEngUsh Edition, Vol. XlX., Ko. «0, page* 7©, 73.] 






Oil Hydrofluoric Add. 



i8i 



C*H, 



=::C«H4 



LmUc acid. Lictido. 

*c14, Caoniuin. 

1 :h=.ch^oho=^-^*^ cn=cH~co.o + 

According to this, coumarin is tho anhydride of cou- 

aric m-id, and its easy trftn5;ition into this acid, in be- 

i_Mi' .ri< d with potassa^ can be easily understood. The 

iLion of coumaric acid into salicylic and acetic 

, i.vS hiphly in favour of«he view that its coii- 

titutioa is similar to that of cinnumic acid, and that it 

itaad« to this in the same relation a3 saUcylic acid to 

ic acid. 

treatment with hydrogen m $taiH rm$tendi^ cou- 
maric acid is conrerled into raelilotic acid, the earn© as 
ciunamic acid i? converted into hydrocinnamic (phenyl- 
propionic) acid — 

CStJiiamlc Biplct 

ani^ cii=CH— cono + 2n- 

Hvilroclmmmlc acM. 

= C.U,^ CIJ,— Ctl,— COHO. 
CoamoHo ncld. 

Mdllolfo acid. 

{ CH,-CH,— €0H0. 

elilotic acid i?, according to this, oxyphenylpropio- 
nic acid. It differs from phenyllactic acid (Glast>r) only 
in this that the HO replaces aa atom of hydrogen in the 
l)enzol residue, wliile in the phenyllaotic acid it stands 
in the plnee of an afora of hi'drwgen in the group CH, 
of ihe propionic residue. 

Heated, mtddolic acid yields the anhydride — 

CM,{ Clla— CH.— CO.O. 
(Zwenger). i.e., hydrocoumarin, whicli must also result 
by ttddinj,' hydrogen to coumarin, if the conversion of 
anhydrid*' into the acid can be prevented. 
" e views on the formation of coumarin, expressed 
sbore, explain al^^o thoroughly the ohservatioa by Per- 
kin, that':»3^ treating the hydride of aceto-saUcyl with ace- 
tic anhydride tliere results no coumarin, a fact perfeclly 
incomprclienaible, if we assume with Perkin, that tlie 
artificial production of coumarin ia a result merely of 
th? abstraction of water from the hydride of aceto- 
«?i!icyl Perkin had further observed the interesting 
tfi '. that coumarin regults when hydride of acelo-sali- 
< ; 1 13 heated with acetic anliydride with an addition of 
;i .4uie of sodium. According to Perkin's view, ihe 
iiHienco of the acetate of Bodium ia perfectly Tncom- 
]i • Iienalble, inasmuch as it is impossible that acetate 
tf Milium or a compound of this salt with acetic anhy- 
dride could have a stronger dehydrating influence than 
anliydride, a fact which Pcrldn himself remarks. 

According lo my. view, the action of the acetate of 
Si>dtum consists in this — that at an elevated temperature 
it at first gives rise lo a reversed reaction, i>., that it 
forma acetic anhj^dride and hjifiride of sodium-salicyl 
again — 

=C.H, |g^^ + (C.H,0).0. 

Th« acetic anhydride acts only on this regenerated 
liydride ofsodium-salicyl in the above-mentioned man- 
ner and forms coumaric acid, wliich, in itn tuni, breaks 
tip into coumarin and water. This reaction explains, 




at the same time, why hydride ofa ceto-salicyl can be 
prepared only at a low temperature. 

Another reaction observed by Perkin may be ex- 
plained in the same way; Perkin could not obtain hy- 
dride of aceto-galicy] by the action of chloride of acetyl 
on the hydride of sodium-salicyl. Instead of this the hy- 
dride of difiidicyl resulted; but it is incomprehensible 
why hydride of aceto-salicyl should not result in this 
way, and, in f;<ct, Caliours has prepared th^s compound 
by means of this method. The hydride of disalicyl of 
Perkin is only a product of decomposition of the hy- 
dride of aecto-sahcyl at fir&t formed — 



|(CjH.O,0,^,^ 



C.H4 l^j^'^-hC^H.OClrrCH 

and 

C.H, 5 CHO • 

-[<^-^* |SS'''^^]= ^5^ +(C,H,0),0 
*"•**• I CHO 

and til is reaction exhibits very clearly the tendency of 
the hydride of aceto-.salicyl to give off ncetvl at an ele- 
vated temperature. It makes the action of acetate o( 
sodium, as a&suraed above, very probable. 
GuttlQsen, Jiin. 1869. 



ON HYDROFLUORIC ACID* 

BY O. OORE, F.ILS. 

A. Anhydroii9 Hydrojluoric Acid. 

Tni3 paper contains a full description of the leadiog 
physical and cliemiL'al properties of anhydrous hydro- 
fluoric acid, and also an account of various properties of 
pure aqueous hydrofluoric acid. The author obtained 
the anhydrous acid by heating dry double fluoride of 
Iiydrogtn and potaesimu to redness in a suitable platinum 
npparatua (shown by a figure accompanying the paper), 
and states the conditions under which it may be ob- 
tained in a state of purity. 

The composition and purity of the anhydrous acid are 
shown and carefully verified by various methods of 
analysis, both of the double fiuoride from which it was 
prepared and of the acid itself; aud particulars are 
fjiven of all the circumstances necessary to insure relia- 
ble and accurate results. Nearly all the operations of 
preparing, purifying, analysing, and examining th© 
properiiea of the acid were conducted in vessels of 
plntinuni, with lutings of paraffin, aulphur, and larop- 
bla'.k ; articles of transparent and colourlesj fluor-spar 
were also employed in certain cases. Nearly all the 
manipulationa with the acid were effected while the 
vesaeh containing it were immersed in a strong freea- 
inj?-mixture of ice aud crystallised chloride of calcium. 

The pure anhydrous acid is a liighly dangerous sub- 
stance, and requires the most extreme degree of care 
in \U manipulation. It is a perfectly cotourleaa and 
transparent liquid at 60' Fahr., ver^ thin and mobile, 
extremely volatile, and densely fmmng in the a^r at or- 
dinary temperatures, and absorbs. water very ja^edily 
from the atmosphere. It was perfectly retamed in 
platinum bottles, the bottle having a flanged mouth 
with ft platinum plate secured with clamp-screws, and 
& washer of paraffin. 

A number of atterapte were made, finally with auo- 
cesi4, to determine the molecular volume of the pure pn- 
hydroits acid in the gasei)us state, the acid in these 
cases being prepared by heating pure anhydrous fluo- 



•Abatnot of % p^^t raad twtor* tbe iLojvX Boolf t^, imauj afith, tM^ 



[Entllib Edlilonp Yol. XIX., Ko. 480, p^n 73, 74] 



l82 



0(1 Hydrofluoric Acid. 



( CincMtcAi. 



Wbiti, 



ride of siher with hydrogen in a suitable platinum ap- 
paratus over mercuiT. Particiilara are piven of the ap- 
paratus employed and of the nianipulation. The results 
obtained show that oue vohime ot hydrogt»n, inuniting 
with fluorine, produces not sinfply one volume of gaee- 
OU8 product as it does when uniting with oxygen, but 
two volumes, fis in the case of its union vnth chlorine. 
The gaseous acid transferred to glass vessels over mer- 
cury did n6t corrode the gflass, or render it dim in the 
slightest degree during several weeks, provided moist- 
ure was entirely abseut. 

The author concludes that the anhydrous acid he has 
obtained is destitute of oxygen, not only from the va- 
rious analyses and experiments already referred to, but 
also, let, be^iuse the double fluoride from which it was 
prepared, when fused aud electrolysed with platinum 
electrodes, evolved ahundanee of inflammable gas at the 
cathode, but no gas at the anode, although oxides are 
by electrolysis decomposed before fluorides j 2d, be- 
cause the electrolysis of the acid with platinum elec- 
trodes yielded uo odour of ozone, whereas the aqueous 
acid of various degrees of strength evolved that odour 
strongly ; and^ 3d, because the properties of the acid 
obtained from the hydrogen and fluoride of silver agree 
with those of the acid obtained from the double salt. 
He considers, also, that the ucid obtained from pure 
fluar-apar nnd raonohydrated Bulphuric acid heated to- 
gether in a platinum retort is tree from oxygen and 
w^nter. 

The specific gravity of the anhydrous liquid acid 
was several tiraefs determined, both in a specific-gravity 
bottle of plntinimi, and al?o by means of a platinum 
float submerged and weighed in the acid. Concordant 
and reliable refiults were obtained ; the specific gravity 
found was 0-9879 at 55' Fahr., that of distilled water 
being —1*000 at the same temperature. 

The anhydrous acid was much more volatile than Sul- 
phunc ether. Its boiling-point was carefully determined, 
m a special apparatus of pltitinum, and wag found to be 
67''Fiihr. Not the slightest sign of freezing occurred on 
cooling the acid to — 30' Fahr. (— 34-5"C.); and it is 
highly probable that its solidifying temperature is a very 
great many decrees below this. Its vapour- tension at 60° 
Fahr. was aTso approximately determined, and was found 
to be — 7'S8 Ib'g. per square inch. On loosening the lid 
of a bottle of the acid at 600 Fahr., the acid vapour is 
expelled in a jet like eteam from a boiler; this, together 
vith the low boiling-point, the extremely dangerous 
and corr»)sive nature of the acid, and its great affioily 
for water, illustrates the very great difficulty of mani- 
pulating with it and retaining it in a pure state. Nev- 
ertheless, by the contrivances described, and by placing 
the bottles in a cool cellar (never above a temperature 
of 60" Fahr.), the author has succeeded in keeping the 
liquid acid perfectly, without !o?s, and unaltered, through 
the whole of the recent hot summer. 

The electrical relations of different metals., &c,, in 
the acid were found to be as follow: at o" Fahr. : — 
Zinc, tin, lead, cadmium, indium, magnesium, cobalt, 
aluminum, iron, nickel, bismuth, thallium, copper, iri- 
dium, silver, gas-carbon, gold, platinum, palladium. 

Numerous experiments were made of electrolysing 
the anhydrous acid with anodes of gns-carbou, carbon 
of lignuoi-vitse, and of many other kinds of wood, of 
palladium, platinum, and gold. The gas-carbon disinte- 
grated rapidly: all the kinds of charcoal flew to pieces 
quickly, and the anodes of palladium, platinum, and 
gold were corroded without evolution of gas. The 
acid with a platinum anode conducted electricity much 



more readily tlian pure water ; but with one of gold it. 
scarcely conducted at all. These electrolytic experi- 
ments presented extreme difticulties, and were con- 
ducted m a platinum apparatus (shown by a figure) 
specially dev bed for the purpose. The prirliculars ofj 
the conditions and results obtained are described ia 
the paper. Various mixtures of tlie anhydrous acid 
with monohjdrated nitric acid, with sulphuric anhy- 
dride, and with monohydrated sulphuric acid, were alao 
electrolvsed by means of platinum anodes, the particu' 
lars and results of which are also describedL 

To obtain an idea of the gmtral chemical behaviour^ 
of the pure anhydrous acid, numerous substance:* (g«?»-| 
erally anhydrou."}) were immersed in separate portions 
of the acid in platinum cups, kept at a low tempera-] 
tore (o" to — 20"^ Fahr,). The acid had scarcely any ef- 
fect upon any of the metalloids or noble metals, and 
even the base metals in a state of fine powder did not 
cause any evolution of hydrogen. Sodium and poti»s- 
sium behaved much the same as with water. Nearly 
all the salts of the alkali- and alkaline earth-motals pro- 
duced strong chemical action. Various anhydrideaj 
(specified) dissolved freely. Strong aqueous hydro-l 
chloric acid produced active cSV^'rvoscence. The alkalies ' 
and alkaline earths united strongly with the acitL Perox- 
ides gave no efiFect. Numerous oxides (specified) pro-«. 
duoed strong chemical action, some of them dissolving,! 
Some nitrates were not chemically affected, othei 
(those of lead, barium, and potassium) were decomi 
posed. Fluorides generally were unchanged, bt»t thi; 
of the allcBli-raeUUs and of thallium produced difFcrenl 
degrees of chemical action, those 01 ammonium, rubii 
diumj and potassium uniting powfrfuUy. Numeroi 
chlorides were also unaflTected, whilst those of pho.ephc 
nis (the solid one only), antimony (the pcrchloridej 
titanium, and of the alkaline earth- and alkali-met * 
were decomposed with strong action, and generally 
with efferveecence. The chlorates of potassium andj 
sodium were also decomposed with evolution of chloric 
acid; the bromides of the alkaline earth- and alkaUl 
metals bchrived like their chlorides, Bromate of 
tassium rapidly set free bromine. Numerous iodic 
wore unaffected, but those of the alkaline earth- an^ 
alkah-metrds were strongly decomposed, and iodin<? (il 
Bome casos only) set free. The anhydrous acid deeow 
posed all carbonates with effervescence, and those of tl 
alkaline earth- and alkali-metal& with violent action. B< 
rates of the alkalies also produced very strong actit 
Silico-fluorides of the nlkali-metals dissolved with 
fervescence. All sulphides, exoept those of the alkalii 
earth- and alkali -metnls, exhibited no change; 
latter evolved sulphuretted hydrogen violently, 
sulphite of Bodium dissolved with effervescence. St 
phates were variously affecte<l. The acid chromatea 
the alkali-metals dissolved with violent action to bU 
red liquids, w^ith evolution of vapour of fluoride of cl 
miam. Cyanide of potassium wag violently deooi 
posed, and hydrocyanic acid set free. Numerous 
ganic bodies (apeciliedf wore also immersed in the acid] 
most of the siolid ones were quickly disinte(^at«r 
The acid mixed with pyroxyhc spirit, ether, and ale 
hoi, but not with benzol; with f^pirit of turpentine 
exploded, and produced a blood-red liquid, Gutta- 
cha, India-rubber, aud nearly all the gums and resii 
were rapidly disintegrated and generally dissolved 
red Uquids. Spermacoti, stearic acid, and myrilo Wl 
were but little affected, and paraffin not at aU. Spon( 
was but little changed. Gun-cotton, silk, paper, cc 
ton wool, caUco, gelatine, and parchment were instandy 



[EagllBh Edition^ 7oL ZIX, No. 4S0, pagra 74, 7S.] 




If" 



Aprit, 18C9, f 



Hentoii^s Steel a7id Iron Process, 




I 
I 



I 



erted into glutinoua substances, and generally diB- 
The solution of gun-cotton yielJefl an in- 
imftble film on evaporation to dryness. Pine wood 
^t^ntly blackened. 

From the various physical and chemical properties of 
the anhydrous acid, the author c-mcludes that it lies 
,weeu hydrochloric acid and water, but is much more 
ily allied to the former than to the hitter. It m 
readily liquified than hydrochloric acid, but less 
idy than steam ; like hydrocliloric acid, it decom- 
all carbonates ; like water, it unites powerfully 
with sulphuric and phosphoric anhydrides with great 
evolution of heat. The fiuoridea of the alkali metala 
unite violently with hydrofluoric acid, aa the oxides of 
those metals unite with water; the hydrated flucridea 
of the alkali-metala also, like the hydrated fixed alk'a- 
lies, have a strongly alkaline reactiouj and are capable 
of expelling ammonia fi-om its salts. It may bo fur- 
ther remarked that the atomic number of fluorine lies 
betxveen that of oxygen and clilorine; and the atomic 
number of oxygen, added to that of fluorine, nearly 
equals that of chloriae, 

B. Aqueous Hydrofiwn-k Acid. 

Under the head of the aqueous acid the author enu- 
merates the various irapuritiea usually contained in the 
commercial acid, and describes the modes he employed 
to detect and estiraattj them, and to estimate the amount 
of H F in it. The process employed by him for ob- 
taining the aqueous acid in a very high degree of purity 
from the commercial liquid is also fully described. It 
coosisU? essentially in passing an exct'ss of sulphuretted 
hydrogen through the acid, then neutraU-sing the sul- 
phuric and hydrofluosilicic acids present by carbonate 
of potassium, decanting the liquid after subsidence of 
the precipitate, removing the excesii of suli*huretted 
hydrogen by carbonate of silver, distilling the filtered 
liquid in a leaden retort with a condensing tube of 
platinum, and, finully, rectifying. 

The effect of cold upon the aqueous acJd was briefly 
lAamined, the residt being that a comparatively small 
amount of hydrofluoric acid lowers the freezing-point 
of water very considerably. 

The chemico-electric series of metals, &c., in acid of 
lo per cent and in that of 30 per cent were deter- 
mined. In the latter case it was as follows: Zinc, mag- 
nesium, aluminium, thallium, indium, cadmium, tin, lead, 
silicon, iron, nickel, cobalt, antimony, Vtismuth, mercury, 
Bilver, copper, arsenic, osmium, ruthenium, gas-carbon, 
platinum, rhodium, palladium, teUurium, osini-iridium 
gold, iridium. Magnesium was remarkably unacted 
upon in the aqueous acid. The chenuco-electric rela- 
tion of the aqueous acid to other acids with platinum 
was also determined. 

. Various experiments of electrolysis of the aqueous 
acid of various degrees of strength were made with 
anodes of platinum. Ozone was evolved ; and with the 
8t<t)tiger acid only, the anode was corroded at the same 
time. Mixtures of the aqueoufe acid with nitric, hydro- 
diloric, sulphuric, selenious, and phosphoric acids were 
also electrolysed with a platinum anode, and the results 
are described. 



IN 



HEATON*S CTEEL AND IRON PROCESS 
ITS PRESENT STATE. 

Thb great and general interest created by He&ton'a 
process i^ proportionate with its great scientific and 
commercial object, which i^ nothing more or leea than 




the production of good useful steel and wrougbt-iron 
from impure pig-iroji. The use of impure pig is the 
chief point wliich distinguishes Heaton's process from 
other old and modern steel processes, as these have all 
required the employment of pure iron, or iron ore es- 
pecially free from phosphorus and sulphur ; this require- 
ment very much hmits the application of the otherwise 
highly valuable process of Bessemer. 

Hcalon's process differs from Bessemer's in employ- 
ing nitrate of soda as the oxidising agent instead of at- 
raoepheric air, and both processes aim at the conversion 
of large masses at a time. As the great majority of ex- 
isting iron works produce iron more or less contami- 
nated with phosphorufl and sulphur, Heaton*3 process 
would find an extensive field of operation if it were 
found fully to come up to what its promoters profess. 

Oar present knowledge of the process is confined to 
experiments only, the results of which are stated in re- 
ports (partly preliminary) by Professor MUIer, Dr. Mal- 
letj antt Mr. Kirkaldy, and also in public correspond- 
ence ; from these sources we are obliged at present to 
obtain our information and to form our opinion, as we 
have not ourselves seen the working of the process. 

Prof Miller's preliminary report describes Beaton's 
process thus ; — 

" On the occasion of our (namely, his and Dr. Mal- 
let's) visit to the works of Langley Mill, on the loth 
of July, J 868, 6i cwts. of Cloy Lane forge pig. No. 4, 
were charged into a hot cupola which contained no 
other iron ; and immediately 6^ cwts, of Stanton forge 
pig. No. 4 (produced from | of Northamptonshire brown 
ore, i of Chesterfield eluy ore, and ^ of puddUi3g cinder) 
was added, and tlie whole, when melted, was drawn off 
into a ladle, from which it was transferred to the eon- 
verier, 

"The 'converter* is a wrought-iron pot, lined with 
fire-clay. In the bottom 6f it was introduced a mix- 
ture of 169 lbs. of crudt^! nitrate of soda, 40 lbs. of siU- 
ceous sand, and 20 lbs. of air-slaked lime; but these 
proportions in practice are varied considerably. On 
the top of this mixture a cast-iron perforated plate, 
weighing 95 lbs., was placed. The converter was then 
securely attached to the open mouth of a sheet-iron 
chimney, and tlie melted iron from the cupola (sample of 
this marked No. 4) was poured in. 

" In about two minutes a reaction commenced; at 
first a moderate quantity of brown nitrous fumes es- 
caped, these were followed by copious blackish, then 
gi-ey, then whitish fuiue«, produced by tlie escape of 
steam carrying with it, in suspension, a portion of the 
flux. After the lapse of five or six minutes, an intense 
deflagration occurred attended with a loud roaring 
noise, and a burst of a brilliant yellow flame from tlie 
top of the chimney. This lasted for about a minute 
and a lialf, and subsided as rapidly as it commencod. 
When all had become tranquil, the converter was de- 
tached from the chimney, and its contents were emptied 
upon the iron pavement of the foundry, 

'* The crude steel was in a pasty state and the slag 
fluid ; the cast-iron perforated plate had become melted 
up and incorporated with the charge of molten metal. 

" The slag had a glassy, blebby appearance, and a 
black or dark green colour in mass. 

"A mass of crude steel from the converter was then 
subjected to the hammer (No. 7). 

"About 4j cwts. of the crude steel were transferred 
to an empty, but hot reverberatory furnace, where, in 
about an hour's time, it was raised to a welding heat, 
and forged into four blooms under the steam hammer, 



lEngUsh Edition, YoL ZIZ., No. 480, pigd 73 ; No. 481, pii«e 85.] 



He€UorC8 Steel mid Iron Process. 



\ ApriK 




then rolkd int« sqanre billets, which were cut up, re- 
heated, and rolled into finiijhed burji, varying in tliick- 
nesa from i inch to f of an inch Q^o. 8), 

''Three or ibur cwts, of the crude steel from the con- 
verter were transferred to a reheating f^irnace, then 
hammered into fiat cakes, which, when cold, were 
liroken up and sorted by hand for the Bleel melter 
(No. 9). 

*' Two fire-clay pots, charged with a little clean Band, 
were heaicJ, and into each 42 Ibe. of ihe cake steel 
were charged. In about six hoars the meUed metal 
was cast into an ingot (10 li). 

"Two other similar pois were charged wilh 35 Iba 
of the same cake ateel, 7 lbs. of Gcrap iron, and i oz. of 
oxide of niaoganese. Theae, also, were poured into in- 
gots (10 C), 

"The alee], 10 B and 10 C, waa subsequently tilted, 
but was softer than was anticipated, 

" These result?, on the whole, are to be considered 
rather as experimental than as average working 
eamples. 

*' I have, therefore, made an examination of the fol- 
lowing samples only : — 

No. 4, — Crudo cupola pig. 
" 7. — Hammered crude Bteeh 
" 8, — Rolled steely iron. 
" 5. — Slag from the converter. 

" I shall first give Iho resulta of my analysis of the 
three samples of metal : — 



Cupola r^g Crude 8t«cl Steel Iron 
Nu. 4. (7). (8> 

Carbim 2830 .... rlSoo .... 0*993 

Silicon with a little U- 

tiimam........ .». 2*950 .... 0266 .... 0*149 

Sulphur... OJ13 .... 0*018 .,♦, traces 

Phosphorua ''455 ••>• 0*298 0*292 

Arsenic,...,,.,;,.... 0*041 . .. 0*039 .... 0024 

Muuganese. 0*318 .... 0090 .... o^oSS 

Calcium , — ,...0*319 o'3'O 

Sodium — .... 0*144 .... Iracea 

Iron (by diflTerence).. ... 92*293 ... 97*026 ... 98'! 44 



loo'ooo 100 000 



100*000 



"It will be obvious from a compari.son of these re- 
eults that tlie reaction witJj the nitrate of soda has re- 
moved a largo proportion of the carbon, eilicon, and 
phospliorus, as well jis most of the sulphur. The quan- 
tity of phosphorus (0*298 per cenr) retained by the 
sample of crude steel from tno converter which 1 ana- 
lysed, is obviously not auch as to injure the quality. 

**The bar-iron (No. 9) was, in our presence, subject- 
ed to many severe tests. It was bent and hamraored 
sharply 'round without cracking. It was forged and 
subjected to a similar trial, boLh at a cherry red and at 
a clcnr yellow heat, without cracking; it also welded 
satisfactorily. 

*' The removal of the silicon is, also, & marked result 
of the action of the nitrate. 

" It ifl obvious that the practical point to be attended 
to ift to procure results which nhdU bt uniform, so as to 
give steel of uniform quaUty when pig of similar composi- 
tion is subjected to the process The experimcots of Mr. 
Kirkaldy on the tensile strength of various specimens, 
afford strong evidence that such uniformity is attain- 
able. 



" I have not thought it nece?s*ary to make a tmnpltie 
analysis of the slag; but have determined the quanuiy 
of sand, silica, phosphoric and sulphuric acid, as well at 
the amount of iron it contains. It was les? soluble itt 
water than I had been led to expect, and it ha* not de- 
liquesced, though left in a paper parcel. 

"I found that of 100 pnrt^^ of finely- powdered slag, 
J 1-9 were soluble in water. The following was the re- 
sult of my analysis : — 

San J 47*3 

Silica in combination.. .6*1 

Pbospliuric acid 6*S 

Sulphuric acid I'l 

Iron (a good deal of it oa metal). . . 12*6 
Soda aud Lime.. 26*1 



{ 



" The result shows that a large proportion of phos-' 
phorous is extracted by the oxidising influence of the 
nitrate, and that a certain amount of tlie iron ii" 
mechanicaUy diffused through the alug. 

"The proportion of slag to the yield of cmde eteel( 
was not ascertained by direct experiment, but, calcu- 
lating from the materials cmployod, its maximum 
amount could not have exceeded 23 per cent of th»^ 
weight of the L'har;;e of molten metal. Consequently,^ 
the 12*6 per ceut of iron in the slag could not be more 
than 3 per cent of the iron operated on. 

'* In conclusion, I have no hesitation in stating that 
Heaton's process is baaed upon correct chemical prin- 
ciples. The mode of attaining the result is both simple 
and rapid. The nitric acid of the nitrate in this opera- 
tion iujpru*t8 oxygen to the impurities always present; 
in cast- iron, converting them into compounds whick 
wombiue with ihe sodium, and tliese are removed with 
the sodium in the slag. This action of the S47dium is 
one of the peculiar features of the process, and gives 
it an advantage over the oxidising methods in commoa 
u&e." * 

The following is Dr. Mallet's opinion of the reality 
and commercial value of Heaton's process: — 

" This procesuB for converting crude pig-iron into 
wrought-iion and into steel,, by the employment 
nitrate of sodn, in IJcaton's patent converter, has beeai 
repeated at Langley Mills many times, in my pre.<;ence. 
I have examined minutely into its details as applicable 
in practice on a large scale, and its results; and I have 
also considered the chemical researches made aa to thd' 
materials used and products obtained, by Professor 
Miller, of King's College, and I have been present at' 
experiments, conducted by Mr. David Kirkaldy, at hi* 
Testing Work;^, at Southwark, as to the physical quali' 
ties of the products which were obtained by Uiij 
process, in my own presence, at Langley Mills. Im 
view of all the facta that have come before me, I can 
adirm the Ibllowing as truths establisbcd beyond 
question : — 

" ist. That Heaton's patent process of conversion by^ 
means of nitrate of soda, is at all poiuts in pcrfect^f 
acconl with metalhirgic theory. That it can be con-" 
ducted upon the great scale with perfect safety, xmi- 
formity, and facility, and that it yie'ds products of very 
high commercial value. 

" 2nd. That in point of manufacturing economy or 
cost it can compete with advantage against every otherJ 
known procesA for the productioa of wrought-iron andj 
steel from pig-iron. 



[Englifth EdiUon, ToL SIX,, No. 461, pages 8A, 86.] 




AiiHl^ 1669. f 




Heaian^s Steel and Iron Process. 



3rd. Amongst its ftrong point*, however,' apart 
>ni and over and above any mere economy in the cost 
production are these : — It enables first-cloiis wrou^-Lt- 
»n and excellent steel to be produced Irorn coarse, 
\ brands of crude pif^-iroiin, rich in phosphorus 
i ir, from wlii€h no olher known proces?, not 

e..ii iJi .-scmer's, enables steel ol commercial value to 
be produced at all, nor wrought-iron^ except such as is 
more or less either "cold-ahoit" or *^ red-short." 
TIius, wrought-iroQ and cast-ateel of very higli quali- 
ties have been produced, in my piesence, Irorn 
Cleveland and Northamptonshire pig-irons rich in 
phosphorous and sulphur, and every iron-maaler, I 
pre>ume. knows that firat-class wrought-iron has not 
previously been produced from pig-iron of eitber of 
these districts, nor marketable ateel from them at alL 

" Heaton's process presentn, therefore, an almost 
measureless fuiure lield in extending tlie manufacture 
of high-cla>s wrou|fht-iron and excdlent steel into the 
Cleveland, and other great iron districts, ad yet pre- 
cluded from the production of such mnteriala by the 
inferior nature of their raw producU>. It admi(s of the 
steel manufact'.ire alwo being extended into di^^tricts 
and countries where fuel is so Ecarce and dear that it is 
oLherwiso impossible. 

"I cannot, in this brief communicaiion, point out 
the prospecta which the employment of this system 
prestsnts ol greatly diminishini^ the existing waste of 
matennl, fuel, lime, and wages, in the puiMlmg process, 
and of lessening difficulties in relation to labour quee- 
ti n^ which beset that proGesiJ, injuriously to tho 
liriueh iron trad*?. Nor can I adequutely point out 
the large reduction in tho original outlay for plant 
which this «yii[era admits of .ns compared with any 
>ther for equal annual out-put of iron and KteeL 
*' Dr. Miller has proved, incontrovertibly, thai the 
[eatoQ proeesa does eliminato from \he crude pig-iron 
Imost the whole of the phosphorus and sulphur, the 
race renjaining being unobjectionable in the wrought- 
m and steel produced, even when they have been 
from the pig-irona known to bo the richest in 
Itijurious constituents of any make in Great 
rritain. 
" The wrought-iron made in my presence from 

(Cleveland and Northampton pigs and tested for tensile 
re^i5tance also before nie. bore a rupturing strain of 23 
tons per squaie inch, and an elongation of nearly i of 
the orit/inal unit in length. It is ttierefore iron of great 
Irt^rcngth and touglmesa, and yet probably by no means 
(he very best that this process is capHhle of producing 
Sbereafter. It possesses those qtialities which best fit 
iron fjr artillery, armour-plates, and iron ships or boilers. 
The tilted cast-steel, also made in my presence, 
vm the very same pig-irona as the above, bore a ten- 
ile strain at rupture of above 42 tons per square inch 
ith an elongation of iVth of the unit of length- It is, 
lerefore, a remarkably tough and fine quality of steel, 
" suited for rails, abip-building, and all other structural 
In a word, steel suited for any purpose knou 11 
the arts c.\n be produced by this system from very 
ferior brands of pig-iron, from such as by no other 
lOVfo pror-e-a could serviceable eteel be marie at all" 
ICr. Kirkaldy ha3 tested not only the bars of 9t*"el 
irt steel-iron made in the presence of Dr. Miller and 
. Mallet, but a number of other bars made by 
ia'orj a jiroces-H from dilfereut brands of pig-iron, 
'ije r.;sults of these experunents are given in the fol- 
»wing tabled: 




ifiroc 



Dk&csiptiok. 



t. Jliunmerdd eniit - step] — 
inikde In tb« prc«eDC« 
ofMeten. Miller und 
MolleC Aro'Rgiiofj 
aamplw... 93^14 

3. Ditto— tnaile fi-om 13 ewu. 

No. 2 (Scotch). Aver- 

ftgo of 3 samples 99t48x 



Ardrage of a samjiles 84,8'77 

3. DlUo — ^niaOo of 7 cwts. of 
Workingion Pig^ 
Nn. I, «nd 6 ciru. of 

N<x 4. ntlxcil la the 
cupolu Id Uio usual 
way. Avi'rage of 3 
Bomplf* ♦, 92,961 



ti 

£ 


^ B 


t 


1 = 




n 


n 


vt- 


M 


s z 


^ 


< 



te" 



4. Ditto — TDBde fmm » cbargo 
of Round Oak Pig- 

nly; ttiequrtn- 
ly of nltrata of wida 
u»ed wjw ic»it.c. Av- 
*r»ge of 6 iamjtie Imra 
{0-77 « 0-7B) 

5. Ditto — made from a rhjkrgo 

«f IT cwta. of Bnf(/fr~ 
Uairon, wiih lojt.c, 
or nitrate of sr^ftn; S 
ham werojuJid"* front 
lht< cakFA nicUfd In. 
the craclljlo. and illU 
cd Into 4 liarji of 1 m, 
and 4 bxra of ^ I11. 
MUtrrft. AY«fni|f««of 
4 bar« of ^ In. :^]UAr«. . 
Av«r»Kcuf4bfin J In. 
squure 

6. DUto— laruJi' from a thftrf^tf 

t>f 13 cwte. of Dtftcitt' 
U tnin (Mo. 3\ with 
10 p.e. of nitrnte of 
iKida; 8 ban wera 
tfUKle from the dikes 
niollerl ki lh« cruci- 
ble, and llltt.'d tti 4 
b»n of I 111. and 4 
ban of f In. ^qunrc. 
Average of 4 tmr* \ 
la. tquire.......... 

Avein^Ti! of 4 ban 1 
In. ixjuRre , 

7. Ditto— mnao from anbarge 

of I { cwtji. of Dofciu- 
i« Pig Iron (No. 3), 
with iop.o. nf nitrate 
of f'da; I) bar« were 
D]»d« from (rak«a 
melted In the cnid- 
bli?, and tilted Into a 
bars of tin.,] ln..aQcI 
t In. sqnarfi. Average 
of 4 bar»i in. aquara 
AveriMEM of 4 Imuv | 

In. BquoTfr. 

Average of 4 ban i \&. 
wjaaro 

8. Ditto — m.ido from a thnrpe 

of It cwlft. lif Mid- 
olt^horo" (No. 4) 
fitrge Pig Irott^ 
wlilj 10 p.c. of al- 
traU* of »oda ; laban 
were tnade from 
rnk(H« niti'lU'd (n (ha 
erurtblo, and Ulted 
into 4 hftn ijf t In,. I 
in . nnd i in. sqtiaro. 
Avcram* of j i<:\r^ t 
Id. aqu» 



tSuEUoh Edition, Vol XIX., Mo. 481, pagea 86, 07.] 




i86 



HeaJtmiB Steel and Iron Frocess. 










lb*, toni. p.0.. P.O. 

Average of 4 tan f 

In. square 99.938 44'7 y8 4*a aitto. 

Average of4bart I in. . 

iqaare 96,7*3 43'a S^ 44 Oltto. . 

g. Ditto— made from pure 

p.0. of nitrate of soda; 
6lMta k In. aquare « 

made as the other 

bora before tested. , 

Aversge of the 5 bars 108,489 484 5'8 ^1 gr«»"W. 
zo. Ditto— made f^om White 
Forge Pip, produced 
fh>m oolite ore, at 
the works of Baron 
d'AdelswiirdatLong- 
VT, Moselle, France. 
The charges of nitrate 
of soda were as an* 
der. 

No. L 

0. qr. lb. 
Longwy White 

Forge Fig 14 a o # 

Perforated plat^ 
Claj Lane too 

IS a o 

mtrataofBoda.... i i 10 

No. II. 

0. qr. lb. 
Longwy White 

Forge Pig 14 a o 

Perfurated plate, 
dayLaoe 100 

15 a o 
Nitrate of soda.... i o a6 

No. III. 

o. qr. lb. 
Longwy White 

Forge Pig 14 a o 

Perforated plate, 
Clay Lane 100 

15 a -o 

Nitrate of soda i o ao 

No. IV. 

o. qr. lb. 
Longwy White 

Forge Pig 14 a o 

Perforated plate, 
Clay Lane s o o 

15 a o 

Nitrate of soda — 10 li 

12 ban of i in. cast- 
steel were inado fh>m 
No. a and No. 3 

charges. Average of (jrranular 

6 bars., 116,339 src 63 4° -[.{JJcullar.) 

Average of 6 bars .. 110,864 49'sVi 'a^S ] £5*Bllky. 
II. Cast - steel, hammered, 
made from 3 eharses 
of Orey Foundry 
Iron, pnnlnced at the 
works of M. de Wen- 
del and Co.. at Hsy 
ange. Moselle, 
France, from oolite 
ore, similar to the 




Northamptonshire 
ore, with ehargos of 
nitrate of soda In the 
following propor- 



Um. tons. p.a p.e. 



No. L 

Havange Orey 
Foundry Pig . . 

Perforated plate of 
Cleveland Pig .. 



c qr. lb. 
14 a o 





IS a 





Nitrate of soda .. 


I I 


10 


No. II. 

Hayange Orey 
Foundry Pig .. 

Perforated plate of 
Cleveland Pig .. 


cqr. 

14 a 

I 


lb. 





Nitrate of soda 



No. IIL 



Ha 



Perforate 



'oundry Pig 

ated plate 

Cleveland Pig 



Orey 



15 a o 
I a a 

0. qr. lb. 



)late of 



15 a 



ICpeenliar). 



Nitrateof soda .. 130 

The steel bars were 
made as before stat- 
ed. Average of 4 

bars i In. square .. 114,123 50*9 s'6 3* 
Average of 4 bars i In. 

square "3,590 50*3 5*6 3*2 ditto. 

Average of 4 bars f in. 

square 84,740 37*8 i% 1*3 ditto. 

12. Cast • steel, hammered, 
made from a charge 
of 15 ewts. of white 
forge pig produced 
from oolite ore at 
the works of Bar- 
on d'Adelswird, at 
Longwy, France, 
treated with 1 cwt. 25 
Iba. of nitrate of soda. 
The 6 bars of steel 
were made fh>m 
cakes melted in the 
crucible, and tilted 
Into i in. square 
bars. Average of the 
6 hart n39i95t 49't 8*7 6*0 granular. 

Rolled steel-iron produced from the same kinds of pi^- 
iron as the above-named, for the production of cast- 
steel, bore a rupturing atrain of from 20*5 to 23*6 tons, 
and a contraction of area of from 14*2 to 49*6 per cent, 
and an extension of from 6*1 to 28*3 per cent. Ham- 
mered steel-iron of the same kind bore a rupturing 
strain of from 20*8 to 24*5 tons, a contraction of area 
of from 23-1 to 42-3 per cent, and an extension of 
from II '3 to 23*6 per cent 

The following are the results of experiments on the 
tensile strength of various other kinds of iron and steel 
of known character made by Mr. Kirkaldy, and which 
we give here for the sake of comparison : — 



[BngUah Sditton, Vol. ZIX, No. 481, pagea 87, 88.] 






HeatoiCs Steel and Iron Process. 



187 



Haxhs. 






Tor tools 



Bhear steel 
steel for 



rtoti's 

Jowiti'4 double 

(forj^ed) » 

Beasemcr*d patent 

tools (forged) 

Wtlkinson's bliater «teel (forged) 
Krn{)p*» c»8l*8teel for bolta 

^rolled) 

bnriti'i) spring »lecl (forged) .... 

ewey Company's paddled 

Iteel (forged) 

ftcMcMtrD puddled steel (forged) 

h. Wrought Iron {round and 
itquare bam), 

orkaliire Lovr Moor 

" Bowling 

" Farnley 

Laaftrkshire O Qovao o 

LancHshire best rivet 

Slaffurdsbiro cFiarcoal (4) 

BB scrap 

DurtiARi Best Beat. . , 

DUio 

Soalh Wales ♦ . 



Toas. 

593 
529 

49S 
466 

41*1 
3*4 

319 

280 



27'5 

26*0 

240 

25 6 
265 

239 
22 6 

185 



Tut cent 



47 
196 

22"3 

21-4 



340 
241 

35'3 
119 



498 

49'4 
486 
609 
520 
18-3 
117 
93 



P". 

CO 

lb 
be 

I sir 



When comparinfT these results with those obtained 
with Hefttoa'3 steel and iron it will be seen that Hea- 
tons products are soraowhat harder, aa the contraction 
of area is generally greatest with the toughest and 
Cioflest kinds. But on the whole the experimenta be- 
fore U£ are rery satisfactory if we consider ihat Ilea- 
tou'« samplo bars have been made experi men tally only, 

d are consequently at a disadvantsge with those of 

reg-ular manuracture, and if we further take into 
consideration the following circumBtancea influencing 
the tensile strencrfh or tenacity of 8tA?el, and which can 
be followed better in a regular manufacture than in 
simple experiraentd: — 

"The n<esrets of Hardneim.^Whilat a bar of un- 

rdened ^ood steel, t square inch (Prussian) in section, 
ruptures at a strain of 120,000 Prussian lbs. (wrought- 
iron boors only about 59,000 lbs-)? ^^'^ tenacity raay be 
increased to 150,000 lbs. by properly baDiening the 
8t«el. On the other hantl, tlie tenacity decreases to 
1 1 0^000 lbs. when the Bt«el ia hardened too much. The 
greatest hardness is therefore not combined with the 
greatest tenacity- 

The Amouiit of Cnrboticonlftined lu tlicSteel.— 
The cohejiion of steel increases with its amount of 
CArbon up to iJ per cent, but beyond this limit the 
tenacity again deereaaei'. 

The nccliaiilcal Tri^iktm^nt of the SCe«l,— 
Steel will be stronger and more homogeneous the longer 
and the more frequently it is forged. 

The nature of the raw materials employed, and conse- 
quently the foreign aubfitancns eontamed in steel, also 
exercise an influence on the quality. 

Professor Miller has analysed the steel iron, whose 
tensile strength lifts been a.s^certa»ned by Mr. Kirkaldj 
to be 23 tons per square inch^ n statement by no means 
contradictory to the composition of the iron as shown 
by the analysis. We much regret that Professor Miller 
has not also made an analysis of the hammered cast- 
aUd whose tensile strength was found by Mr. Kirkaldy 
to be 43 tons per square inch. 

These bars of ca^t-steel are thus described in Dr. 
MalleCs certificate of identification : — j 



*' I certify that certain round rolled bars ofHeaton's 
Patent Steel-Iron, marked and numbered, and alsocer- 
toin bars of rolled coat-steel and square bars of tilted 
cast-sieet, also marked and numbered, were mnde on 
the loth of July, 1868, at Langley Mills Steel Works, 
by Mr. Heatoo's patent process, ia my preaencc, and 
in that of Br. Miller (except in so far as that Dr. Miller, 
through illness, was unable to wait for the 'pouring' 
and tiltint^j Sc., of the cast-steel), that tJje whole were 
made from a mixture of equal wein^hts of Clav Lane 
No. 4 (Cleveland's) pig-iron, and of fc5tacton(BBBP!g) 
Northamptonshire iron, treated in Beaton's Patent 
Converter, and that the above bars of steel iron and 
cast steel were forwarded ihcncej, in cases under my 
seal to Mr. Kirkaldy's Testing Works, London. That 
I there idenlified the said bara ivhen taken out of the 
case in my pre ence, and that certain of those bars 
were tesrerf before me as to the breaking itrain and 
amount of elongation by Mr. Kirkaldy, and that tho 
results of such testings are those referred to in my 
* Preliminary Report." '* 

These bars, therefore, most probably belong to the 
steel which Profe?&or Miller's preliminary report des- 
ignates as 10 B or 10 C, or the bars were perhaps taketi 
from both kinds; neither of them has been analysed, 
although this appears to be absolutely required to clear 
up the doubt ?till hanging over Ileatou s cast-steel, 
concerning its proportion of phosphorus. It is rather 
an enigma, that, in the controversy on tl>e value of 
Heaton's process, which has been carried on for some 
time in diHorent periodicalt and newspapers, Professor 
Miller's analysis of the crude steel has been taken as 
a ba^is for judging the hammered cast-steel, which 
undoubtedly has a diETerent composition nnd less im- 
purities than tbo original crude steei. We perfectly 
coincide with the opinion that part of tlie irapiiritie* 
are contained in «Jie crude steel as intermixed or dis- 
seminated slag, and it remains to be proved how far 
these im|>uritie.«, especially phosphorus, have been 
eliminated by llie subst-quent treatment of crude steel 
as described by Drs, Miller and Mallet. 

The elimination of phosphorus is said to be one of tho 
striking !>aiures of Beaton's process, but Professor 
Miller's analyses would appear to show that, on this 
special point, Heaton's process has no advantage over 
ti?e common puddling process. 

According to Prolessor Miller'a analyses, the pig-iron 
employed contained 1-455 per cent* of i>hosphoru3, 
which proportion was reduced in the crude steel to 
0'298 per cent, and in the steel-iron to 0-292. 

For the sake of c<.>mparison, we give the following 
resulLs of the puddling process : — 

I. According to analyses of Calvert and Johnson : 

Fe. 

Pig-iron 94'OS' 

Blooms •■• -99338 

Fiolsheil iron 99*490 

n. The following is the result of Mr. Willis's analy- 
sis made in Mr. Sicmen's laboratory at Birmingham, 
of an inferior English pig-iron, before and after being 

puddled : — 



c. 


81. 


2-27S 


2720 


0269 


01 20 


01 1 1 


o-oSS 



s. 


p. 


©•31 1 


0-645 


0,134 


0139 


0-094 


on7 



Sulphur , o'oS 

Phosphonis 116 

Silicon ,. i'97 

Iron and carbon (by 
difference). 9^79 



PrDOLXn Dab. 

Sulphur 0-017 

Phosphorus 0*237 

Silicon 0*200 

Irou (by difference). . .99'54& 



[Eogliah Edltiotk, Vol ZIZ., No, iSl, ?•!•■ 88, 89.] 



iSS 



Dr. Lethehy on Food. 



\ CnxutCAt. Nkw», 
) April, 1M9. 



III. In Ure's " Dictioowy of Arts jind Mines," ii., 
726, Ihe following illustrftiions arc quoted : — 

Pi^-iron 3030 per ceut of pboBphonia. 

Pudd led bar 0S3S *' 

Kougli downbar..,0 572 " " 

Tbe finished bar was cold-short in the highest degree. 



Phosphorna, 
l*i!r cent. 

Pip iron contoiniRg 260 

Pu idled bar. . - o 

Ditto " o 

Hmahod bor,. " O'li 



MimitftoeM;. 
Per cent. 



.7*30 



The fiuimhcd bar exhibited none of the cold-short 
qtMilit y ; it waa exceedingly ductile; indeed, excellent 
liorse-shoea were made from it. 

Another question, important to Heaton'a process, is 
to know the exact proportion of phosphorus that 
wrought-iron and steel may safely contain without 
being injured in their physical properties; and we are 
fiorry to slate that that proportion requires further in- 
vettigation, ulthough no research ctui ever lead to the 
determination of a definite amount, for the following 
reason :— Iron containing phoepliorus takes, upon cool- 
ing, a crystidline texture, and thus bt conies brittle or 
coTd-*liort; but if forged immediately alter hualing, the 
tTyslalline texture and the cold-shortncsa will be le.-«S' 
ened, and the more so the longer the iron is under the 
hammer. 

Differerit investigators have recorded their opinions 
upon the influence of phosphorus upon wrougbt-iron 
and steel, Urns : — 

According to Karsten, there is little cau?# for appre- 
hension respecting tlie quality of iroHj as lung ma the 
phosphorus is below 0*5 per cent, and the only effect of 
a proportion of phosphorus up to 03 per cent ia to 
mrike the iron harder without greatly diminishing h& 
tenacity ; and Karsten considers iron, containing not 
more dban the latter proportion of phosphorus, as be- 
longing to the best and strongeist quality. He states, 
furmeimore, that iron containing 0*5 per cent still 
staadB the breaking test, but not when coiilainiug 0*6 
per oent; Uiis iron, however, can be bent at right an- 
gles, and struck over the anvil ; and that containing 
from 0*75 to 0*80 per cent shows decided cotd-ehort- 
uess. Iron containing l per cent is very brittle, and 
can only be epi^led to a few use?. 

Acc'Drding to Eggerti, wroughl-iron containing from 
0*25 to 0*3 per cent of phosfihorus shows some cold- 
shortneas, but is fit for various fine forge purposes, 
such as the manufacture of nails, wire, &c. 

Eggertz also states that most varielies of steel of 
high repute contain from 0*01 to 0*02 per cent of phos- 
phorus. 

Bauerman, in his treatise on ^*The Metallurgy of 
Iron," p. 29, states : — 

u "^Vrougbt-iron containing not more than 0*3 per 
cent of phosphorus is not sensibly affected in tenacity, 
but is only rendered somewhat harder ; with 0*5 per 
cent it becomes somewhat cold-short, or incapable of 
being wrought cold under the hammer without break- 
ing ; with O'S per cent^ the co*d-slmrtness ia very de- 
cided, Hud I per cent makes tbe metal very brittle.'* 

Concerning Bessemer slee!, Bauerman states, on page 
365:— 

*' The best English pigiron for use in the Bessemer 
process is that smelted firom Cumberland liiematite, 
About ^o. I or No. 2 in preyness. Ii should contain 
from Ii to a per cent of silicon as a minimum, and not 



more than o'2 per cent of phosphorus. At Essen, in 
Westphalia, the limiting quantities of foreign matters 
in the pig-iron prelerred for Bessemer stetd miking are, 
according to Jordan, as follows: — 

Uangnnese maximum roo per cent 

Sulphur .. *' 0-04 " 

Phosphorus " 0'o6 '* 

Carbon aunimum 5*00 " 

Silicon ** 200 " 

Concerning the Bessemer proee«s, it is stated in 
Ure'a *' Dictionary of Arts and Minesi,*' vol. iii,, 770 : — 
** As diflerent santplts wore carehilly flnaly§ed, it was 
ascertained that the red-shortncfS was always produecd 
by Bulpbur, when present to the extent of i-loth per 
cent, and that cold-shortness rtsultcd from llic pres- 
ence of a like quantity of phospborus," 

It is greatly to be desired that Mr. Bessemer should 
j>ubli8h his unquestionably rich experience of the indu- 
ence of phosphorus and sulphur on steel. 

We have already shown by analyses that the results 
of Heaton'a process with regard to the elimination of 
foreigu matters are similar to those of the i»uddling 
process. This, n:ost probably, is the ca-«e, as the 
wruught-iron m both processes is produced in a pasty 
fctatc, differing from the Bessemer procets, which yields 
the wrought- iron in a liquid state. 

Mr. Kirkaldy'a experiments classify the one product 
of Heaton's process under wrought-tron, and the other 
under steel, as the former breaks at a burden of 23 tons 
per .square inch and the latter at 43 tons, which is per- 
fectly cunlormable with expi'Hcnoe. However, we 
should hke to liave seen some turther experiments on 
other qualities of the products of Heaton's process, 
such as property of wielding, hardening, Arc. And, 
though we consider the process optu to improrement, 
it is, tit all events, a step towards iucrensing the value 
of the inferior kinds of pig-iron ; and it promises great 
results. To promote such an object is, we think, hot 
just and fair, and, accordingly, we have endeavoured, iu 
the preceding review, to give an impartial exuminalion 
of the prejscnt state of the Heatou process. 

We propose to give in a subsequent ai tide the de- 
tailed stutcments of the actual cost of making »tecl and 
wrought-iron by this process. 

In conclusion, we may state that an impartial French 
commission, headed, with the sanction of the French 
guvernmeut, by M. Gruner, Inspertmr-OrytrraiSfMMtnfg 
t*i' France, and Professor of Met^illutgy in the Imperial 
School of Mines, has witnessed the conversion ot their 
own impure pig-iron into steel, and verified the cost of 
production. A report of that coramisujion is expected 
shortSy, which will doubtless assist in elucidutmg the 
present obscure points in Heaton's process- \\'e under- 
8ta}id tliat JI. Gruuer has already rL'p4»rted that a sam- 
ple of the slag wbs found Co coutuiu about 12 per cent 
of phosphoric acid — sullicicut, indeed, to make it valu- 
able as a source of that acid. 



OX FOOD.* 

BY DR. LETDKUr, M.A., M.D., ET' 
(Gontlnacd trvm Am. Bcpr., Mardi, 1669, pmg9 las.) 
Unwholesome and AdttlttraUd Food. 

As regards the ityurious quality of meat infected with 
parasitic dist^ase there can be no question ; and, perhaps, 
of all f-uch infections, tlie most terrible is the truhina of 

* Tho Ciuitor Leclarca, clelirenHl before tbe Society of AttM. 



lEngliah BdltJon, Vol XI3L, No. 481, pa^e 80 ; No. 480, pag» 7a.] | 




rit, litiO, 



I}r, Lethehy 07i Food, 




I 



• 



pork. Fortunately, it is a rare affedion in this coun- 
y, althoui^h it is oft^a common in Germany. The 
I'k infected with the worm is gcneraJly darker than 
ual, on account of tho irritatiug or infiaminatory nc- 
lion of the creature lodged in the muscles; and when 
the parasite is encysted Uie meat presents a speckled 
•l>|ii'aratice — the minute white C3*«t« cont^^iniog the 
"Worm beiug just visible t^j the n;ikeU eye. Here are 
spei-iniens of it in both its eucynteJ and non-eneysted 
cunditioiia ; and thia diagram represents the appearance 
of the worm when it is examined under the microscope. 
It is, &=} you see, a minute thread-hke worm, about tho 
tietb of an inch in length, coiled up in a spnd fonn; 
its name, trichina spiralis. It ig generally found 
human subject in an eucystetl slate, wlien it has 
beyond its dangerous condition and has become 
mless. In most case?, wlien thu5 diseovere 1, there 
is no record of its action, and theref.»re it was once 
thought to be an innoot^nt visitor ; but we now know 
that while it was free— that is, befcjre nature had bar- 
rica«Ied it up in tho little cyst, its pi'eaencc was the 
cau^ of frightlul disorder — kdling about 50 percent of 
ic4 victims Ml terrible agony. In Grfirmany tiiere have 
been been fiequeut outbreaks of tbo disease, which, for 
a time, baffled the skill of the must experienced pbvBi- 
cianA; in facf, we bariHy know how long or how often 
the disectse has attacked the pork-feeding population of! 
Europe, lor its actual mitare was unkn^nvn until the 
Tear l36o, when Dr. Zencker, of Dresden, discovered 
Ibe pathology of the disease. Siuce then tliere have 1 
been several visitations of it, &i at Piiiuen, in Saxony, 
in 1862; at Hettatidr, near Eisleben, in T863; and at [ 
Hederslcben, neur Mag<ieburg, in Prussian Saxony, in 
1866. In all tlitise cases the same symptoms, or nearly 
the same, were observed; there was sometimes imme- 
diate di:?turbance of the digestive functiotis, but more 
commonly a day or two elapsed before any pntrticular 
symptom wag noticed, and then there was a feeling of 
lassitude, with a loa? of appetitt^, and pains in the heaJ 
and back. Then folio ived a serious disturbance of the 
alimentary cmal, with vomiting and diarrbxM. This 
^m laatod for ft day or two; and by the end of a week aftor 
^H the worm had been eaten, fever had act in, which be- 
^B came more and more severe, an J by th it time tliu young 
^M worms wJiich had been luitclied in the body had mi- 
^B gratod to tlie distant muscle?, cauaiu;:^ the most excru- 
^M cia'ing pains, so that the patient, fearing to move hta 
^r inflameil muscles, woidd he motionless U|>on lii.^ back ; 
and if he did not die in this state of the disorder, nature 
came to the rescue, and imprisoned the creature by 
surrounding it with a fibrmoii:^ cyst, where it lives 
lor years, being ready at a^y moment to acquire 
activity when it is swuilowed and released from its oelL 
Indeed, the way in wLicli it becomes danj/erons is thts 
— fifsh infected with the parasite is eaten; and the cyst 
being quickly diss'lved by the gastric juice, the crea- 
ture is 8 ?t free. Finding itaelf in the msd-^t of nourish- 
ing Ibod, it rapidly grows, so that in two or thsee days 
it is three or fuur times its ori;;iual sixc, and may be 
eayly seen, like a bit of fine thread, witii the naked eye. 
Ttie worms are of difierent sexes, and they rapidly 
come to maturity— each female giving birth t^* from 300 
to 500 minute threa<l-hke worms, which iinmediately set 
out upon their travels, piercing the walls of the intes- 
tines and migrating to distant parts of the body, where 
they produce the terrible mis^chief I have described. Al- 
though the pig ia the animal which Is most commonly in- 
fesreii by it, yet it has been found in the muscles of dogs, 
foxe?, badgers^ sheep, moles, hcLlgehogs, rats, mice, frogs, 

Vol. IV- No. 4,— April, i86g. i 13 

rEngUab Edition, FoL XIX., No. 4S0, pa«n 75, 7e.] 



and mo t carnivorous birds, all of which must have been 
subjects of the disease, but none appear to suffer frum 
it like man ; even children are less aHected by it, for 
tJaey seem to sleep it away. Fortunately, there is an 
easy method of di:?covering its presence in animals, for 
the most certain seat of the creature is in the muaclea 
of tho eye ; we have therefure only to examine these 
muscles witii the microscope to declare whesher ihe 
meat is infected or not; and, at the present time, the 
sausage-makers of Germany have the pork examined in 
this manner before it is u.*ed for food. 

Other parasitic creatures, as measles in pork, and the 
smaller cystictrci of beef and veal, are foufd as little 
sacs or bladders diffused througli the lean of tlie meat 
— the cyttietrcua or measle o( pork being eas ly seen, 
for it is as large as a henii)-seed. Here are specimens 
of it in a fresh condition, which were seized in the cit^ 
markets to-day ; but the cyiiticercus of other anitnala la 
much smaller, and requir*:'8 careful exploration to dis- 
cover it. In both cases the sac contains a little creature 
with a sort of tuberculated heail, crowned with a coro- 
net of hook.*, and having a bladder-like rail attached to 
it. Soon alter it is swallowed, the enclosing sac is dis- 
solved by the gastric juic'\ and the creature being lib- 
erated parses into the intestines, and there fixes itself 
by its htde hooks, and quickly grows, joint after joint, 
into a tape- worm. In the ca*c of the cystictrciis oi" 
pork, it forms the vaiiety of tape-worm called tenia 
solium, and in (hat of beef and veal it [traduces the 
Unia tneJioaitn'Jlatd, The hitter is the most common 
variety of it in the human intestines, and it is fre- 
qneniFy seen where raw, or nearly raw, meat is made 
u^e of, as in Abyssinia and m Russia, where children 
are allowed to suck a piece of raw beef, ou the suppo- 
sition that it hfis a strengthening propert}'. Each seg- 
niont of the worm is an independent creature, contain- 
ing myriads of ova, and when passed by the bowels, it 
gets with the manure upon the land an<l is eaten by 
pigs, oxen, and goals ; the ova are then hatched in the 
stomach, nnd they pass, ns in the case of the irichtnin, 
through tlie walh of the intestine, ami migrate to the 
muscular ti.ssues of the body,' where they become en- 
cv'Sled, and form the little sacs or measles, which re- 
main dormant for years, though they are ever rt-ady to 
become tape-worms directly thoy are eaten. In this 
manner ihe creature is perpetuated, first as a I ape- 
worm with joints in the intestines olT one animal, and 
then as a measle or larva in the muscle of another, and 
then again as a tape- worm. By a like process iho 
tenia chinorocett3, or little tapo-worm of the dog, be- 
comes the hydatid in man and other animals. In Ice- 
land the dogs are very liable to this infection, and the 
cattle and sheep, as well as man, sufier from the hy<ia- 
tid of it. The subject has been well -investigated by 
Dr. Leared, who has shown tliat the practice of giving 
the diseased offal of the slauLjhtered animals to doi.'S 
causes tape-worm, and the dogs drop the segments of 
the worm filled with ova, upon tlie pastures nnd into 
running water. By this means they enter the bodies of 
cattle and pheep, and even of man, and t!icn, as in the 
last case, the ova quickly become developed, and tie 
young hydatiil or larva Uipe-worm, piercing the walls 
of the alimentary canal, migrates to distant parts, and 
finding a suitable nidus for its growth, it slowly be- 
comes a large bladder-like hydatid. In the case of the 
sheep it often selects tlie brain for its habitat, and pro- 
duces the disease called sta^'gers ; iti the oxen it grows 
in tlie peritoneal cavity ; and in man it haunts the liver, 
occasioning frightful disturbance of the system, and 




Dr. Leih.eby an Fuod, 






causing" one-sixth of the total mortality of that coun- 
try. Here are specimens of tlie disease from the hu- 
man subject. 

Again, llvere is another cla&s of parasite, called 
tremattMin or flukes, wliich infest the livera and intes- 
tines of men and herbivorous animalfi. The moKt com- 
tnon of them is the diatoma hfipaitcvm or hver-Huke of 
tlie sheep. In wet seasons tlie animal is so constantly 
infested with them, and sutYers 80 much emaeiatiun 
from Lhem, ihut the dii^eaac h called the rot. You have 
before you infected livers which were seized in our 
public markets this very day, and there is no iliESculty 
m obtaining specitneos of lhem hi almost any time. A 
few years a<(0 (1863), when Professor lirown was lec- 
turing on the habihty of animal* to disease from the 
present mode of R-eding: them, he said th.it once, wiien 
he wanted some animala for dissection, and apphed for 
them lo a larpe butcher, he received back five or six 
animals, which^ ihoujL'h in a bad stare of rot, were 
dressed for the market ; and he was told by a certain 
individual not far from London, that within the sjmce 
of six months he had killed no less than 750 of such 
animals, in a state of extreme disease, and lu; believed 
they were all sent to marktrt and sold lor food. What 
becomes, he says, of the hundreds and thousands of 
rotten she^p wliich we see m the liclds 'f To bury 
them would rf^quire whole catacombs ; the real cata- 
combs are the inrestinal canals of the human body. 
The way in which the di-iaae ia produced in sheep 13 
curions!. Ova are passed from the gall-bladder ol in- 
fected animals into the intestines, and so upon the 
land; finding a moist situation they are rooti haiched 
into cili^ited eujt^rj'o?, which swim about and become 
developed into cylindrical sacs of minute hydatids; 
these attach Ihcmi^elves to some mollusc^ as a small 
soail. In wet weather the infected snails crawl upon 
the grass, and are eaten by the sheep, and then the 
hydatid .^pieedily changes his condition and becomes a 
fluke. When it is Ibund in the body of man it has, 
perhaps, been drunk with water or eaten with some 
aquatic plant, as water-cress, &e. 

Our safety agiiinst these intruders |,i8 to cook the 
meat thoroughly. 

The flesh of animals that have been excited before 
death, as by overdriving, or by torture, has frequently 
proved unwholesome. A remarkable instance of this 
16 quoted by Liebig, in his '* Letters on Clieniiatry," 
where a family of five persons were made seriously ill 
by the fieah of a roebuck which had been caught m a 
snare, and had struggled violently before death. 

It ia, moreover, a curious fact, that meat may be even 
poisonous froni the nature of the food made use of by 
animals shortly before they are killed ; and this, too, 
without any indication of disorder in the animals 
thempelres. Hares which liave fed upon the Rhodo^ 
dendron chrysanthemum are frequently poi-onousj the 
same is the case with pheasants in Pennsylvania and 
Philadelphia, which feed during the winter and spring 
on the buds of the laurel {Cfdmia lati/olia) ; and I 
have known many instances of serious mischief from 
prairie birds which are now largely imported into this 
country from America, and I attribute it to the food 
made use of by the bird. In certain districts of North 
America,, especially on the Alleghuny mountains, the 
flesh of all the cattle is poisonous, and so a]<o is the 
milk they yield, and the cheese which is made from it 
Oysters, mussels, lobsters, and crabs have frequently 
caused disturbance of the human system: and the 
probability is that they were made unwholesome by 



the food which they had eaten. A singular ca«^ is re-, 
corded in tlie medical journals of France in 1842, 
where a wliole family at Toulouse Avere poisuoed by ft 
dish of snails, the animals having been gathered from » 
poisonous shrub {Corinria myrtifolia) ; and it is not at 
all uncommon for honey to he unwholesome, on account 
of its having been collected by bees from poisonous 
plants. The honey of Trebizond, for example, has loo 
been notorious for it^ deleterious properties; it poi 
soned the soldiers of Xenophon during the famoun] 
retreat ol' the ten thousand. Ptiny, too, speaks of it; 
and to this day its intoxicatitig effect is frequently wit-i 
nessed. It ari.'^es, no doubt, from tlie plants, chiefly 
Ih'i Azalea ponttca, from which the honey is gathered*! 
Mr. Barton has given us a similar account of the poi- 
sonous qualify of the honey gathered by bees from tho 
fiavannahs of New Jersey, where the calmia and azalM 
are the principal flowering shrubs. As with the fol- 
lowers of Xenophon, all who L*at of the honey become;] 
intoxicated to a high degree; and even when i»ad( 
into tnetheglin, it poii^ons all who prirtake of it, causinj 
dimness of sight, giddiness, and then delirium, wilh 
sometimes a fatal termination. 

Occasionally we have examples of food which is of 
itself poisonous. This is so with many of tlie fi?>h in 
tropical seas, and especially of the West Indies. Dr. 
Burrows has given us a long list of them ; and it would 
seem that the yellow-billed sprat (the s^ardine dor^ of 
the French, and C^/pea thrymi of naturalists), the 
toad or bladder-fjsh {Apiodfictyiuti punclatus ot Trtiuodcm 
of Cuvier) and the grey-snapper \(!or<Kiuus/u*ais ma- 
jor) are the moat venomous ; and that being eaten by 



1 



[ larger fiah. 



the Barncoitto^ and various species of 



perch, as well as the conger-eel, the dolphin, the globe 
fish, ttc, it causes these to be poisonous ah;o. ITae 
yellow-billed sprat is so virulent in its action on the 
human body that both Europeans and negroes have 
been known to expire with the fish in their mouths ujv 
swalluwed; and the load or bladder-fish is scarcely 
less dangerous. Sir John Bichardson has described the 
effects of it on two sailors, the boatswain's mate and 
purser's steward, of the Duich brig of wnr Postilion^ 
while lying at anchor in St. Simon's Bay, at the Cup© 
of Good Hope, in September, 1845. The men were 
warned that the fish was poistmous, but b<;4ieving that 
the liver was wholesome, and rather a dtdicacy, thev 
cooked it, and ate it directly after their twelve o'clock 
dinner. In ten minutes the boatswain's mute was so 
ill thnt he could not stand; his face wa^ flushed, his 
eyes glistened, his lips wt-re swollen and rather blue, 
his ft-rehead was covered with a cold perspiration, and 
bis pulse was weak and fluttering. He was, however, 
quite conscious, and compkintul of pain ami constric- 
tion of the throat, and he had a dc^s-ire to vomit. lo a 
few^ minutes more he became paralyse<l, his eyes were 
fixed, his breathing was laborious, his face was pale 
though his hps were livid, and in seventeen minute* ha 
was dead. The otlier man exhibited the same symp- 
toms, and died in twcniy minutes. Sir John Richard- 
Bon says the fish was not more than six or eight inches in 
length, and the liver of it, which they had eaten between 
tlieiUj couW not have weighed more than half an ounce. 
The symptoms occai^ioned by the poisonous fish of 
the tropics are always of two kind*— tliere is either 
great irritation of the stomach and Iwjwek, like cholera; 
or there is rspid prostration of the vital powers, and 
dt^ath by syncope or convulsion*. These effects have 
been long known both to natives and Europeans, and 
were called by the Spanish colonists of tropical AmeriCii 



[EngUsh Bdttloa, VoL ZIX.. Na 480, pages 76, 77; Ho. 481« pag* »0.] 



I^P Cu 






Dr. Lethehy on Food, 



^' They are more frequently observed at cer- 

t ;ig, of the year than ar <jthers, anrJ hence they 

e t.iM Might to be duy to certain physiological changes 
'In the body of the fish, or lo the food wliich it has eaien. 
In some cases the roe, in tjthers tlie liver, or the di-jest- 
ive organs, are th«i irioiit poieonous parts of ihe llsh ; 
aad in the case of tlie Mnhtta vt-neuosa^ which inhab- 
its the Caribbean sea, it is only poiajnons when the sea 
is covered with a green monad, upon wliich the crea- 
ture feeds. Happily Ibr uaj these dangers are confined 
to the tropics, ulthough we sometimi-a suflTer from a 
milder form of disturbance, as irritiiition of the akin and 
boweli?, from eatidg unwholesome gkell-fish. 

Puirid m-atis, perhaps, wasteful rather than actually 
injurion."! ; bat rhere are plenty of cases in which ithiia 
CAUFed diseas *. Fodere tella us that at the aiege of 
Mantua^ those who were shut in the city, atid were 
obUgcd to eat the half-putrid fle^h of horses, suffered 
from gangrene and scurvy ; and in Cssnnt'R history of 
Oreenland tliere is? an account of the death of thirty- 
two persons at a misgionary station calleJ Kangek, from 
t repast on the putrid brairus of a walrus. Simiiar eases 
are rccurded in all the booki on legal medicine. Even 
l^ame, nhen only sufficiently tainted to please the pal- 
' of tbe epicure, ha^ caused severe cholera in persons 
intmccustoiried to it; but, ha Dr. Christison observes, 
** the powtT of hahit in reconciling the stomach to the 
dige^sti^n of decayed meat is inctriceivable. Some ep- 
jcup 8 in civilised countries prefer a slight taint even 
io their bee'' and mutton ; and there ar« tribes of sava- 
ges still further advanced in the cultivation of this de- 
partment of g.istronomy, who ea' wirh unpunily ran- 
cid oil, putrid blubber, and stinking offal.'' The Zulus 
of Natal, according to Dr. Colenso, are ao foed of putrid 
moat that they callitwifOTnj, which literally means to be 
superlatively happy. But, as a rule, there is a natiirijl 
abhorrence of minted loo 1, insomuch, that, with most 
person.?, the mere commencemeat of decay Is sufficient 
to excite disgust; and rarely do we find, except among 
I savage;*, that an etitire meal ia made of putrid lle?h. A 
little game or venison, or ri[ie chese, at the end of a 
feoat, with just a piquant touch of decay, is, pL-rhfipa, not 
objectionable j for it may, as Liebig supposes, promote 
digL'Btion. by communicating its own f|iifdity of trans- 
formation to the rest of the food ; but it is another 
thing lo fill tlie stomach with p>itrid fieali, for if tlie 
corrective powtT of the gastric juice should fail, the ef- 
fect of it ndght be serioua. We have, indeed, abundant 
evi^lence of the terrible consequences of admitting pu- 
trid matter into the circulation, for they were once too 
comrnou amonar those enjrivged lu the di?BectioTi of the 
human body. In fact, the mere handling of de com pos- 
ing aiiitud matter for any time, will often produce dis- 
ease of the hands or other jjarts of the body with which 
it comes into contact. Our safety, perhapa, in ui?ing sucli 
food is iu liie antiscptig power of good cooking; but 
thm is not always an easy affair ; for the tissues are 
generally so so'.t from decay that they will hardly bear 
the common a:tion of he;it; so tiiat if tliey be boded 
for any time tlify will fall to pioe-t; and if they be 
roasted, they will shrink \vilhout fonning that delicous 
cru.-4t of o-imazome which ^ characteristic of good meat. 
Let them, however, be cooked as they may, tin y al- 
ways require a nice adjuattuynt of rather strong flavours 
lo make them palatable ; and tho-se who have dined in 
the ch^-ap rmt'inrnnh of Pari% or at the fitill worse 
table d'hutc of a Gennan wafering-place, will have ex- 
perienced the art of the cook in thla respect, in such 
dishes as tnrftot en vol-au^entj Rate an beurrt noir^ sole 



en matcfate A^urmautJe, and i\i the various form p of fish 
an gratin ; or game rti salmis. 

But bad as this sort of tainted food us, it is nothing 
in compariirion to the isausage poison, which is produced 
by a sort of modified putrefaction, to which the lurge 
sausages of Germany, and especially those of W'urteni- 
burg, are occasionally subject. According to an (dlicial 
return, there have bten more (ban 400 cases of poiaon- 
icg Irom these sausages in Wurtemburg alone during 
the laat fifty yearp, and of these about 150 were fatal. 
The effects are generally observed in spring, and mostly 
in April, when the sausages become musty, and ncquire 
a soft consistence in ibe interior. They have also a pe- 
culiaily nauseous and rather putrid taste, amd ate very 
acid to test-paper. If eaten in this c undition, they 
produce dangeroiH effects in from twelve to twenty- 
four hours — the tirst symptoms being pain in the 8!om- 
ncb, with vomiting and diarrhoea, and dryne&s of the 
nose and mouth ; then comrs a leeiitig of jirofound de- 
pre.^sicn, with coldness oJ' the Umbs, weakness and ir- 
regularity of the pulse, and frequent fainting. Fatal 
cases end with c<»nvubion3 and oppressed breathing be- 
tween the third and eighth day. The precise cause of 
these cfiects U still a mystery ; some have thought that 
rancid fatty acids are produced during the decomposi- 
tion of the meat; others that in the piocess of drying 
and snioking acrid pyrogenous acids have been devel- 
oped; others that during the decay of the sausage?, a 
poisonous organic alkaloid is generated. Liebig is of 
(»pitiion that the effects ore due to an animal ferment, 
whiib produces in the blood, by eatalysi.'j, a state of 
putridity analogous to its own, and that the molecular 
raovementa of the putrefactive change in the decaying 
meat are thus communicated to tiie living organism. 
it. Vandea Corput, who is one of the most recent in- 
vestigators of the subjects, attributes the morbific action 
of such meat io the presence of a minute fungus, of the 
nature of a sarcina, which he calls mrritui bo(uiin(i. 
This view is cocfirtned by the fact that there ia always 
a peculiar mouldiness of the sausages; and the poison- 
ous property is generally observed in April, when these 
cryptogamic organisms are most freely developed. 

Similar effects have occasionally been produced by 
other kinds of animal food — a-i veal, bafon, ham, salt- 
beef, palt-fiali, cheese, ^c.^ and the food has usually been 
in a decayed and mouldy condition. It would be tedi- 
ous if I were to detuil, or even to ennmera'e tlie cases 
recorded by medicn-legol writers; but I may, perlians^ 
refer lo a few of them. In 1839, there was a popular 
fi-te at Zurich, and about 600 persons partook of a re- 
past of cold ro^L-'t veal and haui. In a lew hours most 
of them were suffering fnm p;iin in the stornach, with 
vomiting and diarrhoea ; and before a week had elapsed, 
nearly all of lliem were seriously ill in bed. They 
complained of shivering, giddtnes.^, headache, and burn- 
ing fever. In a lew ca.ses there was delirium ; at>d when 
ibey terminated fatally, there was extreme prostration 
of the vital p jwers. Careful emT^uiry was instituted 
inito the matter, and the only discoverable cause of 
the mischief was incipient putrefaction and slight 
mouldiness of the meat. Dr. Geiaeler relates nn in- 
stance where a lamily ot eijlit peri*ons were made ill 
by musty bacon; and M. Ollivier bis given an account 
ol six persons wlio were poi-oned by murion in a state 
of modified decay — four of whom died frcnj it within 
eight days. In Russia, where it is the practice to eat 
largely of salt-fish in a raw condition, it is not at ull 
uncommon to witness the dangerous effects of it when 
it baa become mouldy or putrid ; and, in, fact, it ia. 



[EntUth Edition, Vol XXZ., No. 481, paE«i 90^ 91. 



192 



Action of Carbolic Acid as a Thtrapeuiic Agent: \ 






within the eSkperience ol every one wLo is concerned in 
medico-lcgij inquiries, thut serious syrnptoms are fre- 
queinly traced lo the use of food in a modified condi- 
tiou of dfcay. This is especially so witli had cheese, 
the effects of which on the constitution have been po 
severe that orti<.^itd investitrationa liave been cnlled for. 
These effects have been noticed at Sohwerin (iSsj), at 
Mindeti (1825), at Ihunrhi (1826), at Gri. fswald (1827), 
Frankfort (1828), and elsewhere; and ihey have been 
the subjects of interes^tinpf essays by Henneman, 
Hiinefeld, Wt'strumb, and others. At first ihe effects 
were attributed to ihe copper vessels used in the 
dairies, and therefore the Aueitrian, Wvirtemburg^ and 
EiiUsbutj* St4itfjs prohibited the u«e of that met^l for 
such purposes; but the subsequent enquiries of Hiine- 
feld, b^utiirue"-, and other chemists, established the fact 
that no metallic poison was discovt-rable in the chee«e. 
In the police report, which wa«i published in Frankfort, 
in January, 1828, informing the public of numerous 
cases of poisoning in tliat city fioin spoiled chee.?e, it 
was declared that no poisonous principle ctiuld be 
detected by chemical reagents. Prufc'^siir Hiinefeld 
and, subsequently, SerUira^r, were of opiuiou that the 
efl'ects were due to certain poisonsHis fatty acids analo- 
gous to, if not identical with, easeic and sebacic acid.-?; 
anfl they even describe the way in which Ihcy are pro- 
duced in t!ie cheese during the process of ripening- — 
nltributing them to the imperfect removal of the acid 
liquor frurn the curd when the cheese was made, or tu 
the putrefaction of the curd before it wm salted, or lo 
the mixture of flour with the curd ; but it Is far more 
likely tlmt the poisonous effects are due, as Vanden 
Corput suppose?, to ihe presence of a pecuU;»r mould or 
fungus, I have myself seen the most terrible conse- 
quences from the use of such cheese, and have fiviled lo 
discover anything unusual in the acidity or oilier 
chemical reactions of the cheese. Hdnefeld fay* it is 
commonly of a yellowish red colour, and is soil 
and touj;h, with harder and darker lumps inleiepersed 
throughout it, and it has a disagreeable tfluVie, and an 
acid reaction. The symptoms which it produces are 
very much like those of sausage poboning — namely, 
irritation of the stomach nnd bowels; wiih great pros- 
tration of the vita! powers. These effects have been 
witnessed not only in Germany, where the cheese is 
generally rancid and bad, but di1si.> in this country, and 
particularlv aniong the j^mall hill-farms of Cheshire, 
where limited extent of the dairies obliges the farmer 
to keep the curd for several days before a suflS^cient 
quantity of it is aecumriLdat^'d to make a large cheese. 

I have said nothing ol tlie improper praetjee of kill- 
ing very young animals, especially calves, for food, be- 
fore the tissues have had time to change from their 
uterine condition. On the CouJinent it is imluwful to 
kill or to sell calves for foo<I tlmt are not more than 
fourteen days old, but in this country there is no such 
resirictlon, and it is a common practice to dispose of 
the carca-<e;i of newly-born or even foetal calves to the 
sau?age maker; and as the flesh is sodden and insipid, 
111* strenthens it with old, lough, and Hnowy flesh. It 
has (he advantige, moreover, of being miscible with any 
description of meat, and of taking any variety of fla- 
vour; in Ik'tj it makes jtfst that k.nd of sausage which 
is 8US4-Vptib'<? of any kind of flavour, nnd where, to use 
the expression of Dicken?, "it's the seaaonin' as does 
it." I cannot say that such meat i* positively unwhole- 
some, but it is nasty, and excites the same sort of dis- 
>^si M an egg with a chick in it. 

(To bfioonUnacd.) 




OS THE 

ACTION OF CARBOLIC ACID AS A- 
TUEKAPEUTIC AGENT.* 

BY JOSBPn IlIKgCH, Pn.D, 

The interest and importance of carbolic acid at the ^ 
ent daj>' as a tlierapeutic agent were too tempting an 
invitation lo expermient somewhat with this substance 
to be resisted, and although 'the experimcnis were so 
simple as to be hardly noteworthy, they still serve so 
far to illusirate the modus operandi of the acid, that I 
venture to recommend its trial in the treatment of some 
diseases in which, until now, the so-culled expcctativc 
Ireatmeut, />., no treatment at all, except good nour- 
ishment, has been purasued as ihe ouly u-eful one. The 
starling point of these experim» nts was the powci of 
the ncid to coagulate albumen, which it does in virtue 
ol iLq nature as im acid by entering into a union with. 
the albumen. Reflecting upon the thorapcuiie action 
of carbuhc acid, one is naturally led to connect it witli 
its influence upon albumen, because this leaction l& a 
very nmiked one, while albumen plays the prime part 
in the animal organism, being present in all those siib- 
etances which supply the entire body or individual 
parts of it with the materials requisite for nutrition and 
the renovation of ellete motkT-. It is the main con- 
stituent of the blood, the lymph, tlic cliyle, and a'l 
serous fluids contained in the cellular tissue — in fact, all 
animal tissues ure s^u^^ollnded by an albuminous fluid, 
and all ehatigcs in the blood proceed from tlio albumen. 
For the purpose of my expi rlraents I therefore look 
three series of solutions of albumen. The one was 
chemically pure albumen, prepared from white of egg 
in the well-known manner; the second was white of 
egg in ili natural state, and also diluted to neatly one- 
half, t.c, the coneeniraiion in which it occurs in llie 
blood ; the third series were SLdntions of blood albumen, 
or serum, taken from cattle, sheep, and the pig, de- 
prived as nearly ns possible from tho reil coqjuscles, 
80 as to show the influeuce of the salts contaiued in the 
blood upon the behaviour of the albumen towards car- 
bolic acid. 

At the same tune I prepared solutions of carbolic 
acid of diflerent strength, with which to test the man- 
ner and fexient of coagulation of the albumen. I dis- 
solved the acid in glycerine, starting with solutions of 
90 per cent of acid, each subsequent sulution containing 
to per cent less of the acid, while I carried the Irac- 
tions of 1 per cent down to o"oi per cent, having nine 
solutions containing lei^s than i per cent of carbolic 
acid, and eleven tolulions containing i per cent And 
over. 

The series of solutions of pure albumeu were more 
or less congealed during these experiments, even before 
tliey were coagulated by the acid. The coagula were 
less firm than those of the otlier solutions produced by 
acid of the same strength, of which even the most con- 
centrated penetrated the entire mass of albumen much 
quicker than any of the other albuminous solution?. 

The blood albumen a'so coagulated slightly faster 
tlian that of eg^^^, but lesi? so than the first mentioned 
series. Here the salts then seemed to act as diluents, 
rendering the coaguhim more porous. This difference 
in the time of coagulation of the vaiious solutions of 
the same errength was the main d 5 lie re nee obserrable. 
In those of different concentration it appeared, in addi- 



I 



* Gtntmunkated by Um» Autbor, hnvlOf beta read bcforo th» Chi* 
csigo Colltge Hi PhBTBiacy. 



r[£neli*h Edition, VoL ZIX., Ho. 481, page 01 ; Mo. 463, page 97.] 



I 



} tbe Chi' H 



CVSMICAL Nrwb, I 

April, IH9, i 



Action of Carbolw Acid as a Therapeutic Agent 



193 



tion, that in the more diluted soluf.ionH the coagulum 
grew iij slrealis downward, while in the concentrntid 
solutions it pro^res.*ed evenly over tlio tMilire surfucc of 
the Albumen. In tliia case the solid] Real ion proceeded 
exceedingly slow. 

The coagula produced by the most concentrated 
solutions were the most solid, but fhe Icjist volumi- 
uous. The aci<l wiui added slowly to prevent a disturb- 
anctj of the solutions of albumen, upon which the 
former floaUni, extending thus ita a^^ticm pratiually 
downward. This took place very slowly with the dense 
solutions, tlie coagula of which appeared to be almogt 
impenetrable to iho acid, caui^ing the substratum of 
liquid albumen to remain unchanged for a great length 
of ttnip. The more diluted ^ohitior.a produced a soller 
coaeuhim, easier penetrated by the excess of carbolic 
acid, while with the prealest dilutions the iilbumen 
coagulated in fibres, until finally only a tuvbidity was 
the result of the mixture. 

The fibrous coagula were washed upon a filter with 
remarkable faciUty, while the eoag^ula produced by 
greater dilutions partly past^ed through tae filtL-r, which, 
though finally, was clog-^'ed. Theee clogjjed filters I 
fastened to one end of glass lubes perfectly tifjht, 
of which I assured myself by keeping iho tu'fte filled 
p&rlly with water for twenty-four hours. Testlnp, 
then^ this primitive endo?;motic apparatus with a Poln- 
tion of eodic chloride alonp^ide of another one of the 
same size, con tructed with bladder, T found the 
albumen apparatus to work some what faster than the 
other ; but in con.si deration of the fact that the paper 
filter could not be drawn as tijhtly over the open ng 
of the tube aa the bladder for fear of tearinp^ it, the j 
quicker permeation of the filter may be ascribed to its 
jjreater snrflice. All the coa^^ula placed under water at 
a temperature of about 80"^ F., for over three months 
remained apparently utiuhanccd, although some of them 
during ail this time were mixed with either one of the 
foUowing substance?, in which putrefaction had set in 
before their athlition to the coa^jula. Tlieae substances 
were cajsem, blood, brew^ers' 3'casl, nnd leavetu There 
seemg, tlien, Ui have remained a sufficii nt quantity 
of carbolic acid within tlie purea of tlie coagulaied 
nlbumen to an est even the decomposition of the sub- 
stances added. 

With tlu'.se preliminary experiments, I compared the 
effect of carbolic acid upon the svBtem ; tlic application 
of » concentrated solution of the acid to the akin pro- 
duced, in a short time, a white opaque spot of horny 
aspect., which soon peeled off. The same spot pro- 
duced on a highly sensitive part of tJie epidemns, as on 
the tongue, at once loses its sensitiveness; and a feel- 
iDg as of the presence of a foreign body as coating is 
exnerienced. 

In both cases ihe opacity of the spot, by ita 
resemhiancc to the opaque coagulated albumen, at once 
reveals rlio nature of (he cliange produced by the acid. 
" Tlie albumen of the blood, which through the 
numberless riimitications of the blood-vessels is carried 
to the gkin for its nourishment, becomes coagulated." 
In this state it ia solid, precluding the motion of liquids 
of lis own kind within it^ subatance, and witli this 
motion nourishment and life. As lifeless, dead matter, 
the skin must necessarily peel off; it must, with the 
loss of vitality, he deprived of all the prerogatives of 
life, of feeling, ns noticed above. Taking the coagula- 
tion of albumen as the immediate efiect of applying 
carbolic acid to any organic substance^ we shuU find no 
diilicaliy in exploining the suspeuBion of life without 



its complete extinction in the microscopical beings 
known as contagion. They contain, no matter whether 
they are nnimalculro or minute plants — u qucjition not 
yet definitely settled — albumen ; blood albumen in the 
former case, vejretable albumen in the second. 

Here the carbolic acid, coagulating the albumen on 
the surface of the corpuscle, forms an in?ohdjle en- 
velope, impenetrable to air and to further quantities of 
carbolic acid, which in this manner f^rma an obstaele 
to the entrance of greater quantities of itself into the 
interior of the Buiail body. This then retains in its 
cenire a minute poriion unchanged, iuU of life, capable 
of increase under favourable circumstances, and pro- 
tected from external infiuencea by its coating of coa^i- 
Irtted albumen. Such a corpuscle acted upon by carbolic 
acid mav be represented by an egg exposed 10 boiling 
wiiter for a few secotids. The coagulating influence 
of heat affects ihe euperfieiu! layer of albumen, which 
still encloses tlie rest of the egg in its raw ^tate. All 
substances or processes producing ihnsamc ccagulatmg 
effect upon albumen do in reidity exert the same 
destructive influence upon contagii»n and mia-mu, but 
none possess other necessary properties qualilying them 
for thia purpose as well aa carbolic acid. Heat, which 
coagulates albumen, has been used successfully in the 
disinfection of places and clothing infested with tlie 
poison of cholera, «mall-pox, yellow fever, ^'c. ; but 
while we can turn high pressure or even j^uperheat^d 
steam into a room, a ship, (fcc, we cannot subject a 
cholera patient, (<t an anunal infected with the cattle 
plague, to so high a temperntLire as to destroy the 
poison lurking within them : nnd if in diluled carhohc 
acid we have a remedy, which with t«ueh coagulation 
will destroy the activity of contagion without iuterfer- 
ing witli the proeess of life in the patient, we have 
found a desideratum which is at once a boon to man- 
kind and a vicrory of science important beyond com- 
parison. Other chemicnls, a? the uunernl a< idp, llieir 
salts which coagulate afbnmen, also de«?troy contagion ; 
but their destructive influence upon the animal organ- 
ism in thitt stafe of con'-entratioti in wiitth they 
coagulate albumen precludes their use in cor.tagious 
diseases under the same ctrciimstances, for similar 
reasons, under wliieh superheated .«itehm is unvoilable. 

On the other hand, carbolic acid in great dilution 
exerts a barely perceptible infiuence upon the vital pro- 
cess of the larger animals, while i(B power of destroying 
sporules is almost equal to that of the concentrated acid. 

This apparent anomaly is easily explained on com- 
paring its action to the parallel coagulaiiou 01' a hi^dily 
diluted solution of albumen by one similarly diluted of 
the acid. The diluted solution is as compi tely cemgn- 
lated as a dense one; but the immense rlilution plnces 
the particles of albumen at Buch ^reat distimcca from 
each other that they can n > more form a coherent, mass 
after coagulation, but remain sepamiely suspended in 
the liquid, rendering it opaque and milky in appearance, 
This liquid, although charged with insohiide albumen, 
will filter through paper, ns also throujzh tiie poris of 
all tlie ti.ssues of the animal organism. The d lute car- 
bolic acid introduced into the BVHtem wiH, in the same 
manner, congulat* tlie albumen and sporules it meot« 
upon its p.'issage in such Bubdivi^ion that the coaijulum 
can no longer form a dense coherent coating, as is the 
case during the application of the concentrated acid, 
while the minute particles of this coagulum, afier filter- 
ing through I he animal ttf^suf, do no longer oppose an 
obiitaele to the free passage of greater quantities of the 
carbolic acid or of the vital fluida. 




[BnsUih Edition, 7oL XIX., No. 482, pas«* 97, 98.] 



>4 UtilmUhn of Chrome Alum. — Chemical CJuiiiges of Carbon, 



CffK¥JC*.LKrw«, 
April, 16(10. 



On tlie other hand, ihe sporulea, constitnting the con- 
tagion, are so minute l)ietn5<>lvea that Uie liimted sphere 
of action of the dihUed acid slill embrncrs a coinplele 
Bporule, or a number of them, which thus huve their I 
vitaUty suspended as completely aa by the coticentrated | 
acid. 

The great diviaibihty, respective volatilily of the acitl, 
prevents ita complete neuirahsalion by th« albumen of j 
the larger organi?m to the exchi^ioti of fhat of the ' 
gpondcs, tlie albumen being a base of no great energy, 
especially ii" linked to as faint an acid as carbfilie, 
Neverthefeas for a complete curative effect the dose 
must be repeated, as the add owns, in common with 
all other drugs^ the properly tliat the limit of its sphere 
of action is proportionate to its amount. The manner 
of action of the ncid as shown illustrates the difference j 
of ita operation a* a ditjiiifectant from other subetances 
used for that purpose, which are mostly ostdisinpf agents 
acting upon the products of decomposition, like am- 
monia, hydric sulphide, &c., which are altogether out 
of the sphere of ad ion of carbolic aciid, because they are ] 
not capable of coagulation, They may partly be neu- 
tralised by the same, but being vollatile, it is not superior 
in tliiia respect to the ordinary mineral acids. 

The great reducing power.« of carbolic acid recom- 
mend it for the detection of hydric peroxide, as has 
been proposed lately. The addition of the last-named 
substance to a mixture of aqueous carbolic acid and 
ferrous sulphate produces a permanent green coloura- 
tion. Here the cftrbolic acid prerenls the oxidation of 
the ferric protoxide by the hydric peroxide, which, 
without iu presence, takes pbce. 

That thi^ reducing action is a prominent factor in its 
mode of destroying contagion, by preventing oxila- 
tion, which is synonymous with hfe, i here is but little 
doubt. For the kindi-ed processes, hke fermcntution^ 
have been found to L>e true processes of oxidatioUj and 
we are enabled to prevent or stop fermentation by 
various other reducing agents — for instance, the hypo- 
sulpliites, the efflracy of whicti in various contagious 
disensea has also been well tested. 



NOTE o.^ 

THE UTILISATION OF CHROME ALUM. 

BY M. r. JEAN. 

The manufacture r*t aniline green and violet, and of 
valerianic acid, gives abundant residues of chrome alum. 
The-e residues cannot be utilised as mordants, because, 
when calcineil, they are insohible in water, and there- 
fore do not find a siiffieiont market, thereby considerably 
ftugmenting the net piice of products prepared with 
bichromate of potash. Whilst endeavouring to turn these 
residues to account, I discovered that when chrome 
alum, previously mixed with three equivalents of carbon, 
i^ healed to redness, decomposition takes place as fol- 
lows : — 

80jKO,3SO,Cr»0,+3C=3SO, +80,^04- CrsO,+3CO, 
If, on the other hand, chrome alum be decomposed with 
seven equivalents of carbon, the evolutiun of sulphuric 
acid is less than in the first case, and the ma.ss taken up 
by the water yields sulphide of potassium and hypo- 
Bulphite of potJish : the sesquioxide of chromium ob- 
tained undt^r theie conditions must be separated, by 
wasliing in acidulated wat'cr, from a rertain quantity of 
sulphid*^ of chromium Cr'^Si, formed by contact with 
the sulphide of potassium. It is better to decompose 



the alum with three equivalents of carbon than with 
seven, because the decomposiiion is quicker aad purer. 
The industrial treatment of chrome alum U very 
simple ; il consist of pulverising and mixing the alum 
witli the carbon, and .then decompos^ing it at red heat 
in a retort of refractory earthenware. The sulphuric 
acid passes info a series of bitubular tla^ks, containing 
either distdled water, carbonate ofaod.i, or |iolysult>l«i^ie 
of sodium. When sulphuric aciii h no longer liborated, 
tlie decomposition is ended. The obturator of tXie re- 
tort is theu withdrawn^ and the maiy*, coo'^istiag of j 
sulphate of potash and sesquioxide of chromium, is 
caused to fall into a cast-iron boiler, water is added, and 
the wijole is boiled to dissolve the Fulphate of potash, 
which i'? afterwards separated by crystallisation; iho^ 
sesquioxide of chromium is pla<?ed to drain upon clotna^ 
and then calcined to remove the water that remains. 
This oxide may easliy bf rendered chemically pure by 
washing it in a boiling dilute solution of carbonate of j 
soda, thus removing all tiaecH of sulphuric acid which 
had escaped the action of the pure water. The se^jui-j 
oxide of chrouuum obLiined by this process is of too 
dull & green to be used for printing paper or texlde 
fabrics; but, on account of its purity, and the ease with i 
which it may be treated, it is perteotly adapted for 
making bichromate of potash, — Compies J^erulus. 



LECTURES 



ON THE 

CHEMICAL CH.\NGES OF CARBON. 

A COURSE OP SIX LECTURES* 
(Adapted to a Jutenilk Auditory), 

I>r.LrVElKJ> AT TU« 

ROYAL IKSTITirnON OF GREAT BRITAIN, 
(CHIUSTMAS, iS6S^), 

BT 

WILLTAJf ODLINO, Esq., M.B., F.R.S,j 

(rCLUUltAN PROnSSOE or ClltMISSTHlf IS TUK ROTAL IHSTtTCTtOSI.) 

LECTURE in. 
Air — Oxides — CABBOSf or Charcoal. 

(Coatlnoed Irotn Am. Repr., March» 1869, page 141-) 
Kow, carbon may exist iu two states — in that in whidi 
will burn, and in tliat in wliicb it is already burnt. All ouf 
ordinary combustibles ooutaiu charooalt bul many ot Ihem — 
almost all indeed — also eonlain another siibsiance. Wo 
know, in fact, that tliet.e subsiaceea cmituin chrua^id, beoauao 
when they burn they give riso to burnt or oxidiaed oharcotL 
— that is to say, to cflrbuuic gna; but there is another cor 
buatible' calle^d bydrogren, which is the rs* known as inrUir 
roahle air, and wheo thisbydroifen burns it produces oxide 
hydrogen iugtead of oxide of carbon, and oxidoof hydrojfen i 
water. Here is the dry bydroja^n gas burnujp, nnd here is it 
WHtor which ia being produced by ila cotnbusti^jii, 
when, by means of mapriesiuin wire, I illtimiuato the jar, 
seu whiit H very beautiful^ nppvflranoo is preseuli^d by 
dropa of the wotcr 011 the sides of the glass vewiel in wlii 
the combuaLlon of lb© hydrogea has been goinpon. Wr 
then, fls I have 8ftid» when carbon bums we get carbonic 
or oxido of carbon, and when hydrogen burns we get wat 
or moiaturo produced, aud waitr being aa oxido of liydr 

• Bei>orte4 rerbfttlin, by p«noJiwioii of the Aathor, for thb Jounut* 



/Engliih Bditian, Vol. XH.. No. 482, pages 96, 101 ; No. 479, page 66.] 



Apr*/, IBOO. f 



0/(£mical Changes of Carbon, 



.195 



■n<t lise ih© preaonce of carbon or hydiogen in a 

con , the fact Dial, when Ijurning, the one producess 

curij-Miiu ^;is and tlie other ■nralur. Now, I wiU show you 
onco og(«in the production of this carbonic ^8 by the com- 
bustiou of chnrooa]. Wo take our old test, the lirae-watet, 
•Dd pour some of it into this glass; we then allow the air 
which haa passed over the bimiing charcoal lo bubble tlirough 
lime water, and aa carbonic gas ia produced our lime- 
^r turns millcy. Now, instead of the current of air which 
i^ are using, we will turn a ctirrent of oxygen njKtn tlie 
bariiiitjr charcoal, and yon will see ttiat it will then burn in n 
very different manner. [Tlie e.vporiinetit waa performed, and 
the forinrition of carbonic gas by the combuHtion of the elinr- 
oo«l in oxypren wag indiciiled by the clouding of the lirao- 
wnter.] In lliis way you see that, whether we bum char- 
coal ;n oxygen or in air, the production of carbonic gas ac- 
conipaniea the burning. 

Now let ua turn oor u tie o lion to 8omo ordinary combusti- 
bles. We will first burn some ordinary ct>al gjis from this 
burner, and notice what products our coal p^s will furnish. 
To begin, we will take a botlle at present coiitaintdg notliing 
but air, and hold it over our tlame: now notice what lakes 
place. You will Hrsl of all see lluit the interior of the vessel 
very quickly becomes dimmed or dewed with a film of water. 
Accordingly, c«>h1 gas by its burning produces water or oxide 
of hydrogen; hence we learn that the urburnt coalgas con- 
tains hydrogen, N(»w^ dofs the burning of coal gas also pro- 
duce carbonic ocid? We shftil very sixin n.'*cert«in ihia by 
pouring into the bottle some lime-water, shuking it up for a 
minute or two, and then observing whetlier we convert our 
clear di^olved lime into insoluble chalk. [Th<? lime-water 
test was applied as described.] Yuu see ihut in this caae 
chalk is prtxluced, which shows that our coal gas wjnlains 
charcoal. 

As we have talked about <x»al gaa in tlAi way. I ought to 
call jour attention to the manner of colleeting it, and show 
you what eort of a substance it looks like when we get it m 
BomethiDg like a deQnite quantity. I have s tube attached 
lo the gas pipes, and from the end of this, which ia under 
water, you see it ia bubbling up, and is quite invisible. In a 
minute or two a jar full will be collected. It has bH the ap- 
pearauco of ordinary air; it ijj quite inviaible, and nobody can 
tell from its appeamtice that it coiit«iina charcoal any more 
than you could tell that the atmospheric air by which we are 
surrounded does ao. Our cylinder is now filled with this 
ordinary coal gas, and we will proceed to set fire lo it. You 
see the very rapid manner in which coal gas burns when it 
is ignited in Lb is way. 

We will next see how a candle behaves when burnt in a 
current of oxygen ; and now I am going \jr* call your attention 
lo a aumewhat different phenomenon. Wo phice a lighted 
caudle la this glas.H vessel and then turn on the oxygen; the 
caadle is now burning in a current of oxygen. Whilst it is 
doing ao, I will cut off the supply of the ordinary air, which 
ia also being admitted to lheve.s.sel; but you gee that this 
does not matter in the least while the candle is fiupplied with 
a current of o.xygen gas. When, however, I remove the cur- 
rent of oxygen, and allow tlio c»indlo to burn by the aid of 
the ordinary air, you see a great difference ; it burns very 
dimly, and also smokes, and in the course of a minute or two 
it will go out Now how is it ihiu ilie candle smokes in this 
way 7 We can moke cool gn.s do the Hanoe, and all (hat we 
have to do to produce this etfect is to treat it nuieh in the 
same way — to cut off the supply of air. If we do this wo 
find thrtt the coal gas also will smoke. Here it is burning in 
Ihe ordinary way, aad now if I bring down a piece of wire 
gau/.e upfin it, and cut off the supply of oir thus, you observe 
that we get a very c<nisiderable oniount of ?moke* 

Now, how is that when the supply ol' air iw <ut off the 
f burning candle and coal gns lx>th depo?it their carbon in the 
form of charcoal instead of yielding it in the shape of car- 
[bonicgasV Well, I will ju.it direct your otlention to the 
'jDuUoer in which these ordinary comhustiblea bum in an- 
othor gas, uamely, chlorine— this grwn air, one of the 



properties of which is that while hydrogen burns in it very 
readily, carbon or chfirci->al does not i>urn in it at all, and, 
accordingly, if we introduce a lighted taper into it, the 
hydrogen of the taper bums readily, but the carbon of the 
taper will not burn, and therefore the Ilame smokes very 
much. You sec the taper continues burning when it ia in- 
troduced into the gas, but the carbon wliieh will not burn 
is liberated, and oppotirs in the form of smoke instead of 
being converted into invisible carbonic gas. liere is a jar 
containiug eotne chlorine, lo whirh T will add some of the 
cool gas, and we will now set tiro to the mixture. [A light 
was applied to the jar, and the mixture exploded with a 
sharp dctoLration.] You see the very vigorous mauner in 
which the coal gas burns in chlorit>e; but you will also 
obser^'o that the sides of tlie jar are covered with an 
abundant deposit of nnburnt oharcouL When these hydro- 
earlioH substances burn in n sufticient supply of air, Ijoth the 
carbon and the hydrogen burn. Tlie hydrogen is oouverled 
into water and the carliou into carbonic gas ; but when tlioae 
substances bum in chlorine instead of Jn air, only the 
hydrogen bums, and the carbon, instead of passing into tho 
burnt condition and becoming carbonic gas, outkca it« ap- 
penmnoe in the unburnt condition of soot. 

Again, if instead of burning tho candle or tho coal gas 
with a sufBcient supply of air, we burn it with an Insul^ctent 
quantity, the oxygen takes the hydrogen in preference, and 
thia alone hums, the carbon being deposited without cooi- 
buetion. When we were burning this candle in oxygen 
both the hydrogen and tlio carlxtn burned, and there waa 
DO deposit of soot or charcoal ; b\it when the charcoal 
burned in an insufficient supply of air, the hydrogen and 
carbon cuould not both undergo combustion: either the 
hydrogen alone must burn or the carbon alone, and the 
former did so iu preference lo the latter. Now, it is in thia 
way that we generally obtain charc<'aL Instead of burning 
the pieces of wo<xl or materials from which ehftrcoal ii 
derived, Mith a sufficient supply of air, we ll>urn thein in au 
insufflcient quantity, and in that t'a.<4e, the hydrogen under- 
goes combustion, and the carlx)n is left uribumt Some very 
beautiful forms are frequently obtained in thia process*. 
Here in some straw which wa.s burnt iu the nmnner 1 have 
described. The hydrogen has been e^mfiumed, and the 
charcoal of the straw remains in this beautiful fornt. 
llere, again, are some out^i and kernela of fruit which have 
been burnt into ehari-ool, and in the same way we obtain 
wood charcoal and the numerous varietiea of this substance 
which are familiar to us. Sufficient air to bum the hydrogen 
ia admitted, but there is not enough to combine with tho 
carbon, and thus we get it in a separate state. There ia 
another way in which charcoal may be obtained At a 
sufficiently high temperature the hydrcgec separates from 
ibo carbon without burning, and IhiH furnislies us with an- 
other means of obtaining chareoaL In consequence of tlie 
heat which we applied to tho tube of porcelain to which I 
drew your nttention iu the early part of the lecture, the 
ooal pis which has boen passing through the tube has 
deposited a large quantity of charcoal on tho white por- 
celain. 

So much for tho methods of obtaining chareoaL We must 
now pass on to the consideration of some of the properties 
of charcoal, and the most remarkable is its extreme poroeii- 
ty. Au ordiuary piece of this sub-^tance, such as thtt lying 
on the table, has the singular property of being able to 
absiorb very many times its volume of gaa or air, and 
accordingly we find that what looks like u piece of charcoal, 
pure and simple, contains many times its own bulk of air. 
I can show you this by means of the air-pump. If we place 
some charcoal in water under the glass of the pump, and 
then exhaust the air, you will see bubbles of air given off. 
Here we have a piece of charcoal buried under water, and 
on working tho pump we can extract the air contained in 
the charcoal. [Tho piece of charcoal was subjected to the 
experiment dcscril>ed. and gave rise to an abundant stream 
of bubbles when the pump was worked.] You see the large 



IL 



[Bngtifli Editloti, Vol, ZIX.^ No. 479, pafM 66, 67.] 



ig6 



Chemical Changes of Carbon^ 



) Aprtt, IflW. 



quftntity of air wbich baa bo^n taken up by Ibts piooo of 
charcoal. 

Now charcoal docs not absorb all kinds of air with the 
same faoUity, but it absorbs ?omo kinds for more readily 
than othera. Hyre is li table sbowing yon the obsorption 
which one kind of chorco«l will effect iu* reaped to different 
gases :— 

Absorptions op Gas by i Cubic Inch or Cocoakut 
Shell Chahooal, 

Oxygen i8 cubic inches. 

Cfffbonic gas ,,.. 68 *' 

Sulphuretted hydrogen ,. . lOO " 

Aromonm gas. ,... 170 " 

A cubic inch of cbarcool will absorb various quflntitieg of 
diflterent sorts of gns ; but gome kinds of charcoal obgorb gas 
far more readily tlian others, and this is particularly the caea 
with that obtained from the shell of the ordinary cocoanut 
Let "8 cousjder^what is the amount of gns which this form 
of charcoal will absorb. A cnlilc inch of tho coconnut shell 
charcoal oan &bwjrb 18 cubic inciies of oxygen; it i?, in foot, 
cnpoble of absorbinn? the qitaiitity of oxygen represented by 
this block. [Tlio lecturer here took a pieco of dmrcoal 1 
cubic inch lu gizo, and placed upon it a rod of denl, 1 hich 
gquttn? and iS inches Iobk. In the subsequent ilhistrationa, 
rods 08 inches, too incslic*. and 170 inchea long rcapeclively, 
were ©mployed to iljuslrate the quantHiea of carbonic gas, 
sulphuretted hydrogen, and auinionia gaa abporbtnl by j 
euhic inch of charcoal,] Now you ctin BCiircely form any 
idea of the ani)unt of force which is required for tliat 
absorption. li we were to take 2 cubit^ inches of oxygen, 
and endeavour to corapre^s them into ihe space of one^ we 
should require the pressure of 15 lbs. weight; but to com- 
press J 8 cubic inches of oxygen into the ? pace of 1 cubic 
incli, we BhouM require cighleen times 15 lbs,, wliieh would 
be cqul?alcnt to about two huudredweights aud a half 
Here is a half hundredweight, and it ia almost as much as [ 
euii hft. Xow we should requiro about five such half hun- 
dredweights to compress jS cubic inches of oxygen into the 
space of I cubic inch; but you must observe tlujt the cubic 
inch of charcoal which cau absorb those 18 cubic indiea of 
oxygen, appears to be already full of the substance of the 
charcoal itself. There i<eenis to l>o Bcareely any space loft; 
Hud what gas the chan»al will contain must occupy it« 
pores. Now, If we tmaficioe that ihe pores occupy even as 
uiuoh 8» a twenitcth part of tlio whole mass, we Khould then 
require^ uoi tivu timt!<», but about one huudred times tlie 
pressure of tliis half hundredweight, to compress iS cubic 
inches of oxygen into a cubic inch of charcojd Neverthe- 
less, so great is the absorptive power of tliis kind of char- 
coal that it gradually exorta upon the oxygen a compressing 
effect equal to the force of some 50 hundredweights. 

With regard to ciubonic gas, it has been found that a 
cubic inch of cliarroal is capable of aljHorbing 6.H cubic inches 
of carbonic gas, or tho quantity represented by tbis md 

i placing a rod OS inches long on the cubic inch of charcoal]. 
iJiSlly, there are two gases which ore tho result of the 
dooomposition of anitnul matter. When Brnmals undergo 
decomposition they emit two kinds of gas — one cnlled sul- 
phuretted! \tydrfi^^}ii, the other ammonia. Now charcoal has 
tho projfcriT ol flxing these two gases with still greater 
ftieility ; and aocordiugly our 1 cubic inch of charcoftl can 
absorb 100 cubic inches of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, or 
llie quantity which is repre-seiited by this rijd. And with 
ammonia gas, the power of ribsorption is even more strik- 
ing: I cubic inch of charcoal is able to absorb 170 cubic 
iui'hes of araroonia, or tlie quantity represented by this other 
TfxL And you mu:*t remember that these gases are not 
compressed into oidy 1 cubic inch of space, but into the 
Kroall pores or intcrspncej* contained In the charcoal, which 
soemfl 10 bo solid. Thus yoo may form some idea of the 
immense force which clmroool is capaUe of exerting in this 



^ 



t me give you one or two illuatrations of this property. 



I have, in this tube, some ammonia gas, fand into thi»< 
ammonia gas 1 will put a piece of charcoal. This is placed 
over mercury, and you will see that after a little while, die 
cbarcoal will jrradually rise up in the tube, so as U> alssorb 
tho whole of the gas.' and the mercury will follow it, until 
tho tube becomes completely fuIL 

IL is upon tliia remarkable absorption of different guses 
by charcoal that the efficacy of this substance as a respirator 
or ventilator depends, for it is found tlut when these 
gases are absorbed into charcoal they have tliC property of 
acting upon one another with conftiilcr.'iMy increased 
activity. A striking illustration of tbis is nfTorded by iho 
following ei]X'rimcnt : — Hero wo have a glu.<s jar, in the 
lower part of which is a partridge, — and I am afraid to tell 
you how long that partridge has been there, but at this 
time it is in onythuig but a pleasant condition. On the top 
of the jar is a piece of iron trellis, and on that trellis is 
placed some charcoal. If any one who is curious will try 
to smell the partridge through the charcoal he will utterly 
fail to detect any odour; but not only are the offetis;-, .1 
emanations given off from the partridge — tho sulphurvtt'.<i 
hydrogen and ammonia — wholly abaaroed by the charcool, 
but it also absorbs the oxygen gas from the air, and these 
gases— the oxygtn of the air, the sulphuretted hydrogen, 
and Qmniouia — at once react upon one another. The gases 
arising from the partridge becorao burned or destroyed 
through the presence of the oxygen, and acccnlingly this 
action would go on lor any length of time. Now, for tho 
fflccfjimraodation of any one who is still curious, there is an 
opening closed with a cork in the side of tho jar underneath 
the charcoMl, and if he wishes to ascertain the difl'erence 
between tho gases before they pass through the diurcoal and 
after they have done so there is an opportunity for liim to 
gratify Ids curioijity. 

The same kind of action which enables cbarcoal to behave 
so excellently as a purifytug substance, also renders it valua- 
ble OS a dccoloiii rising agent. Hero we have two cdutnns of 
charcoat— the plinrcool obtained from bone — and I want to 
call your atteulion to tbe decolourising effect it will produce. 
Wo have liero two coloured liquids which we will pass 
through tliei^ columns of charcoal, and in order that you may 
sec whitt change takes place, we will take two glasses of 
each liquid, and reaerve one glass of each to enable you to 
see wimt change is produced in the liquids by their ps^saage 
ibrciu^b llie charcoal One of these liquids is blue indtgo, 
and the other cochineal. We will now pour one glass of 
each slowly through the cbnncoal, for the decolourising actioo 
is one which, like the absorption of tlie ammonia gaS, takes 
« little time fijr its accomplishment. The result will be, 
either that the colour will entirely go, or will be diminished' 
to such a degree that you will see a ven,* great difference in 
the appearance of the liquids as they run out ot the churctwL 
[The filtered liquids, after passing through tlie cliarcoelf wero 
exiubiled lo the nudience, and found to be deprived of ihdr' 
colour by the tillratioii.] 

Now, in the minute or two that romninsto me I will direct! 
your atleniiyn to the use of cbareotd in charcoal filters. You- 
See on the table two glasses of water ; one of these istbei 
water supplied lo this Institution Tliis is, perhaps, hardly 
a lair Simiple, becauso, uder tht-sc heavy rains, it Is far niorS' 
impure than usual. Here is some of the same water after it ' 
has pa!«sed through this tiller, which ia filled with animal* 
ebarcoali, much in the same way as those in which we filtered 
the coloured liquids. Here are specimens of Bltered and un- 
tlltered water, and Ihey are so placed that you can see with 
one eye through each tube at the same time. 



LECTURE IV. 
Carbonic Gas, or Fixed Air. 

C)i»n{E:e« of chftrconl Itself, &fl dlctlncnWiCil from clianp« bi 

• houl t>y cbnrccinl — Itt* HllW Ikbllltj to cbflnge nn>ifr i>rillniii]r Hf- 
cunmtwicct— Its euf-ceptVUIllly to jiciloti uf BlronB i-hmnlctil AKi^ritfr-' 
C'Lt*n(;e uf ctiurcoBi Into oorbonk (cab by lt« c< DibujtiloD or turtiinf 
— Combnition iifcbArcuttl set up lit very moderAlo tcm^K-rmtiire*— ll« 




rCngUtb edition, Vol. XTX., No. 479, pages 66, t9 ; No. 4Bl, pagp 91.1 



J 




€ncitifMi. K« 
April, t8«9. 



CJieniieal Changes of Carhon, 



197 



—I 



:iic en* 



'f^«' 1' piiA on rem oral 

J'^- . LoillniDr the wiittT 

chnlk; m nnt,T -;iMntit...i wirh .-.irNonic go*— iVonrrftu-i' <>r Mv-f||h- 
eolv«Hl rliftik in moot natural w»tfrt— lu flcposUitjn «s bftllcrfiir 
on holllnft «jcb wftt.-rs— <;ail>*.ntc tm*. or nxi>«l Hlr, one ntid n hair 
lIiikM OA Imjivv a« common Mm<\«rih(>ric air— Varioni" llliMtrtitlons of 
In hfjivlnt'HA- I(f cnfinlillltv of lirlrm poiirffl tlirtHi^l* ntr. bb a hoarj 
lUjuul rn'»v hf pntirrfl thr." itL'Ti H lifflit linc— It* oiitHuw tbrrtiiffb a taj'. 
ttmi' ' ri, liaMlngoui by aou|», 4c.— Floatlnif of 

'If ' I on watctwOradnnl mixing of aJr with 

'»•' (laratiun afli-r admSxtiirD!. 

You Will rfeiuombiir tliat ordinarv atmospheric air is a mir- 
Ujft* of two iWfCfTf^nt kinds rormprly railed v'ital and non-vital 
f I'l of sariiig ** non-vita!," dieniists used 

' d from the r;rpc'k. Tittd air is now 

u.i I i.ttusotic ii called m(rt>gi;n, Whpn bodies 
they combino with thi* orv^en of the air or, in 
become oxi«lifi.pd, so thit whoa jou say a body 
in air. it ia almost tim Pnmi* thing a^ soyiiig that it 
oxidised, for the (act of its licin^ imriit implies that it 
""^19 oxidised. Now. all tho ordinory subtrtancca which 
in the habit of himiinsr for the Mko of fjottinp ellhor 
hei»t, consiat'siihstantially of carfjon and hydrogen, 
these do not form their pxcIurIvo conatituenta, on 
queiitly contiiin other ekinonts as well. The carbon 
fn are in an unburn*, or RiibstantiTdly unoxidisod 
Tills ojndlo, for example, alfhoni^h it is porfectly 
P, ocmtains a very Inrpo amount of carbon, and there la 
in»r rnor© remnrkable in the white candle eon tain ingear' 
there is in the whife ninrble contaiTiiniJ it. The 
int of difference is, thut in Ihe marble the ejirbon is 
oxidised or burnt, and in the candle it is not. Wher» 
)t a candle we oxidise or burn its carbon, and we pel 
lised hydrogen in the form of water, and its oxidised 
carton in the form of carJwnic gas. When a candle ia bimit 
with a sufficient amount of air, so aa thoroughly to burn its 
eooslituents, we f^t nothing but these two pmducts. Hero 
13 a bottle in which a caiidb has burned ; the aides of tho 
'•overed witli moisture which has been fonned in 
J. and on pouring- aome lime-water into the b«Mtle, 

^..:. JK' it up, it ia converted into a mixture of chalk 

id waier, by tlio cart>onic gas which has bcon formed in 
\e iKJttle by the combustion of the ejirboii of the candle, 
"ben, however, there is not enoujrh air or oxygen to com- 
nne with Ixth the carijon and the hydro;ren of the burning 
lodle, one of them must, in familiar iangnage. ''go to the 
?a\1** and it is I he carbon nhich does so. The hydrogen ia 
first, the oxj'pi-n ha\in;^ a preference for it, and the 
deposits its carbon in the form of Boot, Now, thia ia 
Hration of the way in which nearly all the varieties of 
iarcofll ore made. The materials are burnt with an Jnsufll- 
ient supply of air— en«'Ugh to burn the hydroKcn and not 
the carbon — and accfjrdiuprly (he carbftn is deposited. Those 
large masses of coke which you see behind the locomotive 
enjcines are obtained in a similar manner. The coke con- 
sists of the carbon of the coal, the hydrogen being burnt 
ikway in the process of marmfuoture. in the same way, chor- 
►tool is got from wood by buriiini? off the hydrogen and Uav- 
^ ig the carl)OM unbiirnt; hut there is altogether a different 
•thod by whicli the carbon may be separated from tJie 
hydrogen, atid I mentioned H in my last lecture. Coal gas, 
know, although perfectly transparent, contains black 
irbon, and when this coal gas ie burut with an insufficient sup- 
of air we get aoot by uur old procees (I call it o/rf because 
havirtg already s[>oken of it) ; but jf, inatead of bam- 
le c<J:d gas in that way. we make it very hot, under 
sumaLuncestliat, through the exclusion of air, neither 
jnn nor the hydrogen gets burnt, these conslltuenta 
life 9ep.iratcd fVom each other. Hero is the tube coutiiiuing 
the white porcelain, which, during the last lecture^ wo Bub- 
joctOil t«; u strong heat vrhilo the coal gas was passing 





ihroogh it- Tlie blackening of this white porcelain indicates 
thnt the carbon of the coal gas has been separated fronj the 
hydrogen, and the separation occurred, in this case, not 
from the effect of imperfect burning, but throucrh the appli- 
cation of a strong heat. Thi?, then, is another mode in 

Inch carbon maybe obtained from its combinations*. That 
I irge piece of carbon in front of you is called jjfcw carbon^ and 
it was made in the same way as that in the tube — by sub- 
jecting ordiuary eoal gas to a sufficiently hitjb temperature. 
That carbon oughi to have remained in the coal gas, but it 
was separated from it> and lined the interior of the vessel 
when the hydrogen passed on and left it 

Having spokou of iho different ways in which carbon may 
be separated, 1 will just call your attention to an experiment 
which shows the actual productioo of it, I have here a 
siuaU plAtiiumi dish, in which I have placed some substances 
capable of being burnt ; theso are nothing but nuts, kernels 
of fruit, acoma, and so on. If I araiply bum them, they will 
all go away, and nothing will bo lefl of them,; but if, before 
making lljem hot in the dish, I take the pre«mtion to cover 
them with sand, so that they get a very small supply of air, 
then they will bum imperfectly, and at the end of tho 
lecture we shall have a residue in the form of charcoa!. I 
am applying a good atrong heat» and, in a> little while, the 
hydrogen gaa will eaeope fwm the top of thy sand, and there 
ignite. You will «ee the hydrogen and a portion of the car- 
bon burning, but the great mass of tho carbon will remain 
bohiiid, asd wo Pliall And it at ihe close of tho lecture much 
in the same form as you see these nuts and kornola in this 
glass, converted into charcoal. [Later in tho lecture tho 
hydrogen driven off by tho heat from the contents of tha 
platinum dish was observed to be burning on the surface of 
the sand.1 

So much for the way to which carbon is obtained ; now 
for it.i properties. Ton will recollect that in the last lecture 
I called your attention to its very remarkable offect.1 in 
absorbing pas. When you take a piece of charcoal into 
your hand, you not only have the carbon there, but you 
have also a largo quantity of air or gas condensed in the 
pores of that carhon. In our la^t lecture, by means of an 
experiment with the air-pump, I showed you tho charcoal 
giving up tho air which had been contained in its pores. 
Iliat was an illustratiou of the mode of extracting the air 
from the charcoal Now 1 want to show you the way in 
which we can get air into tho charcoal. In this case, the 
air we will take is ammonia. I performml the experiment 
during the la.st lecture, and I will now repeot it Tou 
blc thnt the charcoal is gradually absorbing the ammonia 
gas, and, as it docs so, the mercury rapidly rises. 

Thert* are some other curious X)ropertiBa of this charcoal 
to which 1 briefly alluded in my List lecture, and about 
which I wijfh now to make some further remarks. You will 
recollect my telling you that the gat^es given off by the 
partridge, undergoing the change willed putrefaction^ are 
absorbed icto the charcoal, but they are something more 
than absorbed — they are drstroyed. They are slowly bunit 
or oxidised — for you will remember that burning is another 
word for oxidation. The charcoal absorbs not only the 
gu8C3 j(iven off by tho partridge, but siso these atmospheric 
gases, and when these come into CM>Dtaot with the gases 
given off by tfie partridge, which are, particularly, sul- 
phuretted hydrogen and ammonia, they destroy them by 
oxidation. Now, this sulphuretted hydrogen gas which is 
emitted by putrefaction, has an exceedingly objecLiot*able 
smell, and this smell affords one of tlie most delicate means 
of reoognistng its presence ; but, fortunately, there are 
other ways of detecting it It has the property of affecting 
certain metals, and when we want to ascertain whether thiti 
gas ia present wo are not obliged to resort to the un- 
pleasant method of smelling it In this glass jar I liave 
some paper which has been prepared with a metallic 
solutiou, and I will cause a current of sulphuretted liydro- 
gon gas lo pa?« through the tube into the jar or cylinder, 
and you will notice, I think, in the course of a little while, 




[Eagliah EdlUon, Vol. XVtJ, No> 481, pagf 91. P8» 9X] 



Cliemical Cha 




Carbon. 






that our teat paper inside the cylinder indicates to ua the 
presence of tho i^ig, jusl. aa effectively' as its amell wotild 
do, il* we put our noses to the vessel You see that the 
letters g:raduaily come out on the test paper; they have 
now become perfectly visible. Thus we are ublo to 
recoj?uiae this gua, oot only by its gmeli, hut by its action 
on the papc<r. I have hero a tube w*hioh brings me a 
current of ordinary air, worked from a bellows below. 
This current bubbles up through a solution containing 
Bulphuretied hydroji^cn, and, in go doing, it takes some 
of the sulphuretted hydrogen witlj it ; it then goes into 
Ihiyi gU83 vessel, when the sulphuretted hydrogen affecLH 
our test paper, and tlie air escapes from the top of the jar. 
If it escaped direct Into tlie theatre, the sulphuretted 
hydrogen would be smelt by you ; but I place over the top 
of the jar siomo pieces of wood charcoal, which absorb the 
sulphuretted hydrogen, and destroy its smelL We will now 
try the action of Dus gas on another kind of test paper, and 
here the effects will be somewhtit aitniljir to those produced 
in the lt*ai expuriment, only, in this case, I have no lottery 
written upon the paper. We will pass tho gas through this 
other cylinder coutaiuing test paper, and you will see what 
eflect it has there. In this case, the paper, instsad of being 
written over with letters formed by a teat solution, iiaiS been 
steeped in different solutiona, and uocordingly a very much 
larger quantity of gas ia ne<»ssary to colour tho whole 
of the aurfaco. Tou see tho paper is now becoming 
coloured; Ilrst wo have the action of the gas^pon a jialt 
of lead, as shown by the production of a black mark. As 
the gas rises higher and higher, you see it begins to effect 
^the next solution on the paper, and in this case, instead 
of a black stain, we get an orange one. and I dare say, after 
a hltle while, another colour will bo developed at the top. 
I may call your attention to the bottom of tho paper 
becoming yellow. Tho colrmr at tho top is now appearing, 
and at the risk even of getting a slight smell from uuob- 
aorbed aulphurt^tted hydrogcu. we will allow the action to 
gQ on to the full extent. 

I want now to illustrate to you the mode in wMch char- 
coal arrests the flow of this gas, and for this purpose I will 
hore take soiuo euiall gla.'^s eylmders, containing metallic 
Bolutioua upon which sulpliuretteti hydrogen will act, and 
I ftju going to IjIow through these so-utiona the same kind 
of sulphuretted air tliat I blew into these larger cylinders 
a few minutes ago ; but I will arrange the cjcperimGUt ha 
such a way that before the air bubbles up into the water, 
I can either let it pass througli the rharcojil or uot, at will 
I am afraid that In this case 1 cannot keep back the odour, 
but 1 will endeavour to do so as much aa I cau. Here is 
oue pair of cylinders, and the gas which passes through 
them must, first of all, go throngh the charcoal ; but in order 
to poas through the other pair of cylLuders it noet not do so. 
We will lirst of all let it go through these cylinders where 
there is no charcoal, and then see what are its effect3> The 
gaa now enters our solutions, and immediately produces, in 
the ouo ouse, a purple colouration, and^ in the other, a de- 
cided orango. This is caused by the gas itself, before it has 
gone through the charcoal. Now wo will let it come up 
from tho other cylinders ; in this case, it has !flr*t of all to 
go through the charcoal. Now you see that aflor it baa 
gone through the charcoal it has no action whotever upon 
the solutions. Jt is now bubbling up through these solu- 
tions In the same way as it did through the others, but here 
we got no action. The charcoal completely arrests the 
passage of the gas — uot only arrests it in tho way of absorb- 
ing it, but entirely doatroya it In tliis instance, wo are 
passing the two gases, sulphuretted hydrogen and oxygen, 
into tho charcoal, and these immediately react upon one an- 
other in the pores of the charcoal. In order to show you 
tlmt tfiB want of effect does not arise from any exhaustion 
of our sulphuretted material, wo will now let it uscend 
through those now vessels, without passing through the 
charcoi^t, and you see that the aoluii<»u oa my left very 
quickly beoomua orange in colour, and that ou my right 



becomes purple. Thus, the want of action was n( 
due to a deficient .<!upph'' of sulphurettc<l gas» hut it ws 
merely owing to the fact that, as tho gsis passed throne 
this tube e<3ntaining charcoal it was so c^jropletely absorb 
and oxidised that it could not, in any way, affect the soil 
tion through which it afterward:* bubbled. 

With regard to the action of charcoal upon liquids, re 
will remember that, on the last oocasioo, we had two lot 
columns through which we filtered a red and a blue liquid, 1h)I 
of which had their colours completely taken out. I otigt 
to call your attention to some of the practical applications 
tliw property of charcoal. Uere are some speciroens 
Madeira, Demarara, and beet«root sugar, which have b« 
kindly supplied to rao by Mr. Duncan, of Wbitechapel 
whole of tho colour of these liquids has been taken out 
filtering them through charcoal, in the way that you saw 
alter the liquids the other da^. After the first filf - 
pet a hquld which has a distinctly brown tinge 

pared wlih the white sugar, but after a seoonJ „ : 

through charcoal the liquid^ on evaporation, yields pure wbil 
sugar. 

Xow, in all tho«e changes to which I have called 
attention, the charcoal Itself remains the same. We bAf 
next t-u consider inrjre dialioctly Iho changes which char 
undergoes, apart from those which it is capable of produel 
upon other bodies. 

Charcoal is a very stable body. It lasts forages and a^ 
and is not liable to decay. In the Briti*h Museum there •»" 
specimens of charcoal which were charred at Pompeii, and 
which have stood ftfr centuries. It Is one of the m«>gt stahla 
bodies we know ; nevertheless, it ia capable of being act 
upon by strong chemical re-agents, I will take some 
this substance, and act upou It by an acid. I must huve 
charcoal rather warm for this purpose, and now I let It fi 
into this airotig cheraicai agent — nitric acid — and you 
tlmt, under these circumatAOoeB, the nitric add acts u] 
the charcoal very vlt^lentlj. The charcoal, which ia a v( 
permanent body, and not affected by most chemical agent 
at ordinary temperatures, is atcted upon by this nitric 
and to such an extent that it not unfrequently takes fire, 
in litis experiment 

The roost important, however, of the changes which it 
caj»ble of undergf*ing, is one to which X have already, 
one or two occasions, directed your attention, namely, 
change iuto carbonic gas, and now I am going once more 
ahow you this change, but in a somewhat diffident fore 
I liave here a piece of easily igniting charcoal inclosed m thi 
tube; t just set lire to it at oue end, and place it nVght 
the tube, through which I pass a current of oxygen gas. " 
observe that tho charcoal is now burulug with y&ry gr 
britliducy in the oxygen gas. The charcoal is converted ii 
a ga.% and as il bubbles up through our lime-water Itchanj 
tiio lime-water into a mixture of chalk and water. In 
way I cause the complete diaappearance of the ehArc*»al, 
being converted entirely into the carbonic gas, wJiich I n< 
arresting by means of the lime-water. Here you see tli 
large amount of chalk which 1 have prodac<?d by the coi 
version of our charcoal into carbonic gas, and the cv^robir 
tiou of that carbonic gaswitli the time contained ia thelir 
water. 

Now I will Illustrate tho conversion of charcoal into 
bonic gas in one or two other ways. I will bring before , 
another moile by which we mny burn this substance 
oxygen. You oljserve 1 am burning some in a globe full 
this gfts, and it is cea-sing to be charcoal, and ia being chan^ 
into carbonic gfts ; and here you have an illuHtraiion of 
most remarkable, or. at any rate, the mo.^t impc»rtant of 
changes which charcoal is capable of undergoing. Lflstlj 
I will slkow you one moro experiment illustrating the 
in which we can burn chiirooal in oxygen, f A stream 
oxygon was made to impinge upon some piecf?8 of in( ^ ^ 
cent charcoal tying at tho bottom of n gUi-^ beaker] Yod" 
see tho very brilliant manner in which the charcoal burns ia 
our current of oxygen gas. 



[EnElith Edition, VoL XIX, JSo. 481, pagw 93, 94.] 



BAi. Wifwa, J 

ApHl, 18991 I 



Chemical Changes of Carhon, 



199 



We hove, iheu, arrived at Ihia polnl — tliuL oharootil 13 a 
baUiicei which barns vory readily, and, by ita combustion, 
ooaverteU into carbonic gtia. 

Hnvinjf considered tlie properties of charcoal aomewhnt 
Inutcly* I wtll next examine more "particular! j a BubsUince 
which I have already rafide very frequent refc'rence^ neme- 
, CArboiiic jcaa, which ia Iho product of the bnrninj? or oxi- 
tion of charcoal. What, thoti, are Iho properties of this 
rbonio k"s? 

Ftret of nll^ vrith reg'ard to the mode in which it is made, 
ou will renriember I mndo it just now by burning charooah 
•t 19 one wiiy; but another way ia by stflrtin^, not from 
iircoal, hut from marbft*. If we take some mnrhlo mid 
I it very strongly, it gives off this carbonic gas; but in- 
d of acting upon it by heat we more commonly, asatnet- 
r of eonveuienco, treat it wilh acids, and consequently we 
employ an oppiiratua of the kind which you have seen used 
kit that purpc>se at previous lecltires. Hero I hove audi an 
fipparutnn, in which carbonic gaa is being produced from mar- 
ble, and from which I can obtain it in order to couHider its 
properties minutely and Kerinlviu I Hrst turn on our pas, 
nd immediately we recognise one of its chnraotera, naraoly, 
I It has the property of combining with soluble lime, and 
oonverfing it into insoluble chalk. The next property of 
e gtis which I shall show you is also one to which I have 
alludt^ — its property of extinguishing flame. Here 
llirjfe glass jar which has been filled with carbonic gns 
an apparatus heneutb this thentre. Similar to the one 
the table, but whicli is on a Iiirger scale, nnd supplfea us 
ore conveniently with the gas. We will sea whether tliis 
ass jar is full of the gas. [A lighted taper was extinguish- 
immedifttely upon being introduced vviliiiu the brim of 
ejar.] Yes, it is quite tilled. You see, directly I put the 
per in it is extinguished. If I take aomo larger substancG 
U*'^— •' ■" luiniing tow, for instance — itulao iacomplete- 
{ The second properly of carbonic gas, then, 

t ;^' out flame. 

T wi:^h now lo make you acquflinited with some further 
perties of this gas. so I will first show you what its be- 
viour is under certjjincircumstanct^s, and tlieu lean remark 
rjo it after you have seen the experiuieuLq. Ilere is n long 
be 11. led with water, and having lis open end immersed in 
the same Iluid. I will raise the month of the tube a little, 
and filJ it to ih© label with carbonic giis; I take the tube 
and shake it Up with the water, and then uotice wlietherany 
effect ia observable. I keep it closod firmly with my hand; 
replace the mouth in water; on removing my hand j-ou 
ttiut tlie liquid ripes very considerably in the tube. Thia 
periment, then, reveals to us the fuel that carbonic gas is 
pabl© of being absorbeii in wnter. It dissolves appreciably 
water throu^'h this agitation, but it will dissolve to a much 
extent under prt;geure. Thttexpenmentisriiiher too 
to allow me to show it to you as a lecturo experiment, 
bill I will point out to you its result. If I took a bottle of 
ordinary water, and appliud ihis forcing syringe to it, I could 
inject into that water a largo quantity of CArbonic gas — a 
quantity, indeed, only limited by the fe'trength of the bottle, 
I could go on forcing in the gas until I burst the bnttle. Here 
ia a bottle of soda-waier which J have made by pumping 
carbonic gas into ordinary water, and. In fact, most of the 
foda-wjiter ordinarily met with is made in this wixy. On re- 
inoving ihe pressure from the surface of the liquid, the gas 
pe^ and this gas which is given off is nothing more than 
which is obtained from marble or burning charcoal, and 
has all the properties which 1 have raentioocd as belong- 
g to carbonic gaa. You will remember that Iho gas from 
rble has the property of extinguishing fiame and of mak- 
limc' water lurbid. I will collect some of the gas evolv- 
from Boda-wuler, and I will then show you its properties, 
re, for example, is a bottle of soda-water; I open it in the 
wny, but cautiously, bo that the gas niKv not es- 
Tery violently. Having removed the cork, I let the 
from the SiKla- water play upon the flume of a cuudle, and 
it at once puts it out. Now let mo show you the 




amount of gas which we can collect from a bottle of aoda- 
walef. I tjiko a cylinder of water, clos^ it with a glaas plat«, 
and invert it in a pneumatic trough. Here is a botde of soda- 
water, Into which I have inserted a tap ; this I turn on, and 
allow the eaeaping carbonic gas to pass tfirough a tube and 
bubble up through the water into the glass cyhnder, and in 
this way I cuu collect a considerable quantity of this gas. 
Now, let me show you that this soda-water gas is CMpttble of 
giving a precipitate with lime-water. I take another bottle 
of it, but instead of u.sing a screw-tap, w^hich is not necessary 
for the present experiment, I remove iho cork in the ordinary 
way, and quickly insert in ita stead a cork fitted with a glass 
tube, which has been placed in a hole bored lhrou(j)i the cork. 
The gas which escapes from the liquid in the bottle passes 
through this tube, and we now havo tho gas bubbling up 
through the lime-water test, and converting il» into chalk and 
water, just as did the gna we obtained in other ways. 

Tlii.*! gas has another very imj>ortant property ; instead of 
using the ordinary strong lime-water, I will lake .«*o me far more 
dilute. I have put some of the strong lime-wnier into thii jar, 
and now I will add to it a considerable quantity of distilled 
water Here, then, is our diluted lime-water, nnd I now 
pass a current of carbonic gas rather quickly through thia 
apparatus. The tirst elVecl in this case, as on previous occa- 
stOQfl, is, that we get our deposit of chalk ; but I want you 
to watch the experiment, for you will find that the chalk, 
which at first Is apparent, entirely disappears after a litllo 
time. I can show you the same result in Ihe case of aoda- 
water. I will pour some lime-water inlo another of these 
glasses, and then empty into it a bottle of Rt)da-water, and 
watch the result You observe that the first efl'eet is that 
the lime is converted into chalk, of which we obtntn a con- 
siderablo amount. Now I will add some more soda-water, 
and 3'ou will observe that the liquid becomes perfectly clear. 
Here, again, is another liquid in which chalk has been 
formed by tho actiou of carbonic gas upon lime-water. It ia 
perfectly opaque, but if we add a little soda-water to it, the 
precipitate of chalk will eventually diaippear. We have 
thus learneil a fact entirely new to us, namely, that, although, 
when we add carbonic gas to lime-water, we get insoluble 
chalk, yet if we continue to pass the cjxrboriie gas through 
the chalky liquid, the whnle of Unit, chalk entirely difsolvea 
after a certain k>Tiglh of time; so while chalk is jn^^luble in 
pure water, it is perfectly soluble in water cont^tining car- 
bonic gas. Indeed, all our ordinary waters hold chalk in 
solution, held di.ssolvad by means of the gas obtainable from 
charcoaL 

Another fact with regard to the solubility ofthiB gas in water 
is that, when we remove the pressure— tliat is to say, take 
the cork out of the soda-water buttle — we allow the escape 
of a considerable quantity of this gas, but we do not expel 
tiio whole of it. In order to do this, wo shall find it odvia- 
tible to boi] the water, lu this flask we will boil some 
water containing carbonic gaa. This is a bottle of soda- 
w^ater from which we allowed ail tho gna to eacape whicli 
would do so upon merely uncorking the Ixittle, and us the es- 
cape bus gone ou to that point, we will allow the water 
to boil in the fiask, or rather we iivill apply heal to it, and 
you will find tluit tho heat will drive off more of the gas, 
which, in the course of a minute or two, we shall have col- 
lected in A cylinder- I will allow it to heat rather rapidly, 
and you will see the gas bubbling up throiigh tho cylinder, 
Yoii observe we are now driving off more of the gas by tho 
application of heat. Now. just bear in mind what would 
Imppeo if I took the cylinder and boiled the liquid contain- 
ing tlie chalk, whicli was dissolved by the presence of car- 
bonic gas in tho water, Tho heat would drive ofT the ex- 
cess of carbonic gaf*. just ns we ore forcing tho carbonic gas 
off from the liquid in the flask. Wo ought, consequently, to 
have our precipitate of chalk manifesting itj*elf in the solu- 
tion; this is just what happens. We will boil that liquid, 
ond you will see that when this is done it will deposit chalk 
on giving up ita carbonic ga.«. [After an inierval] — I will 
DOW ask you again to observe this liquid. You remember 



[UnglUb Editioiif YoL ZIZ., No. 481, pat« SH ; No. 482, pagM 98, 99, 100.] 



ia 



tti 



200 



Forei(jn Science. 






it wrts ut llrat perfectly clear, but on bollinp it lias become 
Opnque. The clialk wliioh was held in aohition by the car- 
bonic gns bus been precipitatt'^d as the pas becjune driven oH' 
by the hcflC. That deposit is nothitig but boiler fur. Now, 
this [exhibiliTijf n large broken kettle cousideriibly furred in- 
side] IH not 11 very fclejfant nrliole to bring before a Royal lo- 
fltitution audience; this kettle contains a larjje quantity of 
/ar, consiMtin^ of tho chalk which was dissolved in the water 
by the carbonic ^j<», and dep(i«itt*d on the inner surface of the 
kiftUe, when the carbonic gns was dnven from the water by 
boilinjf. Chemically, this deposit is noihing^ more than mar- 
ble. If I take a portion of this boiler fur and act upon it by 
heat, carbonic ^ras will be evolved, or, if I add acid, It elTer- 
veaoeR very readily, and f^ives rise to the name pjs. 

We have now colleeled a mther large quantity of gns by 
boilinjf tho Bo^ta-water. We will juat ascertain whether this 
ga« posscsaea tho property of exlinjiri^ishiuj; flame, [A light 
was lowered into the jar containing the collected jras.] You 
Me fhira tins experiment that it rfoAi; thn", partly by merely 
reniovins; tlie cork of the «oda-water bottle, and collecting 
the escaping^ gna, partly by boiling tho liquid, yon see that 
we hnvy procured a large quantity of carbonic gas, of which 
I will now exhibit to you si«mo other remarkable properties. 
I have here a boltlo contaiuin^ frasj I take out the stopper^ 
and sUll we have the bottle of gaa. I will te^st its presence' 
in the usual way. aj intrnducing o lij^hted taper ; the taper 
is al once extinguished, and ihoujjrh the bottle might be left 
open for a considerable lerij^th of time, stilt the jjus would 
remain and tho taper would be put out. Now, what docs 
ihat 8ng;gej«t to iia? Let me try whether I can perform a 
aofnewhal similar experiment with a glass of water. I will 
lako this boiilo contniiiinB: a snluilpn of salt It is nothing 
more than common rdU dissolveii in water, and it is coliinred 
ao as t«» make it visible. Now I lower this boltlo into a jar 
of colourless wnier: I do it carefully, so that the fiolulioii of 
salt mix Oft with the water na little as possitile, and you Bce 
tiiflt the coloured solution of salt remains in tlie botttf,nithou]5h 
it 13 nt the boltoin of the jivr of water. It does not mix with 
the water to any appreciable extent, because the aolulion of 
sail is really heavier than the water above it; and just in 
the same way thia carbonic ga« remains in the open boltlo, 
undergoing oo very appreciable amount of uiixJiig with the 
surrounding air, becaiuso it i* really heavier than the air. I 
once more Introduce iho tiiper, and you pee ihsii the bott'e 
still contains the paa, for tho taper is extinguished. Now I 
will reverne the experiment, and take thia (iflass bottle, con- 
taining a lifjuid lighter than water — spirit of wine — coloured 
red. I will lower it into the jar of water juat as I introduced 
the solution of fwdt; but observe the diflerence of tho result I 
See how the red liquid vn atreunung up to th© top of the jar 
of water, and the colourlesa water is pouring into the glass 
which contained tho spirit. Our carbonic gas is, therefore, in 
the position of this Bolulion of aalt, and not in that of the 
Bpirit of wine. You soo that, introducing in thia way the 
coloured fspirit into the Jar of water, I obtaiD two perfectly 
distinct layers of liquid. Tho water is bunealh, und the 
coloured spirit at the top ; you soo I can draw oIT some of the 
latter from the upper pan of the vessel. 

I can «!how you pome very curious eflects of tho weight of 
thie cjirboTiic gna, and I have here an experiment arranged 
for that purpose. In thia bottle are two separate gases — car* 
bonic gnfl and oxygen — the oxygen being in the upper part. 
I pass this hghled taper rapidly through (be oxygon intt^ibw 
carbonic gaa, and the fLime is immediately exlingnisiied, I 
raise it into the ox3'gen, nnd you see how readily the taper 
bursts into a Hume and how brilliantly it burns. Thus, you 
perceive that this carbonic gaa is tjot only heavier than nt- 
mo.spheric air, but it is also heavier than oxygen, which will 
float on it, [The taper was extinguished nnd rekindled 
several times tn succession by being plunged into the carbon- 
ic gas, and then rapidly raiiwd into tho stratutn of oxygen 
in the upper part of the bottle.] 

Now I will make use of so^^e liquids to illustrate to jou 
the efl'ects of these differencea of weight. In thia jar I have 



merely some water coloured rod in order that It •= 
linct, and through this water I want to pour a 1, 
namely, a solution of common sjill, coloured purpi'-. imu 
pouring this carefully througii the funnel, I shall, iii a litt 
while, get a layer of pflrple liquid at the lK>tlom. Tlicre 
always a certain amount of mixing, but it will be so b 
that you will easily recogni«e the two digtioct hiyer* — a p« 
pie layer of solution of common salt at the txittom, nnd a 
layer of water at the top. 1 think those vpIio are near will 
see that we have already obtained tliese, I am, in fact, poc 
ing a heavy liquid through n lighter one. and ju?t in the sat 
way I can pour a Iteavy gns through a lighter one. eiiher ■ 
means of a funnel, or by another metliod which J w^ill pr 
eiitly explain to you. If I take a liquid which is much hear' 
vier than water, I can pour it into water and form a distinct 
layer witboui any funnel Here \9 some colon rh'^s'^ wHier, 
and into this I am about to pour a li((uid which i- 
vier llrno the solution of salt, atid which may 
poured without the funnel. Tliia heavy liquid is on ni vu 
and you B<?e that in thia way we get the colourless water 
the top, and a stream of oil of vitriol descending to the ' 
lorn, and there forming a shading of blue. 

Now I want to illusirato the aiime ix)int to you by means 
of experiments performed with carbonic ga?. Here is a cy- 
linder of this gas colotired brown, and I will pour s«iroe of it 
into this cylinder of air. You will aeo it pass i^ ' '.^r. 
funtiel and reach the bottom of the cylinder. It 
little time to descend, but I can already see it jkh.i ...^ .* 
Th© funnel is now full of the brown gas. and sufBcjcnt 
deacoiided into the cylinder to answer our purpose. I hal 
thus poured down our heavy carbonic ga.s, which waacolmi 
ed brown ; but \ will now show you that I can not or 
pour carbonic gas through the funnel, but through the 
without n funnel, just as I did the oil of vitriol through 
water. 1 tiike this bottle of carbonic gas, and Itii n little 
it Ijow upon tho candle, and so put it out. Now I will 
some into thia bottle conlaintng lirae-water. You obser 
that the limo- water is perfectly cU-ar; but I now remove 
stopper from the bottle of gas., and pour some of it upon 
lime-water, and you aeo that we got an ample amount ot\ 
Let us try the weight of the gas in another way. Here ian 
pair of Stiales; you see that, at present, tlie counterpoise is 
little too heavy, and goes down rather lower thaa the other 
side of the balance. I now open the bottle of gas and pour 
8*jme of it carefully into the beaker attached to the scales, 
nnd the gas is ao heavy that it actually turns the balan( 
ami not only turns it, but keopa it down to a very coi 
able degree. 

I will reserve for tny next lecture some furiber Uloet 
tious of the extreme weight of carbonic gas. 

FOREIGN SCIENCE. 



Paeib, Feb. lora, 1S69. 

Patent for Murtxidt. — Ttrpaz Deposit. — E^lectro-capilla^ A 
tionn, — Proximnfe Const itv^ntf of CotU/n Fibre. — AcPf^^ 
the Electric Spark on Marsh Gas, 

A PATE ST has been granted to MM. Kessler and Lu3k< 
the prepanmon of uric acid, and the products cmployi 
dyeing. Slurcxide is prepared accorjiiug to two nieth* 
tho nulhora. lu the tirat process, to a mixture of equal 
of ct>mmtTcial nitrio acid and water, small portiona of 
acid are uddiHl firom time to time. At each addition, an 
lion is rattnifesl, and when loo much uric acid is preseutet 
once the temperature risea. and binoxide of nitrogen is 
engaged, Hovvever, towards the finish, there is no fear' 
the liquid becoming too hot ; on the contrary, it becoi 
Tiecosstiry to aid ilie reaction by gentle heating, in order 
dissolve all the uric acid possibk. The more or lew* broi 
liquid thus obtained i^ tillered, and mixed in the culd wil 
about an equal weight of ammonia. A red colours tmn 
turbidity are caused ; by tho heat of a water bath abundai 



[Engllah Edition, Vol XDC, No 482, paEM 100, 101; No. 480, page 81 ] 




Foreipi Science. 



20I 






OTSlaT^ * . ule are depoeiled. aud the molher liquor, by 

s n reddish brown dry maes. In lljo seooud 
' ^'t on solutions of nlloxHri with amwoiiia 
j^ivitig lite preference lo furiuiato of 
*a;!u<ni,i«, t , ^ .1 succeeds, likewise, wilh oxalate, but 

not BO Wei' wiUi aceiate. It ia bettor to uao rullier coticen- 
traled folutiiiua of the two bodiea and to employ bont. The 
luinirioMtacal sail is added so long as Uie liquid Hcparaled by 
i-^i'iiD^ ffotn inurexide, und thereby diftruIounBed, becoroi'8 
' ' ' tlio addiiioQ of a tnice of tlio ommoniucal «dl, 

difficultly acceRwible cuvo in Ihc^ inuuutniii of 
. -.., vvbiL'li sepfirutes the cantmi of Berue from tbat of 
' « very rich deposit of topai baa been recently found, 

111 at more thuo 100,000 frauc?. 

IL iJecqut^fd. tu liia sixth memoir " On Etcctro-Capillflry 
Acliotia," desciibea the processes which be employed to ob- 
Uun a great number of hydraled oxides iu iho crystalline 
■tate. In A vessel containioif a solution of niirote ofcojvptrj 
a «^".-ii"r vf^sael, one aide of which was composed of piirch- 
i< , wa« plnced, cootaiuing alumijjate of potaah. 

> j^ 'laah WAS produced, but in the place of nluminate 

of copper, iu the poroua vessel crystals of bydraled aliiniiua 
presented theiuselves, and ou tho outside crystals of bydrated 
oxide of cupper formtd. By replacing the aliiminflte of pot- 
ash by aihcatea, M. Bccquerel obtuiued hydrated sUica aufl^- 
c; - •' ' ' - ilo scratch glasfl. 

lt»t has examinod the action of Ibo electric spark 

o. ^„ ^aa. When a succession of powerful sparks is 

made to tnivcrse pure marsb guis, carl>ou is deposited and 
the Tohnne of gas augmeuta considerabl}'. Oijenitiui? with 
100 C.C., tJjis volunto becomca 127 e.c ut the ^nd of two 
mlQUtea, 154 cc at the end of ten minutes, and ao on ; but 
aotne hours are re<iuir©d for the eomplele destruction of the 
marsh gas. That' no marsh gas rcmaina at the end of tbc- 

' '^"^"^'"' * may l>o demonstrated, after romovUig the acety- 

tmoes of condensed vapours which arc present 

i liydrojieu. According lo received theories, the 

v.-iuiue cf marsh gas should becotno double, since it ia 

r --^]rf»d into hydrogen and carbon : — v,n,-=Cs-i-2n3. The 

' does not agree with these tlieoricp, ico volumes 

- i> fumiahiug only iSi volumes iu two concordant 

•118. Acetylene constitutes 135 lo 14 per cent 

ic't-9 ; the> half of the marsh gaa is tranaforoied ) 

^ .J, .cue by the action of the «park : — 

At Hie commencement of Iho ejqjenmcnt the acetylene 
formed corresponds to an almost coinploto transformatiou of 
?b gas, but the proportion of acetylene formed from 
ih gas is smaller in proportion to the amount of 
me present Tliercfore, by arresting the experiment 
few minutes, and absorbing tlie acctyleiio, it should b« 
to push the action further. M. Berthclot has been 
>le in this way to form 39 volume!* of acctyk'Tve from 100 
lumes of marsh gas ; these figures phow that four fiflha 
'Oftbe mari'h gas was converted into acetylene. Tho con- 
TOTHion of marsh gas into acetylene does not explain directly 
mhj the volume of gafl is not doubled under the inOuenc© of 
spark. In fact, the formatiun of acetylene, as well as 
rbon, corresponds to a double vohirae ; but acetylene 
ler the influence of heat pa.«RC£ into condensed liydro-car- 
Thnf», it 18 easy to detect the presence of Iriaectylene 
>1 vapour In the gaseous produds of the reaction, by 
jg with fuming nitric acid. By reason of these con- 
ions?, a part of tho hydro^n remoins combined in tiie 
vapours or fixed coranoundg, thus diminishing the 
jlniiie of free hydrogen. • Half of the marsh gas is con- 
verted into acetylene, 3*Sth8 into condensed hydro-carbonB, 
and i-Sth simply into carbon and Iiydrogen. The.se resulla 
pf»lut to a similarity in the action of the spark and that of 
lu'St, The prolonged action of a dull reti heat ends in nearly 
the whole of the acetyleLO being condensed, even iu the 
presence of a largo excels of hydrogen. The electric spark, 
however, only acts on the acetylene when pure, or mixed 
with leas tiian six times ita voltune of hydrogen. 



Pakis, Feb, 24 th, JS69. 

Lead V. Hn /or Water Piprn. — Xaphtkaliue Ydtow. — Ckola- 
tenne tn Wheat, Hyt, and Bartty. — DtUrminaUon of the 
Density of Ozone. — Varutsk for Jrm. — Sntphate 0/ Am line 
u Test for Xtiric Acid. 

Public attention has often been directed to the dangers 
atiendic<g the use of lead pipes for the distribution of water. 
It is quite certain that somo waters do din.^olve traces of 
kacL The water obtained on board ship** by the distillation 
of sea-water bus been observed to contain lead when a 
wono of this metal has been used in its condensation. 
A description of a pipe invented by M. Haraon promises to 
obviate the chance of this contamination. M. Ifamon makes 
use of a kadeu pipe covered with tiu; the covering of tiD 
ia not DbtuintHl by merely fusing tin on the surface of tho 
lead, but iy tlio smmltaneoiis drawing out of two concentric 
cylinders of lead and tin. Tliis operation is made by means 
of a hydmulio pres;* under on enormous pres?ure,'and tho 
ref-ult is a homogeneous, compact, and unalterable niat* rial, 
which it would be impossible to obtain by other moaua. 
Pipes of thid description are also fur prctbrnble to lead 
pipes for the conveyance of gas in houses. The ingenious 
invention of M. Uamon has been the objeirt of several 
favourable reports from the Council of Public Health tor 
the Seine, the Academic Society of Nanttr, the Director 
of Naval ArcliiteclurcT, and seveml ongineera. 

M. MartiuH Ims published a note on the dye which is pre- 
p.ircd with hydrochlorate of naphlliylamioc aud niirite 
of potash, and passes by the nuraes of golden yellow and 
Manchester yellow% Some luivo considered this compound 
us dinitrouuphtliol or binitro-naphlhalic alcohol — 

others consider it nitroso- naphthaline ; others, again, cou' 
sider it dinitronaphihol, CjilUN. Whatever the colonritig 
matter may bo. it possesses a oonRidcraLle colouring power, 
and is tlxed without any niortlanl ou silk and cotton. In 
comnKTce, calcium or sodluoi are commonly combined with 
the colouring tnatten It crystallizes in little yellow needles, 
and bohaveH like a p.nverful acid; it may to purified by 
dissolving iu atnmonia and cryetiiUizing, and afterwards 
precipitating by a concentrated solution ot chloride of am- 
monium. Boiling water scarcely dissolves a trace of the 
yelljw colouring matter, which is only elightly soluble in 
alcohol, eiher, and IxjuzrA. It decomijosca carbonates, and 
gives, by double decomposition, salts which, in general, 
possess a yellow or orange colour j this ct>lour is the am- 
monia salt, which crystallises in needles containing an equal 
quantity of water of cry8taUi.sation. Treated with, tin aud 
hydrochloric acid. Ibis c«>Iuuring matter gives a compound 
which the author considers aa an isomer of alizarine. 

The presence of cholesterine iu wheat aud rye luis been 
observed bj^ M. Ritthauscn, and in barley by M. Lintner; 
the follrjwifig process 13 doscribed by tlie former ;^ — The fatty 
matter obtained by tho extraction with etlier or hot alexihol 
ia lioiited witli a little ether to render the oloin fluid, which 
is separated by Altering. The filter ia drained, then washed 
with warm idcoliol, which leaves a colourless residue ; alter 
boiling with a soda lye of 25 per ctuU the reridue is melted, 
waa'iod with warm water, and dissolved in ether, which, 
after cooling, deposits plates of rholestcrioe. This proximata 
constituent possesses the following reactions: — Heated with 
sulphuric acid, or hydrochloric acid and sesqulchlorido 
of iron, it turns blue; it reddtna when, after evaporation 
to drynes:} with nitric acid, ammouin is added ; finally, after 
prolonged contact with sulphuric acid and clUoroform, the 
solution becomca_bIue-violel tinted Palmitine is the fatty 
matter of rye, that of barley is laurine mixed with a fatty 
principle intermediatfl between myristino and palmitine. 
Bran contains 35 per cent of fatty matter, while flour only 
contains i per cent 

M. ^oret bus made a determination of the density of ozone. 
Former experiments proved ozone to be an alJotropic con- 
ditiou of oxygen, and lo be denser than ord'mary oxygea 



[EugUah Edition, VoL XIX., No. 480, pa^M 81, 82 ; No. 482. i>ago 104J 



202 



Newcastle Cltemical Society, — Chemical Society, 



\ ApHl, \sm. 



When ozone is treated with oil of turpentine or oil of cinn*!. 
moo, ihe dintiuuiioii of volume is double the increwse of vol- 
umo which results when oaone ia dealrujed bj lient. Tho 
cottc'lusion to be drawn from tliis fflot is, that the denaitj of 
oKorie is one ftiid-a-hrtlf limes that of oxyf^en ; other experi- 
metiUtontl to coutinn this result. The rapidity with which 
OHoue ditTuses is oonsiderably grrenter thou thnt of chlorine, 
ftnd very close Ithoiij^-h a little feebler) to carbonic acid. Jl. 
Sortt adopts 1658 for the deosity of ozone. 

Dr. Lunge lia* published a pftper on '* The Prcpftration of 
Vitrniahes for Imn as Secondxiry Products in the Distillation 
ofConlTur." Varnisliea of this dcscrlptioti are very easily 
|>r^p:ired by mfliinie pilch with diflerent matters obtained in 
ihe diHtiUiition, IS'o subslances other than tlicse obtained 
in the distil I wtion of tar are required, and all that i* necessary 
in ihtj nianufjicture is an iron vessel in a covered building. 
The form of VfJisel roost convenient is a vertical cylinder 
slightly concave ol the Ijottom. About as much pitch as would 
bt« contained in a three-quart vessel is throwD in at a time, 
mid R small qunniiiy of oil added to facilitate the fusion of 
the pilch and io prevent its solidifying on cooling. Consider- 
able heat is then applied, and small quaniitiea of oil added 
ll-om time to time ; before adding the whole of the oil, it is im- 
portant that the melted mass should be allowed to cool suffl' 
ciently tliat the oil will not enter into ebullition. Exact pro- 
portions can be of no service, as diflereot degrees of consis- 
tence are requtred for diffr-feut purposes. 8«imples are with- 
drawn from time to time and allowed to become quite cool to 
judjfe of the consistence of the mattrrial. The oil employed ia 
the heavy oil of tar, and for ordinary kinds of paint for metal, 
pilch ia melted with it as previously dciicribed. But for many 
purposes, a simpler process still may be made use of, espe- 
cially in the manufacture of large quanlitioa. Tar is placed in 
small retorts (the ordinary retorts are too large for the pur* 
pose J, and heated until the heavy oil commences to distil 
ov er J then the lire is ditiiinished, atid the retort allowed to cool 
somewhat; ^tho retort is then opened, a certain quantity of 
heavy oil added, and the mixture well stirred j all tliat re- 
mains to be done is to p^^^mr the mixture out, and the (jpera- 
lion i.*^ finished. Varniish made iu this way is preferable to tar, 
and dries sooner; according to the slate of the atmosphere it 
dries iu iweuty-four or forty -eight hours, By iacorporating 
uaphtha ol the lowest quality^ — to do which the mass must 
still bo worm— with the material made with light oil instead 
of heavy oil, a varnisli may be obtained which will dry in an 
hour or less 

Sulphate ofaniline, in thehanda of M. Bmun, has b«ome 
an exceedingly delicate test for nitric acid. Iu a test glass 
about I cc. of pure concentrated sulphuric acid ia placed 
(1-84 density); to this is added, drop* by drop, \ cc of a solu- 
tion of sulphalei of uniJine. prepared by adding 10 drops of 
aniline ol eoronierce^to 50 cc. of sulphuric acid diluted in 
the proportion of i 106. A glass rod is dipped into the liquid to 
bo tested, and then into tiie mixture iu the test glapa On 
moving the stirrer about gently, when the slightest trace of 
utlric acid ia present, red streaks mark tliecours© of the glass 
rod. Up»>n the leajJt increase of the amount of nitric acid, the 
liquid becomes cartiiino tinted, and the addition of one drop of 
dilute nitnc acid Ciiusog the liquid to become a deep red tint 
in liio tirst euHe^ and Ihen reddish brown. This reaclioo 
enables the presence of nitric acid to be detected in commer- 
cial eulphuriu acid. The author has also observed small 
quantities of nitric acid in well waters, and the same reaction 
has shown, most plainly, uitric acid in rain water after a 
stonn. Ilyponiiric acid produces the same reaction as nitric 
acid, sharing iu thi-s fact the same defect as most of the other 
processes employed for deteeiing nitric acid. 

REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 



NEWCASTLE CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 

Tbe second gencrol mieettng was held in the rooms of the 
Literary and Philosophical Society, on January 28th, and 



was numerously attended. In the abnenoo of tlie President, 
the chair was occupied by John Glover, Esq. 

The names of eight new members were read for the flrsl 
time. 

JJr. Jony pATTmacv read a note " On ihe Rtlaiim 
Mwwn Kngli&}i and Forei'jn Alknltmelrkai and CfUorimetriaU 

In the discussion w!uch followed, the general feeling 
seemed to be that 23 should be substituted for the r»riou« 
incorrect values employed for sodium in some labornloricR. 

Mr. R. C. Claphak read a pnp<T entitled '' Sqpu Accwht 
of ih^ Origin of Ote Soda Tradt on Vie Tyne.'^ 



CHEMICAL SOCIETV. 

Thursday f Fthruary 4, 1869. 

Dr. Warrew de la Rce, FU.a, President, in tha Chair. 

Aftkii the U9u.ll formal busioesn, the Pkbsidext anncmncod 
that L>r. Wallnce, of Glasgow, who had promised a lecture 
'• On the VhemutTy of Sugar defining,'* had been prevented 
by illness from attending, but that he had forwarded his dia^ 
grama and tables, together with the MS. of his lecturv, aud 
that the latter would now be rt-ad by the 9i»crotary. 

Mr. Vek\'«>k Harcoitrt accordingly proceeded to read the 
discourse, of which the following ia an abstract : — 

After a few introductory remarks upon the complexity of 
the science of chemistry, upon the importance of the techno- 
logical branches of it to many Fellows of the Sticiery, and 
upon llio encouragement affttrded to the study of those 
branches by the Society, the author draws attention lo the 
.ntnli.^tios of the sugar trade in this country. From the Board 
of Triide returns fi)r tS6S, it appears that 594,656 tons of 
sugar of all aorta were im^wrted in tiiat year. The duty 00 
this quantity amounted to nearly five and a half milliona, and 
the total money value, including duty, to ;^2 1.000,000. At 
least 400,000 tons were reOiied in tiiis coiinir)\ Foreign 
countries, particularly France, offer very formidable oppoei* 
tiun to the ICnglisli reHners, no less than 34.039 t^ns in 1868^ 
and 42,047 tons in 1^67, of refined sugar having been im- 
portf^d. The author has shown, in a pruvious diw-ounge,* the 
unfair terms on which our rellnera have to dwil with foruiga 
countries. He attributes the present sUignntinn of the sugar 
relinhig trade in Loudon mainly to this unfuir compettlion, 
but also to the extraordinary development of the industry 
within the lust few years in Greenock and Glasgow. In 
1S57, the quantity of sugar refined in the Clyde was 3S. 336 
tonn. wlifile in 1867 the quantity had risen lo 178.013 ton*. 
Last year it amounted to ouly 171,643 tons, bat evto this 
quantity is two-Bftha of the whole amouiit of sugar rellned 
in the United Kingdom, The author believes that the loo- 
don refiners have been somewhat slow in adopting tite moat 
rt'ccnl improveraeols introduced in the provincial rcftnertoa, 
and th<'y have been unwilling to give up the making of IW 
sugar, which is not now profitable. They work, moreover, 
under considerable dis^ad vantages in various respcctji. Tlte 
retining process hero described is thai adopted at Greenock 
for cru>ihed or soft sugar. Its chief peculiarity is that no 
syrup i.i pnxluccd ; all the sugar leaves the retlnery in Hut 
solid form, aud the loss of all kinds only amounts to about 5 
per cent. 

Sugar Nefiniwj. — A proper selection of the raw stigar is a 
very important point hi the reliniog prooe.«>a. In the Greenock 
system the row pugar employed munt not contaiu more than 
3 or 4 per cent of uiicryslnllisnble sugar ; but where aynip is 
produce^d tliis is of less importaxice, and concrete aud low 
augam may b« used. Mixture* are often judicious, but 00 
the Greenock system a large proportion of beet sugar is 
avoided. Several points must be considered in purchasing 
raw sugar for refining — the proportions of cane and fruit 
sugar, the amount of extractive, as determining the quantity 
of animal charcoal required and Its deleriorntioii in Uie pro- 

• CnEHic^L Naws, Dec. iS, 1868. (vim. Rtpr^ /Mr., 1869, pa^ ^) 



[Eogliah Edition. Vol. XIX^ No. 482, pa^a It^i ^a. 479, pa«e 69; No. 480, pagvf 78, 79.} 






Cliemical Society, 



203 



cesik Bf' ' " Mint of insoluble matter, which, when ex- 

eeeBtTi jieo to wash, mw^l oil be taken into account. 

The i* ... M., i.Lxt givea a tuble of tho compoBjiion of twenty 

auDples of niw sugar of diflTereni kinds, but rcrnHrks that 

Ibey must not be tuken na typical of the varioua kinds indi* 

cate<l. aa they VAry extr©m«;ly in composition. 

Th<? French mcnle of determining the value of a smnpld of 

M. upon the whole, a very fttir and accurate one. Kacb 

tni^e of fruit sugar is nssiiraed to prevent the crystalli- 

oiiiirni of I per cent, and eac!j percentage of aotiible salts of 

5 per oeat of cane sugar; thus a sample of Paralba ijugar 

ooaiained 84*9 of cane sugar, 6 of fruit sugar, and 17 of 

•oluble salid ; this sample would accordingly yield 70*4 per 

cent of cane sugar. 

FirH Operation — Solution. — Thi«>, which is technically 
known ns "blowing up," frora the fact Lliat open ateam wna 
fjtroerly used in it,*i3 effected on the Jiigliest lioor but tino of 
the building. The blow-ups are cast-irou panH, 4 or 5 feet 
id 6 to ID feet in diameter. The steam is admitted by 
ig worm below a false bottom ; above and below this 
)ilom revolving arms keep the liquor in constant mo- 
Water is introduced into the blow-up, the steam 
I on. and the sugar thrown in as quickly as possible 
the floor above. In half an hour the filling should be 
ipluted, when the liquor jihould have a specitic gravity of 
)tU 1-22:5(28 Baume) and a temperature of iSo' F. It 
isista of ul>out two parta of raw sugar to one of water, and 
m of 10 feet diameter will diaaolve about 7 or 8 tons of 
sugar. A small amoiiut of flocculcut and insoluble mat' 
is removed as scum during the operation. This is the 
>ple process pursued ta most of the Clyde r«ftneries; but 
others various methods of trefltment are adopted to facih- 
Ih© purification. Milk of lime is sometimes added to 
itmlise the small trace of acidity in the raw sugar, end 
author thinks this useful, provided thnt an excess is 
ided. The use of blofid or albumen was furmc-rly cora- 
but as they render the syrup*) impure, thoy are now 
jmlly dispensed with, Oiher reageuta have also been 
such as sulphate or phoflplmte of ntuminium or lime, or 
trtcalcic pha^phale and lime, but there is great danger 
of Ihe workmen adding too much of one or another of them, 
and Iheir use does not appear to be necessary. The dust of 
■bimal charcoal has a good effect when quite new, but jt 
mot be usp*d more than once, 
ho next operation consists in passing the solution through 
cotton tiker bags in coarse canvas sheaths. These 
ane foatened. to the number of 200 or so, to iho bottom 
shallow tank, into which the liquor from the blow-up 
is passed. The side^ are kept hot by steam. 
I>tcolourviing the JSyinip. — Animnl chftrcoal has been found 
bj practical experiments to be the most suitable for sugar retin- 
ing. Many kinds have been tried, some of them much tnore 
^iwrfcotic than it as decolourizing agents, but none possess 
peculiar combination of valuable qualities. An artificial 
ixture of clay and aomo form of carbon has been said to 
animal charcoal, but the author haA hetird nothing of it 
lately. Seaweed charcoal approaches most nearly to that of 
booea but wantii some ueceasi^»ry charncteri Sulphurous 
acid has been tried repefltedly, but it Tiever removes more 
than tliree-fourlhs of the colouring matter, and its liability to 
change into sulphuric acid rondera ita us© dangerous; for 
Jkfaough sulphurous acid does not alter cano sugar, the latter 
" does, and even if this is ueutmlmed by lime, the result- 
sulphate of lime is itijurious to the churcoal, which must 
ibaequeatly be used. The author baa made no experiments 
the bleaching action of oxoue, but fenrs that iL<i oxidising 
Stion on the sugar would prove Iroublesomo. The carbon- 
process used on tiie Continent is excellent for the 
of the beet, but would not be advantageous in the re- 
»g of raw c»ne sugar, it might bo found u.scful in cer- 
l for instance in purifying the washings of animal 
"charcoal The author con:4ider8 that it is an excellent 
arTADgement to have a smaller refinery connected with the 
larger one for the separate treatmeot of impure products. 



•oluble 



rilled 



rival 



The US© of alcohol with a minute portion of hydrochloric or 
acetic acid, to remove earthy salts before Jiltration, is next 
discussed ; it hws b<*en tried on the large .«cale in Belgium, 
l}Utdi!»cont.iuued. Theoretically, it is moet advanta^'cooa, but 
its Bxpcnse would be fatal to il,s use hero, except, perhaps, 
with duty-free spirit. A moderate -aixed sugar house would 
require about icooo gallons of almost absoJulo alct^hol, and 
this must be redistilled every dsiy. The process has long 
been used moat successfully for testing raw sugars. 

J'^ttraifon through Charooal.'-^ThB clear liquor is now run 
into iron tanks tlUed with aniroal charcoal, allowed to '* set- 
tle *' for several hours, and drawn off colourless below, Al 
the same time more of the dark liquor is tun hi at the top, 
so as to keep the cistern full When the sugar soluiion be- 
gins to come awny yellow, the sugar solution is replaced by 
the syrup from n previous reline ; the whole of the sugar is 
then washed out with hot water, and the charcoal, after 
draining, is taken to the kiln to be rvburned. The author 
gives many interesting details as to the eiKo of the cisterns, 
the size, or "grist" of the charcoal, Jtc, which our liniiia 
compel ug to omit. He refers, for a full discussion or the 
quulities of animal chflrcool, to a lecture delivered in Glas- 
gow during List year, and duly rccord»^d in our pages.* In 
the present discourae he confines himself to the consideration 
of ct^rtain points. 

Three aDalyse^i of new animal ehorcoal ore first given, the 
samples containing respectivoly 971, 7-64, and 1037 of nitro- 
genous charcoal, iu the dry aubstanee. As sold ii generally 
contiiins about 10 per cent of water. The so-called carbon 
of animal charcoal contains a notable proportion of nitrogen, 
und a little hydrogen. The nitrogen is generally about 1 -lolh 
of the total carbonaceous matter, but is sometimes con- 
siderably more. Old chorcofd contains les^ nitrogen, and the 
proportion constantly diminishes. The iiilrngcn appears to 
be an essential t'oiiintitufnt of animal charcoal. Ked-hoi 
animal charcoal, quenched with water, evolves ammonia, and 
tlie prnclice ought, therefore, to be avoided. New chfireoal 
always contains traces of aromonla, as well as of sulphidea 
of ammonium and calcium. In a particular ca.'ie, 'oi i per 
cent of ammonia was found; and in another, a pample of 
charcoal evolved 08 per cent of hydric sulphide when treated 
with an acid. Both new nnd old charcoal retains appreciable 
quantitiea of gases, which cacapo when tlii? tanks are tilled 
with liquor, and somelimea explode when a light is brought 
to the top of the cisteni. 

Old diarcoal should always contain more carbon than new, 
on account of the carbi^nisation of the impuriiies separated 
from the Bugflr. If the carbon does not increase with the 
age of the charcoal, it shows either thai air has been admitted 
during the rebuming or that il»e reburniog has been eflVcied 
at too high a temperature. The incre^e of carbon in tJie 
charcoal is an evil, and should be diminished aa fur as possible 
by thorough waahing before it is reburnt The exleiiaiv© 
woahing hjis unoiher advantage, for it tends to remove the 
mineral sak.'i, particulnH/ calcic sulphate, whicli had been 
tflken up from the sugar. As long as thesugar liquor is strong, 
calcic sulphate is ab^iorbed and retained by animal chart-oal j 
but when the washings begin, the salt comes away in siola- 
tion. 

Another cause <»f the deterioration of charcoal is the con- 
stant shrinkiug of iti* volume, and its consequent diminution 
in porosity, A ton of new charcoal usually occuptea about 
50 cubic feet, but tliis diminishes to 40, and even in one case 
to 2S cubic feet. This appears to be due to a partial fusion 
of the calcic phosphate, ai.d is not accompanied by any great 
alteration of specitlc gravity. All these considerations point 
to the necessity of renewing the charcoal very frequently. 
With regard to the quantity of charcoal required, much 
depends on the nature of the sugar. For a ton of sugar, 25 
cwts. of good charcoal is amply sufficient; and for tine sugar 
an equal weight is enough. Tlie less used the belter; and 



37. JS.) 




fCngIl«h Editloo, Tot, XtZ^ No. 460, pay m t9, 80.] 

I nil— ^^^^ 



204 



Chemical Sookty* 






it ut a misUiko to suppose that a large quotility of bud or 
exhausted! chnrcoal will aervo the aatoe purpose oh o Braaller 
ttinouat of good. Tiie work will not be so well doue, and the 
wnale of sug^r will be greater. As iUustrntions of the oota* 
position of old charcoal, the author gives* his analyses of nine 
aamples, which differ very remarkably in oorapoaition. The 
percentage of nitrogenous carbon vuries from 2 56 to 19-64, 

The calcic carbonate in charcoal is useful in oeutraltsing 
the minute quantity of acid present in all sugars and also the 
acida nlwoyM formed during the washing of the charcoal. 
Wlien vttry aoft water ia used, the quantity of calcic carbo- 
Tiale dimtuishos or even disappeara. On tlie other hand, with 
very lurd waters, or when lime is added iu the process, as in 
lu the beet factories of the Continent, it often Increases to an 
inconvenient extent This is best remedied by Mr. lieancs's 
pri>ce89, which consists in impregnating the burnt cliarcoal 
with perfectly dry hydrochloric ga?, exposijjg it to the ah' 
until the excess escapes, washing thoroughly with water and 
burning. Beanes's proces-s, and others of a similar nature, 
may bu applied with advantage to new cliarcoal, to bring it 
at once into efacieut working condition. 

The oxidising power of the charcoal ia rttteoded wiih a 
grave inconvenience in sugar refining. When the char 
cisterns are to be washed oflT, hot water is introduced, while 
the heavier s^Tup descends^ but the liquids com inioglo toaorae 
extent, atid a weak solution of ^ii^^ar \a formed, which is 
exceedingly liable to undergo the luetic fermentation. The 
fiermeut appears to be generated by the action of the dissolved 
oxygen of the water under the influence of the charcoal upon 
Ibo vegetable albumen removed by the charcoal from the 
sugar. It is a eomnion, but very mistaken custom to uae the 
char washings tn dissolving fresh sugar. 

With respect m the temperature required in the reflning 
process, the liquor in the blow-up pOT^s should bo run off at 
180" F, ; the char cisterns should beat 155" F,, and never 
below 150'; atid the witt-r used for washing sliuuld be abso- 
lutely bulling. The minimum quantity of water required for 
rellnmg 100 ions of iugar is about 215 torn, or nearly 50,000 
gallons. 

Revwifyin/j of Ute CkirfoaL — The rebuniing of the char- 
coal is effected in kilns, which c-onsi-st of upright cast-iron 
pipes arranged in rows. The wet charcoal is introduced at 
ibe top, and sinks down as from time to time the portions 
wliich are sufficiently burned are drawn off ut the bottom. 
The flame plays dtrecily upon the pipes, and lho§o which are 
nearest to it receive the oiost heat, and their oonteiita must 
be exposed to it for a proptirtionalely less time — five hours 
being sufficient for the nearest row, whereas ten hours tnay 
be required lor the furthest. It is a great mistake not to dry 
the charcoal either partially or completely, before introducing 
it into the kilns, aa llio wet mass hinders the escape of gases 
from the lower portion*, and rauoh heat is wasted in evapo- 
ration. 

Evaporatio}% of the Liquor, — This is eCVcted, as is well 
known, in the vacuum p«inaL The improvements introduced 
of late years into the vncuutni pans conHiat in incftia.iing the 
extent of heating surface and the quantity of water injeetetl 
into the condeuser, and in enlarging the neck of the pan to 
18 inches, or oven more. *. good-uiaed pan 13 10 or \2 feet 
}n dinmeUjr, and holds abnul 20 tims of so^flr and syrup. 
The boiling down occupies two or three hours, llie vacuum 
averages about 28 inches, and the temperature is usually 
about .120' F. at the beginning, and about 130" at the end' 
of the process. The soluiiou is introduced a little at a time, 
aod the first portion is boiled until a '' grain,'* consisting of 
almost microsoipic crystals of sugar, forms, and these increase 
in size aa the boiiiog proceeds, until at the finish they are aa 
large aa may be dtsaired. When large, distinct crystals ore' 
required, the liquid is bailed more slowly and at a higher tern* 
perature, and wht?n the pan i« full, only one-half of the conteuta 
is drawn oB'. This is repeated several times, the crystals be- 
coming larger every lime. Tlie author points out that it Is not 
necessary to increase the temperature, but only to diraiDtsh the 
rapMity of tbe boiliag, in order to obtain flao crystals. The 



»lo^^ 



Xn^h temperature usually employed for the production of large 
crystals only serves to increase the quanliiy of oncry«tnlli»- 
able sugar lornied, and to darken the colour of the s.vrup. 
» In boiling down the syrup obtained from the drainnge of 
the first crop of crystals, leas core is required, a sniHil graio^ 
being preferred as carrying more ^yrup. Throe qualitic« 
sugar are TOually prepared by this process, viz., whi 
mediums, and yellows. For the yellow?, the pynip ia eva 
rated aa a '* jelly," that is, the formation of grain is entirel;^ 
avoided, and the jelly is left for several days to crystallise; 
The crystals of all three kinds are separated from Iho syri 
by a centrifugal machine, the peripltery of which 
komething like 100 miles an liour. From three to 
minutes are occupied in the drainage, according to ihd 
of the fiugar. The whitest crystals are aometimes 
with a litite cold water. 

The PiiESiUENT pointed out that other dharcoalu, ttot coe- 
taining phosphate of lime, gradually contracted, and got 
hard when exposed to long-continued, al'.hough not neceasa- 
rily very excessive, heat. It was well known liutt c^^ke burnt 
at a low tt-mperuturo became extremely den*e. He know 
from Ilia own experience that light porous charcoal or col 
would, if the heat wore continued lor a vdty lung lime, 
dually contracts Gold, preciptated in a porous slate 
prolo-saltof iron, gradually contracted when heated far belolf 
the melting point of the metal. Keferrinir to some expert- 
ments of his own made many 3'enrs ngo. the President staled 
bis impression that lime really convened sugar into nn un 
crystal I iaabte state, and that the addition of an acid did n 
tiien restore it. It appeared that animal charcoal alill he 
its groun I aaa decolourising agent, in* spite of all the ne 
plana proposed. Its remarkable absorbent power remind 
liini of that which he had observed In sulphide of Wad dufW' 
ing his invcBligations on carminicacid : it entirely removi 
all the colouring matter, and led to tlie misapprehensioa Ui 
the cochineal was being chnnged in its nature. 

Dr. ilCGo MuLLEFt remarked thut lead could not bo tia 
with, advantage in the treatment of hquida like sugar. Dr 
Scheibler had recently found that several liquids of that kin 
bad a very extmordiuary power of dissolving and rctaiui 
sulphide of lead, and that this lead could not aflerwarda 
separated from them. 

Mr, Pearson deplored the unavoidable absence of Dn 
Wallace, as there were many points upon which furt 
inforraation would have been desirable. He conimentii4l 
upon some points connected with the statistics of tlie fa 
and made n few observations on the marvellous powers 
animal clmrcoaL The remarks of Dr. Wallace on the wash- 
ing out of tbe products were very important, but, in the 
south, a limit ia rapidly attained in the washing, tor even 
when tbe New River water was used, it was soon tbuud to 
ruiuiiug off purer tlian when it was ptut on, from llio abs 
tion of the earthy matters by the charcoal 

Dr, Hugo MuLLiiR stated, in reply to a question pat bj the 
Preaidtiut^ that the decolourising power of atiimal charcoal 
was recluced, though not destroyed, when the phospha' 
were dissolved out of it by hydrochloric acid. 

Mr. Williams conflrmed this statement. The pure: char- 
coal would do more thtiti the common dmrcoal, btilk for bulk, 
but there was no comparison ia the |)ercentuge action of the 
carbon in the two cases. 

Dr. VuKLCKBtt requested permission to ask Mr. Beani 
who was present, the result of his experiments on 
decolourisatioQ of sugar by oaone. 

Mr. Bbanes feared that the o2one process wnB not yet 
suflUciently advanced to enable him to speak with certaiutj 
about it. His experience so far had taught him that 
ozonised air, passed through a coloured syrup for throe 
hours, produced ml much decolourising effect as contact with 
animal charcoal for twxnty-four hours. His experiments had 
been unavoidably discontinued for a time, but ho hoped 
shortly to return to them. 

Professor Williauson hoped that aome gentleman present 
might be able to give aome iuformatiou upon one point, wbtch 



tob«^ 

Lrao^l 



[Ea(Uah Edition, 7oL ZIX-, Na 460, pae«« BO, 81.] 





Chemical Society, 




ct ijiruttc 



2\\l\j touched by Dr. Wallace^ and wbieli yet 
rtanca. lie alluded to tho relation believed 
eo the soluble salts of the raw sugar and 
sable sugar preTonied by them from crystallia- 



Peestdent oaked Dr. Williamson whether he supposed 
th*t ihe8.e soluble aalta Tneroly retaiuod the augar, or 
whfetheT they changed it iu any way. 

Pfcjfossor 'Williamson aaid that hi3 own informotloD upou 

ytib subject was raaiuly derived from eiperimentfi made by 

it geatleman in his laboratory, and he did not feel 

Uided in going into jjarlieulara of them. Some ealts 

f*ppeared to poascss the property of retaining sugar in solu- 

•iioo, nhiJe others had an opposite property, and actually 

lerated its ery»talliBa[.ioD. 

VoKLCKBB remarked that beet-root sugar oden con- 
ied a gijod deal of commoa salt. Now, as beet-root con- 
ned no fruit sugar, and yet salt was present, it would 
to point out that chloride of sodium had uot the effect 
changitjg the nature of the sugar, but simply of prevent- 
in some measure its crystalljaatton. That it had tho 
r power was well koowu, and sugar refiners dreaded its 
^ttce more thao that of almost any other salt, 
Thi^ meeting then adjourned to the iSth inst 

Thurnday, February i8, iS6g. 
Dr. Warren de la Rue, F.R.S,, President^ in the Chair, 
Tss meeting opened witb the usual formal business, after 

^m which 

^B The PR&giDEVT announced that tlie following gentlemen 
^■ludbeen selected by the Gojocil, and were recommended to 
^Blbe Society for elecUon as officers, ai tiie atmiversary meet- 
^Bllg: — As President — Dr. Frawklaxd; as Vice-Presidents— 
^■I>r. Warr&s de la Hue, Dr, Noad, Dr. Odlisq, and Dr. 
^PEkdwood; as Secretary, Mr. I'ERKiN (iu place of Dr. Odiing, 
trho«e services had Joue so much to cootf ibute to the pros- 
perity of the S.cietyJ; as Treasurer — Mf. ABEL; as Mem- 
berB of Council — Mr, Maxwell Si upsov, Kfr. (3uapmak, Mr. 
BatTBiTRY, Mr. Phestwich, Dr, Voklckbr, and Mr. Gre- 
riLLK Williams. 

He (the President) bad another anuouncement to make, 
JRrbicb. he thought, would be eKtremely gratifying to the Fel* 
of the Society. The Council had bad soin^ anxiety in 
hig a distinguished ci)6.ni»t to iniiugurate the Faraday 
iltip, recently estabtisbed by the dociuty ; it was felt, 
that, to do due botiour to the distinguished phtloaoplier 
whom we liad loat, we could not do less thiui seek among the 
grea(«et names for one who would accept the duties tor which 
the medal was tu be conferred. The Council had applied iu 
the first instance to M. Dumas, whose name was wdl known 
to every one present, who was a chemist before some of 
kbero were born, whose loag career as a man of science, a 
•tateeman, and a promoter of the welfare of acience, had been 
no distinguished, and who, above all, bad been ooe of the 
most initmate friends of Mr Furaday. M. Dumas had at last 
couseoted to accept this post^, and this would, of course, ne- 
oeasiiate a great uumber of preparations. A titling arena for 
the discoume muat be provided; and, through the instru- 

I mentality of Dr. Odtiog, arrongementa had been made by 
which the theatre of tbe Royal luslitnlioa had beeu secured 
for the purpose, Ko site could be fitter for the purpose than 
that in wbioh Faraday had euunciated so many of his graod 
diacoveries. The discourse would, of course, be delivered in 
French : but that could be a matter of very little moment, a.^ 
All the Fellows of the Society were probably acquainted with 
the French Uuiguage. It was hoped that M, Dumas^a visit 
to KugLand might be rendered pleasant, and at a future ttoie 
oome little scheme would be laid before the Fellows of the 
Society by which a fitting welcome might be prepared for 
him, Tho di^'ourse would probably bo delivered in the 
month of May, but further infurmatton would be given to the 
Fellows in the course of six weeka or two mouths. 
Frofeaur Wamklym then gave a verbal account of his ex* 
^^ Vol. IV. No. 4.— April, 1 869. 14 

^h • [Baihab Bdliion, VoL XIX« No, 




perimeota on ethylate of sodium. He had arrive at the re- 
sult that the so-called ab.^olute ethylate of sodium is really 
the bydrated oxide of a new kind of organo-metaL He had 
also obtained a set of salts of the new radical — for instance, 
the acetate^ valerianate, end benzoate of ethylone-sodium. 
The formula of the tirat is — 

^^'o.^ufo \ ^ = Aoeute of ethylene-sodium. 

It is obtniniKl by the action of acetic other on absolute ethy- 
late of sodium, thus :■ — 

Alcohol Is, as will be observed, the complementary product. 
The new soltn which are isomeric with salts of a higher 
fatty acid, are characterised by betog decomposed by water 
into ordinary soda-salts and alcohol, thus ; — 

=C.UeO + NaC,H,0,. 

The elimination of alcohol in this reaction ahowa that the 
olefina l« aaaodatod, not wtth the acid part, but with the 
metallic part of the compound. Mr. Wanklyu regarded 
sodium as triatomie in the^^o compounds. 

Mr. CuAPMAK said that if the rotative amylic alcohol were 
taken, sodium dissolved in it, wutter added, and the whole 
distilled, an alcohol of the same rotative power was ob> 
tatned ; if, however, dry alcohol was treated with sodium, 
the alixjhal distilled o6\ and the residue heated Co about 
200", or rather over, this residue remained perfectly white 
and colourless, and had the composition of what was 
ordluarily called amylate of sodlunL If water was now 
added, the alcohol yielded on distillation was no longer 
rotative. Its boiling point was lowered from 132° to about 
124"^ ; and tlie apeakt^ir waa strongly inclined to believe that 
it was idontieat with the hydrate of araylene discovered by 
Wurtz. It did not yield valerianic acid on oxidation, and itd 
specific gravity was altered. It would be somewhat curious 
if this observation, made almost at the some moment, were 
to receive ozplanution by Mr. Wanklyn's doscription of thede 
oleflne compounds. 

Dr. Odlinq, without presuming to call iu question tbe 
interpretation given to his researches by Mr. Wanklyn, 
whose powers of penetration into chemical phonomeaa were 
BO well known, and who had had time to cousvder the sub- 
ject carefully, remarked that it was easy to understand a 
diflereooe between such a body as hydrate of sodium ethyl, 
or sodium ethyteoc, and ordinary sodium ethylate; but that 
if this sodium were replaced by hydrogeo, ho^did not sea 
liow a diflereoce could be Jigured between hydrate of a 
hydrogen ethylene and hydrate of ethyl — how, in fact, 
such a body could differ from con^mon alcohol, unless, 
indeed, we were to give ta tbe hydrogen a triatomidty 
corresponding to that which Mr. Wanklyn ascribes to 
sodium. 

Professor Waxbo^tx thought that the explanation was 
that the sodium was combined twice witb carbon, and if 
hydrogen were put in place of the sodium, he did not 
assume that the hydrogen would afterwards hare the 
combimng power that the sodium had. It amounted to 
thuj — that the sodium had interfered with the combtuatioa 
at two points, and so cooverted a normal into an abnormal 
action. 

Mr. Chapman thought that this anhydrous ethylate of 
sodium would yield common alcohol, whereas the anhydrous 
amylale, or amylene compound, would, in the same way, 
yield an abnormal alcohol. The splitting of the alc-ohol into 
oleflne and water, or the representatives of water, appeared, 
as Mr. Wanklyn said, to be a result of the diaturbanoe of 
the relations of tbe alcohol 



«ao, paft.fli : No. «e9, pagt loaj 



^o6 Olasgi 




ty of Sciences.-^PftarmU'Cetdical Soe, 



; CvuucAJ. Sew*, 



Dr. OOLWO ronmrkftd ihjit Mr Wnuklyn appeared to tbink 
thAt th« ■Uy>lio) obtuluo.l hv rrphn-iuK the Bodium of the 
•thjlrnt ooonpound hy livilro||t*n. woulil ttiffer from common 
ftlooboL* wh»r««« Mr. Ohjijunan liyM a cootrary opinion. 
If a dUrbrvnl wl^ohol w<?ro iibUjiiied, under these cireutu' 
■taoOM It* cotiMtiHiiiou wuld not bo ciptaiDwl by our at 
pTMent r«o«»lvod notioim We nliould either have to assume 
tlMit the numi* remembered, so to apeak, the bodies which 
tl»«y r«pUocd, or wo mu8t ro into the question whether all 
the atocDS of hydfOn^on iu the metliyl rebidue had the same 
Vttloo. Thii iJwt notion wtwi floating in chemist*' minds, but 
had hilher<» received no demonatnitiou. 

Mr Max* thought that there was some ground f r the 
ofiinioD at to the identity of the different atoms of hydrogen 
tamarah gaa, though perhaps be would not have expressed 
the fkct to which that opinion referred ia exactly the same 
iray In the oil known as Mariguac's oil, which was marsh 
eaa in which half the hydrogen wa» replaced by chlorine. 
and the other half by nitrile (iJlO,X one half of the nitrUe 
had undoubtedly a different function from that of the other 
half! iaaimuch aa on heating with hydriodic acid, one-half 
became ammonia and the other half nitric oxide. A great 
deal of t\irther support from fact would, however, be 
required before the floating opinion, to which reference had 
been made, as to o difference between the different hydro- 
gens iu marsh gaa could be generally received ; and when 
it was recelTed it would not support any atomic hypothesis, 
bat would, on the coutrary, lend to a much greater result^ 
ttamelyt to make chemistry more dynamical and leas statical 
thao it unfortunately was at present 

The ine«ting then adjourned to Thursday, March 4th, 
when a lecture will be delivered by Mr. Tomlinaon, F.R.S,, 
"On Oathariatn, or the Eflieota of Chemically-Ciean Sur- 
ftio^a.' -^__ - 

OULSaOW PHILOSOPHIOAL SOCIETY. 

(OUEUICAL SECnOM.) 

A MRKTiNrt was held in the Society's rooms, Andersonian 
Itulldlugrt, on Monday, the ist insU, at eight o'clock iu the 
ttVOuhiK, Junu'B Uotiper, Esq., St. Bollox Chemical Works, in 
Um ohiiir. Otie new member was admitled, and one candid 
data pru[H>sod. 

A iwkp«f wft" ">8d by P, M. MoiBh Esq., " On the Preserve 
MM ^ TitiUter^'' which we shall endesTour to give aa fully 
in our next. 



mne.^ 

idaLfl 
•odiV 



ACADEMY OF SCIfr:NCEa 
VAwa, nth jLifo 18th Jajjuart, 1S69- 

f%$ SoMum qf Su^w, — Photographing on Enamel — 

H^^kv^n gnd Paiiadium. — Physiohgicai Action of Cottia, 

KIMykonia, and lodtde of Dteihyloonia, 

Av the meeting of the Academy on the nth of January, 

M, h^tbti contributed a note oa the solution and estimatiou 

Ml aulphur by means of aqua regis, and M. Duchemtn a note 

HU^otogTaphiag on enamel 

Tha aoamel used for pain ting and photography is ootn- 

C>d prindpallj of silica, oxide of tiu^ und oxide of lead ; 
mlxtare is melted on copper, gold, or platinum. Besides 
|ba hkh price, the enamel produced in this way is defective 
Itt '' ^»g » flat surface, in consequence of which the 

uhi'i s obliged to transfer the image oa to the enamel 

(livwu glass covered with a Aisible enamel, having arsenic 
i^ Iha baa«, oaa replaoe very eoooomicaUy the surfaces 
HiMaiiied by the more expensive method M. Ducliemin 
fm the proeeaaea Boost «iitobla for this branch of piioto- 

MULafbirt daaciibes the action of aqua resSa on sulphur to 
W tnUj, the formation of chloride of suli^tir; aeooodlj% 
tb^ dwitnic^OD of this compound by nitric add or ita deriva- 

* W« Wltova lh«t ProtoMT W«&U.ra dl4 not Intaad to caovmy thli 
UB i niati a —to. C. X, 



iSSfllaa ZKUiiw. T«l riX, No. 4S^ |>aiM lot 103, N9 480, pSfM •!, ttj Va 481^ ySfe 101.] 



tives; and oonsequontly the regeneration of the ehlorine, 
the evolution of nitrous vapours, and the formation of 
phuHc acid. In proportion to the amount of aitne 
present is the solution of thi« sulphur quickly arrived 
The most convenient mixture of hydrochloric and nitric 
for dissolving sulphur, is made with i volume of the 
and 3 of the latter. 

At the meeting on the iSth of January, a memoir was 
commuQxcated by Profesaor Grahamj on hydrogen in its rala- 
tions with palladium, a memoir with which your readraa ate 
already acquainted M. Wurtz, in commenting upon the 
results set forth in this menioir. remarked that he bad ft>r- 
merly attempted to prepare a hydride of paUadinm bj the 
process which enabled him *o prepare a definite combinatioa 
of hydrogen and copper, viz,, the reduction of sulphate of 
copper by hypopbosphorous arid When an exoefu of a 
solutioT] of ibis acid ia added to the solution of a palladium 
salt the liquid becomes turbid, and in a few minutea a finely 
divided brown precipitate is deposited. Nearly iffimedi- 
atcly, and even at 0°. an evolution of hydrogen ia maniftat, 
and if heated the evolution of gas becomes very brisk. Aa 
soon as the hydrogen ceases to oome off the liquid begina to 
clear, and the precipitate now appears black and floceulent — 
this precipitate is palladium. From these facts it would 
seem that the pulverulent and amorphous palladium precipi- 
Lated by hypophosphoroua acid is incapable of retaining 
hydrogen. 

Tlie only other memoir we have to notioe from this meet- 
ing ia ot.e by MM. Pelissard, Jolyet, and A. Cahoors, on the 
physiological action of eLhylconia and the i^>dtde of diethyl* 
conia compared with that of oonia. Elhylcooia and the 
iodide of djethylconia lead, like oonia, to a rapid poisoning 
of tlie pnemuogastric nerves, differiiig at the same time in 
possessing a less energetic and more passing action on the 
voluntary nerves. In equal conditions, conia is more poison- 
ous than ethylconia, which is again more poisonous than the 
iodide of dlethylconia. I'hus, a relatively longer time Is 
required for ethylconia to destroy nervous excitabiUiy than 
for conia, and with the iodide of diethylconia, the movements 
of the nerves are never more than weakened It is a fact 
worthy of remark thnt the introduction of the radical ethyl 
with the conia abolishes the period of convulsions which 
precedes the paralysis in poisoning by thia alkaloid : the fad 
is particularly seen in poiaoning by iodide of diethyloonfa, 
where the animal falls incapable of making voltmtary more- 
mcocs without this paralysis being preceded by tlie alightest 

COQVUlsiOitB. 

Thus the introduction of ethyl with conia producea aimi' 
lar results to the introduction of tlus radical into stryohniii 



PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. 

Wednesday, mnutrf j, 1869. 

J. H. Hills, Esq., 7VMMtir«rv »n the Chair. 

Dr. Attflsld bad already oontributed three ootea on 
Joltowing subjects: 

Ciiraie 0/ Quininf. — A mixture, consisting of sulphste 
of quinine, cithc acid citrate of potash, and water, contained 
a deposit whidi prevented the proper apportionment of the 
dose ; an analysis proved it to be citrate of quinine, and, by 
tirst rubbing the solid with a little of the water, a mixture 
was obtained which admitted of the proper do8<^ being taken* 

Aromatir Suiphmric Add, — Experiments proved that the 
offioiuHl preparation contained no sulphovioic add^ as had 
been supposed by aome pharmacists. 

TK« AduUeratioH 0/ Ptee^tated Sulphut. — An analysis 
of eight samples showed that only bne was pure, one con- 
tained nearly half its weight of calcareous matter, and each 
of the others cotttaioed two-tbirda impurity, und only one> 
third precipitated sulphur, 

Al the preaent meetiog. Dr. ATrnsLD read seven 
DOtea; the Ant waa 00 

9f 



i 



iven other ^t 
unusually ^M 



CnmesjLTSrwn, 
Aprils 1S«». 



Chemical Notices frcytnFcyreign Sowroea. 



207 



lorjatala of peoubjdrous carbonate of magneaium^hBd 
been forwarded — ibe Urgeat wap 13 m.m. long, g wide^^and 
6'j liiJck, They were coDverbed, by exponure, iuLo tbe^ier* 
iiydroOB nlL ^324 of a gramme yielded, oo aoulysis, '0945 
oTMf^; 100 parts gave, by experuneni:, 29.167, aud by 
eilculatioQ, 28.988. 

Arseniciil Playthings. — The iiutbor had analysed Ihe wings 
oft toy bird, oud also the Jubel of a cottou reel, botb of which 
ooDtattued arseoic; audi toys ahould, tlieretbre, be kept, from 
the moattw ol childrea. 

TKb Separation oj Tinfron^ Aniiinony, — Bj Ihe usual mode 
of aeparatiiig iheae two meiala^ too htUo Biittmony, aud loo 
maeh tin ii oflen obtained. Noticing itie beat uumbera ^vere 
obOMoed whon the operation waa quickly' performed, iho 
author endeairoored to dnd out whether meiahic aiitiraouy re- 
dooedfiemc aalta lo ferrous, the antiraouy becoming disiiiokved 
by (be influeDce of the excess of acidulous radical in ferrous 
Mltfl orer and above that in ferric aaiia. He warmed two 
eoltjtioQS of chloride of aotimooy — one in a haak, the other 
in ft bosket — adding^ to each metallic ii-on and hydrochlorii: 
add. When the iron had disappeared, the tia^k whs li^jlaly 
corked aod the beaker lefk uncovered. In Jbrty-eight hours 
the axitiiDOQy in the beaker had re-diasotved ; but on testiug 
tlM lii^Qor in the tlask no antimony waa discovered. Ou di- 
gettiug finely powdeii3d metallic aDiimou; iu aoluiioo of torric 
eblofides, alow reduction to ferrous chloride took place, thu 
liquid taking up autiinociy ; so that, in preeipitaiiug ontioiooy 
by iron, to eatimate the amount of aniimooy, air must be ex- 
dtided antil all ferrous sail is washed away. 

On a CrystaUine Bepotit in Opium LiMjtimt.— On 
mixLqg a liniment olYen used \\i phurinacy cuutaiuiog lau- 
danum, agreeniah-yellowaemi crjBUilliDe precipitate lortned, 
*b»ch waa auaJyaed to aecertaiij it it cotaniued auy of the ac- 
[ti<rv principles of the opium. It waa lound to couaiat of the 

id meconates of potassium, and mainly sodium with a lil- 
lc aulphaie of calcium ; 118 presence waa, therefore, ofuomo- 

snt. 

In reply to a member, Professor Attfield said it coalained 
[bo morphia. 

Mr. lloBsox remarked that the morphia would be kept iu 

lution by the ammonia. 

Suipfidte of Foiaanum in Ergot. — lo preparing the 
Ext. Krgot Liq. B. P., a pharmacist hud, after roixiog the 
&piht of wine, set the mixture aside during a night iusiead of 
ODe hour. The aides ol" the veesel were lined with cryslalp, 
which Dr. Attfield found to conaist of the inert auk of sul- 
phate of potaaaium. They amounted iu weight to about 3 
peroentofibe ergot employed. After readiug the note, the 
author read a letter from Mr. Hollo way, of by den hum, who 
•ml a sample of powdered ergot, which he had kept id a 
corked bcatle sinne i866, by adding about 20 per cent of 
spirit of wine; it wa.s in a good stale of preservation. 

WhiU Predpitnte. — Six sptKji mens were examined in re- 
^ference to volmiiity, fusibility, and percentage of mercur)': 
II volatiliged on being iieated^ without leaving a trace of re- 
sidue. On sublimation, one partially melted and one lique- 
•SnI entirely, the otliers were infusible. The percentage of 
w^aa as follows \ — 

Mercary lo 100 part*, 
volatile infusible 78*59 

77'»7 

7644 

75'" 

" parity fuaib I e.., 7308 
" fusible. 72*00 

Tlie author recommended that in the next Phannucopceia 
IhequaUty of infusibility should be included in addition lo 
the percentage of mercury. 

Mtuttard Cake,-~liv. Attpield had analyaod a sample of 
OQBtard cake which was prepared by pressing the iiusks of 
IIm seeds when hot. It was sold prlocipally for manure, but 
brmera jvere liable to get it inatead oi linseed cake. The 
l»Uoiriug ia the aoalyBia : — 




Water. , i roo per cent. 

A8h...» 800 

Fibroua matter 12'25 " 

Oil.. 14-00 " I 

Aibumenoid matter 3170 '^J 

Mucileginoua matter. .... 2250 ** y 

Sulphurous Acid.—^r. Umn'ey read a laboratory note 
" On ijuJphurous Acid/* in which he showed that the offici- 
nal ftciliition of 9'2 per cent could only be oblaiued with 
difficulty. The described specific gravity did not coincide 
with its percetitage of acid, lie had examined several apeci> 
mens, and fouwd tiiey CdutaJned ouly Irom 2 to 6 per cent of 
r^al ucid. Reaultu of expcnraents on a large scale showed 
that the apecitic gruvity ut strong ncid, as ordinarily obtained, 
was from I 025 to I'ojo. The author suggested that a solu- 
tion of i'027 HP gr., aiid contdiuing 5 per cent by weight 
of real acid, be substiluted fortiie olliciual solution. 

Mr. Hanoury had always fouitd the strength ot sulphurooa 
acid inferior to thai ordt^red in the Pharmacopoeia. 

L>r. Attfjblo retuarked that either the FuarmHCopoeia pro- 
cess or the percentage was wrong. 

The Chairman thanked Dr. Attfleid and Mr. Umney for 
their communicatiuna, and aunouuced chat the next meeting 
would lake pbce on the 3rd of March. 



CHEMICAL NOTICES S ROM FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 



On tlie Deaulpliuratlan of Cliemlcal Comblna* 

tlona. — 111 this research ihe properties oJ' hexanilide and 
its oompounds with chlorhydric, nitric; aulphurio, and oxalic 
acids, and the analogous compounds of hexatoluide derived 
from toluide are examined and completed. These bodies 
proceed IVom the deaulphuration of aulphocarbonilide and 
of Bulphoioluide. The authors Iiove also observed the action 
of nascent hydrogen upon these substanoea. The final 
product ia aniline with the first body aud of toluidine with 
the second. The aulj^ocyanogen or sulphocyaaide of 
potassium produces sulphuretted hydrogen aud mielbylar 
mine. — {Journ de Fititg.} 

Convcralon of Organic Cltlorldea Into lodldea. 

— A. Lieben — Organic t-ldorides are converted into iodidea 
by the action of concentrated iodhydric acid. This method 
of conversion seems to be a general one, and subject to 
limitation only in so for as some iodides at the moment 
of theis formation are converted into hydride. Ethyl chloride^ 
at 130* C, is almost completely converted into iodide, with- 
out evolution of gaa or lormatioa of any by-product. The 
same is the case with butyl and aroyl chloride. Chloroform 
ift converted into methylene di-iodide acfordiag to the 
following equatioufi : — 

I. eHCI, + 3HI=eHI, + 3HCL 

—{Akad z. Wien, 58, J96S) 

GuanidJue rh-om Cliloroplcrln. — a. W. Hofmann. 
— GuanidLue may t>e readily prepared in Lirge quantities by 
heating chloropicrin, with a atrong alcoholic eoliition of 
ammonia, to joo' for several hours, and extracting the 
mixture of salts thus obtained with absolute alcohol 
Guanidine nitrate, 6H^,H.NO,, is precipitated as a crystal- 
line powder by adding to the chlorhydrato a solution of 
potassium nitrate. It form? with silver nitrate the compound 
CHtN|. AgNO,; the chlorhydrute gives with gold trichloride, 
CHaNiHClAuC'U. Dry guucidioe chlorhydrato dissolves 
in aniline; on heating the solution, ammonia is given off; 
and the residue contains a compound of the composition ofj 
but diflfering from, raelauiline, ei4,(e,H.),X,,— (i?eut Chem, 
Chs, Berlin, 145, 1868.) 

Sulphuric Add and Ethyl Sulpliodyanaie.^ 

Schniilt aud Glutz.— On acting upou ethyl sulphoi-yanate 
U vol) with concentrated sulphuric acid \i vols ) a violent 
diseugagemeut of caibttis^ anU^^xv^ \j^«% ^£»s». «sk^ «. 



208 



Notices of Books, 



AprU, 



iSr* 



compound is formed which ia iBomeric with ethjle xanthate. 
To obtailn it> the products of the reRction are nuxed with 
water and distilled, when it goes over together with water 
as a heavy oil of th© compositloo €»Hio*^,B. It haa the 
smell of garlic, ia insoluble lu water, soluble io alcohol, 
ether, aod strong sulphuric acid. It bolls at 196— 197'' C. 
Its formation ia ahown by the following equation : — 

The new compound gives with alcohoMc potaaaium hydrate 
— potaaaium carbonate and mercaptan; with aioahoHo 
ammonia — urea and mercaptan ; with water at 160^— car- 
bonic unhydride and mercaptan. The cotistitutional differ- 
ence between it and ita isomer ia represented in the follow- 
ing two formuls : — 

Ethyl xanthate 68 1 ^^^ 

New compound, or ear- ^3^^ SB^H* 
bonyle-diaulphodiethylo ^^^i6e,H. 

The authors have in a similar manner prepared the oorre' 
spending methyl and amyl compounds ; they boil at 169'' 
and 281 respectively. The reaction iu the cases of ailyle 
anlphocyanide and ethylene sulphooyanide seema to be of a 
different nature.— {/frti, 166, 186S.) 

Aldebydtne.— B. Ador and A. Baeyer.— If aldehyde- 
am ruouia, urcot and ammonium acetate are heated together 
to 120' — 130' C, and oil of the composition NOsHii=alde- 
hydlne ia obtained. It Hoats upon water, in which it ia 
sUghtly soluble; Its boiling-point is (75". It smells like 
coiiiac, from which it difFera in composition by a minus of 
H, ; it cannot, however, he converted into the latter by the 
action of sodium amalgam. With chlorhydric acid, aide* 
hydlne forms a crystalline salt. The following equation 
iUuBtratea the mode of ita formation : — 

4eH.eH(HH,) (OH) =N6H„-^3U'H,+4H,e, 
-ilJAd,, 189, 1 868.) 

DerlvaUvea of Slppnrlc Add* — P. Griesa.— I. Oxy- 
hippurie acid, i\\l<,'Si^t^ is formed by boiling an aqueoua 
solution of sulphuricKliH£ohippuric acid. When the evolu- 
tion of nitrogen has oeaeed, the acid solution is neutralised 
with ammonia, evaporated on the water-bath, and the acid 
liberated by adding chlorhydric acid. It crystallises in 
needlea, and is readily soluble in hot water, alcohol^ and 
ether, sparingly in cold water. 2. Iwlhippuric add is pre- 
pared by the action of aqueous iodliydric add upon Bulphu- 
rio-diaaobippuric acid The raw product ia dissolved in 
ftnimonia, deooloureil by means of animal charcoal, and pre^ 
cipitated wiih chlorhydric add. The acid is soluble in 
atoohcd, moderately soluble in liot water. On recrystalJi- 
nation it is obtained in large leafy crystals resembliug 
naphthaline. Its constitution is represented by the formula 
6^H,(NH,)e,.t;?,Hje; that of Maier'e iodhippuric acid 
with which the former is isomeric, €ftULNHtt^>.6THkO. 
—{Ibid, 190, 1868.) 

Il«w Saaea.— P. Grieas.— Amongst the products of dry 
distiOation of cyan*amidobensoi/c acid — 

is an oil of basic properties. Afler purification it cryatal- 
lises in needles which fuse at 53 ~ (J., and can be distilled 
without decompoaition. The composition of the base is 
^t1I,N,, and it forma weU-deflned salta. Another base, 
of the composition e,«EI,>N*Oi,-h3ll,e, maybe obtained 
from 6iH»|^NB«)Oj.2<rN by boiling with a strong solution 
of potaaaium hydrate or chlorhydne acid. It crystaUisea 
with two moleculea of water, which escape at 120' C, and 
it cannot be distilled without decomposition. It dissolves in 
aqueous potassium hydrate, and is precipitated therefrom 
by nrbonic anhydride ; ita salta are crystaUicie. This base 

ma^ be ooaaidend to be composed of two atoms of amido* 

benxoie ^cid and one atom of oxamide — 



but it cannot be resolved into these oonstitaenta by boiling 
with nclda or baaes, — {Ibid,, 191, 1S68.) 



NOTICES OP BOOKS. 



Dmnfectants and IHsin/eeium. By EobBST Ajfovs Sxrra, 

Ph.D^ F.R-S., F.CA Edinburgh: Edmonaton and Douglaa. 

1869. • 

By common cooseot, Dr. Angus Smith has become the first 
authority in Europe on the subject of diainfectaDta. To this 
subject he haa devoted a large portion of his scientific life; 
and now, in t compact volume of only 138 pages, he has 
condensed the result of twenty years of patient atudy. We 
cannot loo much commend ihe plan and execution of this 
inquiry. Almost every" page contains evidence of exhaustive, 
laborious research, guided in iw course by the dearest judg- 
ment We seek In vain for some weak point to give v» oc- 
casion to air our critical aeuraeu. Our duty, therefore, must 
be confined mainly to giving extracts — criticism beiug out of 
the question— for no roan living is competent to criticise Dr. 
Angus Smith on disiurection but Dr. Angus Smith himself 

This book contains wlthiD itself the whole subject of disin- 
fection down to the present time. The author draws his in- 
formation from all ages; be discusses the perfumed pomades 
of the ancienia; the conserve of roses of Ihe Atheniana; Iha 
purification by fire of the Hindoos, of Hippocrates, and of 
Zennof Coosiantioople; the labours of Hercules, who saved 
the Elians by draining their marshea ; the embalming of the 
Egyptians; the sulphur fumigation of Ulysses; the^nra* 
iheiica mentioned by Pliny and Galen applied to surgical 
opeiBtiona. He discusses these with the more modem ex- 
periments of Dr. Petit, Sir .lolin Pringle, Guyton Morrean, 
bn Carmicliael Smith, Fuurcroy, Hildenbrand, Dr, Henry, and 
others; and, comparing their proceasM with those adopted 
in our own time, shows that throughout the immense ma« 
of empyriejsra of a bygone time there runs a thin thread of 
gold, which he has interwoven with his own reseercbea, and 
80 raised the whole subject to the dignity of an exact acience. 

It is little sui-roised how much the ancienta knew of sani- 
tary subjecla. That sewer air is unwholesome ia a-propoai- 
tion wliich has taken, in our time, Commissioners and Boardi 
«f Health many years of hard labour to dm into the appreheft- 
aion of the British public; yet, even in Jufttinian's Digeat, in 
quotation from Ulpian, it is evident that this question was 
then practically settled. Justinian says, *'The pnetor took 
care thut nil sewers should be cleansed and repaired for the 
health of the citizens, because unoleansed and unrepntred 
dewern threaten a pestilential atmosphere, and are danger- 
ous.'* The worid is obliged occasionally to revive ita prin- 
ciples. 

As an illustration of the exhaustive manner in which Dr. 
Smith treats his subject, weighing and balancing opiniooa 
like a judge mlher than insisting npon them as an advocate, 
we mwy give the following quotation : — 

" It has often been asked— Will a *ewer produce cholera, 
or plague, or cattle disease? We cannot say so, or that 
every kind of disease may be produced from such aocumula- 
tiona of organic matter. The great epidemics that hare 
passed over Europe seem always to have come from aome 
extraneous source, lo act as if planted by seed, and not u 
have risen up spontaneously here. Without attempting to 
examine this mutter carefully, the rawlt here wouTd seem to 
be, that whilst the decomposition of organiKed beings after 
death produces ga»es and vapours that are opposed to health, 
these gases or vapours are incapable of originating, althtntgh- 
they mny be capable of feeding, some ol ihoae di ao aa ca , mcii 
as clwlera or plague, which have been observed at all tioiet 
io come from a warmer climate. There muat> however, b* 
some drat origin of theae diaeaaea, and we cannot prove that 
the flrst prigip might not take place in our climate, althuogb 
it seems probable that it requires a warmer sun and a ricbit 
Testation than ia to be found in the north. Thia, l|pwei«r, 



[BngUah Bdlttoa, Vol XIX^ We. «^ pa^ea W, 1^ \ 1*o. *»»> V*t>» VA^ 



f 



ji QoffioieoLlj made out — that, when these diseases do ^tne 
•mongBt us, ibey t4ike root with moet effect in those plaora 
wbers deeomposiiug mstter ia found. If we were to suppose 
Afeed of disease planted in a rich, fertile soil of deoom peeing 
f ouitt^er. we should tfive a prelly fair description of the foswr- 
iap- effet't of impurity on diaease. It would» in fact, appear 
^^M. if the putrid maltc-r itself look the disease, and trans/erred 
IK to the Uvuigr. There aeeroa to be nothing entirely opposed 
^0ft ihtfl view of the case. The question, however, is and has 
^a J ways been — What ia the nature of that subetanco which 
may i e said to form the seed or gernj of the disease 7 Chem- 
ists bave been inclined to consider it a mit^<atance in process 
of decaj. Physiologists and mieroscopiHta have been more 
^—^a/eiined to oonaider il ati an organised subsUince. When Gay 
^^Euas c passed a bubble of nir into the juice of grapeji, and 
^Bbotid that fennentatiou began at once, it waa believed that 
the oxygen was the prime mover, and that, when once begun, 
the action did cot ceaae. When, howe er, Duach and 
Sdiroeder found that flesh did not decomapo^ if the air was 
prrvioualy passed th rough a good (liter ol cotton wool, some 
aiffloulty was thrown on the subject. It would appear as il 
tiacjgen were not the only a^ent in the atmosphere cuusinif 
^^^oompoiItioD.. The investigations of M- Pasteur, who found 
^^Ke subject in this uncertain condition, have advanced it so 
^^||r thai we may now witii oertainty roaaon in the bolief that 
^^wganised su balances are really found in gre-t abundance io 
the atmostphere, and that they are tho cause of some hitherto 
tirelv mysterious phenomena, even ptltrefactioo included, 
is object was first to inquire into the possibility of spoiita* 
)U9 generation, and he found ihat carefully Altered air 
allowed no orgiinianis to appear in vegetable soiutlona 
_fle found tliat near the usual surface of the ground these 
oisms were so numerous thnt wltenever a vessel contain- 
fvgetable matter fit for their growth was opened for a 
ort lime tfj* y were found to eater, that in cellars, and 
and quiet places, where there was no air or dugt tioat- 
_ ibout, these organisms were fewer, and that, as he as- 
cended the sides of th Alps and the Jurn, they diminished 
io number. A commifjsion of the French Academy cou firmed 
his results. If we examine previous inquiries into the com- 
pounds resulting from the decon)|K>sitiou Qf organic sub* 
stances, we shall l9od nothing which ih at all calculated to 
bring out such an intelligible ratiunal view of the origin of 
mAny diseases, and also of some phases of putrefaction. 
Cbemistfl, when they have examined products of the latter 
aetkm, have found sulphuretted hydrogt-u, ciifburerted hy- 
drogeDf hydrogen, carbonic acid, nitrogen, aroraooia, acetic 
Add, lactic acid, butyric acid, and numerous uncertain bodies 
haTJng no activity, and utterly incapable of producing those 
prodigious results that are found when that force begins lo 
work which produces plague, small-pox, or black dealh." — 
(p 20.) 

Incremation liaa been advocated ol fate as a raenns of 
obviating tlie dan^for occasioned by the multiplicjition 
^^ of dead bodies in and sbout large cities ; Dr. Angus Smith 
^»pt8 the subject in a new light : — 

^r^ ** Many people think that we oughtj like some of the 

andcDts, to burn our dead. They do not consider what a 

terrible proposal they are making. To burn a body without 

producing the smell of burning flcBh ia a most difticult 

thing, and far surpasses the problem of burning our smoke, 

^^ which, however important, is still left undone. The expense 

^^Hof keeping up such a lake of fire ns to consume all our dead 

^^B would also be, in all probability, too great ; let us imagine 

' 1 500 bodies roasted to ashes in Loudon every week. We 

■hall not enter into the details of such a large manufactory 

of phosphates, as we must call it, because it is painful to 

dwefl on the horrors of the picture, and conjure up the 

details."— (p. 5.) 

Many other quotations we should liko lo give, but since 
every page contains subjects of interest and value, to 
quote all the noteworthy passages would bo to reprint the 
book. 
To sanitary officers, to municipal and parochial anthoH- 




ties, and indeed to all who are practicaUy concerned for fcbe 
public health and life — and who is not? — we [sinoerely 
commend Dr. Ang:uB Smith's treatise. 



Hinta to Purchajmrii of Jewf/lery and of TTote^, witt im 
Account of the Relative VaJw of (he DiffrretU QualUia 
of Gold. By Edwin W. Stbebteb, 37, Conduit Street, 
Bond Street. Tenth Edition. London: Simpk in, Marshftll, 
and Co. 

This neat little work should be studied by aU purchasers 
of jewellerr. for ia nothing can the inexperienced be so 
easily duped as in the purchase of gold and silver omap 
ments. The first part of the book contains some valuable 
hints on quality aud workmanship which, if adopted. wiU 
soon lead to the public obtaining a fair value for their 
money. With regard to the qnality of gold, our author very 
properly remarks that '* Colcur is no guide, as it may he 
gilded; wei/jht is no guide, as it may bna loaded with lead; 
pattern and Jinish tell for nothing to the inexperienced eye," 
but to prevent deception, the purchaser has only to make 
himself familiar with the atandnrd estimates and to request 
that the qnality be stated on the invoice. The stamp of 
Goldsmith's Hall is thought by most persona sufficient 
security, but this is not the case wjjh gold, for the same 
acta of Parliament allow gold to be marked and sold from 
BUndard of 22 carat worth £3 17s. lo^d. per oz., to an 
alloy containing gold of 1 carat, worth only 3a. 6d. 
per oe. 

The second part coataina a most interesting descrip^n 
of the manufacture of Jewellery and watches by machinery. 
The space allotted to this notice will not allow of our com- 
menting more at length on this division, suffice it to say 
that a prc'Bcntation watch seen by us and made entirely 
by machinery at Mr. Streeter's Establishment proves the 
great advantages gained by economisiug labour and thereby 
greatly reducing the cost. 

This rendable little book is beautifully printed on fine 
toned paper and we commend its perusal to our readers. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



To the Editor of the CtmmoAt Nrws. 

Sir,— May 1 be permitted to reply to Mr, Tomliuson's cour- 
teous letter in your last Lsaue (Am. Rcpr.^ March, 1869, page 
157), respecting our oleographs. Mr. TomHnson says he 
cannot speak favourably of the impressions I sent him as 
types of cohesion figures. The oleographs 1 transmitted to 
him, and also to yourself and many others, were patterns of 
tliree or four di^erent oils taken at random, little or no 
attention being paid to the time to which the oils* were 
exposed on the water ; I aimply desired lo show what could 
be done by this beautiful proceaa. Mr. Tomliuson says that 
** there is a moment in the ezisteiioe of every Jilm wlien Ae 
characteristic figure is presented, by which it can be recog- 
nised and the purity tested." 1 can truly aver ^at such la 
the case, and also that our process of oleography is capable 
of receiving the perfect flgnre at the right moment and m an 
instant The oleographic process needs only to be tried by 
any one to show its cnpabilities in this way. Lard, tallow, 
linseed, and umny other oils, produce patterns, when placed 
on water, which there Is no nits taking. Some oils develop 
their figures in a few seconds aJfler they ore placed on the 
water, and the paper wo use wtJl take up Uie pattern at 
once ; so that by taking Impressions of the same oil at dif- 
ferent lengths of time, we have a series of oleographs pro- 
duced which ore of th© greatest value in determining the 
purity of the oil 1 am most desirous of enforcing that the 
period of time taken to produce a given pattern is an indis- 
pensable element in the proper testing of any oil 
Now when I set about the examination of any oil, I 



[Engll«h Edition, VoL XLX^ No. 483, pafM 10S» 106 j Wo. 479, pat* 70.} 



2IO 



Con^esponden-ce. 



1 AprO, latt. 



arranflre aix plates of water and lot fall a drop cm each, mopt 
accurately taking the time of exposiirp. and fixing tbe 
various patternp, so that T now have the oil in kU its etaffen 
of devolopm^nt. For ioatance, take off tlie patterns every 
ten seconds np to three minutes, or heyond that time if 
necessary, as therR are pome oils wliich take a lonpr time to 
develop their distinjiruishinfr de«i^. Now oomnare tbeso 
fixed patterns with those of any other oil taken under 
Exactly similar eirrumBtimre!*. and the yahie of the test is at 
once manifest 01eo|flrraphy is a process for fixlnc: the pat- 
terns of oils;, and thereby rendenng tbera availahlo for com- 
pan!ion. 

Mr. Tnmlinson appears to work much with oils of little 
oommercial interest, as coriander, lavender. <fcc. Oil mer- 
chants en^ not as a rule interested in these oils; the oils of 
sperm, rnpe, HtiBeed, Inrd, tnllow, olivo, cotton, and thefr 
adutteratioQS chiefly enpaepe their attention. To oleopraphv 
we have a certain means of eatimatinp their renninenesa and 
in manv cases their adulterants. Respecting the cotn^rs of 
the oil films I am almost mire no fine will over be able to 
make onvthinErof. ns they are simrlv, I believe, the result of 
a property of the oil to de-'tiranose liprhL 

For the value nf olfOTraphy as a test for oils T would 
respectfully ask the opinion of those who are now enjarneed 
in workinpr out resuIlSi At the request of a nnraber of oil 
merchflnts hero we are is«umjr an '*01eoiarraphic Albirra.*' 
eontaininp the authentic oleoprapba of any oils desired and 
made by mrself in the labnmtory. 

Some little time apo I a«kf'd a public opinion from Mr. 
Toxnlinsor* retrardinp tbis prnceas of oteojrPaphvaB a test for 
oils, and for his kindly doing so I bejf heartily to tliank 
him. — r am, Ac, 

R Carter Moffat. Ph.D. 

Laboratory, Mechmnlc*' Instftiitlon, QUutgAW, 
tLFe1>.Vb, 1869. 



• Uhifi>rmity in taking ♦' Igniting Points.*" 

To the Kditor of the Ceexioal News. 

Snt, — I cordiallv subscribe to Mr. Hntton's remarks on the 
above subject in your lat** issue ; — '' Without a uniform 
method no two results will aprree ; bnt with a recos-nised 
method both manufacturers and merchants wou'd know 
what the ienitinjr point of the vapour of commercial f>ub* 
stances exactly means, and a socuritv to consumers and 
others that docs not now exist would be obt^iined." Public 
attention bavinsf of lat^ years been much directed to the 
dan^r attendinaj the tran?*it, stor^o, and emplovraent of 
oils, spirits, and other infllammflblB materials, it if bi^rhly 
desi'mble that all ehemists should adopt some conventional 
method of determinina" the decrreo at which indefinite vola* 
til© lifluida jrive off vapour suffiHontly fast to afford a dis- 
tinct Rash on the approach of flame — the iQniting point, 
firing p&ivt, nr fiashhig point. Now the Petroleum Ad, 
which came into full operation on February »st, contnius a 
schedule wholly devoted to *' directions for applnnpr the 
flashing teat to samples of petroleum oil ; " thiH method was 
drawn up by Professora Abel, Letheby, and myself, ia the 
only recognised lej?nl process, and is, therefope^ I submit 
the one which shontd be adopt<*d by chemist^s in Bscertaining 
the flTinfir point of liquids other than petroleum.* 

In taktnjr the flasbinor points of fixed oils for the Fire 
Offlces. my c^Uoaimea, Professors Boscoe and Penny, and 1 
employ a porceloin crucible, Btmilar in siws and shape to the 
test-vesad described in the Petroleum Act, and adopt the 
important precaution of protectinf^ the stem of the thermo- 
meter employed by an onter glass tube ; we thus arrive at 
tolerably concordant resiilts. 

I have appended the schedule of the new Act, as T believe 
it baft not yet been printed in your journal. With repard to 
the Act itself it may be as well to observe that in the eye 
of the law petroleum ia not petroleum if its legal flashing 

* rh« apparatut may b« obt4UA«d At OuelU'i. 



point ia above 100° F, and no Uoenae ia necessary for 
sale or storan^e ; while all mineral spirits or oils are, legally, 
petroleum if their flashing point ia below too" F. Tradert 
in the latter must hold a license from one of the authoritiet 
mnnt'oned in the Petroleum Act of 1862, and roust label 
bottles and other vessel!^ coutainin^ the liquid with the 
precautionary words mentioned in the 5th section of the 
Actof 1868.— lam. Aa, 

Joiw Attfijeld. 






*' Schedule. 

" Dtreetions for applying Out Ftaaking Tissi to Sam^ 
PelroUam Ott— The vessel which iA to hold the oil shall be 
of thin sheet iron ; it shall be two inches deep and two 
inches wide at the opening, tapering slightly towards the 
bottom ; it shall have a flat rim, with a raised edge one- 
quarter of an inch hiph round the Lop; it shall be supported 
by this rim in a tin vessel four inches and a half deep and 
four and a half inches in diameter ; it shall also have a thin 
wire stretched Rcroa-? the opening, which wire shall be so 
fixed to the edge of the vessel that it shall be a quarter of 
an inch above the surface of the flat rira. The thermometer 
to be used shall have a round bulb about half an inch in 
diftraeter. and is to be graduated upon the scale of Fahren* 
heit, every ton degrees occupying not less than half an inch 
upon the scale. 

" The inner vessel shall be filled with the petroleum to be 
tested, but care must be taken that the liquid does not 
cover the flat rim. The outer vessel shall be filled with 
cold, or nearly cold, water; a small flame shall be applied to 
th<3 bottom of the outer vessel, and the therraonaeter shall 
be inserted into the oil so that the bulb aball be immerted 
about one and a half inche% beneath the sur&oe. A scrMQ 
of pasteboard or wood shall be placed round the apparetite, 
and shall be of such dimensiooB as to surround it about two. 
thirds, and to reach several inches above the level of the 
vessels, 

'* When heat has been applied to the water until ihe ther- 
mometer has risen to about 90' Fahrenheit, a very antall 
fiame shall be quickly passed across the surface of the oil 
00 B level with the wire. If no pale blue flicker or flaab ia 
produced^ the applicatton of the flame is to be repeated for 
every rise of two or three degrees in the thermometer. 
When the fiaahing point has been noted» the teat shall be 
rer)eate<3 with a fresh sample of the oil, using cold or 
nearly cold, water as before ; withdrawing the source of 
heat from the outer vessel when the temperature approacheji 
that noted in the first experiment, and applying the flame 
test at ©very rise of two degrees lu the thermometer." 




JSstimation of Phosphonts in Iron and SteeL 

To the Editor of the Chemioal Nswa. 

SiB,— I read with some surprise in your account of 
'* ft-oceedinga of the Chemical Society " on Thurs 
January 21 (Am. Repr., Mnrck, 1869. page 146), an obee 
tion by Dr. Miller that " the otd method of estimating 
phoruB (in iron and steel), which involved the throwing 11 
down as iron-salt, was unreliable." 

For many years I have been in the habit of ustng^ this 
method, which I regard as quite as accurate as the phi 
pho-molybdate process of Eggertz and not nearly 
tedious, 

I am constantly engaged in the determination of phos 
pbonis and phosphoric acid in iron and iron ores; ©' 
process that has been recommended has been submiti 
by me to the most careful examination, and I have reji 
all in favour of the old plan, which. I am confident, 
if carefully eiecutedt satisfy the requirements of the 
fastidious chemist. 

Among the precautions necessaty to insure ai 
wheti dealing with iron and steel containing very 



'[Engllih Edition, VoL JClIv, No. 479, page* 70, 71,] 



Chemical Afinity and EieciricUff. 
To the Editor of the Chejiical News. 



of phosphorus raay be mentioned that of not 

cpentJng on too bulky flolutions. When cMiniating phoa- 

I^iania in iron aod steel, I work on from 75 to 100 grains, 

tnd the solution, at the time of adding the tartaric (or citric) 

•cid, ammonia, aud sulphate of njagiiessifl, is never allowed 

to exceed Id rohime 3 fluid ouncea. Tlie first precipitate 

iimijB carries down a little iron, which is romoved by 

resolution and re-predpitetiou after the addition of a fre*h 

amoU quantity of tartaric acid, I never collect the first pre- 

dpitate till af\er the liquid haa stood for twenty -four hours ; 

the second precipitate is quite white, and may be Altered off 

after half an hour, and I am quite ooufideut, from very long 

i erperience, that it contains the whole of the pbo.iphorie 

I have recently been using this method in caaea 

»re the amount of phoephorus has not exceeded 0*02 per 

L 

f do not aay that the phosphate of iron prooeas ia superior 

»iD point of accuracy to the phospbo-molybdate proeeas, but 

uaa«rt that it is quite aa trustworthy und far less 

>me. — ^I am, Aa, 

Hbkbt 1L Noad, 

8L George's HoflpJiftl, 
F»b. t, 1869. 

Iim,"A course of experimenta on el&ctrio docomposition has 
led me to a line of thought which appears to promiae a great 
diBpltflcaUon of chemical aud electric theory. 

We ere aocuatomed to speak of bodiea an being formed and 
held together by the strenglb of oheaiicul affinity and decom- 
pcMed by virtue of a 8trong;er ; thus silver dissolves in nitric 
ecid because of their affinity, while copper diaplHcea the 
cOver, and zioc in turn the copper, by their relatively greater 
afBuities for the acid. 

We also auppoae that the galvanic current effects decom- 
posJIioQ by means of itH greater force» attaukintj the molecule 
rad overcoming the affinity which holds it together; in fact, 
bye contiict in which the stroDge»t force c»nquera. 

Is not the true theory exactly the reverse in both casea ? 
In the example noted, thesltver in diaaolviiig gives out heat; 
the copper in precipitating does the aame, and the zinc repeal* 
the prcxresi, the three bents together being eqiiwl to that which 
the sieceloDf^ would give in dissolving. Now surely the loss 
of heat cannot be an indication of increased forces. 

Among the old subdivisions of affinity, predisposing affinity 
played a great part in chemical^eacvions. Now, as heat lirts 
a strong tendency to radiate away into space, ia it not highly 
probable that ihia is the predisposing cause of chemical re- 
actions — that bodies will combine togelher, or alter their 
(brms of combination whenever the latent beat essential to 
the new form is less than that of the old, and the conditions 
permit the free motion of the atoms and the aettlng free of 

In this light ihe amount of heat set free in any action ia 
the measure of the so-called affinity at work; ihts is already 
.well-known aa a fuct, but hitherto it haa been treated an a 
sre incideDtal consequence of the reaction. Ia it not rather 
[the sole effective cause ? 

This view gives at once a clear explanation of the decom> 
ing action of the galvaftic currenl. It is well known that 
ifferent substances prest^nt different resistances, and ther«ifore 
luire varying electro-motive force in the current, and the 
>a is, not that the force of aRluity hai^ lo be subdued, but 
to enable the elements of a compound lo resume their 
■epamte forms, we must recharge their atomn with the 
anioutit of force they lost in the act of coinbinmg. This is 
dooe by the electric current, whenever each molecule,' the 
puleatioaa of which constitute tlie current, ia charged to th*- 
oeoeesary d^ree, and unless the electro motive force is raised 
l<i that degree, the moleciilea cannot move or the current pass. 
The same effect is produced by heat, only when its tempe- 
rature is raided to the corresponding degree, when the mole- 



cules become charged with the fbrce necessary to their separate 
existence ; then, if other circumstances are such as to permit 
the coraponetit elements to be removed from each other aud 
thus prevent immediate recombinatioD, the force becomes 
latent and decomposit.on m effected. 

• Thus L'hemicfll combination ia due to the loss or escape of 
combined or latent force. Chemical decom poeition is due to 
force becoming lat^it or attached to the atoms. 

Thia view of force brings into relation many thinga at 
present looked upon aa exceptional and fumishea a general 
law for all chemical phenomena ; lliua it shows why reactions 
alwajs occur when an inaoluble substance, or a less soluble 
one can be produced, because that implies less latent heat, and 
It explains the difficultiea of disaaeociation of vapours, because 
that must occur when the temperature charges the atoms with 
the force necessary to their separate existence, though if not 
separated, they reunite aa soon as tiiie temperature falls below 
that point. — I am, Ac>, 

JoH\- T, SpaAOUX. 




The New Petrot^m Act 

To the Editor of the CHi>riCAt News. 

Sm, Id answer to many inquiriee, as well as to the queeilou 

by " A Wholesale Firm/* in your last issue (Amer. Repr^ 
Marck^ 1869, pagt 163). allow me to stele that benzol, aa a 
mineral product, unquestionably comes under the act. Ether, 
us a vegetable product, does not; hence, doubtleas, the de- 
duction will be drawn that dealers in ether should be allowed 
to sell the less dangerous benzol without restriction — that, in 
fact, pharmacists should have been exempted from the ope- 
ralioti of the new law. But it ia the pubiic, not chemists^ 
who are to be educated to recognise the inflammable properties 
of these lamp oils and spiriia, and as the public frequently, 
except in large lownst, purchase such materials of pharma- 
cists, exemption of the latter would have been moat miachie- 
vous. 

Wholesale and retail chemists and druggists witl find that 
the act itself does o«t cause an unreasonable amount of 
trouble in requiring ihera to carry out its praiseworthy object 
of further protecting life and property from fire. Local 
licensing bodies, however, who ore just now making regu- 
Uittous aa to the atorage of petroleum by oilmen, may un- 
cousciougly cause a vast deal of annoyance to those pharma- 
cists who do not sell burning oils in any form, and only 
benzol and petroleum in little bottles under the name of 
glove -cleaning liquids. It is for such gentlemen, or, perlmpa, 
the Pharmaceutical Sodety in their name, once for all to 
raemorialiae the Home Secretary with a view to the adoption 
of some rule whereby local coodilion.? of license, which are 
unuecesaarily irksome to Pharraaciata, may be modified in the 
caae of persons not dealing in lamp oils. Clauae 6 of the 
Petroleum Act of 1862, which ia read as one with that of 
1S6S, apecially provides thia course in antictpalion of diffi- 
culties euch 9» those above mentioned. — I am, Ac, 

The Professor of Practicax Chemistry to 
THE Pharmaceutical Sogiett, akb Loxdok 
Analyst to Tae Fibk OrncEa 



Oft Phosphorus in Iron and Sted, 

To the Editor of the Chkmioal Xkws. 

Sib,— In the Chemical News of January 29th, page 58 
{Am. R<:pr, March, 1869, page 146), is an abatracl of a paper 
by Dr B. H. Paul, read at the Chemical Society, on " The 
Connection between the MerJbaDical Properties of Malleable 
Iron and Steel, and the Amount of Phoaphorua they ood' 
tain," and a report of the discussion which followed it 
Judgine from these, it appears that the verj aerions fallacy 
upon which Dr. PauPs condusiona were based was not de- 
tected by any of the dlatioguished chemieta who were pre- 
sent and took part in the diiictuiaion. 




LEagliab EdiUoo, Vol. ZIZ., No. 479, pac« "^l . No 



CoTTesponderbCe* 



V r to is that of judfrfnif of the quality of 

•(k> ly's t^>it« of tensile strain, Ac. Had Dr. 

X%\\\ .Ml!!. 'I i<i 1 ii'irnrfh^H further by examiniiiK In tlif same 
muniH-r iln« pt'lrdivo tcTinHtv of pevernl snmplca of iroo (or 
i»f ii<i»nl ofiutnliiiiiu: t»nt little carbon), which varied otilj Ui 
Ihn qtiAfitily of pho^phonia they contaitjed, he would, pro- 
hnlily, mmc to a mneh ^tronjrer conclusion, and have nssert- 
od, a« iomn continentsl chemists hove (Tone, thpt phospLo- 
rti«, up lr» o'^o per cent, improves the quality of gteel The 
MOliom of pho^phnrufl on iron nnd steel is to increase their 
h«r(ine«n <»nd their brittlencss when cold, and at the snme 
time — within certain limits— it incrensea their tenacity, 
pforlrted they are not alreadv highly chanred with other 
hardeoiiifr constituente. I refer here only to the teniicity 
•a menmired by a d»r«e< and graditaii\f applied hngiiudmal or 
nxiai iflraM. 

\f the iron or steel were required for tie rods, to be mibjerl 
only to a ttrictly aifnl pull, that Rhould never occur sud- 
denly, and thftt should be quite unaccoTnpnnied by vibra- 
lionff. Dr. PBnl'R oonchrpion that o'2.{ per cent of phopphoma 
would be quite a harmless quantity, and Dr. Miller^g state- 
ment that O'2o8 per cent of pho«phonis in Hteel iron " la 
obviously not such as to injure the qualrty," wou'd be quite 
eorroct for ateel iron for such n purpoRe would bo Im^ 
proved bv that amount of phosphorus. It is, however, quite 
obvinun that Buch a oombination of conditions is practically 
impoppible. 

When we consider the work to be done by the edge of 
a chisel, ft hatchet, a sword, a crnver, or at turning tool, 
by the teeth of a file, or a saw, or the duty of edpred tools 
lireDerally, it is obvious that the power of reaietinfr a 
sudden, a vibratory, and a. transverse shock ia the propertv 
roost demanded. Now this ia just the property which 
phosphorus tends to destroy. An eicieBS of comhinod 
carbon has a eimflar effect, and it is impossible to obtain 
hardness without a sacrifice of toupbneftit. hut this sacri- 
flce is much preater when hanlenintr ia obtained by pboa- 
pboina than when it is conferred io an equal degree bv 
carbon. 

I have never tried the experimpnt but have very Ifttle 
doubt that a factitious steel ms^hi be made in which phos- 
phorus should replace fin a lower proportion^ the carbon 
of ordinary steel, and that such n factitious steel would 
take a very rpMpectable position if tried by Mr. Klrkal- 
dy*B direct tensile test only. It would, honevor be prac- 
tically useless on account of its incurable brittleness. This 
brittleness would be indicntod by Mr Kirkaldy's tj:tm- 
gum (rst, but not to its full practical value on acconnt 
of the (rradual application of the atrftin and the *ba©noe of 
vibration. 

Phosphorus has another pfejudictal effect upon steel, 
which is not in the sliehtest degree indicated by either the 
tenacity or the extension tests. T refer to the intractability 
of the hardness which it confers. The hardness which 
carbon (dves to steel posspssea the characteristic and in- 
valuable su'coptibility of annealinff and temperincr: it may, 
within certain limits, be modified through on infinite series 
of jTradfltions^ and the steel thereby may be worked by 
ateel and adapted to the multifarious uses for which it is 
required. The hordness conferred by phosphorus is prac- 
tically a constant quantity at apiven temperature. It diaiap- 
pears when the iron or steel is heated, and retnnia on cool- 
ing-; but, a.«! fa.r as T have at present been able to learn, the 
rate of cooling does not sensibly modify it. 

I make the above remarks with all due deference to l>r. 
Miller and the other eminent cbemistfl whose opinions en 
this subject I hove ventured to controvert, but, as my 
daily work ia amidst the volcanic belchinR-s of Bessemer 
converters, the thurapinp, crashinjr. and earthquaking of 
Bteam-hanimers, Ac. I have opportunities of comparing the 
results of chemical fl^aly^*is with the verdicts of practical 
trials, which are quite unattainable in any coUeffe labora- 
tory. With all these advanta^a, I find the solution of 
sadh queBtiona as the action of email quantities of phos- 



phorus so very difficult, that I make the ahove remarttt^H 
with some diffidence as a crude exposition of approximab^H 
knowledf^. ^^ 

As rejrarda the Beaton process, which has led to this dis- 
cussion, T may state that I have visited Langley Mill, and, 
examined the work done there, on behalf of the oom| 
by whom I am employed, and althoup-h it is not my Int 
tion to here express any opinion as to the general merits 
demerits of the process, I cannot refrain from saying' " " 
it appcDTR to m© that Mr. Beaton is somewhat misled 
this particular subject of phosphorus— that he is noil 
doing Justice to himself in makiop Jiis early trials cbieflj 
with mferior pip3 containing excessive quantities oft 
phosphorus. Had he directed his first efforts to the, 
production of the best quality of steel from the beat qua!- ' 
ity of pilars, rather than endeavourinfr to compete witli 
the Bessemer process in the race of cheapness, I believe 
that his results would have been more Batisfactory and* 
conclusive. 

The difference in value between the best and the wor«t 
qualities of British pig-iron ia about £3 per ton, while the ^— 
difference in vahie between the beat qualities of castrated H 
and an ordinary Bessemer steel rail la quite te'U times V 
that amount: and I suspect that the conversion of the 
best piga t.o steel of a jriven hardness would be effected 
with a smalltr quantity of nitrate than is required for 
those of inferior quality. The worst sample of Beaton 
steel that I have analysed contains 024 per cent nf phos- 
phorus, the Iwst only 0*05 per cenL * They differ widely 
in other respects. The first sample I saw was made from 
an inferior pifr-iron from the neighbourhood of Mr Beat- 
on's works, and which I had already analysed: the second 
was, I believe, made from fi pig of very superior quality 
to this. The difference in vahie between the two pro- 
ducts ia many times greater than that between the raw 
materials. 

Since writing t!ie above I hove received the current num- 
ber of the CuBinoAL Newb, and there read an extract from 
Engineerinq on thi.^ subfect, Tou wisely dii^claim any en- 
dorsement of the views there expressed I had no intention 
of expressing in this letter any genenil opinion on the merits 
of Mr. Beaton's prccess, but this extract contains two state- 
ments which are so outrag:emis, that 1 cannot, as a lover of 
truth, abstain from flatly contradicting them. Tho first is 
that " The Heafon process never produced an ounce of steeior 
anything resemhiing iV* I have examined six samples of 
the product which I saw made ftom a pig-iron I had already 
analysed. The analyaea of all these samples proved them 
to be et*»el, and the comparison between their coropoesitioB 
and thot of the pig-iron proved that the process was one Ot 
tnie con version. 

The next statement referred to is that " the fbmaoe in 
which Mr. Heaton profesaea to melt ateel at a cost for coal 
of 5s per ton was never built." I was at Langley Mill 
on the 13th of .Tauuaiy last, and there saw and carefWly 
examined the fumao© referred to. It was a fnmaue that 
had seen some servioe as proved by the vitrified sar- 
fsoe of the (lues and fettling. I speak only of the existena 
of the furuBce, not of its action, as I have not seen it in 
operation. 

I am glad to see that this subject is to be taken up m 
the pages of the Chemtcal News which have never beea 
used for the purposes of trading puffs or trade nniraosities, 
or that editoriaJ pandering to advertisers in which some of 
the so-called scientific publicalLons of the day have so largely 
indulged. 

This nitrate of soda process involves eome obscure ^ 
cbemica.1 reactions of great scientific interest, irre9peotive fl 
of ita commercial objects, and a dcacription of the chemitsd 
questions it opens, in a journal which has uniformly been 
devoted to the fathful service of science, cannot ftiil to be 
of considerable value. — I am, ftc-, 

W. Mattied WmiAM ft 

The Laboratory. Sir John Brown and Co., Bbeffiaid, 
FnbiuAiy 13, 



I 



fSniUsh EdlttoQ, VoL ZIZ.. No. 481, pag«s 96, 90.] 







Mis^Uaneous. 



^n 



^ WoOaosV Lectwe on (he Chemistry of Sugar Rt/Mng. 

To the Editor of the Chemical News. 

Sia^The abeetice of Dr. Wallaoe when the above lecture 
»»B read is much to be regrettod. No doubt many were 
pTMCQt who, like myself; wouM have been ii^lad to have 
•Med some queationa of the author, and I thiok it a 
pity tliflt, under the drciuustaaceB, the lecture was not 
postponed 

Dr. Wallnoe, in his remarks upon the bleaching action 
of ozone upon sugar, expreasea a fear that this powerful 
«^at will be found to destroy too much of the sutrar to 
permit of tta suoceRaful use. I atn anxious if possible to 
allay this fear by KUting that mv reaearches upon this 
subject have convinced me that o'^oue, although it «ct3 
powerfully upon caramel, has, in the way in which I apply 
tt, no actioii ot all upon sugar. I found in one eiperirnent 
that the juice of beet-roots grown in Loidon, which marked 
only 6 BuufDi^, was perfectly crvstollistid when kept al a 
temperature of i6o' F. and Rubrni'ticd at thia temperature to 
the action of a current of ozonised air. Any one cooversunt 
witii the difficulty of effecting the crralBUiaation of weak 
ome or beet juice, eapecially when' operating on amail 
quantities, will perceive that in thj<< case the auirar would 
not have cryatalliaed if it had been iojurioualy affected by 
the ozoue. 

Aa I remarked in the course of the discussion ou Dr. 
Wallatxj^N lecture, I do not think the ozone proc«aa ii aa 
yet suffideutly advanced to justify me in speaking with 
certainty upon It, but the few atatemente which I have 
made in regard to it are founded on careful eiporiments, 
and may bo relied upon. In the meantime I cannot help 
fenaarkJng that none but those who have themselvos ex- 
IMrlmented upon the process, can form any gatfafactorj 

.OpioioD upon it^ or have any right to comment oji its merits 

^- demerits.— I am, Ac, 

^ . Edward Beanes. 

Cftfilvr»IJe», MflldcnhfAd. B«rki, 
Feb. 17, 1869. 



■ed 



Eeatim'B Steel and Iron. 
To the Editor of the Chj£S«cal News. 

— In the last number of the OiiKSiroAL Nkws {Am. 
>r,, AprU 1S69, p. 187), I find you Htaie that neither of the 
^ri of steel designated as 10 Bor loC in Dr. Miller's report 
Itave been analysed, and that it reraaina to be proved how 
bribe tmpurities in the crude Btcel bad been eliminated by 
the Hubsequent ireHtment it was subjected to. Ifi reference 
to this remark I beg you will allow me to state that two of 
the bars of hammered oast-steel, modo in the experiment 
oondocted by Dr. Miller and Mr Mullet, were analysed by me 
■ome weeka ainoe, and the resnlta as U) the amoiiut of pboa- 
phoruB were oommuoicated to the Chemit^l Society at lb© 
meeting on the 2i8t of January. Tho«9 bars bad been tested 
by Mr. Kirkaldy as to their tenaiJo strength, and are referred 
to in hia report aa Nos. 1077 and 1082. Tiie amounts of 
pbosphoruA found in them wore '241 and '240 respectively, 
ca stated in the Chemical Nkws of the 29th of January.* 
{Am, RqiT., March, 1S69, p. 146.) 

I will take ihia opportunity of mentioning that the fallacy 
which your correapondeut, Mr. Williams, ascTibea to me. i*j 
reference to thia subject^ exists only in bla iroapioation. is'o 
opinion was offered by me as to the quality of the nteel. iind 
my communication was restricted to pt^ititing out the fact that 

fel of considerable tensile reaiataoce coutained an amount 

phosphorus much larger than had previously been observ- 
ed to exist io steel of good q^iulity. 

According to the statement of Mr Williama, he would ap- 
pear to be master of an amount of kuolwledge and opportu- 
nity of judging respecting this subject which do not [all to the 
lot of most chemists, therefore it might perhaps be regarded 



na presumption on my part to endeavour to justify myself in 
regarding the tensile Ptrenglh of ateol aa a character which 
the presence of phosphorus would be most likely to effect, 
provided the commonly received opinion as to the influence 
of that substance ou st-eel be correct For this reason I will 
not venture to offer any reply to Mr. Williams's letter, but 
will merely express my hope that, in his next communication, 
ho mny, from tlve abundance of hia resources, confer upon 
chemists the bcnoQt of somewhat more fact and less opin- 
ion. — I am, A&, 

Bbkjaxdt H. Pacu 

8, Oray'B fan Sqniire. 
Fehnury 14, 1869. 



Spuriova Guano. 
To the Editor of the Cbkhical News. 

Sir, — Many of your agricultural readers will doubtless be in- 
terested to learn that a materinl now offered for sale at the 
price of £11 per ton, under the attrncliv© title of " Bipbos- 
phated Peruvian Guano," b, not Peruvian guaoo at all. but a 
manufactured article, which, from its composition, preaeyLs a 
greater resemblance to snperphoHphate of lime, of a value 
less than one-hair the price asked for the material which ia 
now offered under a name calculated to convey the idea that 
it is even superior to true Peruvian gtiaoo. though it does 
not contain much more than one-third the amount of ammo- 
nia generally present 10 ibis manure, and an amount of phos- 
phates no greater than would bo present in auporphosphate 
at about £3 per ton. The sale of iraphy manures is now ao 
extensive that this instanoe of the practice may be worth 
your notice. — I aiu, Ac., 

Bkxjajctk H- Paul. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



fc 



• Vol. xlz.,p.9B. 
[BoftUb GdlUoB. rel XIT 



Optical Glaaii.— Messrs. Chance are now making optioal 
glass of a density of 4 4, 
Teatliifif of Glycerin for Sugmr and ]>«xtrlii. — 

To 5 drops of the glycerin to be tested add 100 to 120 drops 
ot waler, 3 to 4 centigrammea of ammonium motybdate, 1 
drop of pure nitric acid (25 per cent), and boil for about n 
minute and a half. If any sugar or dextrin is present the 
mixture ftteumea a deep blue colour. — (PolyU NotittbL, 143, 
186S). 

Coloured Soeka aar«ln !— The following advertiaement 
appeared in Tueaday*s Tim^ : — "Sock aud Shirt Poison- 
ing. — A committee Laving been formed for the purpose of 
fully investigating the above subject, all persons who have 
suffered from wearing coloured sooka or other coloured 
surface clothing are requested to send statements of their 
ea.ses, with a portion of the garmeuta from wearing which 
they have so suffered, to the honorary secretary, Etnil Pohl, 
Esq., No. 15, Fenchurch-slreet, Loudon, E.C. Medical gentle- 
men will also greatly oblige the committee by the particulars 
of cases that hovo come under their observation, with any 
comment they may have to ofler. " 

The Heaton Sleel and Iron Prore^a— We insert the 

following abridgment of nn urlicl*> fr^lm Engineering, but 
without endorsing the opinions there expreeeed. 'A long 
article on the subject ta in preparation and wQI appear in our 
pages next week ; — 

" Careful and unque«< ion able analyses lately made by Pro- 
fessor Dr. W. A. Miller showed that the initial product of 
Che 80 called ' Heaton steel process ^ was neither iron nor 
steel in any form immediately applicable to use. The crude 
product, by repeated healing and hammering, or rollmg, 
could bo brought to the stage of an iron of inferior quality, 
but probably at a oast greater than that neceaaary for mak- 
ing equally good iron from ptiddled bar, which of ileelf ia 
cheaper than the crude product of the nitrate process. The 

'•^ P*f« 71 ; No. 480, page 83.] 




• HeaioQ proceas ' never produced on ounce of ateel, nor 
anjihiDf; resembling it, but merely an inFerior iron from whicli 
an inferior steel coutd be ftfterwards made by ih© usual pro- 
cess of melting' alon^ witli carboniBittju^nubstancea. In aajinji: 
thia it should also be itaid lh»t, hoping against hope, it had 
been widely, if not generally, wished tliat Mr. Heaton'a 
repreaeulatioDs were true, and that all his expectj* lions would 
berealiaed. It is easy for those having no practica} know- 
ledge of a subject to place their fnith in chance and the 
poasibilUieft of discovery, but every inch of ground eutored 
QpOD anew at ' Langley Mill * had been explored long ngn, 
and without profit The main gist of the paper, the tirst few 
lioea of which have been quoted, is to prove Ihat^ notwith- 
standing on enormous amount of puBBngin divers papers atid 
periodl(«k, to make the process known and to set forth lis 
immense value, it has proved a signal failure also in respect 
of obtaining subscribers to form a limited liability company. 
To some of the few shareholders iu thia concern has been 
iiSQod a printed ' oo»t-aheet, ' wherein it is certified that the 
actual reaultfl of making steel by the Beaton process, at 
Laogley Mill, ia something beiwe«n £5 and £6 per ton; 
while every steel maker knows that thia ia about Ibe cost of 
mere oouveralon of wrought-iroa into cast-aieel, saying 
nothing of the cost of the iron itself; which must bo of 
superior quality. The furnace in which Mr. Heaton professes 
to melt steel at a coat fur coal (not coke) of 5s. per ton was 
never built- It is, preaumabiy, the wonderful furnace pateut- 
ed by him, which furnace could not, by any hurnun poi^si- 
biity, melt ateel at all and still less, were that possible, could 
it melt wrought-iron, which Mr. Healoo must employ in 
making steel according 10 the common processL Were hts 
preauraed impracticable furnace capable of melting wrought- 
iron, were it in fHCt available for sloel muking, it would not 
even then have any relation whatever to the so-called Ileii- 
lou process of convening pig-iron, but would cousiiiulc a 
distinct mvention, which the Sheffield steelmasters would be 
glad to adopt, if they could feel perftctJy assured of the truth 
of Mr. HeatoL^B statt^menla, as to the melting of a ton of 
steel by some 17 owta. of coal at a coat of 5s. It appears 
more and more, m might be almost d priori, stated by men 
thoroughly conversant with the metallurgical procejwea, 
approved of by a long exporicnce, thHl the nitrate-steet pro- 
cess could never re«lise whni has been too imprudently assert* 
ed an to its merits and technical value " 

Gla*fl;ow PhllonophlcKl Society (Cli«inlc«l S«c- 
Uon)— A meeting was held in the Society's rooms, Ander- 
»oni&n Buildings, on Monday evening, the ijtli of February, 
at eight o'clock. E. C. C. Stanford, Esq , in the chair, Onw 
new member was admitted, and one candidate proposed. 
Mr. Gavin Chapman read a paper " On the Best Method of 
Dtilistng Sewage," which we hope to he able to give folly 
in an early issue. 

4 CnrlouH Vocation for m SclentlAc Sorlety.— 

Amongst the objects for ivhicb Tho Victoria Institute or 
Philosophical Society of Great Britain has been formed, is. 
** to give greater force and iafluence to proofs and argument;; 
which might be regarded &n comparatively weak and value- 
less, or be little known if put forward merely by indivi- 
duals.'' 

The Healon S'teel and ■r*>n Prore»a. — [n our la>«l 
ourabcr we gave a* very short abstract of an article in 
Engineering, The ansertiona therein made appeared so bold 
and expressed in such strong language, that we took the 
precaution of prefacing our abstract in such a manner as 
not to mislead the readers of this paper ir.io supposing that 
they received our sanction. Livjt w&ek's Eagin«cr contains 
a toug letter from Mr. John lleatou, in which he refutes ui 
the most positive manner the various statements concerning 
the Heaton process which have from lime to time* appeared 
in En^necfivg^ and we have since been informed that two 
actions hare been commenced ugftinst the editor of 
Bnginferififf^ so as to bring the whole loatter before a legal 
tribunal. 



Abstract Of t.|t« Petroleum Acta of 186S mad 

1868, — ( [.) The object of these acts iH the better protectioii 
of life and property frram fire. (2.) The acts only relate, 
{a) to oils or spirits obtained from th<^ mineral kingdom, 
indeed ib) only to such of these liquids as, at any fcempera- 
turo below 100' F., give off inflomniable vapour sufficiently 
fast to afford n distinct flash of flame on the approach of a 
light. (3.) The mineral oilp or apirita which thus enkindle 
below roo" may only be sold (wholesale or retail) when the 
containing vessel bears the following label:— "Great care 
must be taken in bringing any light near to ^e oontenta 
of this ve*.sel, as they give off an inflammable vapour at a 
temperature of lesa than roo" of Fahrenheit's thermometer." 
(4.) Dealers in these labelled liquids may, without restric- 
tion, store thorn in any ptace that is more than flfty yards 
fhora a dwolling-houae or warehouse. Before they maj bo 
kept ufUkin that distance either in large or small quantities 
^except for private use) the dealer must obtain a license 
from one of the foUowir^g aTithoritiea : — The Court or Council 
of a Mayor and Aldermen ; the Metropolitan Board of 
Works ; Local tmprovement Commissioners. (In Scotland) 
any Town Council or Police Commisgionera. ^In any 
harbour) the hnrbour authority. (In other places in Bhig- 
lund) the Justices of Petty Sessiona. (In other places in 
Scotland 1 any two Justices of the Peace for the County. 
(j5,.) Inapt'CtorH of Weights and Measures are empowered to 
inspect Btockfl. ODTonders under the act are Uable to be 

Polaonona lly««._M. Tnrdieu, the celebrated French 
chemist, has made some intert-sting and Important erp«ri- 
raents with red stockings imported from England, kder 
eitructiiig the colouring matter, he introduced a certain 
quantity of it benentli tlio 8kin of a dog, which died in 
twelv^e hours. A rabbit Bimilarly treated expired in eij^ht 
hours, and a frog iu four. Opening the animola, M. Tardieu 
re-extracted the red colouring matter from their bodies, and 
with it dyed a skein of silk. In his report, communicated 
to the Academie dea Sciences, M. Tardieu cxmdemna the use 
of tho "coraline" (the mvueral {ftic} poison to which the 
fatal stockings owe their brilliant but deceptive hue) as an 
article of general common.^.*: and recommends that the 
importation of red atockinga from England be absolutely 
prohibited.— JfoncAater Guardian. 

The Zlrconla l,lElit.-.The Paris correspondent of 
the Bntish Jtrumai 0/ Photography gives the following 
na'Oiint of thia light, with which some parts of Paris are 
now illuminated : — " On Saturday evening I had the pleasure 
of seeing the experiment of lighting, by means of the oxy- 
iiydrogen light, as applied to towns, Ac. It was the third 
time I had been to the Tuileries in order to see this illumi- 
nation so that 1 could report to your readers, and 1 am able 
to report most favourably as regards the general eflfeot. 
The most striking peculiarity of this light, as perfected by 
MM Tesaie du Mothay and Alar<!'chal, ia its perfect steadi- 
ness and freedom from flicker. It was tho first remark 
made to rae by a bystander — " How steady the light ia ! " 
The airconia cylinders or balls are placed inside the ordinary 
street lamps, and the jet of mixed gases plays upon them» 
The light, although very brilliant, is not bo painful to the 
eye aa the electric lights and diffuses itself better. You aee 
a glnbe of pure white light, about the size of a large marble, 
perfectly steady, and throwing its moonahine rays all 
around. The contrast between the lamps lit up with thia 
light and tho ordimiry gas jet is very striking in two 
partioularSr and 1 had the opportunity of comparing them 
aide by side. Tlie gaslight ia yellow, wavering, and 
(iickering, and comparatively dull; the zirconia light is 
white, steady, no flicker, und brilliant, I have seen many 

I attempts to introduce the electric light for lighting streets, 
Ac, b J t it is too penetrating, nnd tho light is blinding, even 
at n distance, to those who are making towarda It; and 

I everything, except in the rays of this light, are in total 
darkuels, Tho offect ia like that of a polioemon's lantern, 
which enables him to see all before him^ but which keeps 



I 



4 



4 



fSagJJmh EditioD, Vol ZIX, No. 480, piE«> B3, 84 ; No. 481, pagt 96 i No. 482, pa£«ft 106. 107.] 



i; 



dpHt,im. I 



Contemporary Scientijic Press, — Nbt^s and Queries, 



215 



I 



luai And hifl surroandings hid from all in front of him. The 
nroonia Upht is 'Vee from this defect. The question is. can 
U10 oiyifen ia:as Ije prot:ured cheaply enough, and this is a«- 
■ftrted in the most positive manner." 

nr. yintran.-^Hia laipenal Majesty the Shah of Persia 
aw conferred the honour of tl^o LSon and the Sun on Dr. 
A. ViDtraB, Physician to the French Hospital in London, as 
a reward for the services which this diatingnished physidan 
has rendered to the Perniau Embassy. 

«u"*r^r""*"* Idc.._The Scientifk Afnencan contains 
ihe foIloTdniBr 8up:jfefltion to Baron Von Liebig:—" Justus 
Von Liehij^, the celebrated German chemist rei'ently told a 
frieDd that, durinfr the last ten years, he had received seven 
cuis from ijnerican universities, and that twice he fell. 
■l^gly tempted to go u> the United States and accept 
there a Professorship, We trust that Lieblp will visit this 
cotmtey md give our people the benefit of his varied stores 
or mforrofltion; but we cannot advise him to cover up his 
Hjfbt under the bushel of a college profestsorahip. If the 
Baron wishes to make his name and fame coDapicuoiisly 
uaoful, he had hetter acoopt a position upon the editorial 
staff of the Scientific American, throupb whose colamns he 
oo«Jd reach and educate a hundred thousand minds each 



I 



CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIG PRESS. 



m 



fUnd^T tblK he»dfnir U It (titt'ndnd tn d^* th« Htlw of nil th* chorale*! 
|wp*rm which or« r'UblUhf*! In the principal scientific T'prlftdlciils of th«- 
Continent- «rtlrlefl wliich nre merely roprlnt* or ■bBtractfi of wper* 
»ire»dv B<.tlc«l will b» nmkU-d. Ah»trfl<?lfl of th.^ mt^ro ImpVumt 
iwpen here announced will appear In lutun nainben of the " Oitshi* 




O^mpUii Rendtu. Norcmbor 23, 1S68- 
^^ ,M. P*^"' "^M"*«5A/* on Srhci'-oluaU" F P. Lit Home: 
OntA$ Bthn^tour qf tht X<iUr« Chlorideik of Scnlbun and Pntnt^ 
«ntf» touxtrd^ »om« MefaUtc Va/,oHr» on 4 eMptciallp totoarA* W* 
Vimnur of Sodinm.'' Chabrteh : " Rt^turehM on yitro>t« Acid:' 
r, FopotMT : •• On name O^i^e^ rrr^r^d from Petroleum WtU* titH- 
Mia (n different pn>U of North Americti.^ F. FoirQpp- • " On <A« 
fkmtpoaitioo of th* Gn»t9 mmtionsd in ih* prtctiting pnptrr E 
Gbihai T : " Of, Cinnamftta i^ M*RW^r G. Vixxr: ' On th« Pre* 
*n4^ of ^tttphatf, of Ammonia in tA« Lagnow of Twwfinyr Piw- 
OVii ' yoie OH tte Auihor'a Claim to tAf IwBtnfion of tAe Ytne Con^ 
0^tnt BaU«nj d^4cHb<d hy Warren ds la Rue and H. MuUtr:' 

Xoveinber jta, 1B68. 

rarmntt^m >,/ *VWe*, Sil!cnt*M, CrytUtUUta and ffffdrnttsd Alumi 
moir- ■ .. EffcU f}f Diffution betvcMH Liquid* toMcA do not 

"•'^ ' ' «' •' " Deviulb :"Onthe Tsmpemiure of Ftamt*. 

itmfi it,fyn^toPre»gur$* V. l>i»Mnn:^* R*»tarcJk«noH Qb- 

acureOdoriAeSpectrar Hovjkah'. " Xoie on (At TfterttpeatUie 
^P^^<*f BrboHner FttrmirHit: " On tome Ntna Bydrw^r- 
««•«. "On a Phenomen'on reeutting from the Frncture of Tin 
^^en erpaeed to /nt*n»e CoM,» Star: *' An Improced Method of 
T^ng Silrer in the Wet ITcty." F, JoLTiT and A. CAiiorm: 
Jftsto ontntm Brown, and Fraeer'e Memoir on, the Phyeiotogical 
Aimon of CA« Sake of Methyletr^chnium.'^ v»*^*ogtcai 



Poggendorff^e AnnaUn. 
No. 10. 186& 

iMTinmiuinv : '' On the Magnet i»m nfChemioal Ckmp<mndK.''' O. 
K^iurrmt; '^ An SmptaHcitioH of B. Stetrart and P. O. Ta>Cii Be- 
ptHment on the Bfttiug of a DUc f»/ RoUitton in Vacuo " A 
Kitwdt: *r)H the Spfcirttm of Lightning'^ A. Popr«: "<?» the 
Form of th» t lame qf BHn*en'a Ru'nf.r:' U. OtcuahKn: *'Some 
Note SgsperimeiUe on the Produdion t^ Light in Vacuum Tulm " 



Annaiee de Chtmie et de Phyeique, 
October, 1868. 
•• Memoir on the Colouring Matter* ertrftfjfed 
A. BoBfRRRH: "On thf Action ij/ 



Sea 



P, 8citi7Tzr.?rBKRaBS : 

Pfvi^i an Berries, _ _ 

Wat^r on i/ie Shenfhinn of Shi/>e. and on the MeiholH ef /nreMigit- 

EMe »iifnt" F. KciULMiNX, Jun.: "On the Ewiraction of Sut- 
J^yym the Sotfataraa of Sicily.'" BRvtiN : *> On nonit \r*r /;♦• 
M J Jpw,-*''"'^*^''**" E- JpifBrLwsco: '' Reeearchee on the ChloHna- 
iacf Depilate* of Bemeina,'^ 



BvUettn de Ux ftociiU Chimiqm de Parie. 
NoTcmber, tS68. 
B«ttTi?irLOT: '*Onthe Direct Tr an- formation of Marah €ht% ft»<* 
m^re i'ondeneed Oitrbidee" ' iririejt of the Bvdntoar- 

ftwn*." "■ On some Modeif of J ' Sfvrolene" K. Kofp: 

" On the Coadenention qf nitdi • • 7 4a9 in the Manttfff' 

ture of Chemical ProdueU.'' 



Journal fur Prattieohe Chtmia. 
NoT^mbei', 1868. • 
C. JKMRn: ^ On the Conntituente and Decnmppfifiion qf Starch 
drains'" 3. htyyvr :'" On Pntefhtt atuICotecAu-Tnnnic AHif.^ W. 
^rtrn ; ♦" On the i''otottriiig Mitlltrit ertracttd f¥om Pereinn Berrite,'* 
G Lnunts: "' On the Valuation of Indigo:* Liianc: " On fke Syn- 
thenle of Alcohols bif Meane if Chlorinated Sther.'" I. GorrKUS*©: 
DKB : *' On Melopnite." 



MOTES AND QUERIES. 



fJi»»oeiation. — In ftlndyHnir the phenoin*>Tia of dls.«ocUtlon. liertbelo* 
ban dl«covered thit snlphWe ol f»rhon la decomjKired int*' anlphur *nd 
carhnn at the Rame tempemnire at which S aad C unite to farm 6Ul- 
phlde <if PArbon. — Kngineer, 

Utiiiention of Wafte Be^t—Cna *Dy ot y..Qr eotirteoai reartera In- 
fftrm me whelher the waate bent from coke oreB* baa everb^^eD ntfllaed 
(under patents in thealkalf roamifactare. either for fhe ralalof of ateaOl, 
erapo RMm>. -rln rtpeoinp'fllnit fumacoe*— W, F. K. 8t<^oig. 

Soap-Tnblrt St-ampiog Min*hine.—A Rubdcrlber wonid be flad to 
heur <»f the proper parties f^r •np}>ljlnff toap r«Met aumplnr no*' 
eHn**n and die*. Fie bn^ road artlde* on the subject lb MusprRtl, and 
also In RIchRrd^on and Watti«: but Ulapr-bfible tballhire (H^omethlns 
lu'ttpr in uR«i thnn any rnacbine desedbed there. Who would be tfae 
ilkelleat engineer to iupply what, la rKjuJred J^ 

Action "/ Ci/'inogen on flydrorhlnric Add. — Meamra. R. Schmidt 
MidfllutRhnTe' recently mftde a rpry h*(»ollfu1 exnerltTicnl When a 
current of frueou^ cyanojfen \s passed Into hydrocnlf>r1c add. «* c<tn- 
oenfrated aa po?*lh?e^ nr» c«t1nuratinn la obaerTed, but nfttT twelve 
houri cryBtala of fijtamld*' make ihf Ir appn^aranee. and (be saperajitatit 
liquid c*intAin« oxalate nf ammonia. With lodhydrlc add the r*'«ult la 
the tMine: nxttrrilde Is llltewlae formed, bot Iodine ta dltpliced, and the 
liquid Is Found to coclatii hydrocyanic add and Iodide of Atntnonvum. 
— Rvgineer. 

SpontatteouM Comhuetlon qf Stt^—M. J. Peraoz hai read a paper 
" On tht« Spoutaneom romburtlon of SlJk," Ii Is wpU known ihnt allk, 
which. In the ofternH^ns of bVechingr. cleannlny, 4c„ l'*e» con.iiderably 
!n ireiffht. e«n he made t^* All up ayrela, or ran be charged (eapecUUy 
black )sllk) 50 that the material will actually frain 100 Ui 300 per cent in 
welchlbrthla treatment. The aiibataaees aBually employed for thle 
purp'Mie are astHhjfentg. gueh n* catechu, fnl) rmti. and certain 4alta.«*- 
peclallv protosnlidinle of iron, h char(r»-d pJlk of tide dwcrlptJon waa 
found to contain jj per cent of water, and from no to 11-5 per cent of 
(mpurUle«v. When dried at 1 10* tn 1158 C.jt took lire epontaneoQaly a« 
anon (w. nlr got free aocesa to It. Thb effect Rppeara to be owlii|f to tlae 
rapid ahAori>llon of mnlslnre, darlnp; which oxlnitlon occurt Aa rapidlr. 

7%^ A'#ic Petroleum /<cf.— Arc«jrdinipr lo the dL>flnU)on a%read In tbe 
act. there am be no douhl wrJiatewr that benao] U anionic tbe fubttanoea 
alluded to. {.e.. intended to be within tbe catejEory <>f Lbo»« aabetanee* 
which are recited In the ael ; I have eeen that a'dcoler Iw glovea hit 
inade application for a license to tie allowed to keep on hie premlMt In 
Re(^>nt Street m gnllona of benToL— D«. A. A. 

rAe jVe«5 Petroleum Act, — In reference t** the enquiry of your cor* 
res poll dents, "* h Whole*i»le Firm." whether beM"! cotncs tinder the 
operathm of this act, 1 beg to nay that Uie definition In ciRQM 3 of 
•^ PrtmleumH." that It will be lUegral to keep (otherwise ihnn for private 
use) without a license, or to •'■tt. unhM ibe veasel containing »uch ma^^ 
terlal h*ve attached to It a precautionary lab^J, includes any oil made 
from ewtL ^chJat, i«bale, pent or other bituminoue eub»tiince and any 
product qfthem ^rlvlne off RU inflrvmuiAble vapour at'a tempemturaoi 
leM titan 100" F. tliih'a^ the naphtha of gaa-t&r cannot he rejtarded u 
an '-oil," It would nppear to he cnuipHet'd In this dellnfllan as being * 
product of con), and w ^\v\nvi off an fDllammab'le vapnur below too* F. 
Beniol, llkewls*. though It may not be strktlyftn "of," Is, iie»ertb«leM* 
a product of coal, or, at any rate, «f a bit o in I none enbatance — the l»r of 
gMS works — and therefore would appear to come uuder the prpvlsloha 
of the PclrolentTi Art, whe^ber kept or sold in lane quanlltlea fi«r the 
in«nuracture of colours and other purpo§e!»,or in «<rna]ler quantities ba a 
materid for ri'iDovJnf gi^a^e spots, Ac. Though ^jth^r and ipirlt of 
wine both kIt< off iDllamnuible r»noQrbelww too- t'.tbey Ire not pro- 
ducts of any of ibe inatenala npeclRed In the 3rd cliiuse of the act, and 
thrrefore would not come under ita provhiions. — BKNJjuitii H. Patl, S, 
Omy'» I(m8qiiiare, Feb. S, iSf,^, 

Btirarinn .S^er.— Lifcblj? atntes that 1460 qniirta of best Bnrarlan 
beer contain exactly the ponrlahment of two-&nd-s>balf pound loaf of 
bread. 

Orei'de. — Compoeitlon of the alloy termed "ore^de^t^^opper, 707 

i>ArtH; zinc, 8305; nickel^ 60^: Iron, oiS; tln^ 000. ThU alloy, tuo 
ft'o laal cnnnltuentB of which are purely accidental, reaenoh'es irold, 
and U tined Iti Pari* for ImllJUint' jewellery. A whil«- alloy, very much 
resc'Tibllng fiilrer. con>Ut« of 69 S ptt''te of copper, i9"8 "f nickel; 5*5 
r>f zinc, and 4-7 of cadmiam; It la * tery bird BlU»y, which take* a 
beautllul polish. 



ICncIlBh Edition, VoL XIX, No «83, pagM 107, 101, 106, 107, 108 1 »« MA pig« 84 ; Wo. 481, p««e ^] 



2I6 



Ansioers to Correspondent's, 



April,lS99. 



DjfM/rom OchiBa TTf^^f,— C«a yw or nny of ynnr eoiT«j>andpiil» 
Infjrtn me what l« liip dWlnctlFC chAriwtcr nf the tloclrtrUl matters 
reoentlx prepared rmm ocholla wcfrf, ond-T Iho Darn<^pnrcln«, orcelnc 
m1|>hthint^ and errphfc ncld » Wtnr do tbcy differ frum archil and oa J- 
bvar. and rmm each other, and how an* thflv made ?— Thromo. 

Piorate 9/ Quinine,- AniUnc Bl/tct.^—Can ynv Inform me, throorli 
" Note* and Quertw," K t*krat<* of quinine bin been Qii«d a« a me»U- 
Cloo, axid what dQM>. nnd what «ITect Y Also. If there tft oa anHlne black 
for c^ttrtn— I can ftnd none la noy palii9«Lod work. I want to find It, if 
Uka Dm«ea» exlalii.— Nrw Rkrni!! 

matmtiMof WiuU £r»nt.~>*\V. r.K. stock** U referred to th« 
wwrtt "Abrldf (neiJt* of Speolftcatlou relating to the Preparation and 
CoiBbiitdoti f«f Fuel, A.D. 1620-1^65." publUhftd by ord*r of the Com- 
satMioaen of PatcDts^ 1867. ' ne volume in octavo. 1409 pafeo, nrtce 
171. May be Inspected at 'the library of the above-nained Com- 
tntatooera. 

Au0(riafi Kon-Explotitt Ma*Ung Patcdfr eonststa of 30 per cent 
of nttraCe of potash, 40 p"f cent of nitrate of •oda, n per cent of suJ- 
phtir, 8 per cent of charcoal, 1 ppr cent <vf iiU-coai. and 6 per o«»nt of 
tartrati^ of poLaKh anfl joda, Thia powder U rrp oeive only when It boa 
bren rammi'd tizht, and Is then i^lt^d by means nf an eiplrWlTe fbaee. 
Itb In vcryReneral nae in the mining .and noanrvlng operations in the 
Atiatrlan Empire, nnd Is for le*« erpcnslre than ordinary btaating 
powder. 

Chitmittrtf of Few*/!.— CharlM Hunter. —Thia correfpondeat, In re- 
dnefnjBT the *'grai2M f>er Jl^-'* ^ |»ercfntag«»*. according to lablea 3 and 4 
of r>r. Leth*by'» l*ctiirp« (aee vol, jtrlli., pa^ jq »n<'i So; Am, Rfpr^ 
Oct. ^68. paffi4 rgi, igj), f&uod 4 dUfereaoe In the tAblc«. In tiblc 4, 
bet-r U aald tn contain ajai trr». of uirhon and 175 frs. of altrOfi-D pvr lb. ; 
whereas, from table 5 gtring 7a a* the percentage of water, our come- 
ep«nder>t Judees that the totJal 8n11dRcntildnot<^>xoei-d i8ac grs. ; accord- 
log U) hit calculation, j6 Is the pcroetitajrecif N In albumen, f,2 the per- 
eentage of C In albomen. and 4JJ the pcrcent-ge of t: tn fat, lir. Li th«- 
by haa. with his usual cotirteiiv, aent ui a rery fnll explanation, which 
weanbjoln, tnt the benffltuf all our reftdera,aa well a» oor spectal oonre- 
ipondent. Dr. Leiheby soiys :— '* In the flrul place, your correspondt*nl 
haa not naed Ibe riRlit nurnbera In any of his calculation!: for the 
potind referred to )b an arolrdnnota pound of j.ooogn^, and tli*.* percent- 
age proportlrtns «f cafbin In florin. *c., and fat, are 53 and 77, Inatend 
53 and 4S, while the percentage kmoitnt of nllnitfcn in the nUrogocons 
matter* r>f meat la 15-4 instead of 16. But, evea with th«te I>rn|»ortion3, 
it I9 quite true that tbeamounta of earbon and nltrogun in table No. 4 
do not In all cftMi correcpood with the c*lciitatetlprot)o<tione from tible 
No. 3. To take the eaae lit pnint, lean hctt and tut beef of table 3 
wotud hare tbe foUowlag uaounts of C and N per lb. :— 

a B. 

Leu beef, , , , 910 jo8 

Fat beef ,»SS i^ 

Me»a -..1537 194 

Nfllih«r of whieh nnmbem agree with Ibose for beef to table 4 ; and the 
diaorepancr arlsea from the clrcnmstaiMie, that iti mnstcaAea the num- 
bers In table 4 were obuin> d by actaal aoalysea Bcof, however, like 
all otber fle»h, dlffem very conilderably In the reTntlTa prt portions «if 
water, nilrDgenou* tnfttter, and fal ; and }t would »«rii, from tlie pro- 
porllntiA of cartirttn and uitroeen In table 4, that the beef must hare 
contained the foUuwlug percentage proportlqca of fkl and nitrogenoua 
matter : — 

Fat 31*6 |i«r eent 

NltrogenoQs matter i6'3 ** 

And these pmp-ortiona are not very dtlft»rent from the pronortlona 
which Meson. Lavres and Gilbert found in the corcaeaea of balr-fat and 
tat oxen ; fi»r, in their paper Lo the TrftuJtiTeUo>y> oftfu Royal Sodtty, 
they give the following as the {wrcentagc amounta In the two caaes :— 

NltrogenoiM «. 

a)*tter», ''"" 

Half'fat oa 178 aa'6 

Fat ox 15*0 S4'8 

Main... .....i6'4 aB'7 

Dr. Edward Smith says. Id hia *' Practical Dietary." ' tlut. on taking 
eqnal pnrta of be^f and mutton, nnd a fair sample at Ibe joints, and de- 
ducting one-tenlh of tbo welpHt for bone, we find that there arc 2653 
gTK of carbon and 157 ctp. of nltroffeo in each pound ' I p. yc,). 8*> tba't. 
talking alt the number In the sevt- ral case*. It would aeetn rlint the pru- 
portions of carbon and nitrogen per ptiund of meat ataud tboa :— 

C. N. 

gn. gnL 

Fat beef (table jV. ai55........... ..»6o 

Mean of Lawcs and (lilbcrt.atjs, .-177 

Btief and mutton (Smith) . . .,3693 157 

Mean 3320 165 

Beef (table 4)......... ajoi 17s 

An4, cnrpiderlng thnt Smith's proportions of carbon are a little too high 
and the nltrfipeti a llt»le too low, on accoont of the mixture of mutton 
with the beef, It mayVe Iklrly asanmed that the arooaata which I hare 
gtvan for beef la table 4 are very sear the trath.'^ 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



XOTTCE.— Thf Atnerirau Pttb!i»h^r« n/Tnn Cirwncat Nbwb ^i** 
nnUc« Vuft in (ircrrritanef rcilh </ iu'rg<tMion of H%. C«oo»», 1»* 
of ifir EiigliMh PubUcatiWft, thejf mill 5e 



Editor tjtxr riopr 

pulfli, 
and V 

repttf. Tktir/'icili'i'f 0/ cf « » 

(fer thf9 very d^nihU h aU pfr^ont in th* UntUd StotM «>*o 
wijpi to confer uiith hint. 
W. 



'I to him in London any »o(6nUJIc 

'. /or revieir — nnd tiOiff ttn^ Ifot49 

prntdtmee, ttc. fbr publication 0r 

■ wmunicfUion wtfA Ma. CbOobm^ nt*i 



Jrfdfe**. 
A . TO WJf^SESP db A DA if S, 

434 Sroomf StrtO, 2fe>te Yt>rk. 



CW«wn<<jMJ.— We know of no good work on the manufaetore of pi«- 
ment colours. Perhaps some cariesptindent conld inform ua If there w 
line. 

Calcium,—K table of eqalralent* and a role-of-three wm will fcn- 
Awer the qneatton ns well aa we conld. 

J. r. iS— T1m» letter wn« unavoidably left atAndiag over for Mune 
weeks, owing to the ;;real prru of matter. 

J. SHtherUtfut—Vfc cannot give the information at present, bat will 
tnaert the aobatance of your query. 

J. W.—u Doubtless there woulil be a little more demand for soditim 
at js. per pound Ihati there Is fit present; but we do hot think It would 
b^ worth anv one's while to make It for that prlcc^ Wtre the d* mand 
double what it Is now. 2. Mewra. BoberU, Diile, and Co. hold the 
natcnl— apply to tlit-m. 3. The patent Itaelf can be procured from the 
Fat.nt < 'fflce for a few pence. 

G. E. i>.— I. Either the conversion of the ben/ol was incomplete, or 
the ilqiild you experimented upon was not benr.<l. There i» no tffll- 
colty In raakkie nltrobcniol from good materials. 2. As yon are a 
Bitudenl of chemistry, take onr advice and leave atotns nnd molecule* 
alocte forth** present. Nobwly kiaows how the atoms are nrranged In 
elements of different ntomidlies. Graphic formula?, diagraiuss Ac , are 
only artiftcial aids lo fix certain prop 1 riles *.f bodies on the memory; 
but no one Intends ttn-ni to represent the an-hltectuml plan and eleva- 
tion of the Itorty. Avoid theory ; sliok to HXperlment. 3. A compound, 
NII«, Is f^ald to have b«eD isolated. 8ec the article, *- Ammonlam,'" lo 
Watt's'" Dictionary." 

(fitmieut.—TMi correspondent, who wanted to know of a good work 
on pigment colour*, la informed that a letter la waiting for him at our 
office. 

F. E, S. .rttrningkam.—Yf t repret our inability to ftirnbh Informa- 
tion reaperting Winter'* etectrlcal innehlne, 

Kni/e Edyt.—hn anglt- of 30 degrees appears a little too acute for 
an asate kulfe edge; we have aeea them aa obtoae aa ho*, and work 
very well. 

//. n. <?,— Hopkln and Wll llama. 

O. E. D.—Xovi warn to have read nearly all the book* we eonld ree- 
OEDO)<*nd. 

D. Ji*Art.— The product of one dlslillaUim at 100 a, will be Tenr Ikr 
fVom pure iwnxo). The t>an£«l! shoald be «erHu-al«<t from tti« oaphla* by 
fhkctlonal dietillatlnn, and thi-n utirlfled by freezln«. 

If. jyouj.— The article receWed with thanks ; it shall beloacrted liti an 
early number. 

Oomnmi^»Hon% have buKk rtoeived from Dr. E. Angus Smith. 
F R,a ■ J J. Ltsh; L*Abb6 Molgoo; Dr. Adrlanl; J, J. Griflin and 
Sons; 'Dr. Kuhrlg; J. 8piller; Prof. Reatoa; W. IL Ferkln, F.R.8,; R. 
li.TaiUwk; W. F. K. Stock; Steveoa, Broa, ; C. O. WllHaiua, F.IL8; 
J. Watson; J. Butfierland; J. T. &pragoe; J. Heywood; Droylieda 
Chemical Manure Works (with encbieure) ; Lon^moM and Co.; Dunn 
and Co. ; Tinnant and Co. ; Dr. 8. Muspratt ; J. T. Boack (wUh enclo- 
sure); W. Little; K. S. Jernlnghom (with cnehMnre); W. Blylbo twlth 
enclosure); Calvert and C^)- (with eneloaure); Demuth and Co.; H. 
Smith; ¥. A, Piwley (with eaclo»urt>>; W. Hunter (with onoloearej; 
W. K. Blckemllke fwtth <>noloeuro); O. Hunter; L'AJ>b* Molgno; A- 
bteel; J. Roihschlhl; Pmfe*8or H. How, Nora Bcolla; D, John: R- 
Berry; H, tSoyeti .1- J.LiAh; C.G. Wllllam^ F.BA; Jlppiller; Pro- 
feeaor Wanklyn; Professor Ueatou; B. Hudapn ; R. K. Tatltick ; Pro- 
feasor Brailar; Prwffsaor Atlflcld; W. T. Boffolk; Dr. K. FlelaciieT, 
Dreaden: F. K. 8. Jemlnyhanr; C. Hunter; J. Barrow; Dr. Paul; 
MlH Lydlft Backer: W. Neill and Son; A. Maurice; W- Mackenzie; 
W. White; G. H. Brown; A. Carter (with cncioauTe) ; The Kuncom 
yoaii o«d Alkali V^. (with enclosure) ; Mawaoo and Swan : J, .'^litit«oti ; 
Ll DoTtkUth and Cu.; J, W. Lamley; N. Llncnln; J. F. Dickson J. M. 
Diutth; T. I>e La Rue and Co ; Professor Uloricbji, Iowa City. IT. S. ; 
Dr. Muter (with enclosure); W. Caas; W. IL Perkin, V\l.&.; F. Sut- 
ton, F.C.S, ; 11. D. C4jlHngwood; Lumsden and Son iwith encloeare); 
B. Wheeler (wlthcncloeure); T. Geevcs; J. and W< Klckard (with en- 
closure) ; Rurnard. Lack, and Co, <wUh enclt>«ure>: Dr. Andrewajfwllh 
enclofttire); Albright and Wil*.in(wlth tnelcwure) ; and Dr. Odllng, F.R,8. 

Boota iSf^jafped:—" Annual Keport of the United States Patent 
Offioe for the year 1866," fhxm the HiHiournlde the Commfmioner of 
Fatenia, Waahington. "Cauaerlet ScUnLiUqma^ Deoouverlea et In- 
veIlllon^ Progri>a de la S*ience et rindusl* le, Ou vrago orn6 de « vi- 

r^tteaetdTuno Chramolltbos.'raphe, llultlt^me Ann6«. i869," I^rl5 : 
UothKchlld, Edltour. 'The Law to Regulate the Sal© uf Pola<niu 
wllhln Great Britain.'' By William Flux. L^odtm: John Churchill 
and'BoiM, " Mwr« Light: a Dream in r*clence.** London: Wyman 
and Sons, •* Keport of the Manche'^U-r Sclentlflc atndents' AsaooiatlOQ 
for the year 1S6S." Mancheater: Cave and Sever; Kdwin HIater. 
"Bmlthwfdte'ft Retrospect of Practical Medicine and Surgery" Part 
triit.. January Uniform A mertean edition. New York: lownaend and 
Adams. Ameiic&n Reprint of Ofaemlcal News. Febrnwy. 



I 
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ISngUsh Edition, VoL XH., No, MS, itage 106 j No- 480, page 64 f No, 4fl2,T»aBe 108.] 







Aineriemi Su^lemeni. 




AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT. 

New York, April, 1869. 



The EVevir Fr«ticli Dietionary orchciuiBtry. 

Thrbg parts of this work are now before us, and tliey 
cany it 480 pages, beginning with Abichite and ending 
wjtb Atropine. The work is not planni^d on ao grea', 
a scale as Watts' D:ctionary, and the style of writing is 
not so precise and compact as that of tbe latter. Yet il 
is to be prepared by eome of the most competent of tbe 
French authora, and there will be good opportunities to 
correct ihe deficiencies of tlie Engliaii work, as well as 
to add the latest developnienta of the science. It is a 
fery great advantage to the editors to have so perfect a 
model as Watts' Dictionary to guide them and to aug- 
geet improvements. 

We expect to find a great deal worth reading, es- 
peoialiy in the articles on the various departments of 
chemical philosophy, inasmuch as French chemists are 
always theorists, and as Wurtz, Naquet, and some 
otbera of tbe editors are recognized as lemlers. 

We beUeve that we cannot do our readers a greater 
favor touching this work than to give as a aample of 
it the following introduction of its article on Atomicity r 

'* Atomiciiy. — Thus we name the capacity of com- 
bination of atoms. We know that — 

t A(cun of cliloHpo comblDes wiUi t utom of hj(lrog«D. 
I " oiygeti " 3 aUitiai " 

t •' oltrij^Q " 3 ** " 

1 " cw't>on " 4 •* " 

These simple bodies differ from each other in their 
capacity of combination lor hjrdrogen, and Lliis csapacitv 
is measured by the number of atoms of Itydrogen which 
they are able to fix. We see, ihen, that capacity of 
combination is not synonymous wiih affinity. The 
energy with which a body 13 combined with another 
body is independent of the ficulty which it possesses 
of attracting one or several uf the atoms of the latter. 

"The first is affinity, the second atomicity: both are 
Diftnifestations of the cnemical force. 

" Affinity ia measured by thu quantity of via viva 
which is transformed in the eifect of combination, and 
is manifested as heat. 

" Atomicity is measured by the number of atoms of 
hydrogen, or of an analogous element, which a given 
body can fix. The jaitoms of cbloiine and those of hy- 
drogen are ao made that one atom of the first attracts 
always one atom of the second. The force with which 
it attracts is affinity ; the virtue of contenting itself 
with a single atom ia atomicity. In tfie latter respect 
the atoms of chlorine and of hydrogen are or the same 
▼alae: one atom of tbe one is fixed by one atom only 
of the other. The force which resides in them is a 
powerful force, but simple. The force which re.^des in 
an atom of oxygen is powerful also, but of a more com- 
plex nature, smce it is able to attach two atoms of 
hydrogen, when an atom of chlorine can attract but a 
Biiigie one. 

" Here, are atoms of cWorine; as they come into the 
sphere of Activity of the atoms of hydrogen, an atom ol 
the one is preci[>itated upon an aiom of the other: ihire 
is a combination. There, are atoms of oxygen which 
penetrate into the sphere of activity of atoms of hy- 
drogen ; an atom of one attracts two of the other : 
there is a combination. Tims we demonstrate, in the 
fore* which attracts the atoms of ooe body towards the 



atoms of another^body, two distinct things, namely : 
tst, its intensity; 2d, its action, simple or multiple. 
These two raanilestations of the chemical force are 
ijidependent of each other. In fact, the energy o\' 
aflinity i» not a measure of the degree of atomicity. 

*' Chlorine attracts hydrogen with more force than 
carbon, and yet one atom of carbon can unite itself 
with four atoms of hydrogen, while an atom of chlorine 
takes but a single one of hydrogen. 

" Atomicity is, then, that peculiar property of an atom 
of attracting a number greater or less of other atoms. 
It is its value, or, as we say, its capacity of combination 
m relation to those other atoms." 

The article, on the introduction as above, proceeds 
to consider ihe measure of atomicity, atomicity as a 
means of classification, atomit:iiy considered in chemical 
reactions, and, finally, atomicity as a means of deter- 
mining the manner of the arningement of atoms in com- 
pound?. The whole aiticle covers ten pages of the 
dictionary, and our quotation comprises a Utile less 
than half a page of it 



TUe Nuiuerteal Re1atl«iiii or AtomH. Neir Elotnetita 

Predicted. 

In the following table the elements are an'anged 
In two columns, according to their even or odd atomi- 
citiesj and at tbe same time observing the order of their 
atomic numbers : 



Ariiad$. 




Ptrismdi 


r. 




• 


Hydrogen, 


I 


GHucinum, 


93 


Lithiumj 


7 


Carbon, 


12 


Boron, 


II 






Nitrogen, 


14 


Oxygen, 


16 


Fluorine, 


'9 


Magnesium, 


24 


Sodium, 


23 


Aluminum, 


27*4 






Silicon, 


28 










Phosphorus, 


31 


Sulphur, 


32 


Chlorine, 


35'5 


Calcium, 


40 


Potassium, 


39*^ 


Titanium, 


50 


Vanadium, 


5'*4 


Chromium, 


52-2 






Manganese, 


SS 






Iron, 


S6 






Nickel, 


58-8 






Cobalt, 


588 
617 






Yitrium, 






Copper, 


63-4 






Zinc^ 


652 






Indium, 


72 










Arsenic, 


75 


Selenium, 


79'4 


Bromine, 


80 


Stroatium, 


87-6 


Rubidium^ 


854 


Zirconium, 


896 






Cerium, 


92 






Lanthanum, 


93*6 


Columbium, 


94 


Molvbdenuni, 
Rutlienium, 


96 






io4*4 






Rhodium, 


104-4 






Palladium, 


1066 


Silver, 


toS 


Cadmium, 


112 






Erbium, 


1126 






Tin, 


118 


Uranium, 


120 






Antimony, 


122 


Tellurium, 


128 


Iodine, 


127 


Barium, 


137 


Cffisium, 


133 


Tungsten, 


184 


TaataluxD, * 


i8i 




mertecmSnjppl 




ApHKiam, 



Artiadg. 

Didymiuro, 195 

Iridium, 196 

Platinum, 1974 

Osmiam, 1 992 

Mercury, 200 

Lead, 207 



Periaaaok, 



Gold. 



«97 



Thallium^ 204 

BismuLh, 210 

Thorinuffl, 231 

An inspection of this table shows that the elements 
are brought into somettiiug like a natural relation wilU 
each other. Where the atomic numbers agree in iJtie 
two columns^ tliere 13 a still Jurther agreement in the 
corresponding elements ; (he elemtMit 01 even atomicity 
is paired, or mated, witii an element of odd atomicity. 
Probably for each columft there is a progression of 
propertieg from the top to the bottom in the order and 
m me proportion of the uurobers, and the diueovery oi' 
Buch properties is a fair and open problem. Also the 
column* readily break up mio smaller columns or groups^ 
some of which have been recognized for a long time. 
Below are examples : 

I. 
Lithium, 7 Glucinum, 9'3 

Sodium, 23 Magneaium, 24 

Pota;siura, 39 Calcium, 40 

Rubidium, 854 Strontium, 876 * 

CflBsiunj, 133 Barium, 137 



Fluorine, 
Chlorine, 
Bromine, 
Iodine. 



19 (ixygen, 

35'S Sulptiur, 

bo Sflenium, 

27 TelliJiriuin, 



16 
32 
79*4 
128 



And we add some of the most striking of the remain- 
ing couples : 

Silver, 108 PHlladium, 1066 

Gold, 197 riatinuui, iy7"4 

Lead, 200 Thallium^ 204 

Thy peculiar rclatjonship of the artiads and perissads 
in (l) is very striking. On one side are all ihe metaLs 
of the known alkalies, and each is paired with a metal 
of a well-known akiiline earth. Moreover, on each 
side there is a pl^iin progression of properties in ihe 
order of tlje atomic numbers. 

The standing out, uLpaired, of hydrogen, nitrogen, 
phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and hismuih is very 
noticeable, lor tliese are the only unmated elements of 
the peristad column. What is the explanation? Can 
we bring ihem into relation with Ihe fhiorine and oxy- 
gen group ? 

Bill there are many artiails which have no corre- 
sponding peri8.«ads, and it w very ncittceable that so 
many ol these occur together. Frqui titanium 50 to 
selenium 794 there i« no pairing. 

Is it possible that these vacant plai;es are to be filled 
by tbe discovery ot new elements? Tliat this question 
has a iair foundutiou will be concluded when it is re- 
marked what a very appropriate place had been reserved 
for rubidium and cse-ium at the side of strontium and 
barium. If ihe theory here suggested is tenable^ we 
may continue the search lor new elements with con- 
fidence, and we may know in advance something ol 

'IT nature and properties. We may, tor example, 
fomiore alkali metala, and especially HUch as will 
place between potasaiiim and rubiuium, between 
ua an4 csutum, and below c«esium. 



^ 



HO or 11,0. Xlie Atomle Notation. 

Daltos's atomic tlieory nnphed exact numerical re- 
lations between the atoujs ot difierent kinds of matter. 
Ihe theory having been accepted, there was no labor 
more urgent among chemistei than tlie determination of 
the atomic numbers, for under these numt>er8 hiy untold 
treasures of knowledge. Fronj that time forward the 
atomic theory and the atomic numbers have become 
and will ever remnin ihe foundation ot our science and 
our art of cheraiatiy. Where would be our chemisUy 
without them ? 

Dft!ton,made the first effort to determine the rela^ 
live weights of some of the atoms. But Dalton waa a 
phdoi^opher, and he had a great work as reforujer and 
inaituctor to pertorm; he iiad not the time nor the 
apiitude for nice chemical analysea. Hia object waa 
to dlustrate and enforce his aiomic theory, and the 
numbers he gave were sufficiently near the truth for 
that. 

Shortly afterwards the gieat Ber^ehus, than whom 
perhaps no one who lias ever lived was better endowed 
by imiure and education for the service, commenced a 
systematic course ol experiti*ent and analyses, with the 
view of determining with extreme exactness the true 
atomic numbers. This work occupied the best | art of 
his long and industrious liie. Bcrzehus' table of aiomic 
numbcis is one of the noblest and most enUuring monu- 
ments which the patience and skill of a single man baa 
ever reared. 

Dalton supposed an atom of water to be made up of 
one atom ol hydrogen and one of oxygen. He used 
properly all the criteria ot judgment he had, and made 
a uiistake. In his liine it was possible to determine, 
with considerable exactness, the relative weight of hy- 
drogen and oxy^'en in water, but there were not sufficient 
data lor deteritjining the ratio of tlie number of their 
aioais:— It was known that Uie total hydrogen was to 
total oxygen, by weight, as t : 8; but there was then 
00 sufficient reason lor fixing ihu number of the atoms 
of each. Dalton £ atoms, like his atialyucal daia, were 
therefore only temporary or provisional, aud to be 
set aside as soon us the truth could be mere exacUy 
Btate'd. Berzelius satisfied hitii»elf tliai the atom of 
water is composed of three atoms, viz., two of hydro- 
gen and one ot oxygen, and bO he tuugut. His criteria 
of judgment were guou; in lact, nearly all tliat we use 
at the present day. But his ciitic^, fspecia.ly Grmelin, 
ajifi&iled his reasoning with vigor, m»d Uiey prevailed. 
To-day this truth, crusbed tu eujth, is risen again in 
new strength, and hereafter it will laJce its place among 
our most impregnable docuines. 

The true atomic constitution of water being esta- 
blished, we respectfully HUggest to tlie teachers tiial 
they (ire unwLse and unsafe in persbting in teuching a 
false doctrine, Why not cut udril't, with a single eflbrt, 
all the text-book,-! which yre not ba.sed on the true 
atomic notation? Tbe cheuiic&l world have been 
searching for sixiy years alter tiuthJul atomic numbers, 
and now that we have ihem, why should we hesitate 
to adopt them? 

The atomic notation lies at the foundation of the 
modern chemical philosophy. ^Vlien it is accepted and 
understood the* dwtrine 0! atomicity and the overthrow 
of the duftlistic theory follow without an effort. In 
tiie li^ht of the atoajic notation, what was mystery 
beyond the <cmtiny of the greatest intellects becomes 
simple facta which can be taught to children. 

There appears to be a notion prevailing among those 
who have not studied tbe new chemical philosophy, that 



i 



I 
J 





AiTwrican Supplem&rU, 



219 



new notation-tiible is not so simple &s tlio old, and 
uthe new philouophy in detail is quite abstruse. The 
>tioo is far from being just and true. Those who liave 
sveloped the new philosophy, not always seeing their 
itb clear, have sometimes gone astray, and >»ave mag- 
nified the importance of little things, so that to those 
looking on, there appeared a great deal of confusion and 
uncertainty. There was a great couteit, and in it the 
combatants and the interests involved were oJlea 
obscured by the smoke. Moreover, some of the Irium- 
pbant reformei 3 are still 80 geoerous and chivalric iliat 
the/ do not demand ihe complete submission of their 
late antagonists; they strive hard to fiud apologies for 
the old nuinl}er8 and for dualism. They find the old 
numbers chemical equivalents, and speak very respect- 
folly of what they call the equivalent notation, as if it 
never pretended to be anyLliing else and tu^ if it in 
remarkable that it should be an equivalent notation, 
although mij notation founded on chemiL-al analysis is ul 
necessity equivalent The fact is, the old noLation as 
ao equivalent notation has no point of advantage over 
the new ; tlie atomic notation is thu nearest realization 
of what is (leiiirable in an equivalent nutation. 
• During the last twenty years the philosophy of the 
physiciil sciences husbeen stirred up fiom its very low- 
est depths. There has been a revolution in ideas, and k 
ought to be recoj^nized now in all its constjquences. 
The reconstruction mast proceed ; woe to Mm who 
stands in its way 1 



CrmcklnK, airalii. 

Cbaokjno of petroleum seems to be a subject very irri- 
tating and provocative of hard words. Dr. Hirsuh 
naturally is not content with the flagellation he received 
froraiProf. Peckbam, and asks to be allowed 10 put in a 
few words. He nends uh for pubhcation an article 
which, on account of its len;3'th, we are forced to dechnt. 
Iq it he shows that his language and his ideas have been 
misunderstood and misrepresented j in fact, he does not 
maierially on the main question disagree witli Piof. 
Peckham. His first article was intended to take for 
granted things which he was accused of denying; ii 
oiscussed points in detail which never before had been 
touched. In our judgment, Dr. Hirsch makes out a 
pretty good case. All parties are to be cuiigratulated 
at the termination of a di?tpute by tlie discovery that it 
had very little foundation. We suppose now aE crook- 
ed words are withdrawn, and that they were never 
used except in a Pickwickian sense. 

As a sample of Dr. Hirsch's rttjuinder, we present 
the following extra<:*t, which covers a qut-stion alluded 
to in the letter of Prof. Peckham which appeared in 
our last : — 

" The third rule is called correct, and, like the fourth, 
not criticised; I therefore proceed to the fifth, wbicii 
reads thus : ' The difference of gravity between the oil 
distilled and the distillate is io direct proportion to the 
quantity of water produced during the process.' 

" This rule is relieri ed to aa ' extraordinary, because it 
presumes the transmutation of one elmient into an- 
other, if water can be produced by the distillation 
of volatile hydrocarbons with excliaion of omfifen,' 

" But this exclusion uf oxygen could only originate 
in the fertile brain ot Mr. Peckham, as surely no micIi 
assertion can be found in my paper on the subject. 
It is true, I (Ed not detail the manner in which the* 
oxygen gains access to the boiling oil, because this i^ 
a matter too well known to all practical distillers. But 



since the above criticism shows that not everybody is 
a distiller, even of those who write on the subject, I 
shall attempt to explain. 

'* During the operation of cracking, volumes of oil- 
vapors fill up the upper portion of the atdL They rise 
to the top, where by radiation, or by other means for 
coolmg, they are condensed, the cons<iquenee of which 
coudfusatiun is a partial vacuum. At the same time 
lire lire is kept low, the hent is insufficient to fill in- 
aanily tlie vacuum created with fresh vapors, when 
that space wUl at once bf occupied by air, winch enter* 
through the condenser, generally a worm. 

" If, lis is u^aual, a U-siiaped mbe, called a gas-trap (and 
u.-ed to aid the separation of the gaseous from the liquid 
disiilJate), forms tiie end of tlie worm, the liquid filling 
up that part of the tube U continually drawn into the 
condenser, producing ttve noise peeuhar to the suction 
of a pump, thus keeping time to the almost regiilar 
pulsations of the oil in tJliC still (the rise and condensa- 
uon of the vapors), and marking plainly the entrance 
of air into the apparatus,, the joiiing noise in which 
soon reveals the presence of an abundant supply of 
water. 

" The more, as stated in the other rides, tlietop of the 
still is cooled, the greater will be the vacuum and the 
more often and abundant will be the access of air and 
the consequent formation ot water. A great reduction 
in the gravity of the distillate is always accompanied 
by the production of water and the phenomena 
deacri bed. 

'' If I do not assume a wilful misconception of mj 
article, especially oJ this fifiHi rale (and I huve no cause 
Ut do so), I am at a loss how to express my opinion 
of the criticiani any better than by ihe following anec- 
dote, which 1 read many years ago : — 

" During a heavy lainshower, a man hurrying to a 
place of shelter noticed a person sitiing on a curbstone, 
L'Xposed to the vehemence ol the stoim, while he had 
both his boots pulled olT. '^ What are you about?' ex- 
claimed the man astonished. ' Oh,' rephed the other, 
coughing, ' my lunga are very feeble, and my physician 
strongly urged it upon rae always to change my 
stockuigs the moment wet weather sets in. As I mean 
to Jollow his advice fsin'ctly, 1 don't even wait until I 
get home, but change them now, from my right foot 
to the left and from my left I put the stocking on my 
right foot.' 

*■ J beg leave to state, that I for ray part don't write 
for such patienis."' 



Dead f*1aMttlc« va. I^ivtufc self^nce. Tfae New Edu- 
eulion. 

The overseers of Harvard College have nominated 
Charles W. Eliot for President of the University, and 
will submit liis election to a future meeting of tlie cor- 
poration. Mr. Eliot is a son ol Hon. Sam. A. Eliot, and 
at present is professor of analytical chemistry and metal- 
lurgy in the Massachusetts Institute of Ttchnology; he 
irf one or the authors of Elioi and Storer's Manual of 
Chcniistry, and coninbuted to the Allantic Monthly for 
February a striking article, entitled *' The New Educa- 
tion," in which he advocates a greater prominence of 
ihe physical sciences in the college curriculum. The 
rleotion wiil probably lest the strength of the corpora- 
tion on the question ol dead language classics V8. modem 
scit'nce, Th^ fact that such a qiiestiou has come up so 
prominently in our most jincient seat of learning is 
surely aignificaiit Mr. Eliot ia still a young man, being 



220 



Anvericcm Suppi 






only thirty-eight years gf age, and if he is defeated 
now, he can liopefully bide another time. Union Col- 
lege, which we believe was ihe first ortbodox seminary 
of learning which allowed its students to substitute 
modern science for Greek and Latin, la also looking for 
a president The ciioice, which shall be made by tlieae 
institutions, is of the very highest moment to the scien- 
tific; interests of America. 



The New York Lyeeoiu or RTatoriLl History. 

" PRorsBSOR sharply ridiculed the absurdity of 

New York in its scientilic aspect*. EHurts had been 
made to establish a Lyceum of History; a building 
was erected, which, on account of a paltry mortgage, 
was subsequently given up, and slier tiiia the collection 
was packed up aud moved from one place to auulher, 
till finally it waa destroyed by fire; * and dow (said he; 
I have here on view i[s remains : the head of an old 
mammoth, and some speeimens of crystal quartz — this 
is the end of what was the principal collection in New 
York.' " 

The ubove is extracted from a popular monthly maga- 
zine^ and is calculated to be harmful lo one ol the most 
worthy of American societies. The Lyceum lias been 
in healthy exiatence for more than filty years. It hai> 
included amoug its members all, or nearly alt, the active 
promoters of science residing iu tbe city since its origin. 
At present there are over three hundred resident mem- 
bers, and about as many more corresponding meuiben*. 
Its committee, or section on chemistry, at present num- 
bers fifty -six. The meetings of the Lyceum are weekly, 
and are well attended and spirited. The transactions 
are reguliiriy pubhahed, and are exchanged with learned 
societies all over the vvttrld. It has a large and very 
vaduabie hbrary^ and great additions are constantly 
being made to it. It is the only society in the city 
for the promotion of uatural history amJ tbe physical 
sciences, imd is believed to combine nearly ail the sin- 
cere love und zeid for thesu sciences which has been 
discovered here. 

It is, mdeeJ, true that the society is not rich itj 
money endowments. But there are thuse whu honeatly 
believe ihat ihe possesidon uf money would bring seriuus 
embarrassments to the carrying on tue legitimate objecui 
of the society. Riches ofiea prove the ruitr ot societiest 
as weE as mdividuaJs, Natural history collections and 
fine apparatus and buildings are very desirable for 
popular instruction, but they are of little use to a 
society of original investigators. Pecuniary affairs 
need to be managed by business men, and tliey might 
prove only a snare and a pitfall to those who have not 
the aptitude to manage tbem. New York ought, by 
all means, to have great acienttfic collections, and in 
due time wo think she will have them in the Central 
Park, and they will properly be created and managed 
by the bus'mess men. 



NBW PCllLlCATiaiVS. 

Huw TO BKAb CuASAcnii. A oew llluallj-ated llaud-Buok of Phreuo- 
U>fC7 and fbjilu^iiuiuy. for SCQi.leaLa mid Kxomlaera. Pp. igu New 
YorK,: Swnucl K. WeJa. 

Tus DiaoUtf of thr rgrmerlj Wellkniiwn publifhing GriiL, Fowler A 
WtfliJi, Wfctni U> bKve (a.[ifii on tliu wurUiy und timu'.u sboulJorti of Mr. 
W«tK The publlcfldunv of ilie e»ubllaiuueitl will Uierurure conttnnQ 
to b« flr«t'el«ia», »u r«r*fc» rc^fardi tl>« mecbaalca.1 uDii niauTUl p^rU 
Tba pbranwlOKy— «oleao« of iHt axiai — of ttilt book U ihe bumpolog; 
af itar joQtb : It ha* more livtii than a cat. 

Ctasr Piwovui» <ur CmxuiffAi. fvuvtOFici, Pari iFUat. Bf JMitk 



^v A Go. 

I of 



P. Cuok«, Jr., Erring Profeteor of Cheinl"*'^' 

Harvard Cullt-ge, Pp. 196. Cdoitiri'l^e ; w 
Till* Is th"' mnti tfi.iniili!Uj,«;X4Kt, ami cjitvoiu' 
L'liciulcai lb«urlv0 wbk-h^upto Ui« preuut Uuit, .. 
U L» udialruble (ur u coliegv text-book. 
HrE^TEHiA. Kemotc (Jaiwes uT I)is.«u«s \n General. Trffitmrnt rf fMs 

evJM^ bj TMtitc Ai?ency. l-^jcalor aurgical f-.i 

Itectarea dvllveietl lo thi- studcats at :*>t < 

1S66. B> F. C. Skey, f.K.S. tfecutid Aii,. 

New Vork: Tuwusend i Adanu. 
THc-it lecturer arc to ijvcljp and ao pUtnly apokea, that they aro 
rtiibihn;c even for the non-prolrisvlunai. 

AxNUALoy SciBNTiric Dt«:ov«aT; or. YeAt-Book ofFacUln Science 
and Art for 1869, vtc. hdl^-d by Aaaiuvi KneeUud, AM., aiU. 
Pp- 377< ii<uaton: Gonld k Lincoln. 

Tn>8 TotuniM i» adorued with a fine portrait oT ProftHaor Juno D. 

Datiii. It DudaiJiliiii ihe wvU-iiDOWD blg^b ebaracLer oftbc MirtcA. 

Aranru : It* Obemkul, Pbjrslolugicnl, and Therapeutic Action, to- 
gvUicr with Kxpviluicr.ts lnatliut«a to AitCfriain It^ TK^xicolof^eii 
I'raperdta, By siimuel \L Percy, MJ>., Pr^e«ftor vt .Maurria Mnutm, 
ew, l*p. ?43 It) a66 of ih<f X. 1'. Ji^icol Jounutl lot \Jtc^ 1S6S. 

Tills l> cUi e**My for wiiloh wa* awarded the prl/e, for the yea** i8$7>8| 

of tbu AJiinuii AModaUon of the Medloml Dvpartuaent uf UulaiuUV 

C^ittcge. 

Tuc WamcnrarcB Kktibw, JajiQary^ xUig. Tbs Enntiivaoii Rsrtvir, 

January, 1869. 
The ooplei b«foit ua are tlic roimUHCiJtlooi i»f the Leonard i*cotl Pnb- 
Itoblug Co., 140 PuUoQ SU, >ivw Vork. Th<* tdlnbarifb c<jQialn» u 
vis»y on t\xe aUuitoraUoa ol food, aad Ita cuMoiaary r«fwnt^ of MiaftUlO 
iuteiligciutf. 

Thb AMKBICAN JoDltXAL Of SCIKXCB AMD AilT, Mvch, l46^ 

Tnt artlcte« In lhi» uuniber of special Inti-rejit U) cbemlau ur^ : t, On %■, 
uew Hull conlAliilng 1 in, C^aaalDiu, and L hloili»«. By &. i\ dbiirplr*. k,\ 
Lipon tL«s AUyinlc Volume* o* liquid*, liy F. W. Clark, i. k* 
Wave LeugtliB *f U>« speclr4U Unea of tlio Klcmi-'iiti. ' 
Ollib». 4, i>ii Lite Cuoditiuii of our KdifWlcift^of tbe Hrocv 

«.um» Flauii'a. by IsL W. JJIllgjud. 5. >ii/tice» <jf DeW Mi-ti . __ii 

thti Lnitudsuttfs. By C. Li. ftliepard. 6, Un Nilrlflc.iliou. liy J, W, 
Uobnuon. 7. Ou A Modified Forui of the ^itmttt of Silver Teat ri*r Af> I 
scale Add. By L'harJca k. Arery. B. NoUcuft of t'aper* lu Pbyil»> { 
lojflciAl Cbeinlsiry. Hy Ueo. F. Btuker, 9. A new Meiei^rlc iron. ^ 
tviAcousiu Muiuurlteii"— wuu »ouiti reiudTLi un ih« Wtdt 
Kigures. By J. La«rt>uct» Mnilb. 



^ 



I 



IIIII£VITIIS$. 

TiiROKOKR SSTHOHO, an flnilU4!Ut mutbematlcUD, dU>d Febn 
Nirw Hraijawlck, X, J., at tbe age ofyj^. He graduated at Yaiu 1 
III ]8ia. ll« w,uiit oae lliiiti u prolei.<rur at tlaiuilton CuUuite, 
scfjueutly ut Kul^vra CoLluge. Ilu waa the autbi^j- of mttay 
pu]KMii on uiatbeiuailcal &ubjfcts, iinU mI xi\,; tliuc ot hia dentii 
oy bitu un tbtf dUTcri^uiial liud ioi«{frid <.>m1cu1ub was In prMiL 

JuUN CA»»t»i, un enilneut urtillhulogiat, died In Phltadclphia. Janoary 
10, ut tiiu Mge ui 57. liu AM^autfi all nla Uiauro uf tbtrtjr yejua to Um 
dtudy 01 Lis ruTorue &cieaoe. 

TiiH Amtriviin^ Joarnai cff Scitnce r^' -:--"--- ^"-.^t "^ gjoiB( 
cut 6(K:kty tiju rec«tiUy beoti Justitutt!>l > x itix for iLs ot;|)«iflliii 

tije uuvauceuieoc of i^joubcic aciuncc ui -.Jraue ttico^txi. 

butb lu Buautn and uirougbout tbo cuuuu v. V^e au8|wc4 ta«i 
ti« w adeaoe and art pertatna iotnvbuw to women. 

Wb have befbru ua, th© work of Tbos. OaflleJd, K»q.» 
biMUtful ttirt'Cl-ounluct pbulo^rapblc prints of fnrus. lheferD3W«rt 
urtlhUciilly urr,tn;;i-d wUiuiti tbc' outiiue of a wreath and A cri«», 
ibe etfiot Is vorj pJcaaln^. 

Wiriii.N » fttw uilUtfl of N#w York city, It It tald, there it an 4^rt«l»fl 
nltro-glyce.lo«j factory. A fc^w we«ks ainoe a Ciirt-loatl of lb« u _ 
ptx-p&ruUoo,ihe pouku^ea being mju-kod "gasuleue," wai Jolted ihrott^i 
(be beart uf tbe city, ^nd at auMtbcr time a quajitUy aatSulttnt m ^^ 
ijioIUli tbo city woadnuipoJ oa the Batiery. £^aeb rvckjaaa proce«dla^ | 
ought lo be declared a felony l>y \.\\v. ' 



TO COBHOSPONDBNTS. 

A. G. \'.,a/X. }'.— Ga4 UtQ«, as you rfoinrk, bs" •• ■ - •• 
liiaidK and the taeapa uf it aometlmes aeen nb 
nuisurtce*. But the foal fas and rolaille oompountL 

air on opening tbc boxtfa aro the main source of uili-m t m _ 

The eK{ien»c oud trouble of rentllaiinii' tliL- Iliii« before op^nlnijis tnt^f- 
oMcAnu • • • The Iron proci'W le locreaAtng In thVor. 

G. O. y„ 0/ 6>— The patented proc*»«e« for rcmUrititr kcro»e 
** nun-expk*lve," by ia«ii* of chemical afents, number a aeor* 
more. We do not kaww of one oj thetn wbloh U worUiy of a ihoo^fa^ 

S. JU. li., lyT Lkmti.—The pfofituhle manufacture of bleai-hiajr pow 
rcii^ulrea a coiiillniLiJot) ^f drcamsUucea h bicb baa nut yet bc«n 
llz«d id Aniertca. Yuu are RiUtnkeu in auppoalog Ibat ther« ar« 
a«crota, a knowiedgi' of which la eauntlat 

A jr. 5.^ 0/ Jfd**.— Orddo la almpiy a T*ry grod bncs. Th« ga] 
•elor ma b* got by alloying any whlba isaui with coppar. 



rbti M 

1 



AMERICAN DRUGGISTS' PRtCE-CURRENT-NEW YORK -JOBBERS' PRICES. 



DBVGS Ann CHBraiCALS. 

4>er oi 

No. R per lb 

fp.*rt04TU.aP„.., per ll> 

CbetnkaUjr Pur* .[.er lb 

Olftckl per lb 

B«ntolc, Gennao per ox 

Bomelc, pore per lb 

Citrte p#r lb 

Flai»rJc 1 lb bottiM .,,..p^rlb 

Forrolo .....,.,,....., .per lb 

OmllJc pcf lb 

Bydn'|>bo«pborotu. .|p*r lb 

Lietle , perlb^ 

MuriaUc, 18 dtgr^ei , , . . .|>er tb 

chemical par« )t«r lb 

N1tHc88 defre<>i , par lb 

cticmlral pore........... ...|>erlb 

Oxalic pjtrnt. , ...per lb 

FbiMpborie, ^bdal .per lb 

Tromic. ,. p«r os 

8all»harlc ., .per lb 

cbemtcAl pnre pet lb 

Talerian , per ox 

Tarurio, poirdere<I per U> 

A«n1l# Lmtm , per lb 

Ae«nttla. ....ptrdr 

•-•"• ^""'. per lb 

r"'r ct per pi 

pnwdprrrl per lb 

irlne, powdered per lb 

atoo, Roman *..................,. prr lb 

Innip .., p^lh 

AflobenrrU^ gray per o» 

AiMaonia Carhonjil*, bulk p*r lb 

In Jars per lb 

Marijitfl __,.. ptr lb 

4liuD0Qla Aqua, 20 de(rre«s «.«, ptrib 

eft d«;rreft« ,*.,pcr1b 

Hfpnphiiephtte per lb 

0»al*i^.T. v»Vb 

Phn«pha(e for lb 

8iil(ihate per lb 

AniMmlam ValcrUrt Crystala per os 

Ammoniam Bromide ....,, ....per lb 

H.v(iro9<u1pbiirel -per lb 

Iodide P^rlb 

inrrdalln p«r«c 

lnUmoo7 and roUaa porlb 

Butter , par tb 

Amlc* Leuv'e« p«rlb 

Arrow Ruo t, Bermuda ....,....*,.,,......, per lb 

t^u Vincent. ................ .-per \b 

Anenic white powdered por lb 

red pulr per ib 

red. lump perlb 

Axaenle Sniution, Fow1er*a , .per % 

Iodide p«r«ii 

8(jL, Dobuvan'a ». . .p«r lb 

.p«rlb 

AapArafiD ....parol 

Alropla ...«« par dr 

Suluhate, .♦.,,..,..,.,.. .per <fr 

Valerian par dr 

Bftla*iKi rir pi'ml 

C«<pa]Ta. pf'r lb 

Pernrlan .... par lb 

Totu true .perlb 

Barba'toes Tar per lb 

Bark, Vim. per lb 

B*rk, <".-»ll«iava. quill .p«f lb 

Rrd. riulU per lb 

Plta>o ....perlb 

Caac&rllla.... ..par A 

itetereoD « per lb 

gft«safnia par lb 

Barrt* Muriate per!b 

Nitrate ,. per lb 

Bay Rum per gal 

Bebeerto, T'ttn* pvr oS 

Sulphnte p<*r rt 

nn.t Leftvea .p»*r lb 

rtaie j^oda ,.,.p*T lb 

wle P(itit«h per Ib 

th MfUlllc perlb 

nnd Ammonln Cilm'e foliiMe .... .per oi 
and Ammii-nUCitniie SoiutiMn....p'>r lb 

I Oxvehluride .perlb 

I SnbCMrboii per lb 

F 8tib-NUrate per lb 

Tann ate per 0* 

Valerianate t>«rM 

BtnrVr TV i^n per ib 

r .perlb 

J a. true perlb 

h 'I ...perlb 

K-nr^roll prrlb 

Ine.. per Ih 

da ,,.„........».......p»To» 

aeba L««vea, lonir perlb 

•ban perlb 



4 

I 
I 



to 
IS to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 

to 
to 

to 
to 
to 

to 
to 

to 
to 
to 
lo 
lo 
to 
tu 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 

10 

to 
to 
to 

«0 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



IS to 
8 to 
lo 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 

(A 

to 



1 80 

ab 
as 

1 15 

8S0 

8S6 
496 

4 IS 

B 
88 

IB 
88 
88 

5 00 
19 

b 
ao 

1 40 
80 

sa 

B 00 

80 
S86 

88 
] 98 

11 
4M 
14 00 

SS 

94 

17 

19 

89 
4 95 
995 
900 

10 
1 00 
800 

•a 

A DA 

878 

I 10 

80 



90 
10 
80 
90 
17 
90 
88 

ia 

8 80 
8 BO 
8 00 
4bO 

4 7B 
1 OS 

00 

IS 

1 AO 
1 65 




to 98 

to 14 

to 84) 

to 40 

to 8 T8 

to 8 fiO 

to 8 Br) 

to 95 

to 7 

to 91 

to 880 

to 8.*) 

to 1 80 

to 7 00 

to 8 00 

to TOO 

to 1 00 

to 9 40 

to 600 

to 89 

to 10 

to 40 

to 8 00 

to 8 78 

to 09 

to 88 



Btirgondy Pitch, true .per lb 

Cadmlam, Bromide.. ..*, ,«.. per ns 

lovllde. ..,,,,.. ...per ot 

Metallto i>er lb 

Sulpbate per Ib 

Caffeine perns 

Oaldum fWuride per fb 

Iodide ...,,...,.,,..,., , per lb 

Oaltsaya liark^ Mllbau'a Original Elixir «if . per doa 

" u tt j^^ proas 

Callaaya Bark, Mtlbau'e Chalybeate Ellx. of per dns 
" « «i perffroaa 

Calomel, Hydroaub... .,.,.,,.,,. ..per lb 

C^uupbor, B^flned perlb 

Cannella Alba ....perlb 

Canthartdea. powdered per lb 

Carbollu Ada cryatala per oi 

" " eolation per lb 

*' " " coininoa.............per lb 

Carbon Bi-?ulphuret. . ..,...,... .per lb 

Cascirllla Bark perlb 

Ca-vla Roda per Ib 

Castor Oil per gal 

CauftlcSoda perlb 

Centaury Minor .,..,,,,.. per lb 

Cerium, Oxalate per os 

Nitrate ,...♦,,.., per ue 

Chalk Prcclp., Kngflah..., perlb 

Cb^-rry Laurel Water per tb 

Chlorate rolooa, EngUab itrr lb 

Cliiloride Lime. .........,,.,.,.,,...... per lb 

Chloroform per lb 

nnnamoo. Ceylon, true ....per lb 

dtrlne Ointment.. pertb 

Civet................... t>«r OS 

Cobalt perlb 

Cocculus IndlonB. perlb 

Cocoa BulU-r , -,..♦.. perlb 

Codeine per dr 

Cod Liver <>ll P^ff*! 

Cod Liver OH, r Phore Oil ♦n per eal 

cod Liver OU, J. C. Baker A Co.'a .per dea 

'* " •* per gross 

** " •* .. .0 groan, per ar 

Cod Liver Oil, Ilaxard A, C&svell'i per doK 

perfT 

Cod Liver Oil, Wllhan's OoVflen per aox 

MUb-nu'e Etherized ........ .per Broee 

Ood Urer Oil, Mllltau'e, wltb ibe Hypo- } per doe 
pho!tr>btle of Lime ) per groea 

Collodion ........per n» 

Ca.nlharlda1 per doi 

C'rtl'vcynth, powdeitd... ».,.,..,... ..per lb 

Confecllu llt-ate^...,. .perlb 

SeniiiB i»er tb 

Conlam Leavea per IIT 

i 'onlln per oa 

Copper Ammonlated..................... ..perlb 

HUck Oxide ...perlb 

Car'ooate.... per lb 

Sulphur, par* per lb 

Copperaa perlb 

Onr^ofilve Bnbllinate... ..per Ib 

Cream Tartar, powdered, pttre .per lb 

Co'eb* , pet lb 

Cnbi'Mn per dr 

Ctttilrfiah Bone per lb 

Dlifltalla tferb perlb 

DIgiullne per dr 

|li»Ter*B Powder ,,, ...per lb 

DrafoQ^B Blood, roasa per tb 

rtredt ......fter tb 

nuleamara Btems.... .perlb 

Emetine |»er oa 

Kmery Com ....perlb 

Flour......... ...4-4 - .per lb 

Epeom Sftlia -. ...per lb 

Kr^f. new ..fter lb 

Crifotiiie per oa 

£lber, Aoelie per lb 

Buiyrlo, concentrated.*.. p«-rlb 

ButyraCfoua per lb 

Chloric per Ib 

concentrated. ................ per lb 

Fornilt? - ..,.,,,,.... f*r lb 

Sttlpburic ..p*rlb 

wa^ed perlb 

concentrntcd........ per Ib 

Extr. Jockey Club.ChlrU perlb 

Exlr. Ese BonqoH, ChlrU per lb 

Extr Bftnana. superior, per Ib 

Extr. orange, superior perlb 

Fluorspar ....per lb 

Flowera, Altbea per lb 

Amiea per lb 

BormK* ........................... per U» 

CbAnn«mlle. Oemuin ........ .per lb 

Chftmomllti, Roman, 1887. . , .per lb 

Lavrnd«r perlb 

Molra, l«fe. perlb 

.....«.>■■««■«•. .perlb 



S 60 



100 



222 



Americcm Druggist^ Prioe-Ourrent. 



(o-srar 



Flowers, Roaem wy. p«r n> 

lillM per lb 

Violet per lb 

Fasel (Ml, pnrifled .per lb 

FeiTO - Pboephorated Elixir of CaliBayft I per dos 
Bar)c, Hes&rd A Cuwell'a, ) per gr* 

Gamboge ..perlb 

GeliUiDA French Ptnk per lb 

Gelatine, White French per lb 

Cox's per doi 

Ginger, Jamaica, bleaahed per lb 

Ginaeng per lb 

Glauber Salts per lb 

Glycerine, common per lb 

concentrated per lb 

** Bowers" per lb 

"Price's'' per lb 

Gtjcerole Hypophospbfte per lb 

Grains D'Amhrette per lb 

Paradise per lb 

Gnm Acroides per lb 

, Amber per lb 

Ammnntno. per lb 

Arabic, Turkey, sorts per lb 

l»t picked, Trieste. per lb 

«d " " perlb 

8d " •♦ perlb 

Barbary per lb 

AssaftBtida perlb 

Benzoin, common. per lb 

prime per lb 

white marbled perlb 

Oopal, Accra per lb 

Benamela. per lb 

Eowrle per lb 

Damar, Bata^ia per lb 

Sinfrapore per lb 

Eleml, Aromatic per lb 

Euphorbinm per lb 

Galbannm per lb 

strained per lb 

Gedda per lb 

Onalacum per lb 

Btraine^ per lb 

Kino per lb 

Mastic per lb 

Myrrh, Turkey, powdered. per lb 

OUbannm per lb 

' teara per lb 

flandarac per lb 

Shellac, CampbeirsD. perlb 

Garnet perlb 

No. 2 perlb 

Native. per lb 

J Senefral per lb 

Trag^anth, common per lb 

flake perlb 

flaky sorts per lb 

Harlem Oil, Dutch .-. per doi 

Hofl^an's Anodyne per lb 

Hydriodate Potash, Atkinson's per lb 

Conrad''s per ib 

Hyoecyaml Leaves per Ib 

Hypopboephite Ammon. . per lb 

Iron per lb 

lime perlb 

Manganese per Ib 

Potnsh per lb 

Soda perlb 

Iceland Moss per lb 

Indian Hemp, true per lb 

Insect Powder, true per lb 

Iodine, ResuMlmed per lb 

Crude, in bulk .- per lb 

Irish Moss per lb 

Iron, Alum perlb 

by Hydrogen per lb 

Ou-b. Proto per lb 

Predp perlb 

SCStrate and Ammonia per lb 

Msfmesla per lb 

Qninia per Ib 

Strychnine perlb 

rHypopbosphite per lb 

Iodide perlb 

Syrup per lb 

Lactate perlb 

Phosphnte, Precipitate per lb 

[Pyrophosphate per lb 

Syrup perlb 

[Sesquichloride per lb 

Sol perlb 

Sesqiilnitrate per lb 

Subsulpbate per Ib 

Sulphate, pnre per lb 

Exalccat per lb 

Snlphnret per lb 

Superphosphate Syrup per lb 

Tannate perlb 

Initia Ink per lb 

Isinglass, American perlb 

Rnmian, true perlb 

Jaalper JterHea per lb 

Jaafper '^ ^x^rd A CuweU'B per dox 

Xr9oac ,,^ perlb. 



to 


70 


to 


70 


to 


68 


to 


226 


to 12 00 


to14#00 


to 


185 


to 


1 46 


85 to 


1 00 


to 


2 60 


to 


80 


to 


85 


8 to 


4 


to 


86 


to 


60 


to 


80 


to 


1 16 


to 


1 76 


to 


60 


to 


80 


to 


24 


to 


60 


60 to 


76 


to 


66 


to 


95 


to 


76 


to 


65 


to 


40 


to 


66 


to 


90 


to 


1 00 


to 


110 


to 




to 


80 


to 


46 


to 


60 


to 


66 


to 


65 


to 


25 


to 


1 10 


to 


140 


to 


80 


60 to 


66 


to 


70 


' Ito 


1 00 


to 


4 26 


to 


75 


to 


80 


to 


40 


to 


66 


to 


60 


to 


66 


48 to 


60 


48 to 


60 


to 


60 


to 


60 


^ 80 to 


160 


^ to 


60 


to 


60 


to 


48 


to 


640 


to 


680 


to 


26 


to 


876 


to 


860 


to 


875 


to 14 00 


'to 


8 76 


to 


8 75 


10 to 


12 


to 


1 60 


to 


1 10 


to 


6 75 


to 


660 


to 


10 


to 


1 60 


to 


280 


to 


46 


to 


25 


to 


1 45 


to 


1 85 


to 10 00 


10 00 to 12 BO 


840 to 


8 60 


to 


826 


to 


8n 


to 


825 


to 


67 


to 


1 f 6 


to 


65 


to 


1 45 


to 


60 


to 


44 


to 


1 70 


to 


9 


to 


17 


to 


h\H 


to 


65 


to 


6 60 


to 


1 76 


to 


1 66 


to 


660 


to 


6 


to 


876 


to 


IM 



Lactucarlum pares 

Lead Acetate, puf e per Ib 

Licorice Paste, solid perlb 

Sicily perlb 

Calabria per lb 

Imitation per lb 

Barraoco per lb 

P.S perlb 

Lime, Carbonate, Precipitate per lb 

Hypopboephite per lb 

Iodide per lb 

Phosphate, Precipitate perlb 

Sulphite per lb 

Lime Juice per gal 

Lint, Tftvlor's per lb 

Lapis Oalaminarls per lb 

Laurel Berries per lb 

Leaves per lb 

Liquid Styrax per lb 

Long Pepper per lb 

Lunar CausUe, pnre .per oa 

67 per cent., N. 8 per oa 

Lvcopodium per lb 

Magnesia Cnrhonate per lb 

Calcined per lb 

ponderous. per lb 

Citrate perlb 

Sulphite per lb 

Manganese, powdered : per lb 

Sftjony perlb 

Manna, small flake, '67 perlb 

large flake, *67 per Ib 

sorts, new per lb 

Matico Leaves, true per lb 

Mercury per lb 

cum Greta per lb 

Magnesia.* per lb 

Oyanuret per lb 

Bnlphuret per lb 

Mercurial Ointment ()^M) per lb 

(KM) perlb 

Morphia Sulphate per oa 

A cetate per oa 

Mnrlate per OS 

Valerianate per oa 

Musk, true per oa 

in gmin true per oa 

Nnx Vomica per lb 

Oil, Amber. Crnde per lb 

Almonds (Expressed) Allen's per lb 

Essential, Allen's per lb 

Anise perlb 

Bergamot perlb 

FF, new crop per lb 

Bergamot, Donner's per lb 

Bersramot,— Sanderson's per lb 

Csde perlb 

C^Jeput per lb 

Camphor per lb 

Caraway per lb 

Seed perlb 

Cassia perlb 

Cinnamon, true peroa 

Citronolla, prime per lb 

Winter's per lb 

Cepaiva per lb 

Crotfin per lb 

Cubebs per Ib 

Cummin per lb 

Fennel per Ib 

Geranium per lb 

Chiris per lb 

Prepared per lb 

Turkish perlb 

Jessamine per lb 

Juniper per lb 

Berries, true per lb 

Lavender, Garden, forte per lb 

fine perlb 

Flowers, Chiris, No. 1 per lb 

Lavender Spike per lb . 

Laurel, Kxpreased per lb 

Lemon, Donner's perlb 

Lemon,— G K. * Co's perlb 

— Sanderxon'n (new) perlb 

Lemonimiss,— Winter's per lb 

Mace. Expressed . .per lb 

Marjorftm .per lb 

Myrrhane per Ib 

Neroli Bigarade per oa 

Chiris per oi 

Petit Grain per lb 

Olive, pure per gal 

Marseilles, quarts per box 

pints per box 

Orange per lb 

Origanum per lb 

Patohouly peroa 

Pennyroyal per lb 

Peppermint, pure per lb 

Rhodium per lb 

Bose, Klssaullck per OB 

J Rosemary, French per lb 

Trieste perlb 

\ CSbUte .parib 



100 



8T 
48 

fiO 

22 

875 

850 

40 

81 

80 

180 

8 

12 

19 



600 



90 

180 

96 

70 

45 

1 99 

1 80 

119 

190 

8 

12 

185 

160 

146 

60 

85 

68 

lis 

680 

80 

65 

-, 06 

to I8 60 
to 18 60 
to I8 60 
to 15 00 
to 16 00 
to 89 00 
to 18 
to 00 
to 90 
to 94 00 
to 400 



700 
600 
TOO 
700 
100 
200 
1 75 
276 
660 
400 
1 60 
975 
800 
800 
400 
4 60 

to 10 00 

to 800 
19 00 to 82 00 

to 18 00 

to 25 00 
14 00 to 18 00 

to 860 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 



190 
8 60 
1 65 

1 85 
8 75 
100 



460 
479 
475 
TOO 
9 60 
1 76 
900 
6 00 
600 
to 98 00 
to 960 
to 000 
to 796 
to 499 
to ISO 
to 495 
875 to 400 
600 to «99 
to 10 00 
to 1100 
to 118 
to 118 
to tfli 



75 



00, 8»Mn«, pure ....«<. ....^... ..per !b 

i i wf ra>. CMM, , -perils 

teMtme. e alod, fin e ....*..... „ .p«r lb 

Speumint, HotebkiM ...per lb 6 

6pil(e per lb 

euedDuni, crude ««.....^.. ..per lb 

rctiflcd... .^..****, ptrtb 

Twit,— " E-*tn>ftn'i*' per lb 

Tbvinfr, whito, tmre......... per lb 

PVaUrlan. per lb 
Wtuwrwreen . .. ....... tier lb 
WlDterEreea,TuiDea5«D Bros,,,.,.,,..p«r lb 
Wormwood ,..,.,...,,,..,.,..,.... ptr lb 

Worms««d, Wetura pcrtti 

^^ BAlUmor* |*BrJb 

^K Blftck Pepper ..^ per tb 

^H CojEtiao ....per OB 

^r Ergoi..,,......./. , p«roi 

' Dpiaio...,, ,. ptr lb 

OnofefiodBor Apples ....per lb 

CuracoA RlD6. per lb 

Olto Roae^pare.. peroi 11 

cotnmercUI „ . . , .pi^r ok 

Peppers, Zuudbar p«r Ih 

nioiphoruB ......pertb 

Amorpb ous. ..a.,,..,... .ptr lb 

Plpertn ,.».,.,.,,,...«,.*, .p«r«« 

Fodnph/llln perM 

pAPpy HeodB t>*f lb 

r Acetate per lb 
fiiearbonatc. per lb 
C«rbonat« , .per lb 
0»ft*tk\ oomiROD per lb 
wblle per lb 
(^rete p«rlb 
onm Celce. . . . . Jmt lb 
Hypophriephlte , . , , , ^m lb 
Permeiiganat*-, ordlJi*iT. • !>« lb 
Fbo»pbftto , p«r lb 
Pronftote per lb 
Salplutfl .per lb 
Tartnite per lb 

Polaralam. per o« 

BroTiide per lb 

1^^ Cyanide, fui per lb 

^H grfto .........perib 

^H Iodide perlb 

l^™ Balpburpt .. , ,.,,,,.,. ^., ..per lb 

' QBtolw. Citrate, with Irop per en 

fiolpbate, ADieiican .............. .per oe 

Fraacb perm 

<^aMla. ruped perlb 

BAdCbelkPtegera perlb 

Bed Pr^clpltote perlb 

KcelD of J lop, pure....... per lb 

Roebelle Salt per lb 

^Bpota, Ac<iinlte , per lb 

A Ikanet per lb 

Althfa per lb 

AojiTf Ilea .net ib 

Calamns ...,..„,.. .per lb 

Cftlcbirtun .per lb 

Colombo perlb 

Oalverifl per lb 

t>andelioD perlb 

OalMi^ perlb 

Gentian. ,, , perlb 

Ginger, Race, Afkiean par tt> 

Jamaica, Bleacbed per tb 

Golden Beal per lb 

Hellebore blaek perlb 

wh I te, powdered .......... per Ib 

IpeeacuanbB .., p«rlb 

powdered .perlb 

J»Up perlb 

powdered ..,,...... .per tb 

Licorice ..,»...,,, .per Ui 

Mandrake....... . .. perlb 

Orrii, Floreotlne per Ib 

Verona per lb 

Pink per lb 

Rhatany per lb 

Rbubarb, E. I perlb 8 

Turkey perlb 

6arsaparllla, Homluran. ... ........ .per Ib 

Mexican ...perlb 

Tnrbetb perlb 

Valerian, ED$rU«h per lb 

Ihitcb ,. perlb 

' German ^ .par lb 

Vf-rrnoDt per lb 

'Snake, Virginia per lb 

'Beoeoa per lb 

Leaves .pur lb 

Leavea .per lb 

Citblgo Perrl., perlb 

8affk-oo, American, new perlb 

Spnnlsb, true perlb 

S«*n. Pearl. perlb 

SaUcln ...,,.,...,-. per oal 

B»l Acptoseella ..,.,.♦.... .per lb 

Ammoolao per Ib 

9<vitt, Newcaatle perlb 

SaatoQJL&e ........... .. ..... per es 

tk ,.........'.;.,. ...!per lb 



i/Tugg%9t9 Jt nm'Xjw f rmn, 



-ST^ 



to 
to 
to 
M to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

to 
U> 
to 
io 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

e^to 

to 
to 

^ 10 

to 

IT lo 

29 to 

to 

90 to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

t» 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
CO to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
Is 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



2 00 
1 80 
8 CO 



«0 

70 

6 00 

2 76 

18 00 
6 8& 
bS5 
T 00 
175 
8 fiO 
1S5 
8 60 

15 

19 mr 

18 



750 
88 

1 20 
8 3fi 
1 60 

eo 

Sfi 
80 
43 
Sfi 
65 

»a 

1 Ifl 

;rt 

4 SK 

80 

2 Tfi 
44 

1« 
1 05 

8 n 

1 80 

8i 

1 CO 

tS98 

86 

66 

a 6B 

166 
7 
T 

1 16 
38 00 

24 

IS 

8A 
«0 
90 
24 
20 
80 
19 
14 
20 
82 
80 
1« 
66 
880 

a 40 

2 00 
SftO 

IS 
16 
1« 
14 
88 
80 
4 00 
24 00 
66 
«0 
00 
80 
4ft 
96 
40 
44 
TO 

10 
926 

17 00 
19 
80 
6A 
1« 
6 
1 80 

lb 



Soamniony, Tirf., troe. ....perTb 

Seeds, Aniat' * per lb 

star .......perlb 

Canary, Dutch fier bwah 

Bmyrna ..per boab 

Cardamom, Malabar ,ier Ih 

Conil perlb 

Celery.. perlb 

Clover perlb 

ColcbicQm perlb 

CorfaodCT per Ih 

CiimtniD 4..,*,... per lb 

Fennel per tb 

Foeangreek per lb 

Hemp per boah 

Lbueed, Amertcan deno per ticrco 

rough per buah 

B<iinbay (goldV, , per biinh 

Calcutta Osoltl) . per buab 

MoBtard, brown per Ib 

wblte pi-r ib 

Rape .per bnbh 

Tttnothy............ ...,,...,.... ...per biuh 

Worm .,,.., per lb 

Seldlit/. Mixture i........ ...perlb 

SenuB, TSnn«veJly ,,.,,♦.«..,. , per lb 

Alexandria, , perlb 

E.I perlb 

SniBlta, BluB per lb 

BonflT, Lorlllard'B Moceabny ........... ....per lb 

* Viftrf e Uappee per lb 

Irijh High Toaal per Ih 

Fresh Scotch per lb 

Soap, Castile, Mottled ..perlb 

White,.... perlb 

floating;.. perlb 

IjOw'b Brown Wlndeor per gr* 

Boda Aei'tate,, per In 

Chkimte. per Ib 

Chloride, Liquor ...per m\ 

CltrBt4? ,.,.......,. per lb 

Hydro»ulphate , jxrlb 

Hypophofphite ,,.,..,,,...,..,, .per lb 

Hyposulphite perlb 

Nitrate, pure per lb 

Phi*ph(ite . . ,,..,.., per fb 

Pyrophosphate. .............. ........ per lb 

fiiilphite ,,..,..,,,.. per lb 

Aab.ft,..: perlb 

Sodlotn.... per Ib 

Iodide .,..........,..,.»..., .per Ib 

Spirit Ammonia ... .................... .per Ib 

Aroma tie perlb 

Larender. per lb 

Nitre Dale .perlb 

Boieinnry. , , , . , .per lb 

SpongeB, Bahatna per lb 

Batbtne, FofinM. per lb 

Coarse Brown per lb 

Pine, medlmn per Ih 

Surfeon'a. , per lb 

ZIrnoea per lb 

Cup, Turkey , perlb 

Trieste perlb 

Pine Tolli't. bleached. per lb 

Tine TrieAte,unaJl... ..perlb 

Glave, ..,.,,., .. , , ......per lb 

Grft»« ,. perlb 

8hc«p'a wool. perlb 

Sur Chulx M per tb 

Sqntlh .per lb 

St. John's Bread ♦ .....perlb 

Strontia, Muriate ,..perlb 

Nitrate, perlb 

Oxalate. perlb 

SU^cbnla, Acetate , peros 

Citrate per oz 

Nitrate . per o« 

Pure, orystnlUted. .per oa 

powdered , . per oi 

Bnlpliato per OS 

Talerlanole per <•■ 

Btyrax OalMiilU perlb 

Soearnf L'iid perlb 

Snsraror Milk. porlb 

i^nlph or 9n bit me. per Ib 

TamArinda .....,..,. per lb 

TftonlQ.... perlb 

Tapioca, RaBt India, white perlb 

Pearl per lb 

Tartar Emetic, pijwdered .per lb 

crystaltlied per lb 

Tin Foil, thin perlb 

French, No. 16 perlb 

Tobacco perlb 

Tobqaa Brena, Para. perlb 

AugOBlani.. .........per lb 

TTra Ural, American per lb 

French per lb 

Tanllla Beaaa, Boarbon perlb 

Mexican perlb 

Venire Turpentine........ ..per lb 

Veratrla *,- i>er oa 

Vitriol, Bloe perlb 

Qteea /^ax Ui 



to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
Ui 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
28 to 
46 to 
to 
to 
to 
Ui 
to 
to 
16 to 
28 to 
U* 
io 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

10 

to 
to 
tu 
to 
to 
to 
tu 

tf» 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

« 00 to 

4 00 to 

9 00 to 

SO on to 

4 60 to 

12 00 to 

4 flO to 

1 T5 to 

to 

1 SO to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

Io 

to 

to 

e^fto 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
• to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

tu 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



14 



20 00 
8S 
66 

6 00 

6 OO 

4 76 

29 

76 
16 
24 
16 
20 
20 
19 
266 

2 60 

9 60 

966 

16 

16 

&9& 

6 00 

9S 

46 

80 

26 
99 

78 

1 00 
86 

80 
IT 
87 
95 
la BO 
80 

2 15 
45 

1 00 
I 06 
4 10 

Ifl 

22 

81 

1 96 
32 H 

4 

11 OO 

8 OO 

48 

^o 

90 

40 

60 

90 
4 00 

60 

TOO 

TOO 

800 

80 00 

IS no 

15 00 
4 50 

2 on 

26 
1 TO 
6 M 

19 
8 

80 

80 
1 80 
8 T.'S 

75 
8 76 
8 60 

8 86 
875 
66« 

66 
49 
68 
7 
10 

9 76 
16 
18 
%^ 

I 14 
4S 
70 
40 
76 
96 
19 
18 
11 00 

16 00 
88 

696 
16 
« 



d24 



American Druggists' Price^OurrerU, 






Vitriol. White , per lb 

Wax, Wliite,-J, LEIke&i p«r lb 

N*. t.., per lb 

PbllUpi' ,.p*rlb 

Tr-Dow... , ., per lb 

Whlt« Wax,— I^oohftrdt*! per lb 

Of knild , , , .piT lb 

i iiu-bleaehed p«r lb 

Whlt<PrMip5t»t«....... .p«rlb 

White Pppper pet lb 

Wine, Col(;^1lcuIn Seed* per lb 

Wnod Naphthn ...........per lb 

Worm wood Herb ,,♦..,.,,„,... per lb 

T«Uow Bark.,. ,,*..,. .,....,,, ptr lb 

Dock .,,,..,. ..per lb 

Zaffre , p*r lb 

Zlse, Ac«tat« .per lb 

Chlurlde per lb 

DTB8 Aia> DYESTirpFS. 

Anlllnfl Bloe (wr lb 

Reel .per lb 

Vlolcl., per Ih 

Annatto , .».. ,piT lb 

Cochineal, HoDdonu. |ier lb 

Mexican,. >......,„.., per lb 

Cudbear ,.*.,.,.,..,,♦,,,,.,„.,,. per lb 

Cutcti, T'fl^e p«r lb 

OaTobler... ..>.......... .p<?r lb 

ladlgn, Bengal, flne. per lb 

good. .................... per lb 

middling per lb 

Madrna, flne per lb 

ordinary per lb 

Knrpab per lb 

Gnatennla. .pf r lb 

Oaraecaa .,..,..... ., per Ih 

LaePycpood >'» fine per lb 

Logfwood, ratnpeachj ...per 1b 

Hnaduras ;>er lb 

Jamaica . ..... 4... ....... ...per b 

Laituna , , per lb 

8L Di>mlr>go ...per lb 

£ztract per lb 

Inbulk per lb 

Lffea Wood (sroM) ...perbbl T» 00 



t 00 



1 80 
88 



«B0 
2 00 

1 m 

1 UO 

9 m 



18 



60 
1 CO 

fts 

1 40 
OS 

80 
86 

1 15 

t m 

1 HO 



8 00 

7 00 
S AO 
1 76 
1 40 

1 40 
4& 
18 

8 

8 Sft 
3 75 

2 to 
1 «S 

1 35 

2 10 
1 » 

00 



2vr 

3 

18 
In Tl 00 



SS to 
28 to 
40 ^> 
80 to 



400 



Madder, Dntch ,,.. per tb 

Fr*'0'rh ^^ ...,.,,., pi-r lb 

NwtJrnlls. Blue, Aleppo per lb 

OreM'le . perlb 

Prnirlan Berrlet... .«..........*«.... . .,,,.p«r1b 

8flflJ*"«wer. ,.. 4 — ...-.. per lb 

SapnnvTiMMl .....' ..per )b 

TunniTic , perlb 

Tntramftrine......*. .....* per lb 

Woad per lb 

[PAOKAOV PBICKft.] 

6reen Bottl<>i and vlala . . . . <VI percentage diMOQnt. 

G^Ttnan Flint Bottles and Tiala 80 *' *• 

Flint Bolll.-aindirlalt 80 " " 

FumltqreWMe 10 " ** 

Pfrfnmer"* War* 86 ** ♦' 

Chemical Wsre net " ♦* 

Brrlngea 10 ♦• •» 

HomwopathlcTlata.... ...lO •* •* 

NATAI< STORES. 

Pitch, CI tjr X per bbl 

RobId. Extra Pale .per 380 lbs 

Pale 

No.l 

Ko.« <♦ 

Strained 

Conimf>n . , , " 

Sptrlta, TarpeoHne (North Carolina). ...... per fal 

TurpontJoe. Soft. per JSO Jba 

aiLS, 

limmed Oil, A m erican pr gal 

Englith per pal 

Palm Otl...... perlh 

ParaQne I ubrlcalloir Oil ptr gal 

Sperm, Crtirte per jjnl 

Sperm. Winter unbleached per gal 

Lard Oil Prime, rity..... per gal 

Rert Oil nty dlillllcd.. p«r sal 

Red Oil Papnnlllecl....,,., ,.,^,. ,. . .per gal 

Whrtle, rnirle. . , ,, per gal 

Whule, Bleached, Winter per gal 

PAINTS (DRY). 

AsphaUum opt. .,.,.,, per lb 

Barf fes, For<-t<rn per too 

BarytpH, Americas. perlb 

Btaok l.*«d , . , per lb 

Black Irory, drop. fair,. ...per lb 

good per lb 

bt^l ..jHsrlb 

Blue relestlnl good ,.ier lb 

Cl'lnwe p*rlb 

Prtmlan. fidr to best per lb 

Ultramarlae, fair to beat. .p«r lb 





to 8 7ft 


» 


to 80 




to 600 




to 1 IB 




to 1 15 




to 18 




to 40 




to 3 VO 




to 3 80 




to ] 60 




tfl 10 




to 78 




to 1 88 




to 1 40 




to 7 




t<> 45 00 




to 3 


s 


to 13 


to 


to 19 


18 


to 90 


%i 


to 38 




t4> 14 




to t 00 


88 


to 1 00 


23 


to 45 



Chalk. Lump ,,^ perlb 

China Cliijr ,».-■»« * perlb 

Chilk ...perbbl 

Gn*en ParU, f»|r to best per lb 

Green <"}irome, fair lo l>e»t . .per lb 

Laokp BIrcW— Coach Pukitcr'a— L. Uartln (..-.«». 

At Co'i [perlD 

Lamp Black, nrdloiiry , i»er paper 

Litharg"'. powderid, American Si, English, . per lb 

Ochri', Tellow. Frebtb, dry per lb 

R-dVHin'Uan perlb 

Red IniUan, fair to beat .per lb 

Ked Lead, Aroe<lcan perlb 

EiiglUh....... ...perlb 

RflM Pink pfr lb 

Slenoa. American per H> 

Italian, B'nt per lb 

Kaw ,..«.,... .per lb 

Umber, Crude, Turkey.... perlb 

burnt per lb 

Tlenian''a CnUf. Verm I lion... .....perlb 

PureCftrnilne ... perlb 

Stiluble Blue... ..,.,... per lb 

VertniltoQ, ^Dgitth, pale per lb 

deep.... perlb 

Amerlean per lb 

Chinese .|ieT lb 

Trieste f*er lb 

White, China per lb 

Crenmita ]»cr lb 

Lead, pure per lb 

good .per lb 

Paria .per lb 

Zinc, American... per lb 

Zlne, French perlb 

Wbltlog % per lb 

PAINTS (IN OIL). 

Black conch — per lb 

Blue, Chlnefte per lb 

Prufsinn, fiilr tobwt.. per lb 

Hroirn, Vnn lU-ke, fair to beat........ ..... .per lb 

Dryer, Patent,' American ...per lb 

Engliab p*-r I b 

Gre«n, Chrotne perlb 

Impt-rlal per lb 

Paib. ....per lb 

VifnllgHs ......JL .prr lb 

Putty, in blmddorp. . „,.,,. ..per lb 

In iiaik perlb 

Red V'ntelliin, fair to bc»t perlb 

Sienna, burnt, f»ir ti. beat p*r lb 

White Lead, l£ncJl*h. B. B perlb 

Amorlcxin, pnre... , per lb 

grjod perlb 

ftdr,, perlb 

White Zinc, Aroericao........... ....per lb 

French , ..per lb 

Yellow Onhre per lb 

CJhrofnc, fair to beat .par lb 

SPICES. 

Caasla, In tnata perlb 

(lore*. per lb 

Ginger, Race, African. ................ per lb 

Mace per lb 

Nutmeg^ Ko. 1 , , ....per lb 

Pepper per lb 

PlmeatOf Jamaica,. per lb 

WINDOW GLASS. 
American Window 



85 to 
88 to 

S8 to 

6 to 

11 to 

S>tfl« 

t)iU> 

11 to 

11 to 

U to 

to 

1 to 

IS to 

10 to 

6 to 

S to 



48 



18 
113< 

4 

5 
18 
18 
1& 
90 

» 

n 



to T 

to » 

to 1 10 

to 18 00 

to 1 tf 

10 1 « 

to 1 30 

tr> 86 

Co 1 80 

to 1 90 

to M 



i 



814 to 
10 to 
14 to 



38 to 

m to 

85 to 
90 to 
19\to 
13)^ to 
18 to 
15 to 
88 to 
36 to 

6>4t« 
to 

8 to 

99 in 

ti> 

18>fto 

11 to 

8 le 
10 to 
15 to 

» to 
18 to 

to 

to 
to 

to 
to 
to 
to 



so 

14 
WH 
4 

16 



1 00 
88 
38 
14 

15 . 
9T 

IS i 
49 
88 
fl 

18 

as 

18 

14 

ItK 

10 

18 

ij* 

83 

76 
4S 

to 

1 08 

1 45 



8 


b7 


8 


b? 


11 


by 


la 


h/ 


18 


by 


30 


by 


34 


by 


25 


br 


88 


by 


34 


»'y 


89 


bf 


84 


by 



iBt, 3^1, Sd, and 4lh qnatlttes. 
10 Per fifty foet | 6 35 to 



8 75 
475 

5 50 

6 00 
TOO 
800 
000 



6 75 to 

7 80 to 

10 fM) to 

18 50 to 
14 00 to 

16 no to 10 00 

19 m to 14 00 
3a M to 18 00 
34 00 t.1 18 00 
36 00 to 81 00 

The abuve Is luhject to a dlaconot flf 80 per cent, 
French Window— lal, 21, 8d, and 4th qualHlea. (Single thick.) 
5 b7 8 t4i 8 bv 10 Per fifty feet f 6 36 to 

3 by 11 to 10 by 10 " 6 7ft to 

I br 14 to 33 by 18 " T 50 t^. 

9 by IS to Ifi bv 34 *' 8 60 to 

8 by 83 to 18 by 80 " 9(1 OO to 

U bv 80 to 34 by 80.. .... "* 18 00 tr. 

4 bV 81 to 84 hv 8& •* 14 (►O lo 

" 18 m Id 10 00 

- IB 00 to 14 00 

2ti 50 to 18 00 

•M 00 to 18 00 

*> 26 m lo 91 00 

Cngliab lelta at 10 per e—t 




Subject lo a dlacount of I 
dlBCouut of the abora rates. 



p: 



May, taa». \ 



Setting to Worh 



THE CHEMICAL NEWS 

Vol. IV. No. 5, American Reprint. 




SETTING TO WORK, 

Bad as man is, he is too good to be quite pleased with 
the prasent — too good not to feel sympathy with the 
struggles of Uie naat, and too ^ood not to hope for a 
better future. The present we see, so far na our eyes 
permit us; the past we almost see beside us, in nations 
that have bttie changed j and the fu ture sct-ms to be form- 
ing almost before our eyes. Id a very wonderful picture 
of the English race moving over the world with cities 
of civilisation as numerous as the t«iit3 of those former 
men who carried desolation before them, we learn in 
Mr. Dilke's " Greater Brit^iin," fhat, even west of the 
Mi^Bi.^ippi, 22,000,000 of acres of land have been de- 
voted to the purposes of education, and millions on mil- 
lions are to follow. The whole of En^'Iand and Wales 
contain only 38,000,000 acrea of land not so rich, but all 
that American expanse is at once made yacred. As a 
result of a similar policy in Micliigan, a university has 
irisen, which teaches for a sura which may be consider- 
merely 03 an acknowledgment of its position — 10 
for entrance, and 5 dollars annually afterwards, 
is of the same size aa England and Wales ; it has 
000 acres. This our country has turned into 
many by a kind of gemmation, and principles grown 
amount us, but not carried out, are flourishing among 
people whom ctrcuraatancea, perhaps, have enabled 
more honestly than us to do na we feel we ought to do. 
We see our future growing not far away, but it seems 
to us AS a kiud of martyrdom to enter iU It is already 
a law that no man shall die for lack of bread ; it is not 
yet a law that no one shall sink into worse than death 
for lack of teaching. But we must arrive at this point 
— our nature decides for it. We compel every child 
over whom we Lave influence in private life to leam, 
and. as our hearts enlarge, our influence will widen its 
circle. 

This expansion has shown itsulf lately. The exer- 
tions of private men have been incredibly great., and the 
work winch some have done places them so hii*h that 
we can no longer doubt tliat even onr generation can 
uce heroes that no age would despise. Bnt the 

ork has been insufficient j a private inan among thou- 
sands does good, but it is too Utde, and the man dieg 
of exhaustion, or at Ica-st by time. An agent from the 
Government comes, the people crowd around bitn, he 
is received with delight, antl the work \3 done to the 
extent required— and sometimes further — in any depart- 
ment to which the Government turns its attention. 
There are two departments of edacalion^ which show 
what local interests can do and what Governments can. 
The church, of wduch we are not authorised to speak, 
has been preserved bv the state, without loss of income 
and in full power. The schoola for the young, left by 
individuals, or in the hands of small irresponsible boards, 
liave gone, in numerous instances, to ruin. We cannot 
argije fully the whole subject, but wc think these facta 
give fair arguments. In Scotland, the parish school 
system, aNo, has buen preserved, because defended by 
Government. It may be said that the parish schools 
have not grown with the age: it is true ; hut they have 
not had their small atipendsused for feeding the wealthy, 
and growth has not been entirely absent. Had provi- 
sion been made for giowtb, the system had been per- 

ct. 

Vol. IV. No. 5.— Mav, 1869. 15 

[UneliiOi Edition^ Vol. 



I we c 

ffVorl 




And now what is Government to do ? And are we 
to begin to be the ten-thousandth instructor of Govern- 
ment, and lay down a plan which we suppose all men 
will follow ? No, we do not intend to lay down systema 
for the nation ; we think that pecuharly the work of 
legislators — of men who know the mode of carrying out 
principles among their fellow men. We prefer 10 speak 
less ambitiously ; we think it proved, by the experience 
of some three hundred years, that the state can take 
care of revenues for education. Can it also take care 
of education ? On this point, most people will say that 
it has done so too rigidly, and that an expausion from 
time to lime was dfsirahle. A judge was told by & 
barrlsttT that a certain act demanded that a large dis- 
puted sum should be unreservedly in the hands of a 
very young claimant. What said the judge? "Am I 
going to allow a young man to be ruined, simply be- 
cause of some words in an Act of Parliament V" Here 
was discretion. All men are not capable of a wise dis- 
cretion ; atid the constant opposition to everything pro- 
posed has prevented movements which the spirit, but 
not the letter of laws, dictated. 

To keep up the standard of education is 'really the 
busioeasot the universities, and to them we must look for 
examiners. There is no man more important than an 
examiner; be rules the youth of to-day; he has more 
influence on thera thirn all the previous and existing 
thinkers of the world besides. To please him, the 
young men read, and they learn his ideaa; he has his 
opinion — ho even baa his crotchets, and they are re- 
ceived with respect. This is an evil that arises from 
one set of examiners, and a reason why a nation must 
have several. The same rea<;on apphes to univei*sities. 
France prefers to carry out one idea — to model her 
schools on one pattern ; there is something grand in it. 
One only can be perfect, and why, then, have two pat- 
terap ? It is the perfect way of the heavenly future, but 
can be right only for a nation that cannot go wrong. 
To make many millions think on one model, is, one 
would suppo^ie, the surest way to suppress onginality. 
It will have its effect; there must be many tastes among 
many minds. We believe that one great university will 
mould a nation more thoroughly than many willj but we 
prefer the waywardness and eccentricity diat are the 
diseases of men of original character to that uniformity 
and amooilme?8 which we think will be produced by Uie 
military school system. 

In the fulness and freedom of our universities, we 
shall have, perhap* the best guarantee of the education 
being the most advanced. When untrammelled in 
teaching, and their revenues guided, they may not be- 
come so disinclined to move as in past tunes. When 
public opinion itself sinks, who is to raise it? When 
new branches of knowledge arise, who is to provide for 
the new teachers? If all the funds are given to those 
of to-day, there must be !e?8 to each if the numbers are 
increased to-morrow. In such a case, there is the plan 
well known — first come first served ; and there is the 
other plan, not unknown either — to give Benjamin the 
largest share. There are, als*», intermediate plans, if no 
other funds can be got ; but is anything sadder than to 
leave untaught a great department of knowledge, simply 
because the tunds are already granted to men who have 
never served any but themselves ? 

It is hoped that no such questions will again arise, but 
that a free intercourse between the statfi and the uni- 
versities will cause abundant provision to be made for 
I all laudable pursuits. As a rule, men will tight for 
I themselves; and it is a fault of a da f 

XIX^ Ho. 483, pag« 109,] 



226 



Setting to Wo?'h 



j Otf«iciCAi. WrrfL 
1 MiJ^, l^. 



laws which incite men to resist the public good in 
order to advance even their mo<ierate wislie,*'. Men 
commit crimes sometimes from want of knowing that 
better results could be got for tliemselves without crimes. 

Surely if a stiite preserve? or gives the property, ihe 
universities may give the learning. If any of these 
should become wild, and teach doctrines opposed to the 
nation's belter feelings, the state must interfL-re, hut not 
otherwise; toleration ceases with all men at some point. 
No one discusses the propriety of murder — the question 
is settled; but we discuss capital punishments, because 
there are wise men of opposite opinions. To what body 
is it possible to give this lofty supervision, except to 
the state, which, moreover, by the will of nations, take« 
it of a necessity ? 

But if the property is tlms preserved, and the learn- 
ing secured, wh^tshall be tJoue with both? At present, 
the principal inclination is to encourage study by prizes 
and scholarsliips. We believe, that by a simple mtuute 
at the end of 1867, the Government has decided the 
fates of the children for muny years to come: they will 
leam more science — flu-y will change the character of 
the nation ; tliere will be a greater audience for words 
lectured or read, and the national mind will speak more 
strongly on scientific objects. 

We have begun by encouraging scholars with money ; 
in England moneyed men send their sons where money 
prizes can be got. We teach the child to read by a 
sweetmeat; but tliis may last too long. If it endures 
tliree centuries, hke some of our educational habits, so 
much the worse for this country. In America, it is 
already ceasing, competition for prizes being considered 
hurtful ; and in a great university, which does not even 
take mouey for teaching, it is unseemly for studenls to 
fight for mere gmn. 

We should prefer to see more rewards given to those 
who had spent their strength and their lives, serving 
their age by their studies ; we tliiok that this class of 
reward ought to increase, whilst student rewards di- 
minish, iiany a precious lil'e has been destroyed by 
long fellowships without duties, and many have been 
rendered unhappy by having the aid removed at a time 
of life when it was most required. It seems proper, 
and according to natural law, that the fiDished student 
sliould, as a reward, have work given him ; that is the 
true fellowship. We cotdd point out students under 
twenty making so much money by prizes that it would 
be considered as a Tery handsome pension by old scien- 
tific men. Yes, we could point out one who has writ- 
ten papers by scores, and spent thousands of pounds on 
science, who would be glad of it. True, these student 
incomes do not last above two or three years; but fel- 
lowships last longer, or, on certain conditions, for life. 
At tliis moment there are men who have devoted them- 
selves to various branches of science, ready at all times 
to give their knowledge to all who a*-k for it; we must 
ooi^ess that we should prefer fellowships going to such 
men rather than to those who were only eminent stu- 
dents. The reward of the student aristrs from an old 
idea that he who had studied a ma-^ter had completed 
his knowledge J the modern idea has a bnundless nature 
before it, and he who has finbbed his university studies 
is only beginning his career. The etudent has Ufe and 
hope before him ; study is a privilege now^ in an intel- 
lectual age when we need rather to diminish the desire, 
lest the brain should suffer, and when men row or run as 
a discipline, inatead of aa in ancient limes making a busi- 
ness of sports. We know the opposing argument*", but 
we a till 6«y — give work to the young and rest to the 



i 

u- 
ct 

■1 



old. For ourselves, we believe that a house must be 
very poor that has not a warm corner for the oldest, who) 
has done his work or the greater poxt of it ; and th 
liearts in it must be poorer. still if they do not delight U 
giving to such the finest delicacies at mesds. Many Re- 
vere and true things have been said against sinecures, 
but no civilised man ever included such as thege. Fami- 
heg must have them; no nation with^ clear intellect 
can be without them, because, even without a heart, it_ 
may see itsadvanf age in rewarding well done work. W« 
believe that in this direction rewjirds for scientific mei 
would be wisely increased rather than for mere stu- 
dents. The chimney corner of the nation must be kej 
warm. 

We know well another side. What is finer than to 
see the adventurous youth struggling for a prize where-j 
by to live, that he may study, andj by pure force of gt 
nius, lifting himself out of poverty and hopeltsaness 
honour and applause? We hope prizes for this put pos 
will continue in our universities until poverty 
cense ; but when one has learnt, make him work. 

Of course there arc many other modes of viewing 
subject ; we may lake one becoming very popular 
late, we may call it the Fijian, The aristocratic part] 
of a Fiji island held that a man at forty, having lost hi 
agility, might, for economy's sake, be eaten. It is easiei 
in those places to tell when a man is of value than it is 
with us; they can measure the amount of food he brings 
home, but \h& value of our men may be in a single 
thought, and we treasure the individual, listening aa to 
an oracle, not knowing what effects on the world the 
next word may cause. Even in an economical point 
of view, we object to the Fijian method. A little sick* 
neas or headaclie is often follawed by a long time 
great aciivity ; but we have heard of a young Fijian/ 
who had somewhat lost her appetite, and, looking out 
of her hut, saw at the door her grave, into which she 
was ihmst, and covered up by the work of five minutes. 
We adopt Fijian policy in many eases here, when a man 
is paid by the number of strokes he gives a hammer, 
and when tired is sent off to st;ek in the workhouse the 
only compassion that a nation can give by deputy. It 
seems needful in many cases, because we must struggle ^^ 
against decepti^m ; but as men rise in tlie scale of hu-^H 
manity, the hard reasoning ceases to guide them, be->^^ 
cause reason Is unable to estimate tlie value of a good 
man. 1 

These points are all interesting, but we mast not go^H 
too far aside from the main interests of scientific men.^| 
The greatest favour which a nation can do them is to 
give them employment, each according to his kind. 
Perhaps some may suppose that we are now gt'ing to 
devise situations for them, and propose to clamour that 
all these shall be filled up instantly, so that no longer 
shall men of science be without honour and comlort. 
Well, if we could^ we would situate Biem all well ; and, 
after allj there are not so many in the nation as to make 
the burden too heavy. But it is not to be done: they 
must figlit like oilier men — "man must go out among 
his foes working and struggling." Still we ask — How, 
flhall a nation best ranke use of that peculiar power ol 
tained by the study of science; how thall it organis 
those invisible foi-ces, as it has organised (he army 
navy, and the equally invisible courage of the hum< 
heart, that prompts ever to resist aj/gression ? Th< 
grent questions must be settled for national, and 
merely private benefitj and then more time will be 
for warming the chimney coruer, which, after all, ia m 
the least of tilings. 



an( 



givel 



[EncUih Edition, Vol. XIX,, Ko. 483, pagM 109, 110.] 






} English i^ Foreufn AlhaUmttrical and C hi ari metrical Degrees, 227 



has taken many centurtcs to re<]uce an army to 
ler — iia equipments have been changed, in our own 
ly: and the navy is now in process of change. Since 
'IS Graecu3 burnt saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal, 
id niJwie something like a rocket project, the changes 
kve been many, the principle one. 
We have gone to Alexandria for oursystera.atic scien- 
~ : beginning, and the museum* of Europe wre part^ of 
system begun of old. I*erhaps our Biitish Museum 
the truest model we know. These museums are in- 
^asing over the country. They are becoming as-o- 
led with parks; and a beautiful beginning of this 
id we have in that admirable spot at Kew. It does 
to us that to add l'.^arned persons in real life to 
institutioti? is a true policy. The^e places oflf'-r fine 
>portanities for lecture'^ and it is a qticstioii whether 
is not well to imitate Paris in her Jarditi des Plantea, 
have these lectures free. A thousRnd'objectio:j.«i 
s: we know most, but we know someiliing also 
of the people of England, and we are persuaded 
thAt the lo^c of facb is always sure to fitjd among 
them ready listeners, whilst the3' are ever ready to make 
flights by tljat most di-Vightful of methods, a train of 
Ihoughta. These lectures ought not to be profound. 
We hear lecturers complain of vranfof attention. If 
f on speak Greek, how do you expect Engliah people to 
understand you, even if Lhey have been at a university? 
The profoundest thinker may find it hard to teach 
the meanest child. People imafjine that it is be- 
cause he knows too much, but tliis is a mistake, it is 
because he knows too little. He has passed in a kind 
of balloon, or in an inflated sort of way a whole region 
of thought, the very region which the child wislies to 
travel, but the poor thing can get no guide; and by de- 
greea it is of necessity driven to take the same balloon 
passage, or some night convt-yance. Let the truth told 
be worth ihinkif^g of^ and earnest men will come ; let 
them be interesting to the imaginative, and light think- 
ers will come; let them be cheerful as nature is cheer- 
ful, and the gayest will come. Already cluldron are 
rising up that require science among their thougbts; 
and the at^tive intellects that are growing more nume- 
rous will do evil if not good. We think this a fine field 
for scientific work. We have few towns with scienti- 
fic men in them. There is a dreary lack of them in 
mftny places, and it is absolutely needlul to fill up this 
lack as aalt ia to preserve m^at. We have torn down 
the superstitions of our ancestors that filled their active 
minds; we have taken from our Northmen and Celts 
their numerous and interfering spirit^, and removed 
from them the society of the apirits of the dead and the 
wandering doubles of the body ; wc have takLm away 
the interesting fairk's, trolls, and brownies, and we have 
stopped the mild and merry adventure that brought 
glory on the sea, and friglitened the sea-board from 
Thule to Constantinopb. It Is true we have taught 
the duties of a calmer life, and we desire no longer to 
return to the past and its faith, but we feel the need of 
substitutes for tlie imajrinalion and for the bodily, ac- 
^tive, and porpoise-like delight which made our dreaded 
fan a place of rest to rovers. The nation makes to 
;lf A substitute by roaming over the world, but the 
lany at home want inturept also, and there is more 
tan enough for any man, in science, art, and general 
progress. We have seen men pining in country jilaces, 
Villages, and even in large towns, and we arc con- 
inoed that, by good teaching, double power could 
^adOy be produced in this nation. The old arms are 
uaelesa; we must take the new onesand distribute them. 



The teaching of science in s,cbooU, and keeping it 
alive in museums, seem two important nictliods now 
begun. Let benevolent men further them. These are 
not the only modes : some time ago a movement was 
made to induce corporations to appoint scientific men — 
chemi^tfi^to analytic food, and to see tliat it was sold in 
purity. This was a fine opportunity of diffusing science 
and its benefits. Will town councils refuse it because 
perhaps, the analyst will not have enougli to do ? It is 
an opportunity for having a srientific njan to consult ; 
and he might be rendered useful in many ways to men 
who are far too much inclined to goon their own judg- 
ment, which, of course, can only be the average of in- 
telligent — not specially trained men. Food alone wQl not 
occupy the time probably. It ia a much to be lamented 
thing that scientific advisers are so constantly rejected 
or ignored in the governmtnt of cities. We think the 
chemist particularly required : his life has been looked 
OQ as Bparasite of medicine, but he is really a separate 
man. We are unable to tell the many things for which 
a chemist might be useful in a city, but if he only pre- 
vented houses and whole cities being built with bad 
bricks and mortar, he would be worth his weight in 
solid gold, and much more. 

The work is not for any one class of men. Meteor- 
ology and astronomy, so often going together, are begin- 
ning to come more actively into daily life ttian uaual. 
The use of the latter is old ; and the state has made by 
its aid guides for the sea, and even for the land. Its 
younger sister is now rising into fame, and the museum 
will never be complete without an esiabliahmeDt that la 
always so iutereistiDg to Englishmen, and which promises 
to give us some knowledge of the regions of the air, and 
to guide ua in commerce and in agriculture, which at pre- 
sent BO peculiarly demand our attention. And here we 
come round to chemistry again, brought by our numer- 
ous shipwrecks. Does it not seem strange, that a nation 
that depends so much U[>on iron should not be able to 
tell the composition of a good ore, or of a sound piece 
of metal? Few iron companies, that we know of, keep 
a chemist constantly occupied with the subject, and men 
in London, for the love of pure flcieace, must find wheth- 
er there ought to be phosphorus in good ateol or not. 
It would be wise for the iron-masters to keep a dozen 
chemists on high salaries, analysing for years, until the 
results amounted to thousands. Generally, they desire 
the results in a few days, and made as cheaply as possi- 
ble. The results m-iy be of no value for years, but valu- 
able they will be : and if iron-masters care httle for the 
future, we can only hope that this question is one which 
will be taken up by the nation, and that, for the sake of 
commerce, manufacturers, and that part of humanity 
which suffers frolii wrecked iron vestcla, boiler ciplo- 
eions, and breakages of machinery, such inquiries shall 
be made as shall setll- these questions for ever, altliongh 
a century may be needed for the inveatigation. 



ON ENGLISH AND FOREIGN ALKALTMETRI- 
CAL AND CnLORI METRICAL DEGREES.* 

BY JOHM PATTrNSON, T.O.S. 

Thk relations between English and foreign alkalimetrical 
and chlorimeirical degrees are but little known amongst 
merchants, cbeniical brokers, and others, who are in the 
habit of exporting large quantities of alkali, soda-aish, 
and bleaching powder ; and it ia a remarkable fact, that, 

• Bo«d tcforo the Kowcaaile Ckvutcal Society, Jtuoary 28 U^ 1869. 



[CagUsh BdtUon, YoL XIX, ITo. 483, pages 110, 111.] 



228 English tj- Foreign Alhilimet/i^ical and ChloHmetrical Degrees. |<»«»«a»--I*«' 



Jfay.ie«L 



COMPARATIVE TABLES 

OF 

EKGLISH AND FOREiaN ALKALIMETRICAL AND CHLOEIMETRICAL DEGREES. 

Alkalimetbical Table. 



PercenUge 


CarbonaU 


English 


Decrolillle'i 


Percentage 
of SodL 


Carbonate 


English Decroidlle^a 


Pcrcentaga 


Qffbonato 


Engliah 


DeciohUle^ 


of Soda. 


ofrjoda. 


Degreca. 


Degreea. 


of Soda. 


Degreei. 


Degreei. 


of Soda. 


or Soda. 


Degree*. 


Degreea 
98-00 


300 


51-29 


30-39 


47-42 


460 


7866 


4660 


72-71 


62-0 


Io6-Ol 


62-82 


305 


52-14 


301^ 


48-21 


46-S 


79-S> 


47-11 


7350 


62-5 


106-86 


P 


98-79 


310 


53-00 


3«-4i 


49-00 


470 


8037 


47-62 


'.\^ 


63-0 


107-72 


99*58 


315 


53-85 


31-91 


49-79 
50-58 • 


47*5 


81-22 


48-12 


635 


108-57 


tj'l? 


100-37 


320 


5471 


3242 


480 


8207 


48-63 


75-87 
76-66 


640 


10943 
110-28 


xoi*i6 


325 


55-56 


32*92 


51*37 


48-5 


83-78 


49-14 


64-5 


66-36 
6687 


IOI-95 


33*0 


56-42 


33-43 


52-16 


49-0 


4964 


77-45 


650 


111-14 


10274 


33*5 


57-27 


33-94 


52-95 


49-5 


b'H 


50-15 


78-24 


65.5 


111-99 
112-85 


>03*S3 


34-0 


58-98 


34-44 


53-74 


50-0 


85-48 


50-66 


7903 


66-0 


10432 


34-5 


3495 


54-53 


50-5 


86-34 


5116 


79-82 


66-5 


11370 


ty^ 


105-11 


350 


59-84 


3546 


55-32 


51-0 


87-19 


51*67 


8061 


670 


114-56 


10500 
106-60 
107-48 


3S'5 


60-69 


35-96 


56-11 


51-5 


88-05 


52*18 


81*40 


67-5 


"5-4I 
1 16-27 


u 


360 


61-55 


3647 


5690 


52-0 


88-90 


5268 


8219 
8298 


68-0 


36s 


62*40 


36*98 


57-69 


52-5 


89-76 


53-19 


68-5 


11712 


69-40 


108-27 


370 


6326 


3748 


5848 


530 


90*61 


53-70 


f3'77 


690 


118-83 


69-91 


10906 


37*5 


64-11 


3799 


5927 


53-5 


91-47 


54-20 


84-56 


69-5 


70-41 


109-85 


380 


11 


3850 


6006 


540 


9232 


54-71 


!l'35 


70*0 


119-69 


70-92 


110-64 


38-5 


39-co 


6085 


54-5 


93-18 


55-22 


86*14 


70*5 


120-53 


71*43 


111-43 


390 


66*68 


39-51 


61-64 


55*0 


94-03 


55-72 


86-93 


710 


121-39 


71*93 


11223 


39-5 


$r53 


40-02 


6243 


555 


9489 


56-23 


IV 


71-5 


122-24 


72-44 


11302 


40-0 


68*39 


4052 


6322 


56*0 


9574 


56-74 


88-52 


720 


13310 


7295 


113*81 


40-5 


69-24 


41-03 


64*01 


56-5 


96-60 


57-24 


89-31 


72*5 


133-95 
134-81 


7345 
73-96 


114^ 


410 


70*10 


41-54 


64-81 


57-0 


97-45 


5Z-75 


9010 


73-0 


116-18 


41*5 


70-95 


42*04 


6560 


57-5 


98-31 


5826 


n 


735 


135-66 


74*47 


420 


71-81 


42-55 . 


6639 


58-0 


99*16 


58-76 


74-0 


136-52 


74*97 


ii6w 


42-5 


7266 


4306 


67-18 


58-5 


I00-02 


59-27 


92*47 


74-5 


127-37 


75*48 


1 1 776 


430 


73-52 


43-57 


6797 


59-0 


100-87 


59-77 


93-26 


750 


12823 
129*08 


75*99 


"8-35 


43*5 


7437 


44-07 


6876 


59*5 


101-73 
102-58 


6028 


9405 


75-5 


76-49 


119-34 


440 


]m 


4458 


69-55 


60-0 


60*79 


94*84 


760 


12994 


77-00 


120^13 


445 


45-08 


7034 


60-s 


103-44 


61-30 
61 -80 


95-63 


76*5 


130-79 


77-51 


120-92 


450 


7695 
7780 


45-59 


7113 


610 


104-30 


96-42 


770 


131-65 


7»x)i 


121-71 


45*5 


46-10 


71-92 


61-5 


105-15 


62-31 


97-21 


77-5 


13250 


7852 


122-50 



The first column contains percentages of soda, calcula- 
ted on the correct atomic -weight — 31. These also rep- 
resent what are known in France as Gaj-Lussac's 
degrees. 

The second column contains the amounts of carbon- 
ate of soda corresponding to the soda in the first column. 
Soda ash is sold in Germany, Russia, &c., by the per- 
centage of carbonate of soda it contains. 

The. third column gives the corresponding j)ercentages 
of soda according to the English test, -whicSi is based on 
the old atomic -weight of soda— 32 — still retained as a 
trade custom in England. 



The fourth column shows the corresponding degrees 
of Decroizille's alkalimeter. These degrees represent 
the number of parts of monohydrated sulphunc acid (oil 
of vitriol) which can be neutralised by too parts of the 
sample under examination. Decroizille's degrees are 
used in France and some other parts of the Continent 

Nt>T£. — In the commercial testing of samples of sod* 
ash and alkali, all the soda neutralised by test acid is 
taken into account, and reckoned as soda in the mode 
of stating the results sho-wn in the first and third col- 
umns, as carbonate of soda as shown in the second col- 
umn, and as degrees as shown in the fourth column. 



Chlorimetrical Table. 



French Engliah 


French 


English 


French 


English 


French English 


French 


English 


French 


Engliah 


Degreea. Degrees. 


Degreea. 


Degrees. 


Degrees. Degrees. 


Degrees. Degrees. 


Degrees. Degreea. 


Degree*. Degreea. 


63 20-02 


74 


23-51 
23-83 


S5 


2701 


96 30-51 


■°Z 


3400 


118 


37;50 


64 2034 


75 


86 


27*33 


97 30*82 


108 


34*64 


119 


65 20-65 

66 20-97 


76 


2415 


87 


27*65 


98 31-14 


109 


120 


38-13 


77 


24-47 


88 


27-96 


99 31-46 


110 


34*95 


121 


38-45 


67 21*29 


78 


24-79 


89 


28-28 


100 31*78 


III 


35-27 


122 


39-08 


68 21*61 


P 


25-10 


90 


28-60 


lOI 3209 


112 


35*59 


123 


69 21*93 


80 


25*42 


91 


28-92 


102 32*41 


"3 


3591 


124 


39-40 


70 22-24 


81 


2574 


92 


29-23 


103 32-73 


114 


36*22 


VA 


397a 


71 22-56 

72 22-88 

73 23-20 


«2 


26*06 


93 


29-55 


104 3305 


117 


37*18 


40 a [ 


84 


26*37 
2669 


94 
95 


29*87 
30*19 


105 33-36 

106 33*68 


;u 


40^7 



The French degrees represent the number of litres of 
chlorine gas, at o' C. temperature (32° Fah.) and 760 
m.m. barometric pressure (29*02 inches), "which can be 
obtained from i kilogramme or the sample of chloride of 
lime (bleaching powder) under examination. 

[BngUah EdMoo, VoL ZIZ^ No. 483, p«se 112.] 



The English degrees represent the actus] percentage 
of available chlorine contained in the sample under ex- 
amination. This mode of stating the results is used in 
Germany, Russia, America, &c. 






On (lis Tmmedi^ite Ajmhjsis of DvffefreniVmieties of Cm*hon, 



ea ia many of the laboratories of otir chemica! works, 
eat* relationships are very imperfectly understood. Id 
common mistake to suppose that the alkdimetrical 
s of Decroixille represent percentages of carbonale 
loda ; then, again, both English and foreign chemists 
who ore unac*iiUuinted with the uaajjeR of the soda trade, 
erroneously take for granted that the English soda teat is 
ba^tl upon the most recently established atomic weight 
of soda— 31, 

Doubtless, the want of knowledge on this subject is 
twin^ to the almost entire absenee from our cht-niical 
books of all information on the mutter, I am not 
of any English book which gives the value of 
ocroizille's degrees ; and in very few English books 
eating on alk^imetry is there any mention of the use of 
e at<;mi€ number, 32, as a basis for rhe t4.'st forsoda in 
e English soda trade, I have also found a similar 
AQt of mformation on the relation between French and 
oglish chlorimetrical d**grecs, very tiew of our hand- 
oks mentioning: the Freuch method of stating the 
ralue of a sample of bleaching powder. 

As may be easily conceived, the want of iaformation 
n these matter-i, in trader ofsuch magnitude as our soda 
iiTid bleaching powder trades, is a fruilful source r>f mfs- 
underilanding and di'^pnte. It appears to me that our 
young Society, established in the mids^t of one of the 
great seats of these trades, is a fitting medium through 
irhich to diffuse the requisite information. Witti a view 
to further this object, I haves made the necessary calcula* 
tioos, and arranged two comparative tables — one show- 
ing the relations between the amounts of soda, carbonate 
of soda, English d"gree8, and Decroizille's degrees; and 
"he other, the relation between French and English 
hlorimetrical degrees. I am indebted to M. Kuhlraann, 
f Lille (himself a large soda manufacturer), for tlie cor- 
t statement of the value of Decroisiille's degrees. (See 
preceding page). 

It is, doubtless, highly desirable, for the sake of scien- 
fic accuracy and uniformity, that the atomic weight of 
t for soda, instead of 32, should be adopted in England 
a ba^is for the test for soda. It is, however, ahvays 
iflicult to alter trade usages, and there are good reasons 
hy this one should not be hnsLily changed. It gives to 
,he manufacturer an advantige- of 0-65 of a per cent on 
50 per cent alkali — that is, sn alkali testing 50 per 
ent by the English ie?t, only con fjiins 4935 percent of 
tual soda. In the London market, it is alno an estab- 
lished cu!»tom in the alkali trade to pay for parcels of 
oodsonlyou the whole degrees, and not on the frac- 
ions, 80 that an alkali which cont^iins 50*9 per cent of 
a, by tlie English test, is invoiced and paid for as only 
ning 50 per cent. It wiU thus be seen that the 
TMtage to the manufacturer of the latter custom 
nst about counterbalances the advantage gained by the 
'onner. It would, obviously, be unfair to alter one 
ustom, and leave the other in force. Another trade 
u^tom, affecting the chemical manufacturer to his dis- 
Rd vantage, is that of assuming the amount of peroxide of 
manganese contained in a sample of manganese ore to be 
equal to the two atoms of carbonic acid evoked when 
the ore ia tested by the ordinary oxalic acid process, 
hese peculiar trade customs in analysis are a very fre- 
itent cause of mij;undcrfitanding and annoyance, and it 
oold be well if they could be abolished in favour of 
etbods which all chemists admit to be correct, acford- 
g to the present state of chemical knowledge. I am of 
pinion, however, that these changes can only be 
ectualty made by the chemical trade itself, and I re- 
mmend the subject to the consideration of the Alkali 



Makers' Association. But so long as these trade customs 
continue in use it is desirable that exat^t information aa 
to their nature should be attainable hy all persons in- 
terested in the trade, Tlie table here given will help to 
do this, so far as relates to the English soda test. 

In making the calculations for the chlorimetrical 
table, I have adopte<i the combining number of 35*46 
for chlorine, as given by Stas and Miirignac, and have 
taken 008961 gramme as the weight of a litre of hy- 
drogen at zero centigrade and 760 m,m. pressure. The 
weight of I htre of chlorine, at the same temperature 
and pressure, is, therefore, 3'i7763 grammes. 



OS THK 

IMMEDIATE ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT 
VARIETIES OF CARBON. 

BT IL BKRTIIELOT. 

(ik nrraACT.) 

This method consisis of oxidising carbon at a low 
temperature and examining the product obtained. Un- 
der these conditions 

tst Diamonds, whether black or of the common kind, 
are not sensibly oxidised even by repeated and pro- 
Ion ged 1 re .1 tm en t. 

2ad. The different varieties of amorphous carbon are 
completely transformed into humoid acids of a yel- 
lowish brown colour, soluble in water. The proper- 
ties of these acids vary according to the kind of car- 
bon which produces (bem. 

3rd. The different varieties of true graphite are 
changed into corresponding graphitic oxides; the pro- 
perties of these oxides also vary according to the na- 
ture of the grapliite whence tliey are obtained, but all 
are chnracterised by their iusolubihty and especially by 
their capability of being quickly deccjmposed, with de- 
flagration, by the action of heat. 

This is the m<Kh.* of operation : — Mix with the pow- 
dered carbon five times its weight of chlorate of potfls- 
siiim previously pulverised, and gradually form mto a 
sort of paste witn fuming nitric acid ; leave it for some 
hours in a small open flask, and then heat it for three 
or four days without intermis<?ion to about 50** or 60*^ 
C. ; after this dilute it with wnter and wash by decan- 
tation with tepid water until the salts of potash are 
dissolved. It is generany necessary to repeat the pro- 
cess Gve or six times, or even more, in order to pr^^- 
duce either of the results above mentioned. 

The different varieties of carbon may thus be dis- 
tinguished by study iui? the products of their oxidation. 
I believe this will also lead to the separation of gra- 
phites and amorphous carbons into several distinct 
groups, but this subject demands further inquiry, I 
propose henceforth to reserve the name of graphilt ex- 
clusively to carbons which furnish a graphitic oxide, 
thus avoiding former rvmbiguities ; the new mode of 
analysis is applicable not only to pure carbon but also 
to the tnixed varieties. 

1st. In the case of a mixture of amorphous carbon 
and diamond, the amorphous carbon is entirely dissolv- 
ed after a few repetitions of the process, wldle the dia- 
mond remains unaltered. 

2mi. In a mixture of graphite and amorphous car- 
bon, the amorphous carbon is completely dissolved 
after repeated treatment, whdst the graphite gives rise 
to an insoluble graphitic oxide of a yellow or greenish 
yellow colour, decomposable with deflagration. The 



[EngUih EdiUon, Vol. XIZ., No. 483, pagM 111, 11^] 



230 



ie Immediate ^fi/tlysUsfffJ^ifferejii Varieties of Varbon. 




1 ^tff , IBO. 



gTftpliilic oxide may be decomposed, »s will b« showTi, 
in such a way as to cause the disappcariince of the 
whole of the carbon. 

3rd. To a mixture of diomorid, graphite, and amor- 
phous carbon, the amorphous L-arbou is entirely dLs- 
solved, leaving a mixture of graphitic oxide and dia- 
mond; thia cani-ol be diiisolved by solvents, but the 
diauioud may be isolated as followa : — 

Dry the mixture, then lie;it it in a tube closed at one 
end ; the graphitic oxide i*" destroyed, leaving pyro- 
graphitic oxide ; tliis reoxiilised hy cld'Tafe uf potash 
and nitric acid, forms soluble products, and a propor- 
tion of graphilio oxide much smaller than that first 
destroyed. 

On decompo?ing this new grapliitic oxide by beat, 
and then reoxidising the new pyrograpliitin oxide, only 
traces of graphitic oxiJe will l»e discovered. After 
three or four operations, the whole of the graphitic 
oxide will disappear, leaving only the ttiamnntl. Cer- 
tain hard and crystalline powders formed by frihcates 
or silica, and which occasionally oct'ur as the lasL res- 
idue, must not be confounded with the diamond pow- 
der. The employment of Ouorltydric acid, combined 
when needful with water and concentrated nitric and 
sulphuric acid, will cause the entire disappearance of 
this kind of residue. 

Graphitic oxides and their derivatives form a special 
group, quite distinct from the ordinary combinations of 
organic chemistry. Let us now inquire what are the 
relations between these two sorts of compounds, and 
whether they are to be explained within the circle of 
analogies drawn from the study of other hydrocarbon 
compounds. 

The tranflformation of graphitic compounds into 
ordinary orjjaaic compounds, suy, carbides of hydrogen, 
is easily eflfected by heat and electricity; the difTcrent 
carbons and graphites, under the action of the electric 
arc, combine directly with hydrogen, and produce 
acetylene, a true organic compound capable of directly 
forming all the other organic compouada properly au 
called. 

Carbides of hydrogen may also be formed with 
graphites by working with carefully managed reactions 
at a temperature notexeeedmg 280', The same treat- 
ment must bo used as with amphorous carbon, iiistead 
of working on the pure carbon, which cannot be com- 
bined at a low temperature with free or nascent hydro- 
gen ; begin by oxuiising the carbon, and then intro- 
ducing the hydrogenising action of iodhydric acid. 

Th^ oxides thu^ formed do not immotriately produce 
carbides of hydrogen with the hydracid, which only 
changes them into hydrographitic oxides possessing 
special properties; but pyrographitic oxides, which are 
easily prepared by heating grapliitic oxides, are nearer 
than theiie latter to the state of amorphous carbon,, and 
therefore more easily oxidised or hydrogen isetL J^y 
beating to 280" pyrographitic oxide from plomboginc 
with 80 parts of iodhydric acid^ I obtained hydrogen 
containing six hundredths of marsh gas. To asccrtoin 
the nature of tlie carburett^d gas, I treated the gaseous 
mixture with absolute alcohol, determined the quantity 
dissolved, and made a comparative analysis of the gas 
undissolved and that dissolved, then re-evolved by 
ebullition, the latter consi^'ting of a mixture of 36 
part^ of marsh gas and 64 of hydrogeQ. A suitable 
calculation founded upon the previous cxperimeol^i, 
and upon the co-efficients of solubility, proved that the 
gaseous carbide was really marsh gas, OfH«. How- 
ever^ the whole substance does not undergo the change 



which produces the marsh gas - a considerable porti( 
remains under the (orm of a black carbonaceous po^ 
der; the composition of this powder is also changL*< 
for, when subjected 10 heat, it evolves a small qunntitj 
of inflammable vapour, which appears to be acetor 
An addition of nitric acid and chlorate of potash 
change this powder entirely into soluble produces, wit^ 
the exception of from i to 2 ihouiundths of graphit* 
oxide. 

Pyrographitic oxides derived fiom caat-iron and 
electric graphite behave in exactly the same manner. 

Tht^se fficts show at once the speciality of const it 
tion which distinguishes graphitic oxides from ot 
o! garde combinations, and the conditions under whi< 
that speciality is grtidually eflaced, until the commc 
order of combinations is regaitied. The diJTerenc 
must not, however, be exaggerated; it strikes us ^ 
more forcibly because we are led to compare graphittj 
oxides with gaseous or volatile hyilrocurbona; this il 
not, in my opinion, the true mode of comparison. Inl 
the fijst place, the i>roducts of oxidation of graphih 
do not wliolly dilh-r from those of oxidation of atnt 
phous carbon; botli are fixed, and represent vei 
condensed bodies; only the carbonic products 
soluble, and the others insinluble. The p;i58age J'rot 
tlie chai ucteristics of one group to those of the oih< 
becomes very apparent upon examining certain oxi* 
ised compounds derived from amorphous carbon 
instance, those derived from carlx)n produced by treat 
ing benzine or nuphthaline with iodhydric uxad 
These products are dark yellow, amorphoos, and pr« 
cipitable by salts from their solution or aqueous einu! 
sion, and are the intermediary compounds between 
graphitic oxides and those of amorphous carbon. 
These latter present much similarity to the products of 
oxidation of ulmic matter and other analogous con- 
densed compounds. 

The properties of graphitic oxides are not without 
analogy ; their brisk deeonj position is accompanied 
the same formation of water and carbonic acid ae in t' 
of fixed acids and other hi;:hly oxygenated orgi 
compounds. The lively evolution of heat which occt _ 
at tiie same time may also be observed, though lesa 
int+'n^e, in the pyrogenated decomposition of acidaaiid 
hydrates of carbon. Graphites, amorphous 
and their derivatives, may tlierefore be most 
compared to hydrates of carbon and ulmic mattw.' 
the scries of gradual decompositions to which organic 
principles may be submitted, when decoropositi( 
ttceurs by molecular condensation, the brown and uli 
compounds imraediaUdy precede the carbonaceous su| 
stances, which appear still more condensed, aod tlie4 
again precede the caibons properly so called. Tl 
special structure of these compounds is demonsfrat< 
not only by their origin, but also by tlie hydrogenisii 
action of iodhydric acid, which reproduces saturat 
carbides corresponding with their generators, either 
carbonaceous matters themselveS| or the products of 
their oxidation. 

The dififerent varieties of amorphous carbon repi 
sent, therefore, cot tain polymeric conditions of the 
carboriic element as it exists in (he most widely 
seminated hydrocarbonated combinations. The 
conclusion apphes to the different graphites. I slii 
show in my next that the most simple compounds 
carbon are divided into two groups, according as ' 
reproduce by their decompiwsition amorphous carbon 
properly so-called, or graphitic carbons. All the 
substances must then be polymeric with the true 



houti 

'M 

EMiM 

le^" 
tt«r. In I 



iBugM^ Edltioa^ VoL XIX.T Vo. 483, pa«e \1^ \ Ho. 4&^^l<i 1^7. 



eammAL Newt,! 



A New Element aceompanyin^f Zirco7iiu7)u 



231 



J 

I for 

^kurl 



lie element, a^ yet unknown, supposing it to extsr 
a (wo utate and in a non-condensed foria similar to 
that of the gaseous elenaente. 

n. IXFLUENXE OF SuNDRY AgENTS UPON OaRBON ALREADY 

fob>ii:d, as Hkat, CaLORDfE, Iodine, Outoes, jjcd 

ELECTHtClTY. • 

ist I did not enecced in passing from one jEjoup to 

? otlier under the influence of heat alone — that is, by 

calcining graphites and araorphouR carbons at a white 

teat in an atmosphere of hyih-ogen. The amorphuus 

carbon only nppenred to augment in cobeBion, whilst 

Jryrographitic oxide, ai\er cah'ination, does not yield 

ore prapliitic oxi«le than before. 

2nd. Ohktrine, at a whit« heat, does not change 

ither wood charcoal into jj^raphite ur graphite into 

orphous carl>oa; free carbon ia well known t<» be 

naffec^ed by it. Iodine, at a white beat, doea not 

chanp*? coke into graphite; it does, however, produce 

his transformation in na&nent carbon at a red heat. 

3rd. The action of oxygen causes stmnltaneoualy an 

extreme elevation of temperature, and ihe furrantion of 

rbonic acid and oxide of carbon. Carbon submitted 

this double influence mnj be examined by lighting 

j«t of oxygen, a pencil of retni^rt charcoal, previous- 

eeted to redneaa. Whilst the pfiint is in full in- 

candeficencc, it mu-it be quickly plunged into cold 

iwiater to extinguish it; tlie extreme end of tlie pencd 

then detached, taking only that part which haa been 

ost thoroughly heated. The carbon thus treated does 

ot consist entirely of amorphous carbon, butalfio con- 

ains a small quantity of graphite, formed under the 

ouble influence of heat and oxidation. The same in- 

uences prevail in the case of incomplete combustion, 

ben lampblack ie formed ; in this I have obsserved the 

resence of a trace of graphite ; the occurrence of a sim- 

lar trace of graphite in certain cokes i& attributable, in 

y opinion, to the same cause. 

'These different results merit the more attention as 
t 18 possible that analogous phenomena may have 
loycd some part in the natural formation of graphite. 
o a similar origin has been attributed until now the 
rmation of graphite and anthracite; but the result 
my observations is, that the spontaneoua decompo- 
tion of organic remains^ even wirh the assistance of 
d heat^ would furnish no plombagine. The origin of 
•the lattiT requires special explanalifrn, 

I have also examined the poles of carbnn employed 
for the transmission of electric light. The powdered 
bon, obtaiuMd by scraping a number of charcoal 
eacilA which hnd formed the negative poles in produc- 
ig eltctric light, was subjected to oxidation, and 
rge quantities of graphitic oxide wt-re thus obtained. 
This latter, and consequently electric graphite also, are 
identical with neither those of cast-iron nor of plora- 
baginc. 

The chancre which is here proddced in the amorphous 

charcoal of gas retorts may also be seen in diamond. 

M. Jacquelain has demonstrated that diamond placed in 

e voltaic arc changes into a sort of coke. I was en- 

to examine the same specimens whicli had been 

in former experinien is at the Sorbonne : the car- 

U3 matter which bad undergone oxidisation 

changed into graphitic oxide of the same kind as 

that of the charcoal from the retorts. 

It was, therefore, probable that charcoal which had 
undergone the action of the voltaic arc would contain 
no diamond ; this I careFull v ascertained to be a fact, 
operating on considerable quantities uf matter. None 




of the specimens (obtained from the experiments made 
by Despretz upon sugar charcoal, with a pile of 600 
elements) contained the le.nst trace of diamond. 

The f rmntion of electric graphite does not occur in- 
diflerenily at either of the elt'Ctric pole^. The negative 
poles only thickened by the passage of the carbon, fur- 
nish a large quantity of graphitic oxide, whilst the cor- 
responding positive poles, thnmed by tiiesame pheno- 
men«)n, contain only traces, which are probably due 
merely to the necessarily imperfect separation of car- 
bon during the act of electric illumination. Tnmsfor- 
mation into graphite do-s not, however, require the 
previous volatilisation of tfie carbon; finally, cup^ulea 
of sugar charcoul, softened by the heat of a pilf of 600 
etemcnfs, were found to be fur the most part chnnged 
into graphite at the nn'gatlve pole. — Comjitea Handtu, 



A NEW ELEMENT ACCOMPANYING 
ZIRCONIITM, 

DISCOVERED BY MEANS OT 

SPECTRUM ANALYSIS. 

At the sm'ju'e of the Roval Society, on Saturday last, 
March 6th, Mr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., exhibited lor the 
first time some plienomena in bis spectrum microficope, 
which have led him to tlie conclusion that they are 
due to the presence of a new element, for which he 
hfw proposed the name of jargonium. The following 
is the account wliich Mr. Sorby then gave of this dis- 
covery :— 

" Jargonia 13 an earth closely allied tc> zirconia, 
existing in small quantity in zircons fn'm various 
localities, but coiisiituting the chief ingredient of some 
of the jargons from Ceylon. It is. however, dis- 
tipguislied from zirconia an<l all other known element- 
ary substances by the following very remarkable 
properties. The naturAl silicate is almost, if not qmte, 
colourk'S*, and yet it gives a spectrum which shows 
above a dozen narrow black lines, much more distinct 
than even those clmracteristic of salts of didymium. 
When melted with borax it gives a glas-^y bead, clear 
and colourless both hot and cold, and no trace of absorp- 
tion bands cau be sj-'Ou in the spectrum ; but if the 
borax bead be saturated at a high temperature, and 
flamed, so that it may be filled with crystals of borate 
of jargonia, the spectrum shows four distinct ab- 
sorption banJs, unUke those due to any other known 
aubst;ince." 

It appears, however, by the following communica- 
tion from Profe-ssor A. H. Church, M.A., that a similar, 
if not identically the same, discovery wa.-^ published 
nearly three years ago. Professor Church writes as 
follows:— 

" Eoy»l Aerl<Milturtl CHollejt, 

" I heard, when in London this week, that Mr. 
Sorby had discovered a set of black absorption bands 
in certain zircons, and had attributed their occurr<^nce 
to the presence in the stones examined of a new 
element accompanying the zirconium. May I be per- 
mitted to refer your readers to the woodcut of thesd 
bands, which I published three years ago in the Intel- 
hctuaJ Observer for May, 1866? The ekett-h was rough, 
and the cut badly ex«»cuted, but it shows, though 
without the delicate shading of the original bands, the 
efTec't on solar light of its passage through a consider- 
able thickneais of a particular Ceylon zircon, or jargoon, 
in my possession. Not only did I describe the bands, 
but I noticed their occurrence in tlie spectra of some 




[SnglUh Edition, Vol SIX., fto, 4BS, pmge 137; Na 484, page* 147, 148; No, 484, page 121] 



232 



A Kew Elefneniniecm^Sm^ng Zireonium. 




Btoaea from particulnr localilies (Ceylou)^ and their 
abscQce from stones from othtT localities (Espjully). I 
also added my views aa to the cause of tliese bands — 
tke presence of an element in some specimens, not 
found in others. I quote one or two sentences from 
the note referred to above : — ' I ata induced to hazard 
the conjecture that it may Le^ after all, Svfml>erg'8 nty- 
rium, wiueli dcterniiaea the (lifiference.' ' The absorp- 
tion bands of zircon resemble those of di^lymium dis- 
covered by Gladstone, in their sharpnes**, and in their 
being produced by the passage of light through a colour- 
less medium.' 

" Since |S66, I have worked at intervals on the sub- 
ject of the supposed norium. The rarity and costlinesa 
of the beat and purest materials for the research — viz., 
transparent and flawless, and tiforly colourless spe- 
cimona — have seriously retarded tJie progress of my re- 
search. I have notliing ready for publication, but 
airaply note the following points, which I have es- 
tablished with more or less certainty since the first 
conjecture which I made of an element difl'erent from 
xireonium in the * black-banded' jargoons: — 

" I. That zirconium is accompanied by at least 
one other metid (probably by two), In some of the 
aircons from Indian, American, and Norwegian lo- 
calities. 

'* 2. That the seven blao!c absorption bands dLtcovered 
in 1 866 are characteristic of this new element^ in some 
of its combinations at feast, although I have not traced 
them definitely in any solution as yet 

" 3, That the atomic weight of one of the new ac- 
companying elements is different from that of zirconiuro. 

'' 4. That the density of those zircons which f^how 
the Llaclc bauds most intensely in the Bniallest thick- 
ness, is lower than that of tho80 zircons which show 
no bauds or only very faint bands, (In 1866, I show- 
ed that neither the direction in which the light was 
transmitted through the crystal, nor the action of an 
intense ignition, hod any apparent influence on the 
particular absorptive power of the zircons for light 
now under discusNion.) Of course comparison must 
be made with specimens in tlicir native state and 
without flaws, or with specimens which have been 
similarly ignited, by which process the deusity is in- 
creased, 

" 5. The cbaracterisUo salts obtfiined from the black- 
band zircons may prove to have been included under 
those of norium by Svanberg. But as that term does 
not exchide .«ome bodies which are certainly difTeTent 
from those which seem to belong only to the black- 
band zircon^i, a new name may have to be coined. 
Nigrium suggests itself as at once appropriate and 
consistent W)th the receiveil system of nomenclature, 

"I may add that the black bands were sliown or 
described at the time of their diseovery to many of ray 
friends, lunong whom I may name Dr. Gladstone, Mr. 
Slack, and Mr. John Browning. 

" Some of the rircona employed in my experiments 
are des«jnl>ed in the Chemictd Socitlffs Journal: for [864 
(NovembL-r and December). The best was of a very 
pole greenish Ime and without a flaw. It weighed 
1*1665 grammes, and its density before ignition was 
4*579, alter 4-625. A rather smaller EspaiHy specimen 
was orange-red before ignition, and had a density of 
4*863. After ignitir.>n it became colourless, but its den- 
sity remained the same. Id neither state did it exhibit 
any black bands, nor have I obtained fj om several ounces 
of the zircon from this locality any other salts than 
those of zirconia.*' 



Professor Church has forwarded the original drawing 
of the bands, torn out of his note Ix^ok. From ibia 
following woodcut has been engraved. 




It appears only fair both to Professor Glmrcli and M^^M 



Sorby^ that the origiind article in the Jntellectual 
stn'er for Mivy, 1866, should be given logether wifli 
tlie above mote receut notes. We therefore reprint it 
as follows : 




" Micro-Spectroscope Ixvestigations. 
*^ Letter from Professor Church. 

" The Eilitor baa received the following interesting 
letter €om Professor Church : — 

"'Have you tried the experiment with chloride of 
cobalt^ which I metntioned to you? If you l,ake the 
saturated cold solution of ihis salt it will give the 
spectrum roughly sketclied in Fig. l,"* a thinnrr film of 
the same solution, heated (on a glass slMe with thi; " 
cover) over the candle or lamp gives the spect 
drawn in Fig. 2.t You will notice two black band^, 
had almost said lines, in the red. As might be pr 
dieted from the cliange of colour on heating, the sol 
tion is afterwards nmch more transparent to r»; 
beyond ». The ehloriJes of copper and nickel also giV' 
very interesting resuhs. 

"But I think you will be most pileased with tJie ex- 
periment I hiive now to relate. I have worked lately 
on the spectra of pleochroic minerals and salts, 
the minerals recently examined were several fine 
mens of the true zircon or jargoon, a .silicate of zi 
The«e gave a beautiful nnd most characteristic syj 
of seven dark bands quite different from those bel 
ing to any other substance yet examined. They a: 
roughly sketched in the following tigure.J Zircona 
colourless a^ common glass show thes^i bands as we! 
perhaps better, than those possessed of colour. The; 
are to be observed with zircons which have Ijeen i| 
niteiJ, as well as with those still in their natural con<3 
tion, But some zircons show the phenomenon betl< 
tbun others, this difft-renco not being due apparently tO'^ 
the colour of the stone or the thickness through Mlii< 
the light traverses. I am not quite sure, but 1 inclini 
to think that those zircons which have come from soni4 
localities show tlie bands better than those from others. I 
Several Espailly specimens scarcely exhibit anythmj 
of Ih s kind; all those from Ceylon and Norway sho> 
the bands well. From this observation I am induced 
hazard ihe conjecture that it may be, after all, the prea* ' 
eace of Svanbcrg's jiorunn whicli determines the d«ffer-j 
ence. You are aware that the orange jacinth, a varic 
ty of zircon, is very precious, and that the essonite, 
ciiinamon-garnetf is constantly sold for it Curiously 
enough, tJie cinnamon-garnet, or esfioniie (a lime-ga 
net), has no conspicuous dark absorption baads at 
and so the spectroscope may be brought to bear upoi 
Uie discrimination of these two stones. We have thuti 

♦ "The f)i.^uro allud«>il to aJiovrB Iho r»d darkened, the oran^'V llifhC, 
and a brotul dark band comtDtunolng to tbe rlgtit of the yellow a: 
extending bcyuud the lino rj Ihe remaindfr of the spoctrutn 
doudv." 

t"* J*!^'. a show* the narrow hlWk band« tn the rr-*], mrtdificd 
replnclnp ih« br<;»ad dark twitid vf FIk-. i, tht- blue coiij|ni:outclo«t. 
*Xtn"ritUeHl ib a. vltv twauUfnl one."' 

i TtkP dJttn^ni rtfi-rnd to Is 9ul»;<tajitiftl1y the luue ms the cop/ from| 
ProfeMor Church's drawing piiated abvTC. 



I 



[EaghMh EdlUon, Vol. XIX., Ho, 4ft4, ^l«» \41."«a. 






A New Elmner\ 



rMnnch more ready proceaa than that of takin^^the den- 
sitv of the gpeciiiJtns, The linie-gftrnet is of compara- 
tively gnijJl value. The ii-un-garnct ofdifrercnt shades 
(carbuncle, ahaondine^ &a) gives a boimlifiil and very 
characteristic spectrum with several intensely deep ab- 
K/rplion hands. 
'**1 write these particulars of my experiments at 
once, for i tliought you might Hke to make a little ptir- 
•graph about them lor the readers of the InttUcciual Oh- 
iert-er. 

"*1 ouglit to add that the absorption bands of zircon 
resemble those of didjmium, discovered by Gladstone, 
in their sharpness and in their being produced \*y lUc 
passage of light through a colourlc!;!* medium. Sihca, 
the other constituent of zircon, ^'ives no bands,' " 

^Th*} first who appeal's to have published researches 
on this euhject is Svanberg. From hts expfrinitnts 
ha came to the conclusion tliat z rcouia was not a sim- 
pb earth, but a mixture of three, or perhaps even a 
pester number, of metallic oxides; and that these ox- 
ides are present in diflV-rent proportions in the zircons 
obtained from diilerenilocahtie.s (e.g.^ Siberia, Norway, 
*nd C»'ylon>, and in liio hyacinth from Espailly in 
Fraotv. The atomic weight of these earths (supposing 
them to be scquioJtides) vnrics lietwcen 75 and 105*6, 
ihe mean of which, 91 '2, ia the atomic weight assigned 
Vty B'jTr.eliiis to zireonia regarded rs a simple earth. 
Bvanberg could not succeed in completely separating 
th^ee earths; but he found— l. if. That the oxalate of 
of them is lea^ soluble in acids than the oxalates of 
I rest. 2nd. Tiiat tlie chloride of the radical of one 
?lhe earths is less easily soluble in hydrochloric acid 
than the corresponding compounds of tlie other radicals. 
3rd, That the sulphiite of one of thera. mIwu mixed with 
a large quantity of free sulpliuric acid, crj'stallises 
much more easily than the sulphate^fi of the rest, and 
^L likewise m a peculiar form. To thu earth thus disttn- 
^H guislied from the others with which it is associated, 
^K ovanberg gave the name of noria. This earth is like- 
^H wise found in zircons from the Ilraengeberg. In the 
^Ht«udialyte from Greenland, Svanberg thought he had 
^H discovered (benided cerium, lanthanum, and didymium) 
^^ two other enrtha, the first of whifh closely resembles 
Tttria; the second has n yellow colour. According to 
Wtttts's "Dictionary," article "Noriimi," a subsequent 
experimenter, Berlin, throws doubts upon the compo- 

tlite nature of the earth commonly called zirconia. Now 
that attention is again directed to this snbject, it is to 
be hoped that these doubtful points will be cleared up. 
There seems no lack of new elements waiting to be dis- 
covered, and further researches may show that Svan- 
l)erg's noria. Church's nigria, and Sorby's jargonia, are 
each separate entities. 
Since the above was in type, we have received the 
following conmmaication from Mr. Sorby:^ 




yhuj Zircons 



jjijs OxfnrA Torrace, London, 
"Mtirch 8. 1869. 



I" I send you nn account of some of the objects I ox- 
Jlihited at the »oir« of the Royid Society on Saturday, 
iMaroh 6t!i, illustrating the substance which gives such 
a remarkable spertr ura. 

"The specimen I showed was part of a jargon belong- 

Iing to my friend, Mr. William Bragge, of Sheffield, who 
most kindly and liberally gave it to me for study. I 
^Boon found that the >ipectrum was not due to zlrconia, 
iuDce the zircons from some localities give no bands 
whatever: those from other localities show traces 
of the bands, as if they contained a small variable 



amount of the substance in question, mixed with ssirco- 
nla, in the same manner that many arc vaiioosly col- 
oured with small quantities of the oxides of iron. If 
the borax blowpipe bead of tliis substance had given 
absorption bands, in the same manner as the oxides of 
didyfuium, erbium, cobalt, and uranium, there would 
have been r<o difficulty in proving whether or no it was 
a new elementary body; but Avhen melted wiih borax 
it gave a clear, colourless bead, when both hot and 
cold, without any trace of absorption bands. Very 
m.my known oxides give such beads, and the question 
wns whether any of these would give the remarkable 
absorption bands whm they were in a crystalline state. 

" There was no difficuhy in proving that the crystal- 
line siljivites of a number of known earths and metallic 
oxides do not give any bRnds, but still a number of ele- 
mentary subsiiince? could not be prornred in combina- 
lion with silica, or not in crystals 5uffi( iently transpa- 
rent to enable me to ascertain the fact for certiiin, though 
I prepared a large series of sections for this especial 
purpose. It was therefore offcn to doubt whether the 
substance whieli gave the bands wns a new one or 
nof , though I proved by my now blowpipe method that 
it was very closely allied to zireonia. 

'^ At length it occurred to me that perhaps the pro- 
duction of the absorption bands depended on the aub- 
sf am^e being in a cnjfiUiUinc state, and I therefore satu- 
rated a borax blowpipe bead with it, and by flaming 
caused it to hr-come full of minute crysta's of the borate, 
so as to be white an<I almost opnque. By using a strong 
illumination, I succeeded in causing hght to pa.HS through 
the bead, and fouud that the spectrum then showed 
four absorption bands, very well m.irked, considering 
the nature of the case. None of these bands corresponded 
exactly with those of tlie silicate, and %vhei' microcos- 
roic salt was added, so as to give rise to crystals of the 
phosphate, a spectrum 'was obtained with bands differ- 
ing from both the others. The fitct of the clear borax 
bead du^wing no bands until it is filled with crystals 
is, in my opinion, the most important y^-t discovered in 
connection Avitk the subject, for it enables us to prove 
that the substance which gives the band-* is no known 
earth or metallic oxide. Since it, therefore, appeared 
to be a new substance, and was found in certain speci- 
mens of the jargon, I thought no better name Could bo 
ado[«ted than that 0^ Jnrgonia. 

'' This wjis the slate of my knowledge of the aubjeet 
when I came to London a few weeks ago, bringing with 
mo the printed description of most of these faets, to 
give away at the soiree of tlie Royal Bociety. My at- 
kntion was fubsequeotly called to Professor Church's 
letter in the Intelhciual Ohservir tor 1866, p. 291, which 
I had not previously heard of, since that work is almost 
unknown in the northern provinces. Judging from 
his description and figure, there can be no doubt that 
he had observed the spectrum of the same substance^ 
only comparatively in a very imperfect manner, as will 
be seen by comparing his figure with that copied from 
my own drawiog, shown at the Royal Society. He 
speaks of 'seven dark bands,' whereas my specimen 
sIjows double that number. He also says that 'all 
those from Ceylon and Norway show the bands well.* 
Now after having examined several hundred jargons 
from Ceylon, I must say that, in comparison with my 
own specimen, scarcely any show the bands well. 
There is not one single specimen in the British Museum 
that shows them even moderately well. One in tije 
Museum of Practical Geology shows them in - 
satisfactory manner, and I bare seun 




[Soelish Edition, VoL XIV., No 484, pafM 123, 123.] 




Note on Aristoth and (lie Dl^covei'j/ of (lie Weight of tlie Air. \ ^^'iSi^i^Sr*' 



lers that show (hem, though not nnytlung like so 
Trell a% my own, tUe exact localiiy of wliich uuist be 
ConsiitTuil U* be still unknown for certain. Those frora 
Norway shjw ilm banda in the SAmu comparatively 
^imperfect manucr as the iiaual specimens from Ceylon, 
j*nd, even assuming that my specimen contains but lit- 
tle zirconio, w<^ muat conclude that tlu? zircons from 
both thoic iocahties contain only a small amount of the 
ibatance for which I have proposed the nAm*i Jargonia. 
"any one liad only seen the usual kind of apecimena 
tm Ceylon or Norway, I can oaaily believe that he 
;l»ight have been led to conclude, with ProfL'Ssor Church, 
.that the production of the baada might depend on the 
^presence of Svanberj?'s noria. However, since the zir- 
.cons IroTu Norway (FrederifowarnJ, which, according 
to Svaobert^, are so rich in his nona that it raatorially 
modifies the chemical equivalent of the earth and the 
specific jrrravity of the mineral, arc, according to my 
own spectroscopic obfiervations, so very poor in my 
jarcjonia that tJiey pive only a very faint trace of the 
bands, 1 cannot admit that they arc the same substance. 
My friend, Mr. David Forbes, has most kindly allowed 
me to examine the zircons from nany localities in Nor- 
way, collectt^d by himself; and pivpn me a number to 
cut for examination ; and I find that none contain more 
than a decided trace of my jargonia, 

*' My own sppr-imen of jarpon is eo rich in jarponia 
that a piece one-tenth of an inch in thickness, and a!l 
but colourless, jrives fourteen bands, as shown irj the 
Bccorapanying fiofure. Unlike most other absor^itton 
baQii&i thirteen of these are narrow and perfectly black 



line«, Burpa«!sing in th's respect even thoae characteriatic 
of salts of didymium. When the section is cut par- 
allel to the axis of the crystal, though it is almost 
colourless with ordinary light, it is sliphtly dichroic, 
giving a reddish and jireeniah image. The reason of 
this is easily understood when the spectrum is examined 
with a double imuge prism, so as t<> give two spectra 
side by side with the light polari^d in opposite idanes. 
fts shown in the accompanying figure. The image in 
which the light is polarised in a plane parallel to the 
axis of the crysttl (No. i) shows a well marked double 
band in the red which is absent from the other image 
(No. 2), whilst that shows a band in the yellow part of 
the green which is absent in the other. There is also 
a difference in the position of several of the bands and 
h diiference in the intensity of otherg, whereas that in 
the yellow m nearly the same in both. These are ro- 
raarkable peculiarities, since in most dichroic substances 



there is merely a difference in the intensity of all the 
bands. 

•' On the whole, therefore, it seems to me that those 
Tcry striking absorption lines are due to an elementary 
substance not hitherto recognised, which can crystalliee 
in all proportions as a silicate along with zirconia, and 
whose a(^tion on the spectrum varies to an unusual 
extent, according as it is in a vitreous state or crystal- 
lised in combination with ditTerent neids." 



NOTE ON ARLSTOTLE .IND THE DISCOVERY 
OF THE WEIGHT OF THE AIR. 

BY 0. F- RODWBLL, F.C.8. 

I.v the \tLnl nutnber of this journal, M. I'Abbi? ITatny 
lias endeavoured to prove that, '^before GaUleo'.* rxper- 
iniont in 1643/' the weight of air hi\d been demon- 
strated by Aristotle. I alluded, in the Cqemioal New9 
for Sepl,"5, 1863* (£n$. Ed.), to the passage in Aristo- 
tle's treatise, Ilfpt Oiipcu^w, to which M. Uamy refers, 
and there sraieiJ that, as the experiment was made by 
weighing a bladder of air in air, the increase in weight 
before and after inflation undoubtedly arose from the 
aqueous vapour introduced by blowing into the bladder. 
I still incline to this ophiion and I have no hesitation 
in saying tiiat there is no nliable evidence to miikc it 
even probable that Aristotle discovered the weight of 
air.. 

I am at a loss to imngine to what JI, Hamy rcf^pa 
in the phrase, "before Galileo's experiment in 1643;" 
first, because Galileo died in 1642; and, ^econdlyi be- 
cause the experiment in v^'hich he dem<*n8trnted, by 
direct weighing, that the air has weight, wa'i made 
some years before his death; or, again, as to whether 
he refers to the Torricellian experiment, which was 
made in 1643. 

M. Hamy bases his assertion on tlie following pa'?sag© 
from Aristotle ; — " Suo enim in loco gra> itatem habent 
omnia prseter ignem. Signum cujus est utrem influtum 
plus ponderis quam vacuum habere.*' It- is much to be 
regretted that he does not give the origmal text; but 
supposing the Latin trtmslation to be correct, let us 
exaraiae the statements. I am quite willing to oode 
the word hlnd<ier and to substitute for it hathfr hag or 
hoitle, which utrem rightly f-ignifies, if, as I suppose, the 
word in the original isooxof; but I wouM remind M. 
Hamy that Ptolemy the raathematioian, who repeated 
tlie experiment,, employed a bladder, as also did Sim- 
plicius, one of the most eiact and careful of the many 
commentators of Aristotle, I have invariably seen the 
word rendered bladder, both by ancient and modem 
commentator?. The verification of the statement that 
all bodies posse?s weight except fire, is furnished, says 
M. Hamy, by the experiment of Aristotle, '* wliich con- 
sists in wcigh'iip', not an extensible bladder, but an 
almost in extensible leathern jar, successively full and 
empty of nir." Now, by what pa'ssible means uirem 
injiittum can be rendered an almost inexteusihle Irathem 
Jiir I am at a loss to conceive. It is injktium, hence it 
can exist in a state of non-inflation or the one word 
would not be required to qualiiy the other; neither 
could a leather jar lull of air \ which, if abntjst inexien- 
sibUtj it must be at the commencement of the experi- 
ment) be called vacuum^ and the same, with more air 
blown into it, in/latum. This is the yery perversion of 
accurate diction, and of sound Latinity, Jujiatutn and 



* **0n Iht 9uppo«od Kntnrc ot Mr I'rior to th« I>bcaTor)r uf Oxjr- 



I 



[Eoglijli Edition. VoL XIX., Ko. 4B4, v&iei 111, 124.\ 




Applications of ilis Microscope to Bloivpipe Cliemistry, 135 



rutim are evi Jently here need antitbetically, — an in-: 
lied condition opposed to a non-inflated condition ; 
Full oppoiied to empty. It seoms to me that a tight 
iBCAtnlfSi^ bladder capable of witlistnndiug sonie internal 
[pressure", and yA being readily closed by tying, wouM 
J«uit M. Ilaniys purpose rnuoli better than *' an almost 
' jextotisible leathern jar," if he be bent upon showing 
that Aristotle discovered the welf^'hi of air. A leather 
bottle may contain a liquid, but what can be lesa 
Adapted to contain a gaa under prcasure? M. IFaniy 
would have it Tilled by a blowpipe; by wbicb means 
lie believes that Aristotle ^' confined in his leathern jar 
more air than it would normally contain," and then 
weighed it. Granting that thi^ leather jar would staud 
prea^iure without leaking, let M. Hemy take tho maxi- 
mum pressure at which air can be forcL-d from the 
lungs, and tlien calculate the quantity of air wliicb 
could be thus condensed into a vessel, and the volume 
of that air requi:«ite to give weight recognisable by a 
rough staiera, and he will see the impracticability o( the 
experiment. 

I According to M. Hamy, scientific men have not given 
the glory of the discovery to Aristotle " because in 
enileavouring themselves to test the truth of tiie aa&er- 
tion, many of them failed to detect any dilTerence in 
weight between a bladder hllod with air and one en- 
tirely empty," Let u3 hope many of them did fail; 
those who did not must have made an excecdhigl}' gross 
error, Archimedes had proved that a body immersed 
in A liquid loses a portion of it? weight equal to the 
weiglil of the liquid which it displace,?, and this theorem 
applies here; since in the ca*^ of a bladder of air 

(weighed in air, the air in the bladder loses *i priori a 
weight equal to its own wei^'ht, it is clear that the 
bladder must weigh the same whether it be inflated or 
the reverse, and that the air weighs nothing in its own 
medium. 

I can imagine how the demonstration of the weight 
<>f air was made by the philosopher who cared so little 
for the discovery of new truths. He is in the groves 
of tlie Lyceum in early morning, surrounded by pupils 
who are being instructed in acroamatics j he holds in hia 
hand a leather bottle recently emptied of itg Chian 
wine, or, perchance, the flaccid bladder of a Thracian 
bull, and, after a good deal of blowing, it is inflated 
And closed, Theoplirastua, perhaps, acting as assistant 
^^(fbr he showed some ta?te for physics in after life). 
^■Then the inflated bladder is hung upon a clumsy sta- 
^Ktera, turning, perhaps, with the weight of half an Attic 
drachma, and the experiment is finished. But the 
■tuidenta ore not edified ; tliey think it derogatory to 
study Nature, and one by one they wonder what their 
grandfather the Socratic would say to it all, or their 
father, who had sat at the feet of Plato. 

Wo who deny tiiat Aristolle discovered the weight 
of air are not *' the philosopher's enemies," for this dis- 
covery would bo almost a vanishing quantity when wo 
I consider how much he effected in other branches of 
knowledge ; nor do we ''strive to rob antiquity of its 
•glories,*' for this discovery would add but little to an 
infinitely gl">rions past. Ai'isl^tlo did not pretend to 
be an experimental philosopher; indeed, we question 
if he would thank M. Ifamy for his disinterested 
attempt to make him one. SooraU'S and Seneca would 
iliAve received such an imputation aa an insult; the 
'lUtter would have said (judging from some of his argu- 
ments in the *' Da Vitd lieata ")— '' What matters it to 
me that ti>e air has weight, I cannot alter it ; let me 
rather Btrivd to give weight to the actions of my life, 



and to leave a something which shall sink through all 
humanity." But, supposing that the discovery of the 
weight of the air had been made by Aristotle, we 
should not regard him as one whit the wi?er man; it 
was not an aj^e for the discovery of physical truths; 
the world was not ready for thorn ; Pneumatics would 
not have become a science one year sooner, Otto Von 
Guericke would not have teamed his sixteen horses to 
the great hemispherea of Magdeburg one day the 
earlier. 

It is, I think, a most injurious practice to foist upon 
antiquity by means of vague and hypothetical premises 
discoveries which belong to a later age ; and the reverse 
of this, which more frequently occurs, is equally per- 
nicious. The transference of the merit of a discovery 
should never be attempted except upon the surest and 
most absolute grounds, nnd in the presence of inde- 
structible facts. I say here, with M. de Stroda^ 
" L' activity humaine, si puissante, si immenso, si agls- 
sante, qu'elle soil dan?: hic >nnd?ance, tie trouve j'amais 
en elle-meiiie la certitude, mais la trouve toujouts dans 
et par le fait." * 



KEW APPLICATIONS OF THE MICROSCOPE 
TO BLOWPIPE CHEMISTRY. 

BY U. C. aORBY, r.R.3. 

Or (hem there are two chief divisions. In one 
method the subatarce is fused with borax or microooa- 
mic salt, so ns to give a clear bead^ and the spectrum ia 
examined by means of the spectrum eye-piece. In the 
other method the saturated borax bead is kfpt hot 
over the lamp, so that crystals may be depositi.^d in it. 
By using a microscope many eletnents may then be 
easily distinguished by the form of the crystals, which 
ore often of extreme beauty. When, however, much 
mixed, or combined with silica or other ncids^ as in 
natural minerals, it is often requisite t^ add various 
reagents — aa phosphate of soda, microcosmic salt, boric, 
tunffsticj molybdic, and titanic acids. Tliese give rise 
to characteristic crystalline deposits ; and we may thus 
distinguish lime, magnesia, baiyta, and strontia, even 
when combined with silica ; and can detect magnesia 
when mixed with several times its weight of lime, in 
impure limestone, &c. 

Examples of tliis method : — 

1. Sphene, melted with borax, does not deposit crys- 
tals; but the addition of boric acid sets free the titanic 
acid, easily recognised by tho form of the crystals. 
Diluting the bead with more borax, so as to retain the 
titanic acid in solution, phosphate of soda causes the 
deposit of crystals of phosphate of lime, 

2. Fergu»oniit\ from Grcenlaud, shows the spectrum 
of didymium, and from Ytterby that of erbium. When 
fused with borax, it deposits crystals of columbic acid ; 
and af^er dilutin;^ with borax to prevent thi^, the addi- 
tion of phosphate of soda produces crystals of phos- 
phate of y I tria. 

3. QatloUnitf from Ytterby, melted with borax, gives 
a spectrum incJicating the prf^sence of didymium and 
erbium; and when kept hot, it deposits the character- 
istic crystals of borate of ytirifi. 

Numerous illustrations of this application were ex- 
hibited at the soir^t of the Royal Society on Saturday 
lost 

« "PbUocoiibi* M4tho4lqa«.*' 



[Engliili Edition, 7oL XIX^ Vo. 4B4, pag« lU,} 



236 IrQn.--NoihPrccijpm — Lethehy on Food \ 



May, 1S» 




ON THE CRYSTALLISATION OF lEON. 

DLTRi>fa an exarauiatiou of the Ileaton process for 
makings steel at Langley Mill, ia which 1 have been 
lately engaged for the purpose of reporting thereon, I 
noticed a remarkable instance of the crystallisation of 
iron. After the Tiok-noe of the action between tlie 
moltL'n iron and the nitrate of soda had subsided, the 
lower portion of the apparatus, called the converter, is 
dctaclicd, and after u few minutes the coutentjj are 
turnerl out in a porous mass of nearly f of a ton in 
weight on lo tlie floor. Upon examining portions of 
this metallic sponge, I find it consisla of a segregation I 
of minute feathery cryst'Us of iron, appnrenlly built up ! 
of small cubes. The outlines of some of these are per- j 
fectly sharp, and their appeiirnnce, especially in the 
cariiieB, ia very beautiful— W. Crookes, 



ON THE 

NON-PRECIPITATIOX OF MANGANESE 

iiv 

SUT^PIITDE OF AMMONIUM IN PRESENCE OF 

SOME ORGANIC AMMONIACAL SALTS. 

Br PROFESSOR HOW, D.C.L., 
WtJiPBOR, M>VA SCOTIA. 

In conducting the process of Reynolds fCnEMiOAi. 
News, voL il, p, 20S, Ent^, Ed.) for the &i.'paration of 
iron and alumina, by precipitating the former metal by 
sulphide of ammonium, after addition of oxalic aeid, I 
foim'l that some of the manganese present remained 
dissolved along witli the alumina. TJnf>repared for 
this retention, and failing to find any information as to 
the behaviour of ranngaaeso with sulphide of ammoni- 
um in presence of organic acids, I was led to experi- 
ment on this .subject, and now give sucli uf my results 
03 seem to possess novelty and interest 

The oxalate of mangane-se recently described by my- 
self (CnKWicAL News, vol. xix., p. 41, Am. Repr., Afarch^ 
1 86y, jwf/e 1 22) api>ears to be much more soluble in dilute 
hydrochloric thtmi in dilute sulphuric acid, and hence, 
doubUess, oxalic acid does not throw down the salt so 
soon or so abundantly from the chloride as from ihe 
sulphate of the met*I. If a large quaniiiy of oxalie 
acid ia used with the chloride, and excess of ammonia 
and some sulphide of ammonitim are quickly added, no 
sulphide of manganese falls, but tlie characteristic 
needles of the oxalate soon appear, Wbeti chloride, 
oxalate, and sulphide of ammonium are successively 
added to chloride of manganes+% both sulphide and 
oxalate of tlil<? metal fall a&r a short interval When 
the oxalate is dissolved in dilute HCl, succeisaive addi- 
tion of oxalic acid, amraoni^i, and sulphide of ammoni- 
um gives no precipitate of sulphide; and, on standing, 
crystals, cousi-tiiig, no doubt, of an oralatCj are formed 
— [lerhaps the double salt mentioned by Gerh.ir»lt, and 
alluded to in my paper above cited. \Vhen solid tar- 
Uric acid is warmed in solution of MiiCls, the subse- 
quent addition of ammonia and sulphide of ammonium 
causes no precipitate. The same result is obtained 
when citrie acid ia employed Iti both cases no man- 
gant'g^i is thrown down on standing twenty-fotir hourH. 

The other metals of the fourth group fall, citlier at 
once or after a short time, aq Kulpbides when the 
before-roetitioucd solutions retaining manganese di**- 
Bolvcd in presence of sulphide of ammonium are added 
to their s&lts formed with mineral acids. 



It does not appear that attention has been given to 
the deportment of manganese now described. Frp5c- 
nius says thf metal may be precipilated as sul ' l ' 
from all compounds without exception (Quant. Ar .; . 
third Enghsh edition, p. 169), and mentions sulphide uf 
ammouiuin as the proper precipitant (p. 17*^); ^'■ 
Rose points out that manganese is not ' l/Jj 

thrown down as sulphide, especially in liqui-! 
ing salts of ammonia (Chemical News, vol. n,, p. j^ 
Eng. Ed,}, but he makes no mention of organic acii 

From the fact that oxahc and tartaric ari '- " 
prevent the precipitation of sulphide of mrn 
sulpliidos of the fixed alkaline metals, it seeuu> >^i 
joint presence of these a<;ids and of ammonia (onlyt 
neo^ssary to retain the metal in solntion on addition (j 
sulphide of ammonium. I find that citric tt*^id» (J*" 
solved in solution of MnCls, prevents precipitation 
addition of potnah and aulphide of pot^issium, and stK 
solution, after standing twenty-four hours, precipitaH 
sulpliidc of nickel from the nitrate of the metal im- 
mediately on ks addition. 

It would be interesting to enquire whether the re- 
tention of manganese now described depends on the 
production of manganos-nmmonium, mentioned 1 
Gerhardt, and alluded to in my paper on the oxalate 
manganese referred to above. 



ON Fooa* 

BT DB. LETQEBT, lf.A., M.D.^ AC. 
(ConUfiaed tntn Am. R^r., April, 1S69, page iga.) 

Uhwiiokiome and Adulterated Food. 
As reg.irds vegetable foods, they are not so H 
decay or even to parasitic infection as anim^ 
for the acari or mites of Hour and sugar, or even 
weeveld of biscuit, are harailese ; indeed, the most 
poriant infection of grain is the fungoid disease of 
called ergot. This is the muttercorn or roggeninutter 
of the Germans, and as it chieily iidests the rye, it 18 
named, from ita appcaraiicc, spurred rye; but it alaO 
attacks barley, oat^, wheat, maize, rice, and most of 
the grasses. It always appear* oa a black graiD, of • 
larger size than u^^v^al, and it is mostly found iu plai ' 
which grow upon moist cLiy-soila, in damp situatioi 
especially in the neighbourhood of forests. The 
trict of Sologne, in France, between the rivers ] 
and Cher, w£is once notoriously inlesled withi the 
case, and the Abbo Fesaier, who was deputed in l 
to investigate the causes of the extraordinary pre 
lence of ergot iu that district, attributed it to the poo; 
neas and wetness of the land, and to the dn.Tipnrs* 
the air from the numerous forests. In bad 
much a3 a third or a fourth of tlie crop w. 
witli ergot, and even in good seusons it e- .0 
about two per cent, of it. The disease in the 
due to the growth of a pccuUar fungus, which 
Mr. Quekett named er^otdia ahortifacUns, and 
effect^ of it on the Imman body are very serious, 
acts chiefly on the nervous system, causing gidd 
dimness of sight, loss of feelin|^, and twitching of 
limbs, and death by convulsions; or it pro*lucca 
creeping sensation over the surface of the body, wi 
coldness of the extremities, followed by inseusibiliity 
and gangrene. These eff^'Cts are no doubt referred 
by Ligebert in his "History of Gaul and France, 
when he says that the year 1089 was a pestilent yoai 

• Tke Cmtor Lecturej, delivered b«fore tb« Society of Arts. 



thJ 



line! 



th 



fCngUsh Edltloa, VoL XIX,, «o. 485, ^%,m X3«, 137, 138.] 









J)r, Letheby on Food, 



cialljr in the western parts of Lorraine, for many 
peraons became putrid in conaei{uence of tijeir inwaid 
putfl being consumed by S(. Antliony's fire. Their 
limbfi were rotton, and became black like coal, and 
they either perished miserably, or, being depiived of 
tlioir putrid hands and feet, were reserved lor a more 
ble life. Bayle, too, in his account of Ltiis eick- 
«ays that the bread was of a deep violet colour. 
like ejects have been observed iu other parts of 
the Continent, as in Silesia, Pruasia, Bohemia, Saxony, 
Uoistein, Denmark, Switzerland, Lomb.ardy, and Swe- 
den, where tlie creeping aickntSH, aa it Ls called, lias 
Attacked whole districts of the country, sparing neither 
old nor young, rich nor poor. 

The remedy for the disease is in the hands of the 
jniller, who should separate the ergotisied frum the 
healthy grains. Fortunately we have a ready teat for 
its presence, not merely in the microficopic appearances 
f the flour, but in the circumstance that as it is the 
blest of iJl the constituent's of flour, it will float upon 
tiiixture of one part of chloroform and six of alcohol, 
'•nd will appear as a scum of dark-brown particles. 
Anothor source of danger is the prej?encc of poison- 
graasea in tlje flour. The most important of these 
darnel {lolium tt7nidentum)j which the careless or 
loTcnly farmer will sometimes permit to overrun hia 
fields, and the seeds becoming mixed with the corn, 
mre ground into flour by the equally careless miller, 
be effect of the grains on man is to cause a species of 
loxication, with headache, giddiness, somnolency, 
Uridm, convulsion*, paral^'sis, and even death. Oc- 
"onally it excites %'omiting, witli irritation of the 
alimentary canEil, and then its effects are not so 
serious. Many instances are recorded of the poisoaous 
action of the flour. Christison, for example, tells u.«, 
that a few years ago almost all the inmates of the poor- 
house at Sheffield, lo the number of eighty, were 
attacked witli analogous syniptoma, after breakfasting 
on oatmeal porridge, and it was supposed that the 
effects were caLJS<jd by the presence of darnel in the 
eal. A siuiilar accident is mentluned by Perleb, 
ving occurred at the House of Corrcctiun at Frey- 
and fitil! more recently the same effects were 
ced on seventy-four persons at the workliouse of 
ngbausen. Dr. Taylor stales, on the authority of 
Kingsley, of Koscrea, that in the month of January, 
several families, including about thirty persons, 
red severely from the effects of bread containing 
flour of darnel seeds. Those who partook of the 
bread staggered about as if they were intoxicated, and 
although they all recoverad, yet ibey experienced a 
good deal of distreaa from giddiness^ coldocsi of the 
Smbs, and great prostxation of thu ?ital power. 

Unripe grain, as well as grain alTected with the rust, 
d mouldy flour and mouldy bread, have also pro- 
uced disturbance of the human system. M. Bouvier 
ttributed the epidemic of dysentery, which occurred 
in the department of the Oise, in the autumn of 1793, 
to the use of unripe grain; and corn affected with 
brown or black rust is thought by many to be un- 
wholesome. Mouldy flour or mouldy bread is certainly 
injurious, for several instances are on record where not 
only men, but hor.se3, Imve been poisoned by mouldy 
hreatJ; and M. Payen hag given a graphic account of 
the distressing e.fl'eets of the mouldy ammunition bread 
applied to the troops who were encamped near Paris, 
1843; the mould on that occasiuu was a yellow 
Qgus, liie oidium aurantiacum, but at other times it 
has been of a green colour, from pennicSlum glaucum. 




Mouldy food of every description is dangerous vo 
use, and considering to what an extent the spores or 
5poridia of poisonous fungi are floating in the atmos- 
phere, it is surprising that they do not more fre- 
quently taint our food and cause disorder of the sys- 
tem, for air washed with distilled water will always 
yield abundance of ihese germs, wljich are ready at any 
raomint to spring into activity when they come into 
contact with a proper nidus for their growth. A 
remedy for these bidden sources of danger is good and 
eOt'Cfcive cooking. 

And now, in conclusion, let me make a few remarks 
on the KuhjiCt of the fruinlulent s-ophiBticationa of food 
— ft subject which has been very popuLir for tlie last fiily 
years, or rather, I should say, since the year 1S20, when 
Mr, Frederick, Accum published bis treatise on " Adul- 
teratious of Food, and Culinary Poisons," with the 
startling motto from the Book of Kin^ja — '* There is 
death m the pot." As you may easily imagine, t«uch 
a terrible announcement by a well-known writer, could 
not fail to excite alarm in the public mind, and to pro- 
voke anxious curiosity. The book, therefore, was 
eagerly sought for, and a tliousand copies of it were 
sold witbin a mouth of its publication; so that, to use 
the words of the author, in his adverrisenient to the 
second edition — "there was sufficient inducement to 
reprint the work." The singular aucc<->83 of Accnm's 
underlakhig htis been such a temptation to others, that 
the pres3 has hterally groaned with the efforts of sen- 
sational writers on the subject. And although 1 am 
ready to admit the importance of it, yet I am bound to 
state that it has often been grossly exaggerated, especi- 
ally by tbose who have had but little practical Imow- 
ledge to g^ide them. 

Ihe objects of fraudulent adulterations of food are 
threefold : — 

1. To increase the bulk or weight of the article. 

2. To improve its appearance, 

3. To give it a false strength. 

Among the first of these adulterations are the 
following: — 

(o). The addition of inferior sttirches, a^ potato-starch 
or English arrow-root, curcuma or East Indian arrow- 
root, jatropha or Brazilian arrow-root, tacca or Tahiti 
arrow-root, canna or Tous-les-mois stxirch, sago-raeal, 
&c., to true maranta, or West Indian arrow-root'— of 
which Bermuda arrow-root is the most esteemed va- 
riety, A microscopic examination of the starch or 
fajcula will always discover the fraud. 

(I). The mixture of starch-sugar or even starch itself 
with common cane-sugar. Starch-sugar, or as it is 
sometimes called, grape- sugar^ or glucose, is manufac- 
tured botli in this country and on the Continent to a 
considerable extent. It is made from any d< acription 
of Btarcli, by boiling it for half an hour or so in water 
containing about one per cent of sulphuric acid. The 
acid is then neutralised with chalk, and the hquor eva- 
porated to a density of rzS. While hot, it is run off 
clear from the insoluble precipitate of sulphate of lime, 
and on standing in a cool place for a few days it crys- 
tallises or sets into a soUd mass. This description of 
sugar has a low sweetening power — not half so great 
as that of cane-sugar — in fact, it is produc*-'d from the 
latter by the action of vegetable acids and heat, when 
cane-augar is added to fruit in making n Inrt or fruit 
pie, and in making jellies and jam*. It is false econo- 
my, tlienefore, to sweeten to any extent before the 
tart is baked. The sugar is known by many characters, 
as a want of sparkle from the absence of well-formed 



[Engtkti Edition, Vol ZIX, No. 4Sfi, pasm 13B, 139.] 



238 



Di\ Leikehy on Food. 



Ciinncjii. Nc^riL 
May, Vim. 



crjstfllB, its less solubility in waler iind greater solu- 
bility in ulcohol, and by ita giving a deep port-wine 
lint to a solution of potash when it La boiled with it. 

(c). The dilution of milk, vintvar, &c., with water. 
Thi3 fraud is easily detected by the spcuific gravity of 
the liquid, and, in the case of milk, by the proportion 
of cream in the lactometer, and by the poor ajipcarance 
of the milk 'A-hen under the microscope. 

{d). The mixture of dripping and other fate with 
butter, and wat4;?r and starchy matter with lard. Butter 
and lard should always furnish, when meltf^d, a cifear- 
looking oil, with but little deposit of water or other 
substance. 

(e). The addition of gelatine to isinglass, which is 
sometimes so well managed tliat it requires a skilful 
analysis to delect it. Iyingl«S8 is an organised sub- 
fitance^ and when examined wit!i the microscope, ex- 
hibits a peculiar, structure whith is very charjict*>rij^tic 
of it; not so, hovtrever, with g*datine. A particle of isin- 
glass put into cold water remains opaque, like a piece 
<'f whit':; breal, and doc,'? not swell out, whereas gelatine 
becomes transparent, and enlarges a good deal in bulk. 
Jelly made from good isinglaus has a >lighily fishy 
smell, an<l is neutral to test-paper, but that from gela- 
tine has a disLiiict odour of glue and an acid reaciion. 
Lastly, if a few grains of isinglass he burnt in a metal 
spoon until the ash alone remains — the ash will be 
very small in quantity, and of a reddii?h colour, while 
that of gelatine will be much larger in amount and of 
a white appearance, delaline never agrees with the 
delicate stomach of an invalid like isinglass; and, 
therefore, it is often important to ^iiscover the differ- 
ence. 

(/). Coffee a'lultcrated with chicory is readily de- 
tected by hprinkhng the mixture upon water, when 
the c. flee, which is slightly greasy from volatile and 
fixed oil, floats, while the chicory sinks, and gives a 
brownish tiut to the water. Tiie experiment is easily 
made, as you here see, in a tumbler of water, and 
you may, with a little tact, determine the proportions 
of the mixture. 

(^). Whealen flour is frequently add»;d to flour of 
mustard, and when the quanti«y pas>es beyond a cer- 
tain amount, it is undoubtedly an adulteration, lor the 
intention of it should be only to reduce to an agreeable 
extent the jiungency of the mustard. 

Of tlie second class of adulierations. wliere the ob- 
ject is to improve the appearance of the article, there 
arc many examplcj*, as: — 

(cf). The addition of alum to bread, by which, as I 
have already explained, infeHor, and even damaged, 
flour may be made into a tolerable looking loaf. It is 
the property ofahim to make the gluten i<>ugh, and to 
prevent its discolouration by hoat^ as well as to check 
the action of the yeast or ferment upon it. When, 
therefore, it is added to good Hour, it enableg it to hold 
more water, and so to yield a larger number of loaves; 
while the addition of it to had Hour prevents the sofTt- 
ening am! disintegrating clTi'ct of the yeast on the poor 
and iijferior iL'luti'u, and so enables it to bear the action 
of heat in the process of hi king. According to the 
quality of the flour will be the proportion of alum, and 
hence the amount will range from 2 oz, to 8 o;?;. per sack 
of flour. These proportions will yield frnm 9 to 37 
grains of alum in the ciuartcrn loaf, quantities which 
are easily detected by chcmtcal memi?. Indeed, there 
is a simple te>t by which much smaller quantities of it 
may be readily discovered. Infusion of logwood, as 
you here perceive, acquires a rich purplish carmine, or 



claret tint, when it is brought into contact with alum 
you have, therelbre, only to dip a slice of the bread for 
an instant, as I am now doing, into a weak, wate 
solution of logwood, and il' alum be present the bread 
will speedily acquire a purple or reddish purple lioL 
I have already described to yon the other proper- 
ties of good bread, as that it should not exhibit any 
black specks upon the upper crust; it should not become 
sodden and wet at the lower part by emnding; it 
should not become mouldy by keeping in modiTately 
dry place; it should be sweet and agreeable to both 
taHto and smell; it should not give, when steeped ia 
water, a ropyaeid liquor; and a slice of it taken from 
the centre of the loaf should not lose more than 45 
cent by drying. 

Sulphattt of copper is found to act like alum in im-* 
proving the appearance of bread ; and, according to 
Kuhlmann, Chevallier, and others, it is commonly used 
by the bakers of the Continent^ notwilhslanding tha 
severe penalties attached to it In this country, how- 
ever, it is but rarely employed. 

(&). The bloom, or glaze, or facing of green and black 
tea is generally artificial. In the case of green tea, it 
is ordmarily a mixture of Pru^^ian blue, turmeric, and 
sulphate of lime, or China clay; and in that of blac 
tea it ia not unlrcqucnfly a coating of black-lead. The 
tea prepared for the Enghsh market is notoriously sub- 
ject to these adiilteratinns; and it seems that it oris 
entirely from our own fancy, and not from any desird 
on the part of the Chinese to pursue such a prajiiiee. 
The adidtcrntion is easily discovered by shaking theteaf 
with cold water, and then straining through muslin, 
and allowing the fine povvdpr to subside. 

(t?). Pickles and preserved fruits are often made 
green with a suit of copper, it being the peculiar proi>- 
erty of that metnl to mordant, or fix in an insoluble 
form, the green colouring malter or cldorophyl of 
vcgetable.o. If, therefore, the pickling operation is con 
ducted in copper vessels, or if a little verdigris or sul- 
phate of copper is added to the vinegar in which the 
vciJteialjlcs are boiled, the colour of tliem will be re 
tained. In some cases the quantity added haa been 
large as to give a coppery look to a tsleel fork or kiiifa^ 
plunged inio the pickle. In such cases, as might bo 
expccrcd. severe symptoms of poisoning have been oc- 
casioned by it. 

((/U FLvtrugiuoua earth, or red oxide of ifon, is fre- ^j 
quenfly added to sauces, to anchovies, to cocoa prep'^^H 
araiion.s, and to preserved or potted meats, to improre^l 
their appearance. 

(tf). Mineral pigments, often of a poisonous natare, 

are used in colouring conl'ectionery. 

Anil La.stly, with the view of giving a falAe jttpengtlrl 
to the article, we have insitnnces of sulphuric acid added] 
to vinegar, black-jack or burnt sugar to cofice Midi 
chicory, catechu or terra japtmica to tea, coccttiw ifi-j 
diesis to beer, cayenne to peppers, &c. 

That mnny of these sophistications are dangerOdt 
there can be" no doubt, and all of I hem aro frauds 
the public. Parhnuient has therefore attempted to d^l 
with the matter hy legislation, as in the '^ Act for Pre-' 
vinting the Adulteration of Articles of Food or Drink 
(23rd and 24th Vict., cap. S4) of i860; but as the act 
is only permissive, litth* or no effect has been given to 
it. !fiven in those places, as in the Gity of London, 
where it hns been put into operation, and public ana-^i 
lysis have been appointed, no good has re.<nilted firom^H 
it ; in fact, it stands upon the statute-book a!^ » deat^H 
letter. Speaking for tbo City, I may aay that every 



tEngltsli Edition, YoV XIX., No. 405, page 130 ; No. 486, pages 150, I5L] 




1B6». \ 



J}r. Leikeby oji Food. 



239 



mgh 



Liking 
Feodt 



lacemeal has been oflered for tlie eDTectiTe working 
the act, but nothing has come of it. In olden lime 
remedie** for such misdemeanoura were quick and 
actual. In the As^^isa paniji^ for example, as set 
Liber Albua^ there are not only the etrictest 
;ons concerning^ the nmnner in which the buai- 
ihe baker is to be conducted, bnt there are also 
laltie^ for Ciihng in tlie same. '* If any defuult,'* 
flmll be found in the bread of a baker in the 
le first time let him be drawn upon a hurdle 
»e Guildljail I0 his own house ihrough the great 
where tiiere be mo^t people assembled, and 
n tlje grent 'streets which are most diriy, with 
faulty loaf hanging from his neck ; if ft second time 
shall be found eommittin{;the same ofTcnf^e, let him 
drawn from the Guildhall through the great street 
Cheepe, in manner aforesaid, to the pillory, and let 
put upon the pillory, and remain iher^ at least 
lOur in tJie day; and the tliird liine that guch de- 
It shall be found, he shall be drawn, and the oven 
11 be pulled down, and the bakor made to forswear 
Uade within the City for ever." It further tells us 
T'Wilham de Stratford suffered this punishment for 
bread of Fhort weight, and John ile Strode for 
bread of filth and eobvveha. Que hoary-headed 
ier "vva-s excused the hurdle on account of his age 
id the severity of the seaFOn ; and it would seem that 
le la8t time the punishment was inflicted was in the 
Ixleenthyear of the reign of Henry ITI,, when Simon 
fienssht! was so drawn. A like punis^hment was 
rardetl to butchers and vintners for fraudulent deal- 
for we are told that a butcher was [jaraded 
mgh the streets with hi? face to tlie horse's tail, for 
ig measly bacon at market, luiJ that the next day 
IM aet in tlie pillory with two great pieces of his 
ly bacon over hifi head, and a writing which set 
fti his Climes. In the judgments recorded in Liher 
there are twenty-three cases in which the pillory 
or the tiiew was awarded for gelling putrid meat, fish, 
or poultry ; thirteen for unlawful dealings of bakers, 
«iMid six for the misdemeanours of viriLners and wine- 
rawcrs. Of a verity we have degenerated in tliese 
ifttters. * 

And now, in conclusion, having dirocted your atten- 
to tine nutritive values of diil'crent kinds of food; to 
leir functional and dietetical powers; to the modes in 
r^kioh they are associated ; to the qnantitiea 1 oquired 
)r ordinary labour ; to the manner in which they are 
igoated ; to the effecta of culinary and other treat- 
lent; l«> the way in which they may bo preserved; 
id to the causes of their unwhoksomenesa, we may 
ly a^k if any great generalisations can be deduced 
>tu our inquiries 1^ 

In the first place, you will, I think, have observed that 
lere are very striking evidences of design in the wuy 
which orgMnic matter is constiintly kept in motion, 
>r, wliCtlMT living or dead, it is always in a state of 
lolecuLiT activity — either advancing towards the 
best statu of organisation, or rt^treating to the con- 
iDca of iho miaeral kingdom. The re&ult of this ia 
t, with a comparatively small amount of material, 
id with but littlo. expenditure of force, the work of 
living world is fully and efioctivcly performed- 
:ling from the mineral kingdom, as carbonic acid, 
r, and ammonia, the elements of orgimic nature 
through a succession of changes, first in the vege- 
and" next in the animal, unlil ihey reach the 
immit of organisation, when they again return to 
their primitive conditioD. In this manner a never- 



[Ibxu 



[high 



llhat. 



the 



Lble 



ending round of change is perpetuated, and the earae 
material and the same force are kept moving in the 
fame continuous circle. Through the eilorts of the 
plant the crude materials are formed into vegetable 
acids, sugar, gum, starch, fiit, albumen, and tissue ; and 
then the aniranl converts them into higher forms of 
structure, as gelatine, muscle, and brairi ; tliC tu*o ex- 
tremes, thorcroro, of these changes are, to use the 
words of Gerhardt, carbonic acid, water, and ammonia 
at one end; albmncn, gelatine, fat, and con-bral matter 
at the other^bnt the tranaitioud fo tlieae extremes are 
countless, and are as yet beyond the reach of science. 
Broadly, however, we may say that the chemical func- 
tions of the plant are those of reduction or deoxidalion, 
whereby carbonic acid and water are deprived of their 
oxygen and moulded with nitrogen into food ; while 
those of animals are of an opposite nature, lor they 
destrSy this food by oxidiition, Tlie plant, therefore, 
is the matfhine or medium whereby carbonic acid, 
water, and ammonia are converted into new cora- 
poundp, and fight and ht'at arc transformed into chem- 
ical affinity; and the animal is the medium or machine 
whereby these compounds are destroyed, and their 
affinities changed into other manifestations of force, 
and finally into heat In this wuy, the circuit of 
change is completed ; and it is not difficult to trace the 
phenomena of vitafity to the cosmical focccs which the 
plant had imprisoned. Bnt thall we ever be able to 
follow^, through all the intricacies of change, the count- 
leas transitions of both matter and force in their 
passage from the mineral kingdom to the animal, and 
then back to tht mineral again ? It is easy to connect, 
by a correlation of force, the muscular movements of the 
animal body, and even the highest efforts of the human 
mind, wiih the s^unbeam which the phmt had arrested ; 
but shall we ever be permitted to unravel those 
mviiterious functions, those intermediate changes 
which constitute the phenomena of life? Why is it, 
for example, and how comes it, that the living cell of 
the plant is able to aggregate mineral matter in oppo- 
sition to the common law^ of affinity, and can trans- 
form light and heat into cell-force ? How irf it, (00, 
tliat the animal, in reversing the process, and go restor- 
ing the play of alTinity, is able to transmute it into 
other manilcstatione of force ? At present, the utmost 
we can pay of it is, that organic matter is the appointed 
medium of all these changes, and is designed for the 
exhibition of vital phenomena, ju?t as mineral matter 
ia the appointed medium for the phenomena of elec- 
tricity and magnetism; and yet to some extent, per- 
haps, we are able to penetrate the mystery; for, by 
finding the clue to the peculiar action of the vegetable 
in reducing chfuiical compounds, we can, by operating 
on such gubstances as carbonic acid, water, and am- 
monia produce a large nomJ^r of organic principles; in 
fact, of the three great classes of alimentary substances, 
to which I have so frcquenily directed your attention 
— namely, the oleaginou?, the saccharine, and the 
albuminous — it may be said that the first is already 
within the manufacturing power of the chemist, and 
the second 'is nearly within it; so that there is 
abundant proof that the agency of a vital force is not 
necessary to the formation of organic compounds; and 
there is even hope that the fabrication of lood may not 
be altogether beyond the capabilities of npu. 

(To bd coDlluae*].) 



[EngUth Edition, 7oL SIX., No. 486, paces 151^ ISftl 



240 



Sodium in Limfer Makhes, — Preservation of Timher, {^^y^iS*** 



ON THE SUBSTITUTTOX OF SODIUM FOR 

pnospnoRus in lucifer matches. 

Dr. H. Fleck, of Dresden, lia8 institiited a series of ex- 
periments with th© view to odlain a non-poisonous 
pasto for the application to lucifer matches. He ascer- 
tained, by some preliminary experiraenta, that sodium, 
when minutely dirided alrmg with explosive sub&tances, 
becomes highly inflammable when simply moistened 
with water. A mixture, constituted according to the 
formula — 

(KO,NO*) + Na + 20= (1^0, CO, -f NaO,CO0 +N, 
formed a greyish-coloured mass, which, on being touch- 
ed with a moisteued glass rod, ignited like gunpowder; 
tUi? mixture was, however, found to be unfit to ignite 
ordinary brimstxjoe matchey for a cotton wick soaked 
in peiruleuni. In order to mind this d^'lbct, black aul- 
phurct of antimony was substituted fur the cba^oal, 
according to the formula 3iKOj NOtj-t- Na + (SbS,) 
=(NaO,SbO») + 3(KO,SO*)+3N, and the miiLture 
made up of— 

0'5 gmmmos of sodium , = 4^65 p«r cent 

660 •* niirttt« of potasli — 6139 *• 

36'5 " sulphide of anlimony =33-96 '• 

Provided thnt during its manufacture thi-? mixture is 
kept thoroughly dry, it has bet-n found to answer ad- 
mirably well. Tlie mode of milking it up is briefly as 
follow? : — Pure soUd paraffin is put into a well-stop- 
pered glass flask, and melted over a eand bath, M'hen 
fluid, clean pieces of soditmi are addtd, and liquefied 
imder the pnrafBn. As soon na th^ metal is thorouglily 
liquefied, tlie flask is closed and shaken for about ten 
minutes, which has the effect of granulating the metal, 
or ratlier reducing it to a fine powder. Tlie metal is 
tlien poured out of the flask along with the paraffin, 
and the podinm taken out of the paraffin by means of a 
clean dry spoan; from 30 to 35 p».'r cent of paraffin 
remains adhering to the mctd; this^ however, docs not 
impair il3 inflammability, wlnle it tends to preserve 
the metal. Owing to this increase, instead of 5 grauimcB, 
6'6 grammes of the metallic powder thus obtained must 
be weighed otf. The incorporation with the other in- 
gredienis, previously well dried and warm, is effected 
under petroleum in metalic mortars, but each of the 
substances 13 flrat mixed with some petroleum, atidpul- 
ircrised separately before being triturated with the 
sodium ; instead of gum or glue, caoutchouc, previously 
soaked in light petroleum oil at T 10° C. for ten or twelve 
hourii, is used as masno form an adhesive past." with the 
other materials. According to several accounts ii-om 
Germany, tliis plan of substituting sodium forphospho- 
rua boa been favourably taken up by some of the largest 
and leading manufacturers of lucifer and fusee matches* 
There issaid to be not the least danger in the transport 
— Abridged from Deutsche Indnatrie Zeitung. 




ON TEE PRESERVATION OF TIMBER.* 

BT P. M. MOIR. 

The prescrvotion of timber is of great pracMcal impor- 
tance — its pre>iervation 13 alike valuable to the student, 
the practicil worker, and the capitalist; and it is not 
to be wondered at that many minds have been directed 
to solve the question whereby decay may be arrested, 
and the timbct preserved and made as durable as the 
other parts of the construction it may be in union with. 

* AtMtniei of A pamr reiMl befurd the aia»gow Thilownlilcal Bocletr 
(Olk«mloa1 B«cUuKi>,Teb. 1, iHb^ 



>odH 



A very common and destjuciive kind of dc 
rot, which is oR^in very rapid in wasting the 
of timber, more particularly in such places a^ ojt: 1 
from a circulattou of air. 

There is another familiar agent deadly to tlm 
which we in this conntry are not acquainted wntii, b 
which is the cause of great destruction in India, Ceylon. 
Brazil, and all tropical countries, where it is very 
abundant. I refer to the white ant, or hrntiT.'. In 
attacks are mogt ravenous on all wood 1 
way sleepers, and bridges, alj hough the : use 

in the latter be o( lignum viiWf a very hard and damhle 
wood. 

Timber used for marine purposes is subject to t1 
attacks of Ujo Ttrtdo uni^lis and Limnoria l^rehran^' 
Greenheart timber, in its natural state, is the only wor 
now in use for harbour works that is free from tl 
attacks of marine worms and insects, and the white ani 
in tropical countries. 

There are two reasons why this timber resists the 
ravages of the«e insects — 1st, its hardness; 2nd, it oon- 
taitis a large quantity of essential oil. 

I DOW como to the various methods that have been 
adapted and trieii ftjr llie preserving of timber, both 
from natural decay and destruction, mentioned — and 
these have been mechanical and chemicaL 

The mechanical have been wholly ap|»hed for marine 
purpose?, and are the oldest in u*e. . The first, I may J 
mention, couaisted in covering piles, between high andij^f 
low- water mark, \vith flat-headed iron-nails, the hea<Jt^^l 
being about i inch in diameter, driven into the wood 

as close to one another as they could be put without 

overlapping; the water soon acted npon them by 
corrosion, which penetrated the skin of any porti 
of the wood not covered by the nails. This process i« 
very expensive, not only in the materials used, but thtt 
amount of labour required driving in the nails. 

Another plan was to cover the piles with sheets of 
zinc or copper. 

I next come to the chemical processes that hare been 
tried, and are still in use, for preserving wood. 

Upwards of fifty patents have l>cen taken out for 
preserving animal and vegetai»Ie substances, uicludinff 
timber, many of which have never been worked 
practically ; in fact, there are only six that I am 
acquainted with that have been worked commerciallv 
— Kyan, 1832; Margary, 1S37 ; Bethell, 1S3S-43'; 
Burnett, 1S3S-40; Payne, 1841-46; Boucherie, 1839. 

These patents were obtained for the appUcfition, 
either by steeping or filling the pores of timber by 
y>ressiire in close vessels with solutions of different 
chemical agents ; excepting Boucherie's, and be latlcu-ly 
adopted the salt used by M. Margary — via , the sut 
phaLe of coppor. 

PATSarWL 

Kyon 1832 Chloride of mercury. 

Miirgftry . . . 1837 Sulphate of copper. 

Bethell ■ • ■ J^^H Creosote, or pitch oiL 



Burnett . . 
Boucherie 



rSjS) 
1840 f 
839 



i .8 



Chloride of zinc 

Pyrolignito of iron. 
8ulphtit« of copper* 



PatrnA i»S4» Sulphato of iroo. 



[S46 Carbonate of Boda. 



In the working of these patents practically, there 
were three different methods used in the application — 
viz., steeping^, vital suction, and pressing in close 
vessels. The first of these was adapted by Eyan and 



[EngUah Edition, VoL YIY., No. 48C, pages 148, 149.] 



Jfiiy. 1MB. \ 



0th (Jve Premrvution of Tmhe?\ 



241 



►ItraTpirv, the second by Boiicberie, and Uic third by 
Payee, Burnett^ ami BeLhL-U, and latterly by Boucherte. 
la thL* first and third njcthods, the several procossos 

• required the timber should be seasoned and free from 

_ tyjui s process was the mixings of chloride of 
f^'Wfticury, iti proportion of I lb, of salt to 5 gallons 
of wat<;r. 

IMargjiry^ in 1837, obtainetl a patent for preserring 
timber, roneg, canvna, cloth, &c., by soaking them in 
a solution ol' sulphate of copped, 
Payne, in 1841, obtained puient rif^hta for a process 
for preserving timber. His phm wus ihe production 
of a double decomposition in ilie pores of the wood, by 
first injecting a solution of some metallic body, such as 
sulphate of iron, which wos forcql into rhe wood under 
pressure in iron cylinders; after the wood had absorbed 
the quantity required, the surplus liquor was drawn off, 
and a Bolution of cmbonat^^ of i^oda forced in, wliich 
fixed the iron in the eeUular tissues of the timber, 
fomiinj^ oxide of iron. 
Sir William Burnett took out. a patent in 1S38 and 
in 1S5:; the hitter was an extt'n.4on of bis patent 
r ghta for seven yeara. His patent was for the pre- 
servation of timber, canvas, eordafre^ cotton and 
woidlen clothe, &e., with a Polution of chloride of zinc 
(ZnCl). thi.' proportion use! bemj; i gallon of the con- 
centrated solution to 40 gallons of water. 

I have now to hTin^ before your notice the Inst 
of these patents— viz., BeiheH's process for proeerving 
timber with creosote, or pitch oil. This invention 
differs entirely from all the others, in &o far that the 
on used is not oalv a most powerful coagnluior 
of albumen, but it likewise preserves the fibre of 
timber. Of all proeea^ei? ibr preserving timber, tMs one 
>eem? to have found most lavour, as it has be* n uni- 
versally used, not only in Grent Britain and Ireland. 
Nortli and South Anjeriea, India, and all continentfd 
countries in Euroj^e, wherever raU ways have been con- 
structed, but a!go in harbour workPj for which it is 
especially applicable in resisting the attacks of marine 
worms and insects. Mnny patent.s have been obtained 
for the use of oleaginous substances in preserving 
limber, but none were brouglit into practical use until 
Betliell procured his in 1838. In some instances cy- 
linders are open at both ends, and closed with iron 
door*, so that sleepers or timber entered at one end, on 
being treated, can be delivered finislicd at ihe opposite 
end. 1 have found, however, f>T all practical purposes 
tiiat one open end is Biifficient, a3 the oil when healed, 
beingof such a searchin<T character, it is a difficult matter 
to get the doors perfectly air-tight, consequently they 
are apt to leak during the time the pressure is being 
Applied. Pipes are led from the cylinder to the air and 
force purnps; the air is not only extracted from the 
interior of the cylinder, but also from the pores of the 
timber. When" a vacuum is made^ the oil, which is 
contained in a tank below the cylinder, ig allowed to 
rush in, and as sojn as the cylinder ia full, the inlet 
pipe is shut and the pressure pumps Rtartt-d, to force 
the oil into the wood ; the pressure maintained is from 
150 t/i 200 lb?, to the square inch, until the wood has 
absotbnd tiie required quantity of oil, Avhich is learned 
by an in<lex gauge fixed to the working tank below. 
All cylinders are fitted with Fttfety-valve-, which allow 
the oil not iram'd lately alisorbed to pass again into the 
tank. The oil is licated by coils of pipe placed in the 
tank, through which a current oF steam is passed, from 
end to cud, raising the tempcrnture to 120^ F. The 
Vol. IV. No. 5.— May, 1S69. 16 



quantity of oil recommended by the patenke, en- 
gineers, J^r"! others, ia 8 lbs, of oil for land purposes, 
and 10 to 12 lbs. to the cubic fool for marine. In this 
country, for marine the qiuintiiy docs not exceed 
12 lbs. J but on the continent — in France, Belgium, and 
Hollunil — tlie quantity used is from 16 to 26 Ihs. per 
cubic foot. Beech bus. ahiiorhed a-s hiijh as 31 lbs, 
of oil per cubic foot, and when used for planking, either 
for raihvay platforms or harbour works, is, without 
doubt, the cheapest and moat durable material that can 
be used. 

I estimate the possible yield of pitch oil in Scotland 
at 1,000,000 gallons ; this is mostly all used for creosot- 
ing purposes ; latterly a portion has been applied for 
fuel burning under Bte.nm boilers. It is .eli{:(hlly soluble 
in water, consequently it could not be used for out-door 
purposes in its pure state ; it requires to be mixed witii 
oils, or the oilier portions of the creo?o'e, which iill up 
tl)e pores of the timber, which, on exposure tb the air, 
solidifies, giving the wood a coating, aud making it im- 
pervious to water and the action of the atmosphere. 

In the new edition of Dr. lire's *' Arts and Manufac- 
ture's," under the head of '' Wood Preserving," it ts 
stated that Bethell's process "produces perfect coagula- 
tion of albumen in the sap, thus preventing it=5 putrefac- 
tion," 

In a letter written by Dr. Letheby, extracted from 
the Jouj'nal of the Society of Arts^ atier desijribing the 
action that takes place when timber is prepared with 
creosote, he concludes his letter by stating that the pre- 
servative action is of four kinds ; — 

1st It coagulates* albuminous substances, and gives 
stabdity to the constituenta of the canibiutn aud cellulose 
of the young wood. 

2nd. It absorbs and appropriates the oxygen which 
is within the pores of the wood, and so checks, c»r rather 
prevents, the eremacausts of the ligneous tissue. 

3rd. It resinifies within the pores of the wood, and in 
tliis way shuts out both air and moisture, 

4th. It acta as a positive poison to the lower forms of 
animal and vegetable' life, and so protect* the wood from 
the attacks of fungi, acari, and other parai^itcs. 

The creosoting process since it was first introduced in 
1838, has been extensively employed in Great Britain 
and Ireland, and in all countries on the continent of 
Europe where creosote od can l>e economically pro- 
cured J wherever it has been properly carried cut, it has 
been completely successful. 

or late, many railway companies have discontinued 
the creosoting of their sleepers, not on account of any 
failure in the process itself, but from the wcnr and tear 
of the chair cutting down into them, and gradually ren- 
dering them useless. This would not have been the 
case, to a great extent, hatl the base of the chair been 
broader, which would have prevented the mechanical 
acrioii of sinking into the wood, and enabled the sleeper 
to have lasted much longer. 

In India, and elsewhere abroad, where diunp, dry rot, 
and insects destroy unprepared sleepers so rapidly, I say 
by all means creosote; and for all sofl wood timber 
used in tlie consiniction of piers, bridge^, and similar 
works, I say the same. Creosoting being » preeerva- 
t'tvo agninst tlie attacks of the white ants in India, great 
number* of creosoted fir sleepers wer« sent out from 
England. These creosoted Bleepera were found to bi 
very durable. The fir ' 
probably from 
evaporftte ; 
Borri 



fEnglUb Edition, Vol. XIX., If' 



Chemical Chwiges of Carbon. 






kinds of infeuts, even when the wood ie most txposeci 
to their attacks. ^ 

In the report presented by the Mini^ler of Pubh'c 
Works in Belg:ium, in May, 1S63. lo the Legislative 
Assembly, respecting the operaiions of tlje State Rail* 
way a in the year 1S62, at page 12 it is staled as fol- 
low?: — 

'* III 1S62 a special comniiasion wa» insiitu<ed to 
determine the state of preservation of the sle^'^pers, 
which, before being put inio use, have been the object 
of preparations destined to prolons; their duration- The 
result of this comini*sion has been to pc-r-uade the 
Government lo trivc up enfirely the process Boucherie, 
and for the future to abide by the using — 1st, of oak 
Bleepers in their natural state, or which liave been sub- 
mitted to the preparation of the creosote olU byaVHtem 
Bethel! ; 2nd, of beech sleepers or red pine, prepared 
after the &amo process.'* 

At p«pe S6^ a statistical table is publiished showing 
the numbers used between the years 1S35 andi863, in 
which table ia stated that tlie average duration of 
unprepared oak sleepers is ii^V years, and of unpre- 
pared fir sleeper!?, 7^ years. 

In die spring of 1S65, a Terr careful examination was 
made by the authorili(-B of all ihe ereosoted sleepers, 
and they found that all these sleepers (althoiigh some of 
them had been in use 19 years) were iverfeetly sound 
and fresh, and, in consequence, the Belgian Government 
decided lo hnve all their sleepers ereosoted in fu'ure. 

The annual Government report on the Btl^ian State 
Railway?, for the year 1864, states :— 

" 123.397 sleepers, prepared by Mr. Bethell's proce?s, 
were laid down ; and 16,205 prepared by Boucherie's 
process (sulphate? of copper); and 1,869 sleepers pre- 
pared by various other processes, were taken up. 

"The adrainistralion, looking t.o the resulU of past 
years' experience, continues to confine itself to oak 
sleepers and ereosoted sleepers for making or relaying 
its line*, a« I he superiority of Betheirs system over dl 
others appears to be an established fact Out of tlie 
153,753 new sleepers put down fn 1864, 128,165 were 
creusoteil, and only 25,588 were unprepared oak." 

For marine purposes it is the only process now 
acknowledged by engineers to be applicable for preaerv- 
ing limber from tliC attatka of the Teredo and Limnoria. 
For harbour works in Scotland ihis process has been 
largely used. At Leith, the west pic-r ia entirely con- 
structed of ereosoted timber, consij^ting of 1013 main 
pUe:^ ; the extension of the east pier also condsts of 3 1 2 
main piles ereosoted. These erections were commenced 
in 1848, BT)d finished in 1853, and at the present time 
they arc alias perfectly sound as the firtit day they were 
put down. The gates of the new dock, now being eon- 
strucled at that port, are of creosoled pine bound with 
grcenheart. The quantity of oil used was 10 lbs. per 
cubic foot. At Glas^^ow, all the wood-wharfs, with 
exception of the steam-lioat quay, are construciecJ of 
ereosoted piDe, 8 lbs. of oil being injed^d to the cubic 
foot. The whoie of the wharves at Kiugsion dock, are 
entirely of ereosoted wood, the same quantity of oil 
being used. At Port Gksgow and Greenock, timber 
prepared by this process is largely used, and at nearly 
every port in EnglamL 

01 late, several other processes hare been patented 
for preservi' g timber. 

Ruhbint* is to put ihe timber into iron chambeni, and 
passing the vapours obtained from the distillation of 
coal tar into tlic chambers, and allow the timber to 
Absorb the same without pressure. 



Tht Resin Pruceas. — ^The timber i^ first iNaik'd In 
weak solution of carbonate of sod*, and then treat 
with Uquid resin in close tank^ heated to 306"*. 

Btertiny's \& another procea?, and, as described by the 
patentee, he removes the sap of timber by boiung in 
water to which borax is added. 



1 

heH 

in ^ 



LECTURES. 



ON THE 

CHEMICAL CHANGES OF CARBON 

A COURSE OF SIX LECTURES* 

(Adaptkb to a Juvenile Auditoiy), 

DIXIT KIIKD AT TUB 

EOYAL LVSTITITION OF GREAT BRITAIX 
(CIIRISTifAS, 1868-9), 

BY 

WILLIAM ODLING, Esq., M.B., F,R.S. 

(rCLLBSlAK PROrxaSOS OF DIIEMtSTBY US TUB BOTAL WSTITU «!»«.) 




LECTURE IV. 
Caebokic Gas, or Fixed Aia 

(ronduded from Am. Bepr., April, 1869* p*iye aoa) 

Hbre is a jur full of earbotiic gaa, the pre=i r ^ ' ^' p gaiJ 
being shown by the immcdiute extinction ol iperj 

the jar is apparontlj empty, but In reality 1. . ... .:' gaa. 

If I wanted to empty it of any liquid it might contain, there 
are several methods to whiclii I raig:ht have recourse ; of 
course the most obvious one would be simply to pour it out. 
I will first see if I can pour anything out of this ;af oa lo 
the taper. [The jar was tilted over a lighted laper, which < 
wftfl at once extinguished by tlie laviBible gaa.] You see i«l« 
have poured aomutliing out. Wo will try it in another wi 
Here is a bottle of lime-water, and we will see whether we 
can pour into it any gns froio our jar. I juat hold oar 
apparently empty jar over the lime-water, and then shake 
up the lime-water, and you see it is at once converted into 
a inijitiire of chalk and water; this is the most usual war 
of getting a liquid out of a jar. There ia another meUiod, 
to which we may \eTj easily resort. I will pour out sooia 
of the gas upou the cimdlo in another v:^y ; I first pour * 
some of it into a bealccr. nnd then from the beaker on to 
the caudle, which is thu*? at once extingnislied. Tliia it I 
another illustration of the mode of getting this heavy ga» 
out of the jar — by simply pouring it. Now we will adopt 
som.0 other methods. I again light the candle, and^ tostead 
of pouring out Jho gas, I will bale it out I take a glass 
eup, and introduce it iato tho jar of carbonic gas, thus ab- 
stracting Q quaiitiiy of it, which I w^ill pour from the cup 
into tho lime-water : I thou shake up tho Umo-water, and 
you SOB that I have in this way netuall}' conveyed some of 
the gaa into tho bottle of lime-water. Now I will try 
whether eomo more of tho gaa can be baled out from 
this jar, and a candle extinguished with it. 1 fill the cup , 
with tho gas flud pour it npou the eandlo ; and you see that | 
at onoo the fiamo goes out. 

If I wonted to empty out of a largo jar like this, any, 
liquid it might coutain, I could, as I have reuunded yon, 
pour out the liquid a& I did at firsts or \ could btilo it out; 
but there ure other niothods still which might be emplorod, 
Tou mu«t all be familiar with the ayphon, and you have, ro 
doubt, Been it in use in the streets, in froot of public hou««, 
for the purpoBO of drawiug off ppirita from tJie caHka into 
the large measures. Now lot us try whether we can ia the 

* fteportod Tcrbiitiai, by p«rTDl«Mqa of th« Author, Uft dda JoomaL 



[EnglUh Editkm, VoL XIX., No. 486, pac« 1>^; I^o- *^ ?•£« 3.14-] 





Chemkal Changes of Varhoiu 




MDie way remove any carln^tiic fyas froni thin jar: we will 
first fiil our syphoD, and tbon sec if wo can sypliou off the 
»s I apply ifjfi syphon ; and you perceive that, by its 
leans, we cain causa the gas to flow upon the candle. 
ot ODce put it out. I now take a little lime- 
rater, und upon this I allow the pyphon to empty itself for 
few instant?. [After a short pause} — It has gone ou long 
^inoutrh. I have no doubt. I therefore place the stopper in 
|thij bottle of lime-water, and, on ahakinjr it up, tho Hroe ia 
Uiiteiy converted into chalk- I have syphoned off the 
ftnd this proves to you that it is heavy, and can bo 
like a liquid ; we can either pour it out, bale it out, 
ion it out. 
fow let rae give you one or two further Illustrationa of 
weight of carbonic ffas, and for this purp'ise I will take 
it ns it is contained in soda-water. Here is an empty bottle, 
— that in to say, a bottle containing nothing but air; I will 
pour jnio it some clear lime-water, and then endeavour to 
act upon that lime-water by the gas evolved from our bottle 
of aodft-wator, and at the same time I shall have an 
opportunity of showing you the weight of the gas, I have 
I already once or twice put out a candle by th<j pas evolved 
JFrom soda-water, and this cxperimcnc I intend to repeat; 
this time I will pour the gas upon the candle, and »o 
you its wei-yht. When t extin^oilshed the candle by 
ta of the ga« from aoJa-WHter. we had not considered 
weig^bt of the gas. I juftt Open the soda-water bottle, 
.'fully, and first I wID try the action of the ^ab upon the 
Iliroe-watt?r. I take a funnel, and into it I pour some of this 
Fcarbonicgas that it may descend into the ! tine- water 1 simply 
pour the gas, without any*of the water which is contained 
In the bottle, and you see ttiat we have formed a reasonable 
chalk by means of the gas that we hare thus 
■ ui the lime-water, [The lime-water was shaken, 
le turbid, indicating the presence of carbonic gas 
^in the bottle.] 

Now let me call your attention to another mode of getting 
,Out this gas, and for that purpose 1 will use this larger 
[cylinder, wliich ia now being tille<l with the gas from the 
supply do\^rTi stairs; we will ascGrtiiin whetlicr tho jar is 
full You pee it is so. for on ir.trrjdnciuj;,' the taper, the 
once extinguished. You know that another very 
ray of emptying a largo vessel of water is to use 
tow here is our large jar really full of ga.-*, although 
:9 as if it were empty. 1 just close tho tap by putting 
finger upon it. We will firat of alt dr^w off a little of 
'the gas over a bottle of lime-water, into which I now let 
some of the gas run. I have no doubt that the bottle now 
^contains sufficient for our purpose, I shake it up, und you 
see we get a simihir re;^ult to what we did with the soda- 
wntor. I will take another bottle, and this time, instead 
of allowing the gas to run directly into the bottle, I will let 
it run into ihe beaker so as to till it^ and then I will pour 
its conteuts into the bottle. I hold the glass l>eaker care- 
fully under the tip so as to catch the gas, and now that it 
is siilBciently full [ close the lap with my dnger, and pour 
the gas otrntained in the beakt-r into the bottle. I shake 
tLe bottle, and hen? again you f^eo our dear lime-water 
ivorted 'm\x> a mixture of chalk and water. 1 will now 
gas from the tap of the jar to How upon a candle, 
6ee that as it docs po the flnmo is at once 
by it. Here is another candle, upon which I 
also Jet the gas |.K>ur down, and I may call your 
attention at the same time t^ the force with which it issnes 
from the jar. Yoti see that in this instance it blows out the 
lianie of the candle before completely extinguishing it in it.*i 
way, I will now allow the carbonic gas to fall upon 
le of ordinary ooal gas, and in this case also the Oame 
ttinguished. Now I will endeavour to catch some of this 
by lotting it pour into a beaker, and then try lo pour it 
ri the beaker on to 4v eandle. You see our vessel was 
eoiupletely full, for when 1 pour the gas ou to the caudle 
the Hanie immC'diately goes out. I will now give you an- 
other illuairdtiou of the weight of the gas. In this instance, 



instead of bringing the caudle to our barrel, I will bring 
the barrel to the candle. Having done so, I remove my 
finger from the tap, and you see tho light ia at once entirely 
citinguished. We will try the same eiperinmnt wnlh a 
gas jet. I bring tho barrel of gas to the jet^ and when I 
remove my finger the flame ia at once blown out. Tlic fact 
is, the gas is pouring out from this tap with considerable 
force, as is provetl by it« action on tho flame. Again, I 
collect some of the gas in a beaker, and wait until there ia 
reason to believe that the vessel •!« full. Having now got 
aufficlont gaa for our purpose, I empty the beaker on to 
some lime-water, and on shaking up the lime-water you see 
iliat a quantity of clmlk is formed. 

So much, then, for these Uhistrations of tlie way in which 
this heavy gas may lx» got from a vessel by ail the ordinary 
processes that are employed for getting water out of n 
vessel, I refill our large jar fcr another purpose. You will 
remember that at a former lecture we had a cylinder ap- 
parently full of only one liquid — water-^ though in n*ality 
it contained two; tho lower liquid was water, and the upper 
one wa.^ spirit, floating upon the water. • You may perhaps 
recollect the means by which we ascertained the lino of 
demarcation between the two fluids. Wo dropped in a piece 
of wax, which sank through the spirit ; but when it came 
to the Burfaoe of the water, it immediately floate<l upon It^ 
showing the height to which the water reached. Now I 
can show you a somewhat similar experiment with this gaa 
iu thisj largo jar, and you wiU see to what height the car- 
bonic gas reaches. Instead of taking a pic«e of wax as I 
did when we were ciperimoiiting with tlie watflr atid 
spirit, I will take a balloon — ono of those toys with which 
we are all familiar. You see this balloon will not fall s^ty 
quickly through the atr, but still it would fall down to the 
ground in a moment or two if wo allowed it. [A small 
iDdia-nibber b-jllnou iJisteiided with air wa."? placed within a 
large cylinder^ partiiiUy fllleJ with (fiarbonic gas. 'O^e balloon 
sank a short distance down tho cylinder, and there floated 
ou the surface of the invisible carbonic gas, indit^tiLg the 
height of the gas in the cylinder.] You see very dearly 
that the bulloou floats on the surface of the carbonic gals 
just as the piece of wax did on the aiirfaeo of the water. 
If t knock the balloou down through the carbonic gag, it 
will not keep down, but rises to the surface of the gas. 
I will try one more experimenP illustrative of the weight 
of this gas, to bring these experiments to a eonolusion. I 
will now put into the jar fiiiothcr balloon, heavier than tho 
former. It will gradually sink, and thereby indicate to us 
the pouring out of tho gas. You will see from tho fact of 
the balloon siukiug lower and lower, that the jar Is getting 
more and more empty. The gas from this jar is gradually 
potiring out into the cylinder below, and tliia we can prove 
by inserting a lighted taper into the lower vessel, The 
taper goes out, 

LECTURE V. 
Graphite — Diamond — Cabbokic Sulphide. 

St>lutloD *»r charcoal [a Btroni^tj heatO'l lrt»n. to form piuUj fusible mAM 
of i\iHi-lroa — •'^Hparatltin, from sUiwly coi.Ial cjiit-iron, of crjrcUlllnti 
vcftle* 'if irrniibJt^?— Ocnirrt'ticff of crapliUe In buCure ai iilnmbaE;o, tr 
block-lpoil— Idointlty of tt*.y\\\Xfi with rbarcoal, abown by forinliiiopt 
of carbonic pi* ru ihe sqU- product of Its burnlnif— Ibn iJinicaH coni- 
bunlblliij iu nlr, but ready conibustibilUy la oxygi-n pi»— I>i*lincl 
cheiniral ciiinpoumi* of ^TaplilU'— I'mOtiction of grupbilp tiy ttroun 
tjifnittoD of ihe dlninonri — HIkIi rc-Talivc weJ<thl and conrtuctJvo r«;sl»t- 
ftnce of dlAra.md—l'knlity of dUrnotxl wilb prajthile and ihariMaK 
?lio*n by fi«mvfttlon <tf caibonfc kbs as the Mtln product of its bamtni; 
— Cumlmstion uf diamond In oxyg<m gas — LhjuefAciion of CArbunlc 
pa* by jtreat prensure— Rapid raiiorI»ai(nn of |l|r]t)efli-d carbfud*:; giu*, 
with great absorption of heat— Con sequent frreilng or ndldlflcatioti 
of residuary LbjuM— Slow TaporiKitlon of ftolldifled carbonic pras— 
Bai>M vaporljiatlipn of =olldinetl CJirlTMitilc gaii whea wetted with ether 
— itfu-at abwirptloij of lieat by the vaporiMtloD, and coiiee<|u«ai pru- 
ducibjn i)f iotenae cold, lufHdeDl to traece mereur;. 



I?f this lecture I ' 
portant points in f 



some very im- 

•al You will 

udrcoal, — a oom- 



[SnEllab Editton, YoL XIX. No. 



Chemical Changes of Carhon. 






pooml of cliarenal or carbon with orjrgeFu I want now U) 
call your attention to some other compounds of tliig char- 
coal or carbon, and one of tho moat important la that which 
it forms with iron. If wo take a piece of fine iron, such as 
is used for wire, we shall find that it 13 eillicr fr^o from 
carbon, or contains a very ununto profwrtion — not raore 
thau one-tenth per cant. How do wo know this ? We 
know it because, when wire i3 burned, it scarcely yieM« 
any carbonic gas as a product of its burning, and tharoforc 
WG conclude that the iroa 13 almost free from carbon ; but 
if we tako the sarao iron and heat it strongly In contact 
Avith charcoal, wo find, afterward.^, that it has undergone a 
conaiderable chanffo. It altera very much in it« diaracter; 
it no longer possesBcs anything like the toughness it for- 
merly ha<l ; it is either \\ixy soft or very brittle, according 
to circumstAneeg, but it baa lost the toughneaa which char- 
acterised the piece of pure iron. It has, oiopeovi?r. acquired 
tliia property, namely, that when it 13 burnt, either in air or 
in oxygen, it yields a very con»iderable amount of q^idised 
carbon, or oxide of carbon, or carbonic gaa. It has taken 
tip a conaiderable quantity of charcoMl— a quantity which 
may occasiouaDy amount to 5 or 6 per cent. It ia often, 
however, 4 per cent, of the iron, and we know that it has 
absorbed tins carbon by tlic alteration in ita properties, and 
more especially by the fact that, when burned, it yields 
burnt carbon aa a product of combustion. Weil, this snb- 
etaDce which is so produced, dlffera very remarkably in 
another way from pure iron— it is readily fusible, whereas 
pure iron 5« very difflcuH indeed to molt, and requires apycial 
arrangements for its fusion. Wa find th'jt thi.s sub^tfinee, 
which 13 obtained by causing wroughi-iron to enier into 
combination with carbon or charcoal, is a tolerably fusible 
material so that it may be U30<1 for taking tha finest cast- 
Inga. It is no longer pure iron, but a chemical compouud 
of iron and charcoal Kow. when this compound is allowed 
to melt and cool slowly, it presents a very curious appear- 
ance, being covered with a series of scales, flere is a sam- 
ple lent me by Mr. Abel, and here is another stUl more 
remarkable iu its cliaractor. When we pick out these 
scales and examine them, we ttud that they consist of 
nothing but carbon ; and wo ascertain tliis by iho fact, that 
when burued, they only yield carbonic gus or burnt carbou; 
60 that the carbon which at llrst went into the iron is sep- 
arated from it iu tho form <>f tliOBO Bcalea, and we And that 
these Bcales are identical with black-lead or plumbago ; in 
other words, wo have converted this ordinary carbou into 
ft anbstanoe known as graphite, black-lead, or plumbago. 

Now, for somo of the properties of this bkck-lead. It is 
a crystalline substance, and conslste of pure carbon; it 
yields nothing but carbonic goa upon being burned; it ia 
met with in nature, being found in metaOiferous rocks, in 
Cumberland more particularly, and it is also found in me- 
teorites. H-jro is a very fine section of a meteorite ; it is « 
piece of iron that has fallen to the surface of the earth — it 
has fallen at any rate from the skies, and how much further 
we will not apeculato. When we cut a meteorite in halves 
and get a section of it, we find that a great part of it ia com- 
poBed of iron ; but in addition to the iron, wo cofi pick out 
pieces of this black -leod, or gniphite, or plumbago, such as 
we can manufacture artifldally, in the form of scales, from 
the compouud of charcoal and iron, llere is a piece whxh 
has been extracted from u natural mineral Now this gra- 
phite, when burnetl yield.'* carbonic gas, which has the 
property of converting Umc-wator into chalk ami water If 
you look at my notes or syllabus of the lecture, you vf\X\ 
find written, with regard to this graphite, " Its difficult com- 
bustibility in air, but ready combustibility in oxygon gas." 
Well, that is rather an undorstatomont of the question ; it 
is so little combustible that, for practical purposes, it may 
be considered incombustible. I have mentioned its " ready 
combustibility in oxygen," but even in oxygon graphite 
burns with very considerable difficulty, and some contri- 
Tinoes roust bo adopted to enable it to burn fairly. For 
this purpose I will take a specimen of this powdered plum- 



bago, black-lead, or graphite, and introduce it into a tnbc(, 
formed of a piece of platinum foil I put small quatitity 
of the graphite into the tube, and now I will light it by 
means of a pieci? of ordinary charcoal or pastille. Having 
ignited the charcoal, I will allow a current of oxygen gas to 
pasa on it, and when once the graphite takes fire, you ^'ilt 
observe, I think, that it will bum with very considerable 
brilliancy. The graphite has now ignited, and you see the 
very brilliant nmuuer in which it burns. It is. then, capa- 
ble of being burned in thig way in a current of oxygen, autlt 
in burning, it proHlui*.s nothing but this carbonic gJi3, or 
oxidised carbon 33 its product of combu.=?tion, proving that 
it coasists of nothing else but, and is identical with, carbon. 
Now, this substance, graphite — this form of carbon — has 
been examined very carefully by Su- Benjamin Brodie. who 
has found that it has some very curious properties, and to 
some of Iheao T will direct your attention. If we tAke char- 
coal, and net upon it by chlorate of potash and oil of vitriol 
the elTect Is s^ueh that it is impossible by the eye to distin- 
guish the product from ordinary graphite; but it differs 
from graphite in the effect of heat on it Tou will see tho 
black substance whicli wo have at the bottom of the lest 
tube covering it to the depth of half an inch or so; npou 
this I will now try the efl'ect of beaL The action is already 
taking place, and you observe that the mass is bo^nning to 
grow. It is giving off steam, and now thi» substances 
wliich has been partly acted upon by the acid, and become 
partly oxidlsiid, has swollen up to such an ejttent as to 
occupy fully two-thirda of the tube, and I have no doul>t 
tliat, by continuing the heat a little longer, I may be able to 
push the substance up to the vrsry extremity of the tube. 
It is still moving upwards, and getting nearer and nearer to 
my fingers every instant. The tube is now very uearly 
full ; in another moment \ shall mot be able to hold it.— it 
w^ill become so hot; and now you aeo that this black-load, 
which formerly occupied a very small part of the tube, has 
swollen up ond Med it. 

Well, what is the nature of this change? It was oulv 
ordinary black-lead. We acted upon it by the mixture ; I 
applied heat to it, and thereby converted it into tha original 
bliiek-lead v.ith which we started. Now Sir Benjamin Brodie 
ha.'? submitted some of this graphite to the actiou of very 
strongly oxidising agent.", ond has so converted it into A 
yellmvish crystalline'substanee, whieh he calls ijntjihic ac<d. 
I heat some of this^i graphic add, which has kindly licen 
supplied for this occasion by Sir Benjamin Brodie, and y.'>tt 
will see that its behaviour is atdl more curious than that of 
the graphite witli which 1 operated a minute ago. I take 
even a smaller quantity of this graphic acid thau we did of 
the graphite. I apply' heat to the Ilask containing the sub- 
stance; you sep, from the sparks, the combustion that is 
taking place inside tlio tlusk, and you also see the lano 
amount of soot that ia being generated. [A pause.] — Th« 
action is now over, and you will observe that our tiask Is 
eompleloly full of sooL In this way, I have converted our 
graphite back into onlitiary diarcoal of whicli I have here 
sufficient t*> dlJ the tube entirely, 

I have told you one or two ways in which gmphite may 
be made, and now I will show you another. You are aU 
familiar with the diamond. Mr.Tennant has lent me a col- 
lection of diamonds which are in the tray before you. I am 
afraid they will not prove as interesting to the ladies os if 
they were mounted in a different fashion, but they ore 
mounted in this way to display their various colours. Of 
course, the finest diamonds are colourless. You will see 
the beautiful manner In which thetjo stones gliftton now I 
illuminate them by the magnesium light ; and if you take 
the trouble to examine them after the lecture, you will see 
that they are well worthy of examination, because 
not cut simply in the ordinary form, but so aa to bI 
they present nearly all the colours wliieh diamonds V-— 
Now. the diamond has this property— that it will 8tantl 
red heat. You may make it red hot, and it will bo none 
the worse for it, but there ia a degree of heat which it will 



[Bntliah EdiUoB, VoL XIZ^ No. 484, pages 125, 136,] 




Chemical Ckatiffes of Carbon, 



I " ' \ The degree of beat, copulDle of Lemg produwtT 
} trie arc, alters the diamond; and iiito what does 

.r? Into a mags of graphilo or plmnbago. "Wo 
fiome, theu, to this conclusion, — that as diamond b the 
Uiing as plumbnpo, and as plumbago in its cotiiposi- 
on is nothing more tbau ordinary charcoal, therefore dia- 
ond itself is only charcoal ; and we can apccrtain tliis fact 
another way^ for when a diamond is burnt in charcoal it 
jields this carbonic pas, I now want to Bhow you tlie 
Testilt of its combustion. lie re we have a Jar of oxygen 
gas, here we have a diamond, and here is an arrangement 
lor making tlie diamond red-hot by m*mng of a galvanic 
currpDt. I introduce the diamond into our globe of fiiygen, 
id while there t will make it red hot. "^'iien it has once 
e hot, it will burn in the glebe for an instant or two, 
now making our diamond red hot ; it takes some little 
to bring it to the proper hcnt ; but na soon as this is 
attained, it will begin to burn. Tbo burning of the diamond 
oxygon is attended by the formation of carbonic gas, the 
soDce of which is indicat'Od by the ordinary limi-wator 

St, 

There is one further remark I wish to make to you rolativo 
the diamond. It differs from plumbago in appearance, 
in specific gravity, for it ia a very heavy substance. 
uarjpieco of plumbago is about two and a qunr- 
es as beaxT" as water. Cliarooal is from one and a 
f to twice the weight of water, but the diamond is three 
a half times as heavy, and hence is a very much heavier 
uhetance tlian ordinary charcoal, or even tbau plumbago \ 
nd BO, again, with regard to electricity^ There are aomo 
ics Uirougb which the tiectric current will pass freely; 
ugh others it does ttoi pass, oa they arc capable of resist* 
the current. Now, n diamond resists the current, 
charcoal docs not; thus a diamond differs from 
in this OS well as in omny other very important 
particubrs. 

I will now call your atteotiou to a remaining property of 
carbonic gas, which is that, when it is compressed, it is capa- 
of being actually brought into tlio liquid state. That 
vessel before you is at present filled with what was 
*c gas. It is so no longer ; it ia liquefied, and might 
ed carbonic liquid. It is like water in appearance, 
nsiflts of nothing but carbonic gas compressed into u 
condition. This liquid is a very curious substance, 
when, by removing the prcaaure, we allow it to escape 
the gaseous state, it becomes intensely cold. Wliy it 
llius becomes cold I cannot stay li tell jou, but when thia 
Itidijction of temperature takes place, the substance is partly 
converted into the solid slate. When converted uito the 
gaseous stale, or into earbocjc ga?, the liquid becomes so 
Id, and absorbs eo much heat, that tbo remainder is con- 
terted, as I liave Eaid, into the solid atata, I am now going 
collect some of this solid substance in a box. I warn 
you that upon opening tbo cylinder thero will be a little 
se, but you must not bo startled hy it. Before pultiug 
box upon the cylinder, wo will allow Borao of the carbonic 
to escape, and you uill see it solidifying in the air. 
vac of the oorapressed gas was then allowed to rush out 
he cylinder, and on doing so it formed a white snow-liko 
Chower of solid carbonic acid.] You see we thus get a large 
quantity of this carbonic snow. 

I win now try to collect some of this solid matter in a box. 
me of the compressed gne was allowed to escape into a 
BA box, and there became aoUdiflcd.] Our box is now 

II of tlie solidified gas, whirh I will empty out. That you 
ay see how cold it is, I will place a piece of ordinary wot flan- 
round the box. You see that when I do so, the flannel b 

once frozen so firmly to the box, that i can support its 
ight by raeuua of the strip of frozen flannel. I will now 
:e a portion of this solid gas and put it into a retort, and 
!n you will see its gradual conversion into the gaseous 
tc, and I shall be ablo to collect sonio of the gas over 
rater. After putting the substance into the retort, I close it 
"with a stopper, and that which was carbonic soUd iji gradu- 



ally, as you see, converted into carbonic gas, and tliot gr.3 
is being collected over water. I will now give you another 
illustration of the property of this eubstanct<. Although it 
is so very cold, yet when J place a piece of it upon my band, 
I do not feel it to l>e so ,- I con keep it there for a considera- 
ble time. The Bolid itself does not touch my band, for it is 
3epan\tcd by some of the carbonic gas into which it it 
becoming resolved, a?>d hence it does not seem very cold to 
lilt', ulthough it very readily froze the piece of flannel. If I 
let some of thi? substance come into contact with w ater, you 
will see its curious action; J will allow a piece to float on 
water, and you ?eo it is gradually and very slowly evaporat- 
ing. It does not freeze the water, although it froze the flan- 
nel ia an inBtant, Here Is another ilhisiration of this pro- 
perty. If I take a common aoda-watcr bott,k\ and fill it with 
ordinary water, 1 convert this ordinary water into soda- 
water, by adding to it some of this Polidifled carbonic gas. 
I will take a few piece» and drop ihera into a bottle of water. 
I then cork the bottle and fihuke it up for a minute or two, 
aud we shall find that the carbonic goa so produced, dif* 
solves in the water, and converts what was a bottle of ordi- 
narv water into a bottle of soda-water. [After a sliort inter- 
val] — The solid carbonic gas which I put into the bottle of 
water has slowly dissolvetC and 1 know >hat tho erjieriraent 
has succeeded, bocausie it is as mucli as I can do to hold the 
cork in the bottle. You see, when t remove ray hand, tliat 
tho cork flies out, aud that we have obtained a bottle oJ' 
soda-water which effervesces in the usual manner. 

I will give you another illustration of the freezing proper- 
ties of this solid carbonic gap. I here take a stooL and upon 
it I pour a little waller. I then place upon the wet stool a 
glass beaker, into which T jmt some of the solidified gas. 
The evaporation ftom tho substance contained in the glass 
ia 80 rapid, that in an instant or two we aliaU succeed, I 
have no doubt, in freezing the beaker to the wet stool. 
[The free^ang took place almost instantaneou."?!}*, and, in 
order to demonstrate? the firmness of the adhesion, the 
lecturer lifted the stool by means of the* glass beaker which 
was froaen to itj. You see tlie vessel ia frozen to die stool 
with very considerable force, and a good deal of strength 
would be required to detach it 

I will uuw endeavour to freeze a quantity of mercury with 
a further portion of this soIldlGed matter. [Some mercury 
was frozen by being brought into contact wilb tlie solid car- 
bonic acid-] I bav<? now froz-en our mercury suKlcitntly for 
you to see the character of this free/.Ing ticlion, I hold the 
mercuTy by a wire, and, in this w*iy, I can lift. it. I will 
suspend the om^s of mercury in water, where it will melt, 
and when it melts, you will see it pouring down througli 
tubes of ice. Now when you consider that the temperature 
required to freeze mercury ia exceedingly low — forty degrees 
below the freezing point of water — you will be able to form 
an idea of the great degree of cold which we can attain by 
the use ofihia Holidifled gas. 

We have sufficient material left for a final experiment. 
T will put some of the solidified gas into a red -hot crucible, 
add a liitle ether, and then some ruercury, and even theu the 
mercury will be frozen. [The experiment was perfcrmfd 
with a successful result.] We huva succeeded in actually 
freezing mercury in a red-hot vessel- Here wo have brouglit 
tho mercury to a solid mnisa. 1 will now put it into some 
water, and it at once begins to liquefy, and a« it liquefies it 
freezes the water, and forma little hollow lubes of ice, 
through which it falls to the bottom. 



LECTURE VI. 

CAaooNio DiauLPHiDB — Carhost — Ca^rbo^^oub Oxide — 

Carbonic Gas. 

Burr.1rp of cTinrconI In milrhiir Ttiftiiur, to forni cftrboole dleulplild* ; 
, " ' ■ , • ' from gAfteoas lo Uqnid flml 

f lone of piBMnre — Ab»on»ttMo 

„ .[^orisatlon uf Uqatd carWuic 

()isiiJ^<Lii](.-^ADaii''^ic^ Ml j^.\i,i:v\it cirtx^nlo dka1pb.ld« uul carbonic 



[EngUBh E(U!ioD 



page 133] 



Chemical Changes of Cai*ho7i. 



1 May, \m. 



gn« — Ortftt w. ■ iMdnfibJllty tif cnrV' ' 'o 

V»l.unr— 'Iw b (n curront of ox^ 'i 

pilxcd wtih hit! i .^uUI corbotilc dS»ul, r 

th»n, atid imniiavililg wUti. w.iler— lU Jisaolmiou oi i.idiiie. with 
as»uin}ition of deep (luriile coluur— UiiburDl carbun, or charcual, the 
chAmcterUtlf! <<ork»tltuent of vt'gt-tublf 1i--ur— K.ii«1v lunilnu' >jf 
eli&rcual aud wi*od In nlr or oxygen, \^ "U" 

gift— Dentin}' of unbanit c1i*rcoiiJ xo l .t 

MDQe time or other — Carb<>n burnt into • ■ of 

rMplratlon sad d^cay^Partial unburuiuij, » ; , <*f cur- 

boalo am Into earbonous oxlitc by tj^nUed 1r j'nins: or 

r»-oxiA«tioD, of cnrboDuuft oside Into cnrborii U'd by « 

by iffiilloil sodium— Prtrtlal unbufnloj; of carbotilcgna Into carboru'iis 
oxMe and oxygen, effected Vj h<>at of tbo electric Bparlc and of the 
••Xyhydriif^cD blowpipe — Rcbamlnt; of separated cftrhonone oxide 
and ojkiviren into carbunlc ^ai— DlM[)peantuce or «b«orpiian of beat 
In the iiDburntng, and re-apneartLDce or vvulutiou of heal In tho re- 
burning— Cornplclo unburiilftjr uf carbonic (r;»» Into rarbon and 
o)iy>f« n in gniwlnp plnntn ^iposcd to It^'ht and bent of Ibc fun — 
<Vxy(^n of uDbarnt civrbonic gu dlitcbar^ed by tfrowbig planta Into 
the air— Carlfoij of unbmnt CArbooic gaa traotformed by growing 
p)ant» Into WiHxJy flbrc, atarcb^ iUKUr, Ac— Diaoppeanmoe or ab> 
aorptfoQ of the sun'a hi»at In the nuburninK of carbiiDle k»s cfTect'Od 
by ^owiiitf plotita— Kc-appe«nuic« or ovoluMon of the Baa's beat In 
the roburuitig of wood and charcoal Into carbonic gaA. 

You will remember that whea a diamond is made exceed- 
ingly Iiot, It ig couvcrled iuto a musa of graphite, or plum* 
bogo, or bluck-lead, tUese throe teronH nieaniug the sacno 
tiling, Kow fls black-lead, or plvmibf*go, or grupbilo, ia 
notliing more ihau charooaj, atid as diatnoDd can be coq- 
vortcd into black-lead^ it Ibliows that diaiaoud is m reality 
cliarooul But we kuow this iii aiiothor wny ; when tvo 
biiru a diaiuond, we Ihid thnt the ouly subatance it yields la 
burnt or oxidised carbou— in otber words, carbouic gaa. 
X will DOW show you one© more the buruing of the diamoDd 
lo litis glvibe of oxygen gas ia a diamond, surrounded by a 
piijce of platinum wire ; t!iia wire I will make red hot, and it 
will communicate its rod head to the diamond. As soon as 
the diatnond ia thus made red-hot, it will burn in the oxygen 
ga8» [The experiment waa performed aa described.] The 
diamond has now begun to burn. You see ita brilliant glow 
ia the globe of oxygen, aa it ia being slowly eonaumed. 
I take away the platinum wire, but tho diamond continues 
hot quite independently of it, and gives a bright spot of 
light, which is due to iia strong ignition and to the fact that 
it is actually burning. The diamond is being converted into 
burnt or oxidised diamond, or into burnt or oxidised char- 
coal ; and we may test thia ia an instant by introducing a 
little lime-water, which wo thus convert inlo a mixture of 
chalk and water, chalk being the compound formed by the 
combtnution of burnt carbon, or burnt diamond, with lime. 
I shake up a little lime-water ia the globe, and thougb, for 
obvious reasonii, 1 have not buraod a very large diamond, 
yet I have obtained tbia carbonic gas, or oxide of carbon, or 
burnt carbon, by meana of wbioli 1 havo converted our lime- 
wuter iato a mixture of cbalk and water. This effect, I 
tbtnk, is visible all over the theatre. 

Wo have now coDHidered a great many of the changes of 
carbon or charooat. We have considered Ibe change of char 
coal into black-lead, th? change of diamond into black-lead^ 
and the change from black-lead back again inlo charcoal; 
also the change of charcoal, of black-lead, and of diamond, 
into burnt charcoal of carbonic gaa. We Imve likewise con- 
sidered indirectly the conversion of certnin conipouuda of 
carbon and hydrogen into carbon, in the im|)erfect combus- 
tion of coals, caudles, and aiinilnr aubatancea. 

I want now to cull your fltteutiou to some other changes 
which charcoal Is capable of maaifestiug, amongst which is 
the change it ludergooa in its combiuattou with this sub- 
atan CO— sulphur or brimstone. 

We tuuially see sulphur as a solid substance — in the form 
of sticks or rolla ; it is somewhat brittle, but ia very easily 
brought into a liquid state. If we beat it, it mella like a 
pkoe of lee, and yields liquid sulplmr, just as the melting of 
a piece of ice yields water. If we heat the sulphur still 
further, it will boil just hke water, and in that way we ob- 
tain sulphur gaa, which is a vapour of a deep orange colour. 
Here isjiome sulphur which ia at present liquetied; in a 



minute or two it will boil, and then the flask containing it 
will be lull of the vapour of sulphur, which you will rect/gui*© 
by its deep oruape colour. Just now the vapour is ficarcely 
visible, for the sulphur does not yet fairly buit ; it is now 
bcglnitiug to do so, and soon you will see the ila&k tilled with 
a deep orange-coloured and perfectly transparent gas or va- 
pour. This g?»s or vapour ts characieriaed by ita consider- 
able weight, by its dark orange colour, and by the faciiity 
with which it is changed back into the liquid staitc; whereiu 
it diHers trom oxygen gee, although in some rt-specta it cor- 
responds very closely wiUi it. You will remember that not 
only do ordinary combustible substancea, such aa coala or 
candleH. bun: in oxT|.'cn gas, but certain metals also. I 
showed you the combustion in oxygen of ainc and of iron ; 
I will now show you the burning of some roetala in tltia 
vapour of sulphur, and you will see that they burn ia it very 
much the same as in oxyg«^n. I take a piece of copper, and 
flrist warm it a •little; 1 then introduce it into the sulphur 
vapour, and you see that it burns very completely, just as 
our piece of iron did in oxygen. You see that when I intro- 
duce ibe piece of copper into the sulphur vapo^ir, the ct»pper 
bi'comea brilliuutly hot, and gradually consumes iu the 
interior of the Uask, which gets tilled with this deep-coloured 
vapour. In this particular, sulphur vapour corresponds very 
closely with oxygen. Xow, will a piece of charcoal bum ia 
this deep orunge-coloured aulphur-gaa or. vapour, which Ja 
now quita visible? I hght a piece of charetMU: if 1 put it 
into a globe of oxygen it would burst into a flame; but when 
1 put it into sulphur vupour it is immediately extinguished 
— it will not bum in sulphur. Keverthelesa, it can bo made 
to enter into combinaiion with it; that is to say, if, tnstx^d 
of trusting for the necessary amount of Leal to the burning 
of the charcoal in the sulphur vapour, we beat the charcoal 
strongly, and keep it $>trung1y heated whilst iu the sulphur, 
then the carbon and theaulphur will enter into combination 
one with Qootlier. When iron and oxygen burn, we get 
oxide of iron ; sulphur and copper burnt together yield 
diaulphide of copper, ju.st as by combining copper wiili 
oxygeti we obtain oxide of copper. Now, if we iutroductt 
,.the hauled charcoal luto sulphur vapour, and bura it thei 
by keeping it hot, we get diaulphide of carbon. 

What is the nature of this disulphide of carbon? In tlia 
first pJMce, ordinarily a liquid. Here we have some speci- 
mens of it. You will remember ihflt the Dirbonic gas caa 
be liquelied, m\d I showed it to you in that state; in lh« 
same manner we can giiaify dtsulpliato of carbon. 
tuba, which looks aa ifLit were empty, oonlains somt) 
the gas of disulphide or oarboa. This gaa is very easi 
reduced into a liquid state ; if I allow the ordinary 
weigltt of the almusphere lo press upon it, tUo mercury, 
will rush up the tube, and some of tho vapoiU" will 
converted into liquid. By putting on a little profsi 
from my mouth, 1 can c<jnvert the whole of this gas 
liquid. [The pressure of the oiraosphere was allowed 
operate un the contents of the tulx*.] You see the ii 
cury already begins to rise, showing that we have convert 
a ctmsiderable quiintity of our disulphide of carbon gaa ' 
disulphide of carbon liquid. By blowing into the tube wit 
a little force, I shall be able to push the mercury up to lb 
top of the tube, and by that additional pressure tho whole 
the disulphide of carbon gas will be converted iuto a liqui 
just as by means of an iron vessel I was able at the las 
lecture to pump a great quantity of carbonic gas into ttti 
interior of the vessel, and so obtain it in a liquid conditio 
You will notice that when, through my blowing, the 
cury reaches tlie top of the tube, it will strike it with 
slight noi«e, whioh many of you will bo able to hear. T 
diaulphide of ciirboix, then, we may regard as a Bu):>stai 
which IS sometimes in the liquid stat^ with a strong 
dency to become a gas or vapour, and sometimes in the 
eous fetate^ with a strong tendency to become a liquid. 

Now for aorae of the properties of this compound w 
in the liquid slate. I ought to wara you that disulphide 
carbon, whether a liquid or a gas, ia characterised by a 



ThiaJ 



m 



ini< 



into 



mer- 



{EngUah Edition, yol. XIX., No. 489, pag«a 133, 134.] 






Chemical Changes of Carbon. 



247 



■<1our Perhnps oti this nccount I ought 
re you, but it has propnetiea so remark- 
.u. ,H ,.;^ that I cnnnot rc'frniu from iuirodaciug 
First with ropurd to its weight It is very roucli heavier 
water ; to Bhow you hnw heavy it is I will ponr aome 
of it itiU) this water. In theso experiments I usually colour 
f liie water blue or red, to render it visible to you, but in this 
have coloured it brown by using iodine, for reii6Dn.s 
will presently understand. I pour some of this 
of carbon throuj^b the brown wuter, and you see 
it at once falb to the boltora ; and soniDLliing else also hop- 
pens. TJje liquid poured into the bmwn water was colour- 
leaa, but now that it baa fallen to the bottom tljroug;!) this 
brown liquid it has become decidedly pink in colour; but 
there tfl aomelhing more. I ahake the two liquids up to- 
g^Uier, and you will find, I think, that the disulphide of 
CArh*>n will take away all the browD colour, and instead of 
itself becoming brown it will become pink. It is a very 
curious circumstance with regard to this iodine, that it dis- 
fiolres in some liquids, forming a brown liquid, but that on 
diaiolving |ia disulphide* of carbon it forms a deep pink. 
The disulphide of carbon has fallen to the bottom and assumed 
ila beautiful crimson colour, and I think weahall findtliatby 
time it has quite settled we shall hove two distinct layers 
i^liqtiid, and the upper one will bo coleurlesa. You will 
re how colourless the supemotant water will evenlually 
become. Disulphide of carbf)n is heavier tlian water, in the \ 
propcntion of about thirteen hundred to a thousund; thatialo 
«aj, If were to take a volume of water which weighed a 
IbOQMQd grains ov a thousand poundii, and the same volume 
of this disulphide of carbon, we should tind the disulphide of 
carbon weighed thirteen hundred grains or pounds. But, 
although this substance is heavier than water, it is not so 
heavy OS a salunited solution of salt. [This fact was Lihjs- 
inited by a sraull quantity of a saturated solution of salt 
beinjf placed at the bottom of a vessel of disulphide of 
carbon, and there remuining,] 

ttow for another property of this disulphide of carbon. 
It conaista of sulphur or brimstone, and charcoal, and both 
brimstone and charcoal are very combustible or easily bnm- 
inyr bodies; and the fact that the brimstone and the charcoal 
are in combination instead of being separate, does not at all 
interfere with their combustibility. Accordingly, ifl moisten 
B sponge with a little disulphide of carbon, at»d briiig it to 
the flame, you see that it at once burns with a lambent blue 
fiame. Tiiere are two or three very interesting points con- 
tseoled with the combustion of this substance^ When it 
buma. and there is sufficient air, the charcoal is c«mverted 
into oxidised or burnt charc*jul. in the form of carbonic gas, 
and ihe sulphur into oxidised sulphur or sulphurous gas. Hut 
if there is not suflieieiil air what will happen? The charcoal 
only will be burnt. You will remember that when wo took an 
ordinary candle, or a gas flame, and cut off the supply of air, 
the hydrogen only whs burnt and not the charcoal In the 
present case when the supply of air is InaufBcient for perfect 
combustion, the charcoal burns and the snlphuf does not. 
That is one Interesting point oonneciod with the burning of 
disulphide of carlion. The other isi, that it is one of those sub- 
stancea which are ignited with the greatest ease. I have 
hero an ordinary' test tube containing a little olive oil. I 
beat this up to n temperature a long way short of red heat — 
a terapernture which corresponds to about four hundred 
degrees Fahrenheit, or ftbout twice as high as that of boiling 
water. The tube of oil being sufficieiuly hot, I will place it 
in the disulphide of rarbon vapour, and I want to »h<»w yon 
that with that tube of hot olive oil I shall bo able to set 
firo to the disytphide of carbon. I will pour n little of the 
ftubfltnnce into these glas8i«, and then try to igitite it, not by 
ft match or a lighted taper, but simply by this tube of heated 
oil [Disulphide of carbon vapour wtis inllauied by the tube 
of hot oih] You see that we can readily set fire to this sub- 
Btance by means of a little heated oil. It is, in fact, one of 
the most eawly combustible of all the common substances 
known to ohemtsts. It gives o£f vapour, or becomes vapour- 



ised, very easily and very quickly, and, moreover, the g«fl 
or vflfiour of the disulphide of carbon is very heavy. It is 
much lieavier than carbonic gas, which I showed you In a 
previous lecture, for whereas carbonic gas is only about one 
and a half times as heavy as air, this is two and a half Uniea 
as heavy. I will give you an illustration of these two 
points together— the great facihiy with which this substance 
is converted into vapour and the heaviness of iia vapour; 
and then, thirdly, I will illustrate to you its inflamraiibiliiy. 
I have here a piece of pponge moistened with the disulphide; 
I put it at one end into the corner of this long flot box, and 
under these circumstances it will give off vapour. 1 want 
to see at what distance I can light the vapour which is given 
off from the moistened sponge. The vapour will doiibtleaa 
Qll the box, and I shall be able to ignite it from the extreme 
end or corner of the box. I approach the flame carefully 
with the light, and when the vapour ia lighted, it shrinks at 
onco to the other end. You see that it is very easy to ignite, 
and difficult to eartinguish. I n ill now give you some fur- 
ther illustrations of the heaviness of this disulphide of car- 
bon. Here I have a bottle apparently empty, but really 
containing disulphide of carbon gasL I will pour a little of 
this heavy gas into this tall jar, just as the other day I 
poured the carbonic gns. I take our apparently empty 
bottle, and having poured the gas from it into the jar, I 
apply a light and Ignite the gas. Now wo will see whether 
we cannot go a little farther. "We have now two glasses; 
t t«ke the bottle containinp the disulphide of carbon vapour, 
and All this first glass with it I now pour some of the gas 
from the first into the second glass, into which I put a ligVil, 
and you aeo the gfts takes Are. I will repeat the exf>erimeot, 
using three smaller glasses instead of the two lurger ones. 
I take the bottle of ga.% and begin by JfilUiig this first glass ; 
I transfer a portion of the contents of the hrst glass into the 
second, and next 1 pour a portion of the gas from the 
second glass into the third. Now we will see wbetlier all 
these three glasses contain this inflammable gaa. [A lighted 
taper was applied successively to the third, second, and first 
glasses, and in each iiiAtaoce the presence of the disulphide 
vapour wns manifested by its ijjnition on contact with the 
flame.] We might go on in this way; indeed, 1 have ex- 
tended the experiment to as many as four or five glasses. 
Now I have here a glass barrel, which is apparently empty, 
but really containing this disulphide of carbon vapour, and 
so heavy is the vnj3our that I shall be able to draw it out 
from the tap of the ves*el I hold a beaker under the tap, 
and 80 draw into it a little of the vapour Our beaker 
"beJni? suflieierilly full for our purpose, I turn off the tap, and 
on bringing a light near the beaker, the gas in it takes fire. 
I will give you one more ilUistration of the weight of this 
disulpltide of carbon. You know it is a very common 
praetice to draw off liquids by means of a syphon, and I 
will try whether iliis can be done In the CJise of ihi:3 vnpour. 
I insert one end of the syphon in the vessel of vapour, and 
fill the syphon in the ordinary way by sucking it. Our 
syphon ia now full, and the gas issues from the end of it. T 
hold these vessels under the syphon in order to receive the 
gas which is Howling from the end of it. and you see that I 
oaikthus catch t!te gas, and then I shall be able to set it on 
Are. 

I have given you sevorol iUustratioua of the faeility with 
which this aiibalanc© ia coriverto<l into vapour, and also of the 
inflammability of the vapour. I want now to show you that 
if 1 vajKJurigeit more rapidly, which may be done in a current 
of air, I can produce a great amount of cold. In tny last 
lecture I showed you the amount of cold that could be pro- 
duced by the vapourisation of the liqtietied carbonic gas. 
Now I want to show you the amount of cold that can be 
produced by the vapourisation or gasification of liquid car- 
bonic disulphide. I pour some water on the top of this stool, 
and then phioe the bcnkcr on the wet part I next pour 
some diMulphidc of e.irbon into tho beaker, and blow a cur- 
n'nt of air ui>on It.. By this means our disulphide of carbon 
ia very quickly convei ted into vapour. It is now rapidly ra- 



rEn^Uah Edition, VoL XDT 



24S 



Chemwcd Changes of Carbon, 






1 



pounsing,, at the same time producing a very intense cold, nod 
I have no doubt that in a minute or two tliia beaker will 
have become bo firmly frozen to the stool that I shall be able 
to hol<l up the latter by means of the beaker, just as I did the 
other day when illustrating the cold prcKluccd by the spon- 
taneous vapourisation or gUjiiflcatioD of the soUdiiled carhmnic 
gas. You will remember that in that ease I allowed the va- 
pourisation to take place spontanooualy. In the present in- 
stance I cause the vapourisation by a current of air which is 
being blown upon the liquid IVoin below. [Altera short in- 
tervaJ the gLi&s beakor wua found to be frozen to the top of 
the stooL] It is now frozen, but I will allow it to remain a 
little longer fo as to make euro that it is frozen suCBcieiitly 
tirnily to allow me to hold "op the stool by the glass, [.iftcr 
a short pause] — Here you Boe I am lifting up the stool by Uje 
beaker: the two adhere so closely that it reqwres sK)mc con- 
siderable force to separate them. 

In the experiment just perfomaod I Tapourised some disul- 
phide of carbon simply by blowing air upiju it; but oow I 
am going to boil it, and 1 want to show you what a beautifhl 
and extensive tiame may in this way be produced. It is a 
liquid which both boils and vapourises very quickly. It is 
beginning to boil, and you soo the beautiful lambent flame 
with which it bums. I now turn on a supply of oxygon, 
and in this I burn the disulphide vapour. I want you for an 
instant to form an idea of the length of this brilliant and pe- 
culiar blue tiame ; but I must not let it burn long, because 
it produces a great deal of sulphurous gas, which is very 
unpljasant. 

The lust property of this disolphide of carbon to which 1 
wish to call your attoutioii is the mode in wliich it bunu», not 
in oxygen or in air but in another gas wlueh I have not 
hitherto ctjn a idered in ray lectures on carbou, oanicly, an ox- 
ide of nitrogen, and I will show you the very brilliant 
manner in which the disulphide of c-arbon will burn in it. 
Here \»iei have a cylinder of the gjis, and hert', in tliis email 
glass gloi>c, is our disulphide of carbon. I let the disulphide 
of carbon globe fall to tb© bottom of the jar, and, of course, 
in doing so it breaks, as you see, and I shake it up wilh the 
or her gas. [The mixture was then ignilcil, and produced a 
very brilliant flash of light.] Tliis is the last experiment 
that I have to show you with this liquid or vapour, which, 
although very miereating, is very disagreeable in many re- 
spects. 

And now we pass on to the consideration of nn en tii-ely dif- 
ferent section of our aubjwt. You will i-emembor tiitit ordi- 
nary charcoal is obtained from wood, WLeii wood is strong- 
ly heated or burnt in a limited supply ofair^ the carbon of 
ihe wood scarcely bums at all, and we liwve this carbon pre- 
served to us in the form of charcoal. Charcoal, ttien, is tlio 
chief constituent of wood, in which aubslatjoe it exifits in the 
uiiburntconditiou ; and not ouly does c!inrc(.)iil exist ia wood, 
but in nearly all vegetable substances. The seeds of wheat 
contain starch, in which charcoal exists; sugar, too, contiiins 
a considerable proportiou of charcoal, and when these sub- 
stances are burnt they leave a great deal of charcoal beliind. 
Here, for instance, we have some wood shavings. Now I 
can \&T;f readily show you the charcoal in lliese wood shav- 
ings by pouring upon them a litdo of that very corrosive sub- 
stance called oil ol vitriol. By letting tlus liquid act upou 
liio shavings for a liltle time they quickly change into a 
mass of black charcoal. In the case of such a substaiicw as 

{iugur, theaetiou takes place still more rapidly. Hero in this 
arge cylinder are some pieces of sugar ; I moisten them wilh 
a little hot water, and then pour some oil of vitri<»l upon 
them, and you observe that when 1 do so the augur is at once 
converted into a mass of black cliarcoal [The sugar became 
rnpidly charred by the sulphuric acid, and tlje ndmixtai*e 
emitted Bleam, and swelled ino a black spongy ma.ss, over- 
flowing the glass jar 10 which the exp«;riment was performed, 
and which, in the flrst inatauee, was not more than one-third 
full] 

All these substances which I haro mentioned to you oa 
containing carboD, burn voiy readily into burnt carbon or 



carbc*uic gas. If, for instance, I buni a piece of wood iti ft 
small tube of oxygen, you will find that a briUifint flame is 
produced, aud the result will be the formation of carbonic gas, 
which b proved by the application of the lime-water test. 

Instead of burning the charcoal directly in oxygen gas, a* 
I have done in two or three previous experimenia, I am now 
going to burn it in a substance which contains oxygen gas; 
and it shall be burnt under water and the carbonic gas 
which ia produced collected in a cylinder. [A mLxiure of 
nitre uitd carbonaceoua matter was burnt in u tube under 
water.] You see thatj in this way, our cylinder which was 
full of water is now becoming full of bunit charcoal or car 
bouic gas, I cause some of the gas to bubble up throuju h 
lime-water, and you see tlio lime-water becomes converted 
into a mixture of chalk and water, proving that we really 
have produced gas of this kind. I wUl now collect some of 
the gas in a separate vessel, and again show you ilB ttature 
by its property of cxlinguisbiDg flame. 

Now, if you reflect a little, I Ihiuk you will come to this 
conclusion,^ — tliat substances which grow, vegetable subslan. 
ces, are all of ihem destuicd ultimately to become burnt, or to 
undergo a change equivalent to burning. A great deal of 
wood, for inatanoe^ is chopped up and used for fire wood; a 
greut deal more is used for building ships, for forming the in- 
terior portions of houses, aud making furniture. These ships 
and houses aud fumituro Ustfor a certain time; they gradu- 
ally pass from an honourable into a dishonourable conditi(»n ; 
old furiiiture is put into the lumber room; the disabled ships 
ore broken up and destroyed, and at last they go to the Are, 
whyre the carbon becomes oxidised or converted into carbonic 
gas. But there is a great deal of vegetable matter which 
never undergot^a this burning. In the autumn a large qiuin- 
lity of leaves fall to the earth and there undergo some sort of 
cliatige; this change Ls, in fact, a very slow burning, but 
w'Jihuut the phenomena of ignition which we see in the case 
of a fire, although the leaves are converted into carbonic gas 
or oxidised carbon. Now here is a bottle which contaiiis 
some decaying wood, and, as 1 showed you in the last lecture, 
a lighted taper introduced into the bottle is at once exlin- 
guiahod by the burnt carbou or carbonic gas, which has been 
produced by the oxidation of the v^rood in the process of de- 
cay. Here, again, is some rotting sawdust; this also gives 
rise to carbonic gas, which eiliuguii?hea a lighted tajjer in- 
troduced into it. You see, therefore, that although the wood 
does not actually undergo the process of burning, as we are 
accustomed to see it, it does uudergo the process of decay, 
which IS a eonversioii of the original carbon into burnt char- 
Toal. But a great quantity of vegetable substaiue neither 
undergoes burning nor decaying, but is eaten. We know 
that cattle feed lar^ly on corn and straw, and we ouraeives 
consume much wheat and other grain. In these instances, 
aliiiough the vegetable substances do not, strictly epcakirig, 
drcHij^ yet they undergo aujiher form of the proces* of oxi- 
dation, by which bur.nt charcoal is produced. For example, 
if we take a hltle brae- water, and blow, or rather brcaUie, 
through it, we have evidence of a considerable amount of 
burnt carbon being present in the breath. In this case, the 
carbou, instead of having been burnt in a furnace, has simply 
been burnt ia our bodies, thereby rendering our bodies warm, 
jnst as when it is burnt in the lire it warms a room, In or- 
der to show you the presence of carbonic gas in llio brcalh, 
it will be quite sufficient for mo to breathe into a bottle of 
lime-water. Here is one — I breathe Into it, close it, and 
shake it up, aud by that simple act I have, as you see, pro> 
duced a verj' considerable quantity of chalk, showing the pre- 
sence of carbonic gas, or burnt carbon. 

All vegetable tissue, then, comes sooner or lat^ to be burnt* 
or oxidised, or converted into carlx)rac gas. 

The next point which I should hke you to notice is the 
unhumiiig of carbonic gas. How ia it possiblo to do this? 
On this subject t must ju»t call your attention to what ia 
here writteu upon the diagram : — 



so'^;^:! <=">»''» e»^ 



fBngUah Sdidon, VoL ]CTX^ Vto. 485, page 136 ; No, 486, pages 145, 146. J 



CkwicjLL ?lpra, I 



JTay, iSdSU 



CJiefnical CJiangea of Carhmu 





.J^^II^Carbonou, oxide. 

tt corabioatfon of one pmpnrtioti of car- 
ons of oxygen. Now ihere 13 another 
Hi w iijcb I have oot yet spoken, which con- 
■*^ portion of carbon and ono of oxypon ; it is 

alleij .js oxide. If I take carbonic pna unci Imlfun- 

bttn* it, { remove ono-half of the oxygen, and the result ia 
mrbottmn f^Tide. How is this done'? Wei!, ou© way is by 
ing in carbonic gas. If you take one of tho 
'hat will burn or oxidise in carbonic gras, you 
»iMj iiiiir (hat subaUnce by il« burninp wiJl lake Bwny 
of the oxypeii from the carbonic gas, and thoroby coti- 
^ri,onoii9 oxide. One of tho commonest forms 
it ia to Hike some carbonic pna and pass it 
lilM with red-hot iron. Under these circiim- 
Imifou tAkca away some of theoxyjfen, or unbuma 
>uic gris down to carbonous oxide ; but T nm about 
iow you n more convenient form of the experiment, and 
one fi>r which 1 am indebted to Dr. Tnylor. 

' •'' not melajlic iron, but niotJillic raagmeRiam, ond I 
■ou that, ahhonyh a taper is extine:ai8ht*d in the 
< -IS. yot the mngneaium will burn. I introduce a 

piece ot ijcnited ma^esiutn, and it continues to burn in the 
ew^txMiic px'A Yon aee that a taper, when Etitrodnced into 
le grrta, 13 extinguished, whilst the iljarht of the magne- 
[onder |}ie SHrae eircnmslancea, is so brillinnt tfiat it al- 
ilinda one for the moment. Now when ihts metal — 
iitm — buraa tn this wuy it reduces, or decomposes, or 
ti'io carbonic gas to the state of carbonotia oxide; 
rptsnnie metiiK you will remember, which jro be- 
"Wheu a piece of sodium is burnt in carbonic gna, 
II Uui only unburns the carbonic gas to the state of carbonous 
le, but it l^ikes away all the oxygen and reduces the car- 
ilc gas again to a piece of charcoal. By means of the 
EiSaagnesium, we unburn the gas by taking away one propor- 
Hon of oxyjfon, and reducing it to a compound which con- 
tiiina one profn^rtiou of oxygen and one of carbon; but when 
•odium is used, ihu two proportions of oxygen or© taken 
away and tho carbon lefl free. 

Ilere is a vessel generating carbonic gas in the twoal war. 
The gas is being conducted into xUIa glass globe, and it is there 
made extretuely hot by the action of the electric apark. An 
ioteoBe degree of heat la produced, and, under these circuni- 
Slaucea. the carbonic gas breaks up into a mixture of carbon- 
otw oxide and oxygon. Now for this purpose we do not ne- 
OOMarily require the heat of the electric spark. Even the 
iMat that we can obtain by the combustion of a flam© of or- 
(liiuiry gas in a current of oxygen is quite sufficient for our 
purpose. I have hero a supply of coal gas; I pass oxvgen 
iDio its llame, and with this flame I will heat a plati'num 
OoU, I now allow the carbonic gas to pass through the heat- 
€d plattniiin coil, and in iLs parage the carbonic gas is de- 
composed into ciirbonons oxide and oxygen. To give you 
aunie Jderi of ihp amount of heat which can bo produced in 
Uita way, I will hold in front of tho blowpipe flame a plate of 
iron. You see that, although this plate is one of considerable 
ihicltneftM, it is utterly unable to withatstid tho high degree 
of h«it which r am in this way applying to it. [Holes were 
buraed in the phite of iron at those points on which the tlaraa 
WM allowed to impingo] 

"WTien our carbonic gas ij subjected to this extreme degree 
of heaC it undergoes decorapoaitioti — not into carbon and oxy- 
gen^ bat simply into carbonous -oxide and oxygen. It only 
beoomes onr-half unburnf. Now ure there any agencies in 
n»lur« by whroh this carbonic gas can bo completely un- 
'^ one, and one only, that is, through the in- 
M on under exposure to the sun's rays. It, 
u ti-, when the sun is shining, wo take some 
t^ AJngplant — for instance, a sprig of mint, which 

a- purpose very well — ^and immerse it in a vessel 

of water which is charged with carbonic gas, that carbonic 
gas will ufiilergo an unburning; its oxygen wjU gniduall* 
bubble up from the leaves of the phmt, and riae to tho ia* 



the vessel of water* but what will bcoome of the carbon? 
It will be convertetl into starch and wood and sugar and 
other substances, which go to form the living phmt. By 
this means only can the carbonic gns bo unburnl into carbon, 
whiuh goes into tho tiisuea of the plants, and into oxygen, 
which ii given oil* again into the atmoephere. 

Now what IB the point of interest in an unburaing of thi^ 
kind If If I were to allow an electric spark to pass tlirough 
the, air it would give out a certain amount of heat, hot, 
on paasing through the curbouic gn.«, it emits a oonsiderablj 
less amount. Well, whut luis become of the difference ? It 
has gone soraewhore. If I tuke this mixture of carbonous 
oxide imd oxygen, produced from the carbonic gas by the 
passage of the electric spark, and set flro to it, it gives out 
exactly the,ainount of beat tljat disappeared t>om the heat 
of the spark. In tliat case, the carbonous oxide otid the 
carbon burn together. I will give you an illustration of the 
combustion of these two substances. Here is a large cylin- 
der of the half unburned carbonic add ; I set fire to it,'aad 
you see the curious bhic flame w^hich it emits and the pecu- 
liar manner in which it bums. I have also some of the car- 
Ixhjous oxide burning from a tube, and if I hold over its 
flarno an empty bottle, 1 shall bo able to collecl the buraed 
carbonic giis which la bo produced. Tou see tho beautiful 
blue thuno which the carbonous oiidc sends oni from tho tube. 
I may also show you the considerable amount of heat which 
it gives out in burning. If I introduce ioto the 8anio a 
piece of platinum wire you see it immediately becomes very 
red^ showing the flume to be exceedingly hot. Now when I 
burn together the carbcjnous oxide and the oxygi-n, which 
have been separated from one another, exactly tho same 
amount of heat is given out by it that was absorbed from 
the electric spark by the products of the uubu ruing of the 
carbouic gas, and wu not used in heating the surrounding 
air. 

Now, if the sun, iustead of shining on tlie plants which 
grow on tho earth's surface, were to shine entirely upon 
tiio stono9, it would heat the atmosplicro a great deal 
more than it does. As it is, a portion of the sun^s heat dis> 
appears. What^ thou, becomes of it ? It is absorWd hj 
the veget«tioii. Tho amount of heat absorber! by a growing 
piCL^ of wood in unbuming the ca.-bonie gas of the atmo^> 
phere int*3 charcoal and oxygen, is exactly the aniouLt which 
the piece of wockI is capable of giving out when its carljon 
is rebumed in tiio air ; and, accordingly, wheu we burn 
oools, or wood, or peat upon our fires, or consume bread, 
and oil, and wine in our bodies, and tliereby produce a con- 
siderable amount of heat either in tho 6res or in our bodies, 
we are really mauifesting once rnore, in the form of heat, 
the sun's rays, which years and years before shone upon 
tho jjlants from which those snbalanees were derived. 
liVe are getting back the suti's heat, which was originally 
absorbed by the growing plants. Wheu wo burn any one 
of these substiiuoea wo recover from them the suns heat 
which diauppeared in their growth. We will here bum 
some fiugur, and wo shall be able to regain very easily an 
exhibition of the sun*a rays that were absorlx^d in separat- 
ing the carbon of tho sugar from the oiygeu v\'ith which it 
was in combioatiou, and wliich, upon being yepanited, was 
dischiirgcd into the air. I pour a drop of tlua liquid upon 
tho mixture of sugar, and you see tho y<iTj brilliant evolu- 
tion of tlie sun's rays which were bottled up in the forma- 
tion of tho sugar. 

And now it only devolves upon me to thank you heartily 
for your kind attention during these lectures. 1 hope, that 
whenever again you aee a piece of coke, or a jiece of char- 
coal, or a piece of marble, or a growing phmt, you will 
remember the curious relationa of change which exist 
between theui, and how the one Is capable of being con- 
verted into tho other. 



[EitgUab 



Fi 



oreign Ayjitnce, 



i May. l^CA- 






FOREIGN SCIENCE, 



Paris, March 3RD, 1S69, 
Aeiion of JwUne on SulpftidtfA. — Alloys o/Coj)per and TYn, — 
Cniofi 0/ Frt'v XitriMjen and Acetylene and Direct Synthesis 
of Bydfocyanic AcuL 

M.1L FiLrtOL nnd Melltbr have publifibed a reaearcb upon 
the action which ioriLno exerts upon varioua sulpliides. The 
action which iodine exerta on alkaline sulphides is alreudy 
known ; it consiBts iu the displacement of tlie sulphur by 
iodine ; the mant-er in which iodine aeU upon insoluble sul- 
phides i?, however, but imperfectly known. Both natural 
and artificial sulphides were operated upon, and iodbie waa 
brought in contact with these bodies, sometiinoa iu a dry 
state, and at others iii eohition in alc'hol ether, sulphide of 
carbon, chlorofortn. <tc- The action is gencrallj rapid in the 
can© of nriifieiolly prepared tiulphides, iu the form of pre- 
cipitates ; it is 8oinotinie.'5 accompanied by great heat, re- 
ducing a portion of the iodine to vapour. For thia reason, 
it would probably be dangerous to inbc sulphides and iodine 
dry, or in any quantity. Natural sulphides are attacked 
more alowly, but the elevation of tcmporiiture is observable 
In certain casea. The same eifect is produced wheti iodine 
in Q solution of iodide of potassium ifi tnado to act u^kju the 
Bulpbide. In certain cases, the reaction is tiomplicated by 
the presence of the solvent and the easy decompoaition of 
the iodido. 

In a note oommunicatod to the Academy by M. Riche, 
the followlnfr facta concerning the alloya of copper and tin 
are given. 'ITie question of density is first taken. Some 
detorminutions wore tnudo upon bora of theae riietala, 
weiKhinf? from 50 to 60 grins., but the results obtained were 
unimportant, owing to the great diOereoce which exists in 
these alloys. The same metiil.<5, reduced to fine powder, 
were afterwards operated upon, when it waa observed that 
the contraction mcreases very regularly from tho very rich 
alloy iu tin to the mi.xture SnCuj, and from this point it in- 
creases suddenly, arriving at a maximum, when the i"opp<>r 
and tin are united in the relation of i to 3, The density 
diminishes from thia point, then rises again nearly rcj^ilarly : 
the doueity of the richest copper alloya is inferior to the 
mixture SnCuj. which only contains 62 per cent of copper. 
Besides, this alloy may bo distinguished from all the olbera 
by its properties ; it is brittle enough to Ix) pounded in a 
mortar, and forms crystals of a bluish tint, not resembling 
iu the least either copper or tin. M, Kiche givts a num- 
ber of formulse, •xpreasing the composition of the de- 
finite comjwuuda which copper forms with tin and their 
properties. Referring to liquefnctioL, he then observeg, 
'* In order to separate these tdloys, the mass should ttc 
moved about when becoming Folid, to separate the crystals 
whilst forming."' Tho fusibihty of thcso alloys liaa' been 
determioed by the tliermo-electric pyrometer. M. Riche 
lias operated comparatively with these alloys, and with 
metals whose fusing points have been settled by various ex- 
perimenters. Numerous determinations show that the 
BoUdiflcation of the alloys SnCuj and SnCu, takus place at a 
temperature somewhere l>etween the fusiou point of uuti- 
moiiy and tlio boiling point of cadmium. 

M. Balard has presented a note from M. Borthelot, in 
which tlio union of free nitrogen and acetylene, and the di- 
rect synthesis of hydrocyanic acid are explained. Free ni- 
trogen is distrnguiaUcd by its iudilforence to loOKt other 
bodies ; it is only when under the influence of the electric 
spark that this indilTereuco can bo successfully combated, 
either with oxygen, as in Cavendish's celebrated experi- 
ence, or with hydrogen, which loaves traces of ammonia. 
A new reaction of the same class is now to be noted, 
namely, the direct union of fre« nitrogen with acetylene, 
to whiGli case bydrocjauic acid is fouud. Acetylene ia 




a hydrocarbon poaaessing reraarkablo chemical activity 
Formed by tho direct synthesis of tho elements, it 
aflorwards be uniu*d witli nascent or even free hydrogrn to 
form olefiant or ethylene gas at flrj^t, and then hydride of 
ethj'leue ; free acetylene may be combined directly v^'th nas 
cont oxygen to form oxalic acid> The motala of the alkal 
attack it eaaily. This same chemical activity is al^o oliserV' 
ablo between acetylene aiid nitrogen in the free stat 
Thus, when a series of induction sparks is mnde to irave 
a mixture of these two pure ga,^os, the characteristic odoi 
of hy<lrr>cyantc acid is soon perceived : the auiount may also 
be estimutcd by tho ordinary processes. Iu the circum- 
slanccs juat mentioned, the formaLion of hydrocyanic acid 
is HL-companied by carbon and hydrogen, engendered by a 
distinct, but shnultaneous, decompoHidou of a«:)etyleno« 
This complication maybe avoided by adding to the mixture, 
bcforehaiid, a sufficient volume of hydrogen, iV-i 
ten times the volume of the acetylene : no deposl 
is then observed, and the reaction corresponds wiiu v,,. . . 
lowing equations : — C4lIaNj = 2CallN. Iu other t^^nns, Ih 
acetylene and nitrogcti eorahino in equal volumes and with' 
out condensation. Cyanogen and hydrogen are conibin< ' 
in the same manner :—CJJj-i-H,= ^CJIN. Tlie formatii 
of hydrocyanic acid in the reaction of nitrogen upon acoty 
leno commences rather rapidly, but very soon glackena. 
an experimont made upon 160 c>c of a mixture formed 
10 volumes of acetylene, 145 nitrogen, and 75-^ hydroge 
after passing sparks for an hour and a half, 8 i^, (lo mF 
ligTiiouiies) of hydi ocyanic acxd were obtained without an, 
deposit of carbon : when tho action Blackens it may 
Planed afresh by removing the hydrocyanic acid by mean' 
of a moi.'*tened fragmerit of potiish, and thou exposing ih 
purified gaa to the iuMaenco of sparks. The action alvva; 
ends by alackcutng, in consequence of the gradual dilntli 
of the nee ty lone. 

By following up tho experiment, a oortiiiu volume of ace- 
tylene may be made to disappear by placing previously *~ 
the eprouvette a drop of n strong solution of potash, to a^ 
sorb the hydrocyanic acid as fa.nt as it is formed. Iu thi 
manner 5-6th3 of a known volume of acetylene may 
changed into hydrocyanic aei«l M. Bertlielot exyjlains tl: 
failure of tho sixth part by tlie inevitable reaction of ihe v, 
pour of water, which forma carbonic oxide and carbon 
acid. This exixjriment required from twelve to fide 
hours' sparks. More than half of a known volume of 
trogen was changed into hydrocyanic acid in presence of 
exeosa of acetylene; the rest' would probably disappei 
after a much longer time. The presence of the hydrocyaui 
acid which is already formed, stops tho reaction. Tlii* ci 
cumstanco is easily explained. The mixture of hydrocyai 
acid and hydrogen, irawraod by a aeries of sparks, produ 
acetylene vtry quickly. Under the iutiueneo of thy span 
a certain variublo equilibrium, according to the proportion 
exists between hydrogen, nitrogen, acetylene, nud hy* 
cyanic acicL 

Pure nitrogen^ under the prolonged influence of S] 
will not combine either with hydrogen or acetylene, 
other int«rcsting pheuomenou otx;ura iu the transtformiati 
of free nitrogen into hydrocyauic acid by union with uoet 
lene. M. Bcrthelot stiitos that all hydrocarbon compouu 
produce aeetyloue under the influonoe of sparks ; thus it a 
pears that nitrogen, mixed with whatsoever hydrocar 
vapour, should dso form hydrocyanic acid, M. Berthelot 
haa veridcd this fact with olefiant gas and with hydride of 
hexylene (from petroleum). In operatiug in proaonoo 
potash, Prussian blue is fouud among the products, 
two or three minutuft' sparks, au easy and &ens;Tr ^ 
nitrogen. M. Berthelot stales in conclusion wi 
to the chemical action of electricity tluit ho has 1 
served that hydrocyanic acid is a body formed with atxa< 
tion of heat from its clenieuts ; ho now showa tliat hydi 
cyanic acid may also bo produced by the direct union 
carbide of hydrogen and uitrogen under tho iuUueuce of 
electric spark. 



(Enslisli Edition, Tot XIX., Ho. 483, ^%w \1«> U7.\ 






Mmichesier Library and Philo8ophical Society, 



251 



REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 

rCHESTEU LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL 

SOCIETY, 

Ordinary Mretiny, January 26th, 1S69. 

. AxGus SiOTn, PI1.D., F.R.S., Fjce-Pre*»rf«*^ »n Uie 

Chair. 

On Jfkroaeopical Examinaiwn 0/ Diut,^ by J. B. Pascer, 
,K A S. 

The ftnthcM* elated that ho had made some microacopjcal 
r du5t collyctwl fn June. July, nud August 
the particles contained: in the rain wnter 
wrought He hnd irittndod to hnng these 
9 before the Society io a complet'? fnrnv *JUt hiQS 
found time to do so. He propoaod to carry on 
tiona during every month m tlie year, for the pur- 
re<?ordiD>f llie average amount of solid mutter 
on a given area, atid also U3 far as possible to 
the character of tlie deposits. TJie observations 
are shown, aj* might have becL expected, that the 
iu various loc»dilie.s at difterent altitudey, and under 
r Vfiryitig conditious, contained particles differing in 
itnde, oppearanca, and quajitity for tho -^jme super- 
area. In every instance uiolecuUir activity wfjg 
but the ajiiuial life w&a very variable in amount, 
St mimber of moving; organiams boiny? in the dust 
rd at the lowest points — this waa at»out five feet 
the surface of the earth. This dust al«o contained tjie 
rgest proportion in maguitudo and quantity of vepetable 
alte«r Thcae observatJona also show that iu thorough fares 
here there are many aniraala engaged m the triiRic, the 
'ority of tho light thist, wliich wli'eu disturbed reaohea 
av»*rjif'^ height of five feet, or about the level of a foot- . 
y -^ mouth, cousLstrt of a large proportion of 

* natter which has pasHcd through the stomachs 

iii aunn.u.-^, or which haH suffered partial d(>eoiHposition Id 
lomc way or other. This ia not an au:n?eahlo piece of in- 
Ibrnriatlon, but it Ls a fwct. It shows the neceaKity, in a 
•anitary pohit of view, of tho etroets being well vvatered 
fore the scavengers are allowed to commonoe operiitiona; 
''enviae tho light dust is only made to change its locality, 
iA not properly removed. It ia not pleasant to 
templata the possibility of geruis of diaeafio being 
along with this decaying matter and inhaled by 
se whose conditioti might be favourable for its de- 
opmcnt. The author hopes to bring the details of 
ese observations before the Society at some future 
time. 



MICROSCOPICAL AND .VATDRAL BT3T0EY 8E0n05. 
, Ftbruai-y ut, ii>69. 

J. B. Dancsr, P.R.A.S., President of tfie Section, in the 
Chair, 
Mr. Joirs Babrow read the fallowing note " On a Cbm- 
paraiive Anchjui.t ?»/ hhiglL^h and Afepjw Galls." 

When Mr. Sidebotham brouifht before the notice of this 
^fiectiop the subject of tho large increase in the production 
upon the oaks in this country, ho expressed a wish 
>me member would make an analysjg of them so as 
Irro bin cjcperlmeuta 05 to their value. 
I rtKpjc-sled Mr. Watson Smith, F.C.S., who is at present 
>gagv>d in my laboratory, to undertake thia task, and have 
;a»ttre in submittin;^ to the Section his results. In order 
make the analysis of practical value I suggested to him 
lat he should examine both the FJnglish and Alepp<> galls, 
I he has therefore experimented on tho best sample of 
»ppo galls I could procure and English galls obtained 
wh from Cheshire. 
The process used in both cases was that of Pelouze, via., 
crushing with ether; and, although this process is not 
Jsolutety accurate, it is the best one that Mr. Smith or 
could discover. 



(Sairli* 



Tho results are — 

Aleppo OaD*. EngU^b Oatld. 

Gallo-tannic acid 61 '65 567 1 

Gallic ucid * . r6o trace only 

Woody ttbre 15-68 47'S» 

WBt<?r 1 232 2061 

Colouring matter and loia. .... ... S75 4*.'vo 

loo'oo 10000 

ProbftWy more gallic acid would be found if tlic galls had 

been gathered a longer time 

This analyaia contirms Mr. Sidobotham's opinion of the 

value of the English galk, but docs not make them quite 

as valuable as ho puts them. 

Ordinary Meeting Ihbrvajy 23rd, 1869. 
R. Asaus Smith, PhD., F.R.S^ Vice-PraidtiU in the 

Chair. 
*■ On Sulphurmt^f Acid in the Air of Manche»terf^ by Petkb 
Spkkce, Esq., F,C S. 

Believing, ast I do, that the evils of our town smoke are in 
a much larger degree due to the gases which result from our 
coal ctmaumptitm than to the black smoke, which is the one 
thing generally complained of and legifilaicd against — it oc- 
curred to roe that one of llie«e gaseSf which lias a most pemi- 
doua influence upon vcgetHtion, and which can hardly be 
favournble m a constant breathing medium to animal life, 
could be made visible in lis efTecl-s to the eye. Thia is sul- 
phurous add gas, a very considerable product of the combus- 
tion of coni, contaiuinjf 2 per cent sulphur on an average. 

The erperimeiits 1 have made have beeen repealed some 
fifteen lo twenty times, and in two localities; the results are 
evident, and are now before the Society. I u^ed litmus 
papers, exposing one series of slips in the middle of the lawn 
at my house, at Smedley, about two miles nearly due no<ih 
from the centre of the town, so iLat any wind between weal, 
Boulh-west, and ea3t-.south-0a.st covers us with the smoke of 
a large section of Manchesler, and, aa these winds blow 
four-fifths of the jear, Smedley has the liou'a share of the 
town's smoke. 

The slips were changed at eight in the morning and at 
six in the evening, so tliat they represent alternately day 
and night, and I may say that the results almost completely 
ignore the effeeUi of largo chimneys, the night slii>a being as 
decidedly acted ui>on a.s the day's, and none of them more so 
than the night between Saturdiiy and Sunday morning. The 
effects are in remarkable connection with tlie state of the 
wind or set of the atmosphere, so much fo that if shown a 
•lij» exposed there for tweh^e hours I could almost tell from 
it in what direction the wind had been. During most of tho 
days and nights of exposure the wind was south, coming 
over the broadest section of Manchester; on Sunday it chang- 
ed to east, coming over Harphurhcy and Musteu ; altiu»ugh 
the apparent smokiuess was not much leas, the colouring was 
slighter. 

Gilda Brook, near Eccles, where the other slips were ex* 
posed, is west of Manche.<«ter, and fully three miles from the 
ceutre of the town, and there, even with an east wind, the 
difflj»ion of the gas is seen in the more slight colouring. 

I am still continuing the exposures, and shall, probably, in 
addition to this, attempt to measure tho actunl quantity of 
SO3 on some day when Smedley hns the benefit of tho full- 
est sweep of the Manchester atmosphere. 

As to the efl'ects of these gases upon vegetable life, I have 
full proofs at Smedley ; vegetable life on tlie whole of that 
side of town is a mere struggle for existence. 

As an insLance, as lam leaving it for the opposite side, 
where only a duo north wind, which almost never blows^ 
will bring roe the amoke, I hove been able to try ita effecta 
upon about twenty plants of camelias : these I hud ut Saied< 
Itjy, most of lli^jrii for tiirht years, and the blooms hud dwiu- 
dli'd dow 11, m the spring of ]S6S, I had only 

three or t eimeus. Early la.«t May I moved 

them to theefouth aide of town; nothing else was doue to 

t 

.140] 



252 



Newcastle Society.— Glasgoti) Soeleiy. — Chemical Sociei 




them ; Ihey made llieir growth oa usual, only more vigorous- 
ly, and showecl abundance of flower buda,— ibis ihej* bad 
frequently done nt Smodltv, but there tbey generally nearly 
all dropped off; this season they dropped none : they are 
now, aud biive Tor the lusi three weeks boon, covered with 
beautiful blooma^ and 1 have no !je«itatlou in Sflvirnf they 
hiive brought to maturity more in number ihan they did in 
all the eight years at Smedlty. 

The CnAmjiAN staled that he had made experiments many 
years ago on the air of Munchester, and bad found a largo 
quantity of sulphurous ocid, which was frequently converted 
into sulphuric acid. There was also a largo quantity of muri- 
atic acid. These gaaea were brought down by esery drop of 
rain, in sufficient quantity to redden litmua paper. He con- 
aidered that smoke, as well as the gaseSf was very detrimen- 
tal to both animal and vegetable life. 



NEWCASTLE CHEMICAL SOCUiTY. 

The tliJrd general meeting was held on Feb. a4th, Mr 
Gloveb in the Chair. 

Dr. ScnwARz read a paper ** On the Toxicology of Oie 
Cyanides.'^ On tlie moiiou of the Chairraan a vote of thanks 
was awarded to him. 

Dr. LusiGE read, for Dr. CLEJtii. a dcaeription of " --l Ntw 
Volttuictt'k Procisa for Sulpkunc Acid and Sulphutea." The 
method, which is of course incompatible with the preaenee 
of certain radicles, may bo summed up thus : — ^ Accurately 
neuLrttUse, precipitate by excess of standard BaCl,, then 
add excess of standard Nav,CO„ make up to, say, 200 cc., 
filter oQ* joo cc^ and Utmte the uiiremoved <^rboQat9. 

Dr. Ld.v'GB described at gomo length the modidcatiocs 
neceasary in the case of pyrites, and cited test aualyacs 
which had giveo quite satisfactory results. 



GLASGOW PiilLOSOFlUCiLL SOCIETY. 

{ClIXMTCAL SeOTIOX). 

A Mkbtisg was licid in the Society'*' roomB. Andersouian 
BuUdJnga, on MoTidsy, the ist inst., at eight o clock iu the 
evoningr, Dr. W. Wallace in the Chjiir, 

One raetul>er was bullotod for and declarod duly admittedj 
and two rjndidulcH were pro|K>ak:d. 

A lecture waa delivored by A. S. IlEHSCiiEL, Esq., B.A., 
F.RAS., " On the McUmli and Jirxmi PriMjttss of Specttitm 
Anaiysisy We shall give this lecture, either iu full or ui 
abBtnct, in as early a number as possible. 



A meeting was held in the null, Ariderfiotuan University, on 
Monday, the 15th inj^t., at eiglt o'clock iu tl>e evening, Br. 
Anderson, the Pre«ideut, ia the Choir. 

Two members were admitted by ballot. 

W. H. P>:uKT.v, Eatj.. F.R.S., rvad a pjiper entitled " Ob- 
servation on some Arl\fickd Colouring ifo«tr«." Wo 
hope to be able to give » further notice oi this paper in an 
early issue. 

CEKMICAL SOCIETY. 

Thursday, Marc?i, 4<A, 1S69, 

Da. Wabees db la Rob, P.R.S., President^ in the Chctir. 

TnE names of the following candidates for election were 
read * — 

For the first time — Mr, W. IT, Dcoring, A ssiataTit Chemist 
in the War Departracnt, 12, Surrey Square, Old Kent Road. 

For the second time — Mr. T. Uolaa, St. Mary'g liot^piuilj 
Mr, W, F. Crttchesidc, 12, Si. Paul's R/^ad, Cumden Town ; 
Mr, F. Clowes, 13, Cornwall Place, Holloway, N» ; Mr» C. 
Hunt, London Gas Company, Nino Elms. 

For the third time^Mr. J. J. Day, 173, Gloucester Road, 
Regent^s Park. 



The last-named gentleman was then duly electa by ballot. 

The PliEiJIHICNT regretted to have to antionnre that ht? laid 
received a note from Dr. Frankland BtuT " ' .' 

to actfept \he office of president for the 

list would tlierefore b<i issued inaft» ...1^ «« 

nnme of another gentleman would be substituted for thai of 
Dr. Frankland, 

Mr. ToMLLVSON then read his promised lcct4ire, " On 
Culhnrum, or tiie Jvftutmce 0/ CItetnkaliy Clean Surfactf.** 
lie commenoed hy referring to the previous reeearehea of 
Oersted, Schonbein, and Liebig. In Oersted's researchrtt 
published lu 1S06, dilute acids were cautiously -iH ^ -! ''■ p 
by droi), to solutions of olk&line ciuboimlcs; and 
perimcnls were made wiih other liquids. Almo^i i _ n 
took pl&co At tirst; but on the introductioQ of any aoUd 
body, such as a platinum wire, a gla^s rod, or ilje finger, 
brisk eflervescence occurs. Be inferred that gas, in sohatiim, 
is never given oil' except in contact with a solid, and ha 
adduced the influence of aoUda in promoting cryslnliisalion 
in support of his view. Analogous exjierimeota were H*ade 
by Schoobein iu 1837, who suggested th«t the solids acted 
by carrying down air. Further illustrations were supphtd 
by Liebig iu 1S39, who concurred in attributing the elTtcts 
to the intluence of the air introduced, 

Mr. Toralinson, after quoting these experinQent«», sT»d ^v- 
in|t' some further instances of a similar kind, ren ^ t 

wiielhcr gus, vapour, or salt escaped from sol 
wnlers as.serted the influence afsoroe mysterious i*iii. .1. ■.,, 
the air, while Gay Liisf^ac imogiucd that the boiling imitiC 
varied with the nature and condition of the vessel. In Una 
he WHS followed by Lttwel, who devoted eight or nine ypnl, 
to the inveptigation of supersaturated solutions. Mr. Toro*j 
luison lUun explained tlie sense in which he applied the nen 
term catharisra (from naOap^t^ pure or cZc<'oi), distirjguishinj 
between '^clenn" in its ordinary and in its chemical sens<s,l 
The finger could not bo rande chemically clean by any pro«J 
cess, wlierens a gloiia rod, cleansed with strong acids or ail 
lies, and well wuMhcd, wan cheuiically cleau, and uo lon| 
possessed the innvor of liberating either salt or vupout fn 
liquids. The «ciion of solid bodies in determining the 
chnnges he ascribes to the greasy tilm which, after ejcposi 
to the air, they are sure to acquire. For this film, the aj»j 
hosion of the solid or rnpuur is greater than it is for ll 
glass, and hence the elTccl of the uolid. To such ch 
uocleaiiness all phenomena of this kind should, he thii 
ascribed, and he detines a nucleus as a body which' 
a stronger adiiesion for the gas, or the salt, or the vajKiUr 
a solution, than for the liquid which holds it in soIuiJoiL," < 
Ho repudiates the notion ihdt tem[»erature hus atiythirtg toJ 
do with the phenomeria of gupereaturatioa, and deAcribca t-Xm 
perimeuls in which supersatunUed solutions of Vji ts 

were kept for hours in cftthnrised vessels at Wf^ f 

10 F.. without crystallisation taking place. xhLs .. - ^ 
observed with alum, which does not usually exhibit this 
culiarity. The views of Luwel on crystallistHion. and Uw' 
phenomena (}f fuui^e^aut, or bumping, during ebullition, were 
next discussed, and a variety of interesting facts wei^ de- 
scribed, for the particulars of which we must refer to the 
ori|£iiual paper. Tho action of porous bodies in assisting 
distillation waa explained by their abeorplion of the va(>u<u 
of the boiling litjui^p, which was Hubaequently given out ia 
never-ccn«irig jets; and a number of obficure phenontena ' 
chemistry — such as the passive conditiou of iron, and ll 
slight action of sulphuric neid on pure and amalgamat 
zine — were explained by the dociriue of cotharism, for wbic 
the lecturer claimed the properties of a principle of natnt 
viz., generality ajid breadth of application — a principle wbi 
was as yet new to science. 

The pREtJiuLM, iu offering the thanks of tt... nu.Mi 
Mr. Tomlioson for his intfrresting pnper, r> 
main point appeared to be to determine the < 
the powur of liberating gases from solution. The phtnot; 
were very complex, and ho did not quite see that wc 
arrived at an explanation of them. 



[EBgU9b Edilion, Vol XH.^ No. 485, paga 140; No. 483, page 110; IV o. 485, pago 140; No. 484, pa^a 128.1 




Chemical Society. 



253 



Tk. \r * ^'-TLTsn did nol ffuppwse tlmt Mr. TomUnaon*9 
^- ■ ij'ronj^ht us nearer lo knowing the unuae of 

1 . . :i iidhcaioo of differetit substance^ but he 
trunijc^lfjt thnt ?oroe advance was made by Mr. TomliDaoo in 
incujj: B number of widely dift'eretit pheuotoena to oa© very 
gfntTTtlly f't'*'''J*'^'f'? cause. 
ivaVs-^ur WiLUAMSoy referred to the experimonta which 
iljwd to the Society some years ago, in which 
iiy ebulJition in tbe absence of gaa, and re- 
.. could hardly doubt thnt the presence of air 
roornbte to the process. Jle objected to the use of 
caiharistn, aa tending to draw lh« attention off from 
partirulars of the evidence before the facts were sufla- 
well known end daaaifled. In reference to ihe use 
term, it wa» well known that nothing produced the 
lion of snpersfttured sulphaio of fiodn so easily ns 
or the same salt, and yet it could not be said that 
* crvsfnl was not chemically clcnn. 
fiLADSTOXE fully agreed ttiai Mr, Tonilinsoo had 
aretl away the fal»e explanalionB that hnd been given as 
ibe iniluence of rough surfaces io promoting crystalUaa- 
Ihe evolution of gas. but doubted whetlier tit. Tom- 
\ theory was capable of explaining the phenomena io 
on. The nucleus, aa Mr. Tomlinaon defined it, had 
»g to do witb cleanliness or uncleanlinesa, rurnflin 
be made perfectly clean, and yet it would certainly 
tico the enTect of j^ecovering a salt from aoludon It 
Id 1>e better, be thought, to get rid aitogelht^r of the 
a clean and unclean in this rnalter. 
^ Vw«\oy Ha-rcoitit though it an objection to thepria- 
• pappj*, that it was purely a negative principle. 
\V nioro satidfiiciory if wo could, «3 the President 

(<i<,v:,ted, learn of what kind the substances were which 
these results. la soroe recent experinioQla on tho 
decomposition nf peroxide of hydrogen the speaker 
thnt when tbe dilute solution was heated in per- 
\y clean glass bulbs the ©volution of oxygen was greatest; 
t it was leas when the bulbs were not clean, and that 
r«d reduced to a minimuTn by vami»liing the bulbs in- 
This seemed to be directly opposed to Mr. Coroliaaon's 

Dr.' Odlin'O believed that Mr, Tomlineon would he best 
rewarded for the interesting information which he had given 
hearing the utmost possible number of objeciious to his 
lie doubled Mr. Toralinson's explnnatiou of the 
ioQ of nuclei in apparently homogeneous glass, and dis- 
from his conclusions on several other points, lie 
irked incidentally that it was scarcely fau" to refer con- 
to the very old experimenta of Saussure's on the 
ion of gases by charcoal, to tho exclusion of the 
and probably more accurate, ex]K'riments of Mr. 
Hunter. Mr. Tomlinson had found a now name for clean- 
liness, but had been more respectful to dirtiness. Ho said 
calharism was a principle of iialure, but it was open to 
jestion whether dirtiness had not a fair claim to be reckoned 
principle of nnturo also. 

Profes-^or FosTictt did not think that Mr. Tomlinson had 
Do Luc's tlieory that air, or gas of socno kind, was 
for ebullition. The efl'ect of cleaning a glass rod, 
exAmple, was. he thought, simply to caviso tho liquid to 
!t it roorc thoroughly, and so to oxchido the film of air. 
quoted a number of facts which seemed to support De 
ic*a. theory. 

Mr, IIei.scu remarked that Mr. Tomlinson's theory could 
)t apply to tlie passive conditioo of iron, because the im- 
ion of onlf half an inch of an iron wire in strong 
ic acid would render the whole wire, even 50 or 60 feet 
'^ passive to that ncid, though not to another sample of it. 
fiict of the wire being cleaned by the nitric acid would 
ot explain these fjcis. 
Dr. L'lUCE CALVERt pointod out that acetic and <»rbolic 
po^r- ' '' me properties as sulphate of soda in a 
remni e. They might be shaken or stirred 

r w ill I out dirt, with any stirrers, clean 




sproved 



leoiit 



or dirty, and in veswcls that were far from being chemically 
clean, and they would remain perfectly liquid, whereas tho 
introduction of a crj-stal the size of a pin's head would render 
the whole mass solid in a few minutes. 

Mr. ToMLiN'soJf, in reply, ejcpreesed his Uianks to the pre- 
sident and the other fellows present fur their full discussion 
and free criticism of his paper. In regard to the action ol 
charcoal, he could not imagine, that when a piece of charcoal 
was heated to redness in sand and then immersed in mer- 
cury or in a boiling liquid, there was much air remaining in 
it. It could only act in virtue of its copillariiy. After 
answering some other objections which had been urged, he 
remarked that he did not pretend to explam adhesion, but 
that it could not be doubted that there were diflereocea in 
adhesion. He commented on Mr. Grove's cxpenmeiit, and 
expres-scd his desire to see it repeated under diflerent con- 
ditions. He denied the peculiar power of proilucing crystal- 
lisation usually aeoribed to a crystal of the snmo compouiid. 
He had auspeuded clean cr}-Btal8 of sulphate of soda in 
the neck of the flask daring tho boiling of the solution, and 
found that when ho pushcKl the crystals down into the so- 
lution, a(\er twelve or fourteen hours, no crystallisation was 
produced. 

Moat of the other objections alleged were then discussed in 
detail, but the time prevented the coD'^ideratrcm of all of thera* 

The society adjouTQed until Thursday, March iSth, 



Thundatf, March iStft, 1869. 

Da. Warren de l\ Rce, F.aa, Pimid^mt, in thu Ciiair. 

Phivious to the reading of pspers, the President nnnouaced 
from the chair that It had been proposed to aubstilnVe the 
name of Dr. J. L. W. Thudllura for that of Mr. E. T. Chapman 
in the balloting papers for the Council. The proposal would 
be suspended in lUt" Society'^ rooma, along with the printed 
list, according to the by-law. 

Dr. Gt;TTtHt« wished to know if he could make a resolu- 
tion before tlie papers were read ; but it was decided that it 
had better bo left till the anaiversiary meeting, 

A pflper by Mr. AiiTitrri Kt.i.toTT, " On Iht DcierminatvM 
of Caihon in CnM-Iton^'" was TGtx^ by Mr. Vacher, who re- 
marked that the great advantage of the process was that it 
had Bucceeded well in not very experienced hands, where other 
processes hnd f:iiled. Tl»e author's method is adapted prin- 
cipally from UUgren {Anal.eL Chem.u. Piuirm., 124-59), ^^^ 
consists in treating from 2 to 2*5 grammes of pulverised iron 
borings, rejecting any Inrgo pieces, with 50 cc. of solution of 
sulphate of copper (i in 5), heating gently for ten minutes, 
when the iron dissolves and metallic copper separates, the 
carbon remaining undissolved. 20 c,c of solution of chloride 
of copper (I in 2) and 50 c.c. of HCl are then added, and the 
mixture heated nearly to the boiling point, until the se- 
parated copper dissolves. Tho carbon is collected on a 
filter made of combustion tube. 15 c.ro. long, one end being 
drawn out to a point ^ m.m. wide, and slopped firat with 
broken glass, and then loctsely with ijPnited asbestos, and 
washed witli boiling water till free from cldorides. It is 
then converted into carbonic flcid, and the latter delenniued, 
by trflnsferrlng the carbon in the tube to a flask, adding 3 
grammes of chromic add ; the ih^sk is then supplied with a 
funnel tubo and attached to a bottle one-third full of sul- 
phuric acid, and this is connected with a tl-lube. filled with 
pumice-stone saturated with sulphuric acid. This tubo is 
connected with two smaller U-tubea, for absorbing the car- 
bonic gas — one containing aoda-lime, and the other pumice 
and sulphuric acid, 30 cc of sulphuric acid are gradually 
added to tho flask, which is shaken, and the cootenta boiled 
for one njinute ; the tap of tlio funnel tube is opened, and a 
tube contaiuiog soda-lime connected ; an aspirator is then 
applied to the small U-tube containing pumice and sulphuric 
acid, and air drawn at tbe rate of two or three bubbles per 
aecond. 

The PaESiPE>*T thought that in rejecting any part of a 



lEagUih Bdltton, VoU ICIX., Ko, 464* pages 128, 139; No. 486, page 192.] 



254 



Ch&ndcal Society. 









given sample which would not pulve-ria©. there wns a 
aantrer of rejoctiag % portion of iron hnvinor a different 
proportion of the tnolal to the carbon as compared with 
the rest of the sample, Mr. Forbes, who Imd given atl^n- 
tlou to the subject, would pertiapa favour them with aome 
remarks, 

Mr. FoRBBS did not like to offer any opinion on the procesa 
ttll he had tested it himselC lie had tried every prooe^ that 
had been made known, and wax not at all saiiMlled of their 
great accuracy. He, arid many others, would be very glad 
to submit tlie present process to enquiry, to determine its 
accuracy. 

The next poper was a rather long one, by Mr, R T, Chap- 
ii,vN and Mr. Miles H. Smith, wi^ich wns followed by a dis- 
cussion. Owing to pressui-e of matter, we are compelled to 
postpone our report of it till next week. 

Dr. OOLIN'O then read a paper, by Professor fJ, O. Stoke«, 
F,R-3, ** On, a Certain Reaction of t^ininey The author 
Slated that some time had elapsed since be had made these 
iavcstigntioDa, but not being a cliemisU he had not ventured 
10 lay the resijJts before the chemic-al world ; heliad reeenlly, 
however, been encouraged by a chemical friend to think that 
a fuller statement might prove of some hilerest to chemists. 
The reaction is beat observed by diffused daylight entering a 
darkened room tYirouj^h a hole in the shutter of about 4 or 5 
inches square^ or a packing case may be msde to answer 
very well. The hole is covered with glu»a coloured a deep 
violet by manganeae. lu front of it is plac<>d a white 
porcehtio tablet; a solution of quinine In very weak alcohol, 
or very amall fragments moy be used. In sorao cases, 
alcohol interferes willi the reaction. The phenomena ox- 
Mbitcjd by sulphuric and hydrochloric acids were as fol- 
lows : — Wheu a drop of the quinine (wlulion was touched by 
a rod dipped in dilute sulphuric aild, the fluorescence of the 
quinine was instantly developed. With hydrochloric acid^ 
no apparent effect was produced, but hydrochloric add 
destroyed the effect of sulphuric acid ; and if a Itllle sulphuric 
acid were added to the drop containing only hydrodvloric 
acid, no effect was mnnife^^t. The author found that, on 
trying a variety of acids, they ranged definitely into two 
classes, A and B — class A developing fluorescence like sul- 
phuric acid, and class B destroyicg it, like hydrochloric 
acid. The alkaline salts of the acids were found to destroy 
the fluorescence, as well as the free acids themselves. The 
following are the acids operated on by the author: — Clajif A. 
Acetic, arsenic, benzoic, chloric, citric, formic, hyposulphuric, 
iodic, malic, nitric, oxalic, perchloric, phosphoric, eilico-fiuo- 
rio, succinic, sulpharic, tartaric and valerianic ChtHs B, 
cuiiipriiies hydriodic, hydrobromic, hydrochloric, hydroferro- 
cyauic, hydropttlladiocynnic, hydroplnlitiocj-aniCt hydroaul- 
phocyanic and hyposulphuroua. The character of the 
tluoresceaco of the salts of qninine hi the solid state 
variea; tho solid iodute obtained by precipitation is strongly 
BuoresceaL, with a blue considerably deeper ihan that of the 
fiolutions. Tho abi3iorption of the tluorogenic rays by the 
yellow ferrocysnide of potassium wouhl, in itself, account for 
the apparent destruftion of the ttuoreseenoe, if the salt wero 
p^, . , :.. -nieient quantity; buT^ to destroy the fluorescence, 
a i ^ is Bufllcient than would be required to prevent 

its _ I by tha absorption either of tho tluorogenic or of 

the riooreacent raya, or of both ; ihe author therefore con- 
cludes that the removal of the lltiorewence is a true chemical 
reaction, and not a mere optical effect. The classiflcaUon 
ninde by the quinine reaction agrees almost exactly with the 
old distinction of ox-acids ar.d liydracida. The author had 
found, however, that liyposulphurous acid, which is not 
usually ranked wiili tho hydracida, ranged itself in class B, 
nud led him to seek for other analrtgies between hyposul- 
phuroiis utid the hydracids ; and he found thnt hyposulphite 
of sodn restored the blue colour to litmus which had been 
•^doned wiih chloride of mercury ; he also found that, in 

omon with the hydracida, it xery readily deeomjxised 

taide of mercury. Fluorescence had been restored without 
ipitation, in the case of hydrochloric acid, by the sulphate 



or nitrate of the red oxide of mercury, and that the reaioi 
tion of Huoresoence was not a mere elfect of the acid with 
mercuric salt could be proved by adding just eno^-:'^ *'^'^ 
chloric acid to destroy fluorcfcenee in quinirte u 

nitric or sulphuric acids; on stirring a little ] . d 
oxide of mercury in the mixture, tlie iluoresceneo returned. 
Tlie fluorescence, destroyed by a chloride, was in soma 
measure restored hy nitrate of cadmium. The prccipi 
obtained with bromide of potassium was white, and show 
a pretty orange fluorescence — a very unusual colour for 
fluorescence of a white substance. 

The President spoke of the importance of Profewor 
Stokes's interesting paper; it was very possible that co 
siderable light would be thrown on the nature of diffe 
chemical eoiupounds by such facts as he had brought forw 
Although spectroscopic anfilysis w.ia more general in v 
application to rays of uU rt f ' ' iv-., it would >»e of soi 
value in dealing with the 1 rayj*. which are ra; 

of ooe. or very few diirtrti.;, .- ..».-j,.bil)tic.i 

Dr. OoLtsoaaid that if he had not occupied too mi 
time, he would like to make a remark on the composition 
hypoBulphurous acid, as to whether it was a hydracid or 
ox-acid. Hyposulphite of soda was generally written by 
formula KaaSaOi, together with an atom of wntf>r, and 
atom of water was essential to all tho hypopuiphit/'S. 
instead of writing the formula in this manner, it v • -•f-ji 
NaiHjSgOt, it might represent tho single or a 

molecule of hyposulphite of i^oda. Assaruingit 1 , 
the double, the formula for the simple hyposulphite wou 
be NaHSOj, ami that salt would correspond to an acid HvS''^ 
of whieh the next term would be lIjSOs, and the nexf 
11^804- If this w'js the correct formula for h\T.K>sulphuroai. 
acid, it might evidetitly bo regarded ik (i hydrncid. 
Duprt^ had read a pnjier which contained this ssuggeiriooJ 
Ho (Dr. Odiing) thought that when Dr. Dupre brouuht foi 
ward this formula, ho viewed it as the analogue of formlt^ 
acid, -and as, in that acid, one of the atoms was rephio^ 
form formate of soda, so, in hyposulphuroug acid, only < 
atom was replaced to form hyposulphite of soda; but if thUtj 
were correct, it did not follow that this acid was 
iinalogvm of formic acid as regards its internal mol 
arrangement. There was no doubt of formic acid being 
ox*acid ; but hy]xif<ulphurous, even with this formula, raighl 
be a hydracid. HCl n?presculcd hydrochloric add, audi 
IIOCI, hypochlorous acid, so that the hydrogen was united 
to tho chlorine by the oxygen, and it is a true ox-aei<L Tl» 
fact that NOj was capable, in 11 great number of cases, 
taking the place of C'l made it an open question whether if 
was not a hydracid, notwithstanding its contains n, 

on ihe lipsuinption that hydrogen was not din 1 

with osyijGu, a^i in the case of hypochlorous and c\ .. ..ri. 

Nitric neid, HO^NO,. in which (assuming, from the naturO 
of tho body) the hydrogen is directly associated with thi 
oxygen, is a true ox-acid, and stflrting from tJits point, ^'9 
have hyposulphuroua acid, which woiUd bo a Inie hydracid j 
sulphurous ucid, which would be an intermedinte acid ; and 
sulphuric acid, which would bo an ox-acid. Tho hyposul- 
phites certainly corropponded with the halogen salts in theif 
remarkable tendency to form double salts, the rnisfm ttttri 
of which WU3 not satisfoctorily established. The 0onsUtD» 
tion of the double chlorides of mercury and sodium, and of 
mercury and amraornum, had not been accountetl for on tli«, 
ordinarily-received views of atomicity, unless Mr. Wanklyn^i 
view was followed, and a higher atomicity given to them than 
was generally accorded. He (Dr. OfJling) objected l© 
elal>orjted tbrraulte, for those chemists who wrote the for- 
mula of hy])osulphurou.? with the two sulphurs written in 
different ways, and the oxygen in different ways, assumed 
that they knew all about it ; but ho thought tlicro was 
great deal 10 be learned, and the hest way was to express t 
onlinarily, in the most compressed form, and then, as a9 
illustration, put forward some further elaborated Bch«n«^ 
which might, and very likely might not, be tn:e, 

Tho PEESXDCfT announced that the next meeting of the 



[Enfllah Edition, Vol XIX., flo, 486, pagM 152, 1S3.] 




A»y, 



,SS""[ Pharmw-entical Society,— lioi/al Geological Society of Ireland. 255 




iety woul<i be the AnuivGrsnry Moetmjr. on March 3otb. 
o*clfX'k ; ana he asked as many ^,ftitleinen as possible 
, ns the officora would bo elected aud lie would have 
the Presidentahip. 




niARMACKUTICAL SOCIETY. • 

VTedmJiday, March yni, iS6g» 

IT. St*t}DEN Etaxs, Esq., ViU'Fr<e£ideni, in the Chair. 

Tim minutes of the prevjoua raoeting were read and con- 
firmed. 

After aorae reraarkH from Professor Bentloy on some speci- 
fMieus of dried herbs, and from Mr. Haiiburj on a specimen of 
Eisb preeu iuBect wax forwardt'd from India by Dr, Bnil- 

C. H. Wood proceeded to rend a pnper " On Sulpku- 
Andy He found no difflcuhy in obtjiining ft 1-48 per 
solution in ihree houra, by passing a atrenm of the pia 
jph water, and keeping the receiver as cold n* possible; 
riate the iDOonveuieiice crtJj»ed by n considerable amount 
gaa pasabg off towards tho end of the procesB, the 
can b« carried on in the open air, but more char* 
and vitriol is required tli/in ordered in the Plinrmoco 
The author preferred usiuie a qnicksilTer bottle with 
bent lube, to a glass retort. Wrih regard to the test for 
Irength, he hud found thot, by mixirj; 347 t^'rains, by weight, 
ptih I piitt initeadof i ounce of waier, ns ordered in the 
PluirniHO)fH«irt, the proper proportion and aceuralc numbers 
were obtnined. 

Professor ArrFrBLTv confirmed Mr. Wood's statement r&- 
irdin^ the test; ho had thought the ounce was a uiisprinl 
)r a pint. 
Professor Redwoop conld not plead that the ounce was a 
irnprint for the pint, but he waa of opinion that acid of the 
Lrcniclh orch?red in the Fharraacopaiia waa not so easily ob- 
lined or kept tn a state of uniformity as one of much lesa 
Irenffth, The committee of the Medical Council had sanc- 
tioned thiit the strength should bo modified in the next edi* 
ftion of the Pharmacopceia, which, however, would not be 
^ptiblii^hed for aorae years ; but as long as the procees remain- 
ed in the l'harmacop(Bia, it muat be adhered to. 

Mr, W. A. TiLbK.v. B !^ , P.C.S., then road a paper ** On 
Diluttd NftrO'IIijd'VcMoric Acid*' The author had «ndea- 
iroured to find out if there was any nchaniaifo or difference 
in the process of mixing the acids and allowing lliem to 
stand before diluting, or dihitiog the acids at the time of mix- 
ture. Six drams of the acid, mixed and dilated at once with 
water, rerjuired for neutralisation 904 grain measures of the 
Toltinielric solution of soda, while 6 drams of the offlciTml 
acid reqiiirod S70 grain measurea. The difference in the satu- 
ratinii; jinwer of the Pharmncopoeia acid was accounted for by 
the los.i of i-50th oi its volume. Nitric and hydrochloric acid 
boing mi.xcd with the wiiter at the time, in such proportions 
aa oniered, will give a lifiuid that will answer the testa and 
be the B. P. acid, although not according to its directions. 

Professor Redwouh said the reaaon for adopting the B. P 
procesys waa to get an acid at once ilial would contain free 
chlorine in eolulion. The process caused discussion in the 
Pharmacy )|KEia committee — there was a contest as to how it 
was to ho prescribed ; if the flcids wore to be mixed in a bot- 
tle Bt^.ippercd or open, perfectly or partially stoppered. By 
mixing the acid in a cupacions stoppered botilo, saving the 
gas, adding the water gmdually, and shaking, an acid is ob- 
tained with the conteni plated proportion of chlorine. 



India, read a < , dwled June iQtIi, 1868, from 

Mr. A. Demp^ Prmc© of "VValef gold mine 

at Sfcba^top<d 1 ......... . ,,. j-..per was accompunied by ape- 

cimena ofitie wurkinga. Ihu matrix yielded in washing 30 
grains ^ gold for every 14 ounces. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



ROYAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF IRKLAXD. 

Tfikrb was a meeting of this Society ou Wednesday even- 
ing, Mnn.h loth, Sir D^ ConaiOAX. Bart., in the chair. This 
mectin? wan the first of a series of intended jwint meetinga 
of the Itoyal Gt'ological and Zoological Societies, to b« held 
in the Slilseum Buildings of Trinity College. 

Mr. M. II. OUMSOY, LL.D., of the Geological Survey of 



* Obituari/ A'^tircA 'jf D*;rea?ird F*-/ti>w.i." [Proceedings of The 
Itoijal'SocUty. Nt»v. 30lh, 1868). • 

'^ Faraday an a JUsnuaery By JOHK TvNPAix. Long- 
mans, Oreen, and Co., 1S6S, 

Is our impression of Augtist jotb, 1S67 (Am. Jirpr,, Km'. 
6, 1867, jwfy 26S), we had the melancholy duly of announce 
iiig the death of our great countryman, i'aruday. The .short, 
and in many reapecU imperfect, sketch which we then placvd 
before our readers was wiiiten hastily and under the in- 
tluence of feuHnga which could not iail to suggest tliem- 
selves at such a time, 

Sinco ^leo, aflfectionate friends, comrades, and fellow- 
labourers ot the great philoeopher* have, in the truest spirit 
of love and veneration. ooUedijjJ a mass of infonnoiiun regard- 
ing his lifti botli as a man and au investigator, \^ hicli we heart' 
ily recommend to the permal of our readers. At the time 
when we wrote our Qrst notice of Faraday, it was difficult to 
obtain reliublu information regarding his early life and studies. 
Uia temperament wns so completely averse to every kind of 
self-assertion or display, that it was necessary for him to die 
before all hia great^iess could be known. Fortunately for Iho 
world, two of Faraday's friends have had the nieant«, tke in- 
clination, and ti<u opportunity of giving u^, not sketches, but 
tini.nhed pictures of his ou:er and inner life. 

Evtn with the comparatively meagre information we poa- 
seased iu August, 1867, wo ventured to assert of Faraday 
that '* ht) was the only man who has raised hin)»clf to ihe 
first rank in science in Um country, whose every attribute 
we may fearlt^aly bold up aa a model to our children 1 " If 
we wrotu thus when we. did, how much more almll we not 
repeat it witli tho light now before ua f There can be no 
atotiger proof of the goodneaa as well aa greatness of Faraday 
than the deep ulfectioa with which he inspired hit^Triend.*). 

The obituary notice of Faraday in the Prortniiiujn nf (he 
Royal Socitty is written by Dr. Beooe -lonee, and it is a model of 
what sucti notices should be. Instead of the ftn^ble, rambling, 
and often half-hearted panegyrics wc hacouatomA 

to, w© have a clear, weil-written, cl : history of hia 

life, occupying sixty-eight closely p;...;.^. 1 ■^'^*i; but, owing 
to the perfect method and concise mode of expression, tliere 
is more matter in it than in two hundred pages written in the 
slipshod manner too commonly adopteA by biographers. We 
sliall make no apology for presenting our readers with an 
outline of Faraday's life, greatly ooudccsed from Dr. Beoce 
Jouea's notice. 

J\i. I U> 12 (1791 to 1S04). — ^Michael Faraday, the third 
Bcm of Jamea Faraday, was bom at Newington, in Surrey, 
September 22d, 1791. Hia father worked as a blackamiUi at 
Boyd's, in Welbeck Street, and, after living for a short Lime 
in (iiibert Street, they removed, when Michael was about five 
years old, to rooms over a ooach-house, in Jactjb's Well Mewa, 
Charles Street, Manclioater Square. Tiiis waa the home of 
Faraday for nearly ten years, in fact, until 1S09. when they 
moved to 18, Weymouth Street 

When thirteen years old (1S04) he went on trial for a year 
to Mr. George Riebau, a bookbinder. 

^EL 13 to 19 (1S05 io iSn> — On the 7th of October, 1S05, 
Faruday waa apprenticed to Riebau, and in oonaequeoce of 
hia faithful service his master difl(>enscd with a premium. 
Here Faraday first aaw Mrs. Marcel's "Con versa tioos on 
Chemistry," and the treatisea on electricity in the " Encyclo- 
pffidia Brltannica.*' Theso works appear to havo had the 

■ ** Faraday loved tbia vnnl aatl «tnpl«>)rftr| U tA tb* lut; be bad an 
latoDM iticUka to tbti modara l«na Ph}f»ioUL''—TTSBXXX, 



tEngllrii Edition, VoL XIX., No. *fl«, paga 153 ; ITa 484, paK«« W9, 130 f Vo. 4M, page 140.] 




Notices of Boohs. 



1 Jfijy, IJ«L 



effect of giving him his first draug!itj of scieijtitie kuowledpc. 
As mny be supposed, Iio at once coramence<l niuking such ex- 
perinieuU aa wero possible with his limited njeiins. 

At this period he also ntleaded lectures on natural philoaO' 
phy^ given bj Mr, Tatutn, 

.€t. 20 (i8r 2).— Through the kindness of Mr. Dmce, who 
was a cu.siomor of RJebauX and fv member of the Royal Insti- 
tution, he was enabled to attend four of the last lectures of 
Sir VL Drtvy. At Ihia period, " the desiro to be engaged in 
8cieott9c occupaliofi. even though of the luwcat kind, induced 
me, whilst au opprenlice, to write, in my ignorflnce of the 
world and flimplicity of ray raJnd, to Sir Joseph Baaks, then pre- 
sident of the Royal Society. Naturally enough, 'do answer* 
was the reply led with the porter." 

Ho now began to con»truct atiiaU galvanie bntteries; and 
the tenor of his letters at this date shows that Ma mind was 
entirely bent on eciontiflc ptirmiits. 

On the Sth of October he went as jonmeyman bookbinder 
to 11 ilr. De la RoeUo, a French emigrant, in Loudon. This 
man was of a violent temper, and cnuaed Paraday much 
trouble. 

Encour.tsred by Mr. Dance, be sent Sir Humpbn^ Davy the 
notea he had taken of his last four lectures. Tm reply he 
received was immediate, kind, gnd favourable. Although Btlll 
working ;is a bookbinder, he at this period acted for a iki-<A' 
dn) 8 ns amanuensis to Sir Humphry Davy, who was suffer- 
ing from a wound in the eye received during his examination 
of chloride of nitrogen. 

^El. 2( (if^ij). — t>ne nigbt, while living in Wey month 
Street, he was startled by a loud knock at the door, and a 
footman, who had alighted from acorriage, left a note for him 
fron; Sir Humphry Davy, This letter was to offer liini a situ- 
ation as a<isistnnt in the laboratory of the Royal Inaiitution. 

He was 8(K3n at work on various invegtigalious for Sir 
Humphry ; amongst others, on chloride of nitrogen. He hnd 
four violf'nt explosions wlnle engaged in its examination, 
One of these occurred while holding a tube containing 7^ 
grains of the chloride. His hand was blown open and a part 
of one nail torn off, Foriunntely^ he wore a glass mask, 
which saved his oyes. As it was, .the mask was cut by the 
pieces of the tube. 

Jit. 23,(1 Si4), — He visited Rome with Sir Humphry. 

JEL 23*(iSi5). — Still in Rome, His life at this time wna 
to some extent troubled by tho foct that Sir Humphry im- 
posed tasks upon him connected with domestic duties, which 
jibould never have been proposed to him. It would appear, 
however, that Sir Humphry was very careful not to give Iiini 
work which he disliked, as soon as hia objeclioa to it was 
known to him. Lady Davy, on the other hand, gave him 
much annoyacce from her domineering propeneiliea. A fort- 
night after hia return to England, his salary as assistant in 
the laboratory was raised to 3O8. a week, and rooms were 
given him. 

JCt. 24 (1816). — He now gnvo lectures on chemistry, at the 
City Philosophical Society, and published his first paper, '* An 
Analysis of Native Caustic Lime," in tlio Quarteily Journal 
of Sci^.ttct. 

j£(. 25 (1S17). — He piibltshed h paper "On the Esca}>e of 
Gases throuj»h Capillary Tubes." He wag aJso hard at work 
at his education. 

jEt. 26 (tSiS). — Gove five lectures at the City Philosophi- 
cal Sooiety, and published six papers in the Qtmrttrhj Jovr- 
nal^ the most important being "Oa Sounds produced by 
Elame in Tubes." 

^^, 27 (1819).— This apneara to htve been a comparatively 
uncveniful year witti Faraday. 

JSf. 2S (1820). — First paper read before the Royal Society, 
It was •' On Two New Compounds of Chlorine and Carbon, 
end on a New Compouod of Iodine. Carbon, and Hydrogen." 
Experimenla in conjunction with Stodart, on the alloys of 
flteel. 

j£f. 3Q(r82t), — ^His marriage, and admission Into theSande- 
roauiiin Church. Paper in conjunction with Phillips "On a 
New Compound of Chlorine and Carbon." Sui^coeds in caua- 



Awardc 



ing the wire to move round the magnetic pole and ibe pole 
round the wire. 

J-X 30 (1822). — Comparatively uneventful. 

^Kt. 3t (1823). — Papers in T/anaactionso/the Royal Socie 
'•On Fluid Chlorine." and **0n the Condensation of sevc 
Gft.ses into Liquids." Four papers in the Quarierhj Jom 
of Sdtncc. Proposed as Fellow of the Royal Society. Elect 
Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences, Paris. 

^m. 32 (1824).— Elected Fellow of Soyal Society, and 1 
Geological Society. 

^''- 3:i {'^^5}- — Made Director of the Laboratory of 
Royal Institution. Discovered benzol. 

^k't, 34 (1826).— Paper "On Action of Sulphuric Acid 
Kaphthalin ; " '• On the Kxiatence of a Limit to Vaporisation ;f 
" On Pure Caoutchouc, Acu" 

yE'C, 35 (1827).— Commenced researches on optical glflte. 
Published his "Chemical Manipulallou." 

^f' 39 (1S31 ).— I'ublvishod the first scries of *'ExperimeiH 
Researches in Electricity." 

^L ^o ( 1 832). — Second series of " Experimental Reaearcl 
in Electricity." 

^?. 41 (1S33), — Third, fourth, flflh, tuid sixth series 
'■ Experimental Researches." Elected FuUerinn Professor 
Chemistry. 

^Fi. 42' (1S34). — Seventh, eighth, and ninth sellies of'*, 
perinientfll Researches." 

yfX 43 ('835), — ^Tenth Rpries of "ExperimenlaT 
searches.'^ Granted pension by Lord Mellx)urne. 
one of the royal medals by the Royal Society. 

^t. 44(1836). — Appointed adviser to the Trinity H( 
Made senat^^r of the Uulveraity of London, 

^i?t. 45 (1837). — Eleventh series of "Experimental Re- 
searches." 

uEt 48 (1S40). Sixteenth series of "Experimental Re- 
searches." Appointed elder in the Sandemanian Churcli., 

-iif. 51 {1S43). — Eighteenlh series of "Re.searche»."' 

*£■/. 52 (1844),— Paper communicated to Royal Societ 
"On the Liquefaction and SolidificatioQ of Bodies geiiei 
existing as Gases." 

^J^t. 53 (1S4 5),— "Researches on Vfagnetisatlon of L5^ 
and the Illumination of Magnetic Lines of Force." 

^El. 56 (184S). — Twenty-second series of '* Rcseanchea." 

-fet 58 (iSto).— Twenty-third to twenty-seventh serlea 
" Rest^arohos." 

^■EL 61 (1S53). — Sent to Athenarum his "Experimental 
Investigation of Table Turning." 

J'X 63 (1S55). — Made Commander of the Legion of Hone 

yEt, 64 (185O). — Last paper sent to Royal Society; 
perimental Relations of Gold (and other roetnls) to Ltglit" 

yKt, 66 (1858). — OfTered a house at Hampton Court by tl 
Queen. Researches on Regelalion, printed iu Tyndall's poper| 
''On Ice of Irregular FuHibiUty." 

From this period, the record of his life ceases to be roarki 
by events connected with his researches. He continued 
give vast numbers of reports to the Trlutty Hou,«e, and 
tiroes gave lectures. But his health was rapidly declininf 
and hia memory not to be relied on. 

It need not be said that lu the declining years of Ids li 
he WHS tended with unfailing devotion and care, not only 
ufibctionate relatives, but by friends whose veneration n 
love were as great as it was possible for those of relatives to- 
be. Tyrdftll gives the following touching account of the last 
time Faraday spoke to him (p. 168): — 

'* Sometimes, during the last year of bis life, by Uio per- 
mission or itivilhtion of Mrs. Farad.iy, I went up to bis rooots 
to see him. The deep nidiance, which iu his lime of strength 
flashed with such extraordinary power from his countenance, 1 
hnd subsided to n calm and kindly light, by which my latest^ 
memory of him is warmed and illuminated. I knelt one 
beside him on the carpet, and placed my hand upon bis 
he stroked it affectionately, smiled^ and murmured in 
soft voice the lust words I remember aa having been 
to me by Michael Faraday.*' 

It is charming to find throughout TyndalPs entire 




[IiB^Mih Bditipn. Vol SOX., No. 485, pagea 140, 14 L] 







Correspondence. 



1 ■ deep reiiaoce on tbe goodnesa and kindness of Fflraday. 

\R not, however, a mete bliiid udorer; he armlyftea with 

mdurful skill Faraday's mental process, and wheruver he 

»la it iH his duty to differ with bitu he does it faithrully, but 

ihe gentlonees and teaderoess of u loving «oii» 

Every one who has read attentively Faradsy'a paper '* On 

16 UMgnutiaation of Light and Iho Itlumioalion of the Mag> 

Lines urForce,^' mosti have been surprised aC its tiilu: 

iler well remembers how itilensely he was puKzlod by 

r. Tyndall says on this subject, '* la November, i^\^ 

loumocd his discovery of the ' Mngnetiaation of Light 

hlumination of tlie Lioes of Magnetic Force.' This 

provoked corarn<?Dt at the lime„ and caused misappre- 

ii>n. He therefor© added an er plana tory note ; but the 

lell his nieatiing aa entangled aa before;; in fact, Faradny 

notions regarding the magnet isnlton of light which were 

tr to himself, and untranslatable Into the scientific 

iguage of tbe lime. Probably no other philosopher of hm 

would have employed the phraseti just quoted as uppro- 

riate io the diacovery announctd in 1S45. But Faraday was 

lore than a philosopher; he was a prophet; and okeo 

lit by an inspinttion to be undersioJd by sympathy 

* Tlicn, after a lucid explanation of the experiment 

jlfj Tyndall gt>e8 on to say, *' llis maguet turned the piano 

' irisMtion uftbe beam through a certain Angle, and thus 

ibled it to get through the aiialyser, so that ' the m»gnct- 

I of light and tbe illuaiinatiou of tbe magnetic lines of 

bpcomea, when expressed in the langu,Hge of modern 

^theory, the rotation of tJu phinr of palnrtJ^aiiony 

We need not say that, if Br, Tyndall was happy iD the 
ie-ndaiiip of Faraday, Faraday was to be congTHiulated thiit 
niuntle (which Tyndall modcatly aays is aimoat too heavy 
to be boriie) has falleu upon such shoulders. 
I Dr. Tyndairs work is illustrated by two exquisite portraits 

^^ of Paradrty. Tlio frontispieoo is engraved from a negative 
^^laken nomo yeanj ago epecially lor Dr. Tyndall. The por- 
^Btrnit facing p. 79 is a gera in its way. It is from a daguerro- 
^Vlype by Claudt-t taken when Faraday was about fitly years 
^BoJd. We coMgider, however, that the engraving we present 
^^ to oar readers this week la a still more striking likene«a of 
( Iho great philosopher. It is printed from a block in the pos- 
I seaaion of the tlditor^ and la probubly not to be surpassed in 
vigT)ur and truthfulnesa 

lu conclusioQ. we earnestly recommend Dr. Tyndflll'a work, 
merely as a charming biographical sketch,, but as a master- 
analysis of the mind of one of the greatest and best roeo 
'iWorld has ever produced, 

CORRESPONDENCE. 




BteeV' Ac- He then states how the quality of these seven 
bars of iron and two bnra of steel was teated— viz., by Mr. 
Kirkaldy'a tetu^ile struin and extension tosta ; ho gives Mr. 
Kirkiddy'e figures, aod those of bis own analyse.^i. and find* 
ing that ihc iron and steel containing so much pho<(phonia 
stood these mechanical testa bo satisfactorily, he " tht^rcfore 
thinks himself justified in asserting that the commouly-re- 
oetved opuxion on this subject doea not always represent tbe 
truth." . 

The object of my loiter was to show that this reUanoo 
upon ilie gradually applied tenacity and extension tests ia 
fallacioua; that these tests, though of great practical value 
I in determining some points, do not detect the special mis- 
chief which phosphorus, iu small quantities, does to iron and 
ateoL * It was quite evident, from thb discusaion which fol- 
lowed the reading of Dr. Paul's paper in the Chemical So- 
ciety, and from expressions of opinion recently made in 
other placts, that Dr. Paul is not the only one who has been 
misled by the application of these testa, which, as I ox- 
plained, may oven represent all kinds of malleable iron, and 
wjaie kinds of steel, aa actually improved by tbe addition 
of a tittle phosphorus, on account of the increased tenacity 
of a peculiar kind wliich it confers. 

When J referred to my own position as chemist to ono 
of the largest and most important iron-works m Europe, it 
was not, as Dr. Paul insinuates, witli tlie view of self-eoc- 
altation, but to indicate, that, in pointing out a mfatake made 
by him and Dr. Miller, I was merely correcting a technical 
error, whieh any chemist, not having such daily and npecial 
'* opportunities of comparing the results of chemital analy* 
sis with the verdicts of practical trials," would be liable to 
make. 

I confined myself to a general statement of the facts (Dr. 
Paulseeras to regard britileness, tenacity, hardness, cold- 
shortneaa, Ac, as only ** opiu loos ") best known oouceraing 
the special chanictera of the deterioration produced by 
phosphorus, simply because my letter had already made a 
sufbcient demand both upon your columns and my time ; 
but if the subject is considered sufficiently interesting, I 
ahali be happy to take an early opportunity of supplying 
yon with some illustrationa of the special instancea from 
wliicb the general inductions ore derived. — I am, 4c., 

W. MaTTIKD WiLLIAMg. 

Tbe tAbontorj, Sir John Brown mhA Ckt., Sheffield. 

[Our corrpspondlnt will confer a favour on our readers 
by oomrmuiicating the valuable information he so kindly 
Tolunteera.— £11 C\ N,] 



On Phosphorus m Iron and SteeL 
To the Editor of the CuEincAL News. 

Sib, — T am sorry to see thot Dr. Paul, in replying to my 
^1«iter on the above subject, has merely perpetrated a few 
>romonplace sarcasms, which cannot throw any light npon 
[.the chtMnical relations of phonphorus to iiron, and which 
[were certainly not called f ^r by any remarks of mine. 

That the fallacy I referred to does exist somewhere out- 
Mido of ray imagination, can be seen at oncf^ by reference to 
the Chemical Newa of Jan. 39th, p. 5iS {Am. Repr., Marcli^ 
1S69, jHige 146). Anybody who refers to that report — the 
iracy of which Dr, Paul does not question— will see that 
<»mmenoes with the atatoment that '* It is generally con- 
that very small quontitiea ofphosphorua iii niaileflblo 
^iron and steel are most prejudicial to the quality of ttie 
and that " quite recently ati emiiieni metallurgist haa 
Stated, as a fact, that much less than 03 per cent of phos- 
>horus produces a decided and injuiious eOect upon steel.'^ 
fie then proceeds to controvert that statement, and bases 
controversion on the fuct that *' he had recently had an 
l-opportuuity of testing the truth of this conclusion by de- 
termining the phosphorus in some samples of iron and 
Vol. IV, No, 5.— Mav, 1869. 17 




Spuruma Guano. 

To the Editor of the C*hemical Kews. 

Sra,— Dr. Paul, in your last impression [Am. liepr. Apf%, 
I l>(k>, pi»(7« 2 1 3), ba.s a letter with the above heading, contain^ 
ing, aa I think, a very unjustifiable attack upon the manufac- 
turers of a manure cnlled ' Biphosphaled Peruvian Oiiano," 
He saySf ''It ia not Peruvian guano at all; " that *'it more 
nearly rcficmbles superphosphate of lime ; " that '* it Ls not 
worth one-half tlie price asked for it ; " that *' it contains 
not much more than one-third the quantity of ammoaia iu 
Peruvian guano," and that it ia a trashy manure. Sut«ly Dr. 
Paul cannot be very farailiar with the subject on w^hich h» 
writes, when he ventures to make these statements? I 
have no desire to speak harshly of Dr. I'aul, who may be 
aeting under some misapprehension, or to questions the pro- 
priety of admittiag into your valuable jouraul a letter in- 
tended to bo very damaging, without aomo inquiry, when at 
least a week muii>t pass before any reply can be made, but, 
as I liave been frequently consulted upon the subject of this 
manure and its manufacture, and have made repeated 
aiialysoB of the products, 1 think it neceaaary to say a few 
words in answer lo Dr. Paul. The works are frwlj open 
to ma, and I have constant opportunities of watching b^ 
■tage of the processes, but, wiiilat I have neither tbi 



[Bafliah Edltlan, Vol. ZIZ., Vo. 48a, pajes 141, 1431^10. 4B3, pagei U7, U8.] 




Corre^pi 






nor the inclination to disdodo the methods adopted, I may 
luiy that tlioy are pcrfvctly simple and straightforward; 
there is no mystery either iuthe name or in the t-ompoeilion, 
the former pretty nearly indicating the latter ; and in refor- 
ence to its composition, it does actually contain more than 
50 per cent of the fine Peruvian Government gnuno ; more 
Ujan 24 per cent of phospliate of lime, of which 21 per 
cent, at leant, is soluble ; 6 per cent of alkaUno salts; and 7 
per cent of ammonia, Dr, Paul saya there ia at Peruvian 
(fuano at all, and that this is a " trashy manure." Dr. 
Voelcker, Dr. Ander;son, Professor Way, Mr. 6?ibson, and 
myself differ with him on all points, and, as I cannot ask 
you 10 include their opiniotB at icnf?th in my letter, I beg 
to reftr to your advortiuitrg ootumna for their analyses in de- 
tail, to their reports upon the value of the manure Ibr all 
purposes. — I am, ^, 

G. H. Oqston. 
I », Mincing Luke, £. C„ Marcli mi, 1869. 



To the Editor of the Chemical Kews. 

glB, — With reference to a letter from Mr. R 11. Phul. 
which was contained in your lost week'.-i number {Avi 
Repr., ^^prifj 1 S69, page 21 py ilr. O|^ton haa infonned us that 
he has thought it well to niiike sonve reply to Mr. B. H, 
Paul, and we will, therefore, onlyask your readers' attention 
to the tcBtimony borne to the value of this manure by the 
best authorities on agricultural chemistry, contained id their 
published analyses and reports, atid inserted in your pres- 
ent number as an adrertisemenl, itself an answer xuoat t?oni- 
pleto to anything Mr, B. H. Paul may say. 

We may add that we immediately c-ommenced proceed- 
ings at ]«w agftuist Mr, B. TI. Paul, for Iho statements con- 
tained in thii* letter.— \Vc are^ &c., 

Ke£B and Co. 

j7, Kins WilliRui Str«i>V E.G., Ifa^ mJ, 1S69. 



iuttes on L^ture Eep&^imenis. 

To the Editor of the Ciikmical Nkws. 

SlR,~'Some lime afro I willed allention to the subject of lec- 
ture experiments, And stated that It would be of great ser- 
Yice to those enffa^i^ed in the work cf faience teachings if 
oectBionally hints were thrown out in the ooJnmns of your 
journal for the proper performanco of such experimenls aa 
one meets with in ordinary manualji, but which, in the ma- 
jority of cases, are most incompletely put before the readoT. 
fts tliose who attempt to repeat the experiments Boon dis- 
•rcover. It is true the experimenter may soon find out the 
•CtUM of failure and remove it, especially if bo bo one ac- 
etlStorned to lecture denionstralion, but there b surely no 
necessity fur hundreds of ptrwona each to overcome the snnie 
difflcuUies, when a few lines in ihia, column from any one of 
them would save trouble to Line whole. ILecture experiments 
or more properly demonstnUioM are invaluable as a means 
of improsHinjj; facts upon tliu minds of etudet^ls in i«cience, 
and it appears to me that sufficient imporljiiuco ia not gjiven 
to them in manunls. J3^sideJt tbi.H, as an additional and per- 
haps more weighty argument for a column Bpecially de- 
voted to lecture experiments, there are conliimally new 
modes of demonstration being dpviaed, but for wnnt of a re- 
oo^ised journal in which to record them t)iey are lost, 
except to tlie few who may have been present when they 
were exhibited. 

1 would veoture to ask you, sir, In the name of myself and 
wveral of my friend* who are engaged in science leachitig 
if you would Billow a c<^)tumn occasionally in your jotirnal for 
nates wnd queries respecting lecture experlraenLFi, not donbt- 
iflg, from tho reasoiTt I bavo given above, that by so doing 
you would bo eonfernug a f^ivour on a large number of your 
readers. — I am, Ac., 

C. J, WOODWAJU). 

Hidlani! ludtota^ 



Spurious Chumo. 

To the Editor of llie CiiKitTOAL News. 

StR,^— lu reply to the objections raised by your correspond- 
oul«, Mos.'^rs. Rees. to uiy remarks on tJiis subject. I beg 10 
say that those remarks were based upon the analysis an4 1 
account given of the manuro by themselves; that io those re-J 
marks there was not aT»y thing eitlier "unwarruntabl©'" 
"set against" the analysis and reports since published io'j 
your cohimn;*. which ctjiillrm, as might have been expect 
the analysis by Mr. Ogsloo, and furnish the most ooiupleta^ 
ju>iti!ici4iion I could wish (or of my eatmiate as to Ihe valOie" 
of the manure. 

Tlie ftiiftlysis and reports on this manure do not bear out 
the assertion that '* ii i.^ undoubtedly the most valuable th« ' 
has yet been offered to the farmer," or Uie statement thai 
the chemiHls referred to give "the highet^t opunons " of tin 
vnhie of this manure, nor do ihey accord wHth the st;itemeri| 
ilmt, in reference to its composition, it is a cheap manure, ' 
none of the chemists named put an actual money %'ftlue o«I 
the manure, but merely term it *'a very valuable mMnure,'*1 
which may fairly bo wiid of it or of any other manure worthj 
more than ^^5 ptr ton; and I'r. Voelcker'a rccommendatioll^ 
is Judiciously ciualified by the proriao " if it can be sold at 9^ 
reaftooablo price.'' 

Tho manure is said to consist of a "basis" of Penivin 
Government guano, but, at .Tiiiy rale, it ct>ntain«, "anions 
other ir»gredient.'4," superphosphate ol hme, which is of lot 
vahjo than th:«t guano.* 

As my friend, Mr. Ogston, has thought it necessary to Buf' 
a few words in reply to me, the fiuiesa of which, Irom lii« 
point of view. I can appreciate, and am quite willinj: to ad* 
nut, it is with much regret that I see he heii gone ot]l of the 
way to charge me with having made a very unjustilliible at- 
tack upon his clients, and to misrepresent me as having 
stated there was "■ no Peruvian guano at all " in tjie ma* 
tiure, Ko such statenjent was made by me. Mr, Ogstrtu if' 
also in error Ju staling that Dr. Vodckcr, Professor Anderson, 
\lr, Wuy, Mr. Sib^nm, and himself, dilfer from me on all 
points. This is not the case; for Ihe analyses of thoso 
yenilemen are, in fact', the basis and justificalion of my 
opinion. Mr. Ogston has, of course, full right to hold or ex» 
press a different opinion, but I venture to Ihitjk he is not^ 
justtUed in presuming to assert that I cannot be fnmitior with 
tlie subject on which I wrote, and in doing this he hiin gon*i 
ht-yond Ilia province, ilr. €»g8ton, I am sure, i8 sufficient lyj 
ctrnvt-rsant witli the value of manures that, if Jiis client Wfi 
a furmer, he would not assign to a manure having the 
pusiiion represented by his analywis a value <if jTil per ton.i 
and I do not believe that in any case he would have cerlificaj 
such to be the case. — I am, ^\, 

B. 11. Paul. 

8, Graj'i Inn Sqniirp, March 61b, 1869. 



Chemiairy of Sugar litfinin/j. 

To the KdiLor of the CilKMfc.\L News. 

Sir, — Tn No, 472 of volume xviii, {Am. /?eyr., F^, tB69/j 
pttge 76) of your excellent publication is an able and ex- 
haustive paper by Dr. Wnlhice, " On the Chemistry of ^ug»r' 
Maimfucture and Sugar llelining," wherein occurs a passage^ 
to which oxcepiion must be taken, as it is of a nature to cretflfi 
false in)presf^Jon.<}. 

After spifiiking of tho injurious action of weak acidS'J 
which mvertcane sugar, and unable liquors 10 dissolve iron' 
from animal charooal and from iron t^nks and cisterns, ~ 
sides other impuritieB, Dr. Wallace adds, " In thi» way Mr»< 
BeaiiesV procesi? for treating ftuimftl charcoal with hydro^^ 
chloric acid gita, although olherwi?^ all that can be deiured, 



* Owtnic to fh« prcmure on onr Bpae<>, we Jtn* nbliced to nmit IVora 
tlifii Wtier ft tAliulsr eumparioon of ili* )»ub]1»hrd lUutyaU of th« irnaiM 
an4er (llsciusluo, with Ki toaljflB of Peruvka gusao nuiule iu ^656 tty 
Mr. Wuy. 



fCn^Ufh EdJtioD, 7oL XIX., Ho. 4B3, p%t« \\%\ Vo. i»4, ^m^v 130.1 




May, JJriW. 



Jorre^ndence. 



n 



iM entirely Tailed, and lias caused roinouB expeom to aonie 

flln^re wUo hove iifsed iL" 

While adrnittiiig the premises of Dr. Walinco, I fail to see 

•l»ow he Mrrivofi at lit« conefusion. Were it true that Mr. 

les'n process ppnduces we4»k adds, tbe conclusion would 

Imperfectly legiliriuile. 

T ffel nuthorized to »«pefik on tlic subject of Mr. Boanes's 

£n>crsa for purif5'iu|jr bone-black. I was one of the Brat in the 
^ United Stalea who bwnrae acqiiftinted with the pro(H»s«, and 
9|htf last two yean* I have hod charpe of it at the Kcfinery 
'Messrs Huveit)C'\er8 and Kldcr, in Brooklyn, ED., oppftpitf 
Kew York. The}' rc-tine too tons of aiigror daily, and treat 
weekly 220,000 lbs. of bone-black by ibe process of Air 
.Beaoea They have now three brire nppnrBms for mflking 
le hydrochloric acid*gua in cousiaui opcralii/ti, aud are put- 
iDg up roore retorts. 

]ii view cf my ixperknce, I deny Ihnt weak acida mUHt 
leceftwrily be formed m the Biipar eoknions by the use of 
Mr Beanefl's procestt, except under the most carelcaji iHid un- 
skilful managtfmeul. Only two circura stances con give riBe 
to the formation of weak neids i?) connection with ttie process 
of Mr. Boanes. Either the bone-block is left ncid and the 
liquor dissolves acid from the bone-btuck. or the water led in 
Ihe bone-black wenkena like liquor aufficiently to allow fer- 
luentAliou tu take place rcndilr. 

At the refinery of Meesirs. Havemcyera and Kldcr there is 
'no trouble from cither cause of acidity. The sugar soluliong 
after filtration aro neutral. 

I am led to believe^ from the pass4ig© of Dr. Wallace's dis- 
course quoted above, that an account of the roeaus wo employ 
In avoid acidity in the bone-black would be of use to the re- 
finers in Kiiglund wlio purify their br>ne*black by Mr. BeaDes's 
process. I may biicfly state that acidity is prevented in the 
bone-black — 

1. By usinir peroxide of roanpanese in the hydrochloric acid 
generalor, 10 avoid the formalion of sulphurous gas. 

2. By saturatii^g the bone-black with hydrochloric acid pas 
only when It Is dry and very bol^ as il comes from the revivi- 
fying kilns. 

3. By using the hydrochloric acid gns dry, 

4. By allowing the saturated bone-btack to stand in suit- 
able receivers till the excess of gas, if any, is absorbed before 
Wftahioe. 

5. By wnnhing the bone-black rhorougWy ofler Patura- 
tion to remove the chloride of calcium aud other solubte 
BHlta. 

It fuay be well to state that the nse of wet bone-black in 
the filters consequent on the employment of the process of 
Mr Hennes, is not of itself a cause of ncidily in u refinery. 
Ow the Ci»niinent of Europe, and I believe in England, the 
bone-black i« often used wet iu the (titers williuut nti-y harm 
resulting from this practice. Differences of results ob- 
taujcd Irom the use of wet black must be due to differences of 
inunagement 

lu the two largest refineries in the United States, that 
( f Messrs. ILnemeyers and p]Idf r of Nfw York, and the 

I Franklin Sugar llefluory of Philadelphiaj also at Las Cauas. 
the Sugar Kaate i^f Don Juan Poey, the sclentille planter of 
the island of Cubo. the process of Mr, Beanes h»s been adopt- 
ed, is working Buceessfully, and lb© best results hove beeiT 
obtained. 
Tit. W«11ace renders a just tribute to tit© process of Mr. 
Bonnes when be says that il is " otherwise ail that would be 
desired." I am able to add lliut it ia not necessarily a source 
tft acidity in a refinery, 
'ilie apparatus in use at the above-roentionedosrnblishments 
difTers frniu the one previously in use in ihemanneruf drying 
the hydrochloric acid gas, which is accomplished without the 
use of chloride of calcium. 

Hoping ijiat tiie aU^ve may prove useful to the sugar re- 
finer* of England, ^ — I am, Ac, 

P. Casauajor. 

9S, Wall Strere. NiW Tork, 
Fcbruury 72iid, 1869. 



I 
I 



The New Earth in Some ZhrcoM. 

To the Editor of the Chiocical Kkws. 

Sin, — Tho history of the discovery of absorption bands id 
certain alrcona ia so thoroughly given in the Cubmical 
News for the ictli iust. {Auu fitpr., May^ 1869, pajc 231 X 
that I am reluctant to (rouble you with any further commu- 
nication on the subject. Yet 1 cannot refrain from com- 
menting on three or four remarks in Mr. Sorby's valuable 
letter therein given. 

1. Mr Sofby says that I observed (1866) the spectnim of 
tho new clement in a " very imperfect raauner." But the 
new spectrum which was then described was eoou found to 
he more eompleat ; whUe a rough pen and ink sketch in a 
letter was not likely to represont it faithfully. But how 
does my drawing really differ from Mr, Borby'a? Tlie chief 
dilTerenceB arise, not from the imperfection of my observa- 
tion, but from tlie inteuso abaorptive power of tho Bpecinieu 
of jargoon from which 1 drew the figure. This caused at ouce 
a broadening of tlie bands, and in some cdfcs a ooalceceuco 
of two bands into one. But afler all it will not be surprising 
if the greater skill and better instruments of Mr. Sorby have 
enabled him to make a nioro accurate drawing. 

2. My remark as to tho Ceylon and Norway zircons 
showing the bamla reftrred, of course, only tu those few 
transpareut apecimone which I then possessed. I have atnoo 
mot with many stones from both localities which sliowed 
either no bands or mero traces of bonds. ^ 

3. Mr. Sorby says I was led to coududo that the produc- 
tion of the bauds might depend on the presence of Svanberg'a 
noriura, I " hazarded the txinjocturo," but ail 1 conclucled 
was, that the presence of these bands iu the spectra of somo 
zircons and thoir absence from others showed that tho baudu 
must be due to some substance other than ziroonia. 

4. In conclusion, 1 may say that my studies and analvsoa 
of several well-marked blnck-band zircons have convinced 
mo that the new earth will not be found " to constitute tho 
chief ingredient of some of the jargooau fi*om Ceylon : *' I 
very much wish that this was likely to be tho case. 

1 reserve a fuller account of my rusjulla till thoy hiive been 
rendered more oomijlete by furtljer research. 1 propose to 
continue to devote my attention to the chemtcal and analyti- 
cal side of the inquiry ; the physical study of tho zircon 
could not have fallen into more appropriate or abler luindA 
than Mr. Scrby's. — I am, 4c, 

A. H. CauaoH. 

Eojral AsilculiurEl Collfi;*, Cirfoeester, 
Much 15, 1B69, 



Biphosphaled Perwian Otumo. 

To tho Editor of the Chemical News. 

Stn,— lu spite of Mr. B. TI. Paul's altemptod explanation 0! 
his first letter, and his Rssertion tliat the aBatyses of our 
manure justify the u^e of the expressions wmtaioed in thttt 
letttT, we still* think his attack unwarranuiblo. 

We dediiio lYirther oorrespnndenoe with Mr. Paul, but as 
we are bringing our action against him with as little delay 
as possible, ho will have another opportunity of explainiug 
his views on the subject. — We are, 3^, 

Reis and Co. 

sa, Klnr Wintarn StrrtL London, 
Mftfch 16, 1869. 



The Cfiemistry cf Sugar Refining : Beants's Process for Puri- 

jying Bont-hlack. 

To the Editor of the Chsmical Nkwb. 

Sir, — Wil! you kindly flfford m« space to explnio Um MUMi 
uf the apparent in- 'ten tho viewi» •''•^«-««« 

by Dr. Wallace oii t «0^ •' 

CusaiDBJor has eui*""!.'.-.. ■., ,..i« - 
last week? 




lEQE^b Editioo, Vol. SIX., Nc. 484, pafM ^"^ 1^^! ^^ ^'t F>^t* ^ 




Jfuy. 1S00. 



4 



The fact anDomtccd by Dp Wollice, Xhnt "addfl invert cane 
nufror," hos been known to m© for ihe last thirty yean, and 
»*, I beliove, fiirniliar lo moat poraous on^ged in tlio sugar 
inanuracturB. So wolt, indeed, is it understood in ArnoriL-a 
«nd on the oontioenl of Eurowe, ibat ererj precouiion ia lak- 
ea to neulralise the acidity of tlie erude sugar bffnre nubmit- 
tJDg it to the acttoii of the unitntili chtirconL This practice 
does not prevail in Ecigland ; migrar retiriera here trust to the 
calcic cftrbonato pre»eQt ti^ an impurity ia)the charcoal Tor 
the neutntlisitlion of tht^ acid uf llie eug-ar; aDd» &n my prO' 
oosa removea this calcic ciirboinin+, it renders the charooui 
less suitable Tor the nide iind uft5M«ietiiiflo metlHKl in vogue 
here, than it ia for the greatly «upenar method adopted ia 
oottniriM where the nmnutucture is belter understijod. 

Thi? dccolouriain^ effect of botit?-bh»ck upon (*ynip i« in 
proportion lo the extent of rorbon mr/ace exposed. The 
smaller the grains tlie greiiter m tho dt'culourising effect pro- 
duced ; find yet our s<tp)r refiners load with calcic carbonate 
— vihikii'o.'ih, as it were,— ihe very ciirl>iin hnrlace uipon 
which Ihoy depend for the deoolourisaiion of their syrapaf 
The practice •eeins lo me, I confeBS, irrulional in th« idghcal 
degree. 

Old bone-blacV, freed from lime and other Impurities, ia in- 
ferior in power to new» because its carbon surface ia lew, Ita 
innumerable little prcmiinencesi have been removed by fri'Ction, 
It hos become polislied, and the extent of surface which it 
exposes ifl thereby reduced, but it is iievertheleHa, as mijrht 
I^ve been expected^ very much more efficient than a similar 
blHck from which the culcic carbonate hua not been remov- 
ed. — I am, ACt 

EL BEAKX& 

March I sib. 1S69. 



Sudden CrystatUgaUorh 

To the Kdilor of the CmmiCAi- News. 

Sir, •-'I should be glad to know the bcttt meUH>d of pre' 
paring a solution of Glauber's salts for showing sudden crya- 
talllHation. Xy principnl difliculty is in avoiding the break- 
age of the glass Huak in which the solution ia prepared. I 9m 
flpeaking now of a quantity suitable tor a lecture experioient 
a eolutioa cuottdnbg 10 or 15 Ibtt of UieaalL 

Crvstau 



The Chemical Society, 

To the Editor of the Cubmic&l Kfitvs, 

Sm, — As the writer of the letter which was read from the 
chair at the Inat meeting of the Chemical Sficiety, proposing 
that the nnme of Mr. Eniei^t Tlieopl^ntn Chnpman nhonld be 
replaced by that of l>r J. L. W. Thudicnm as one of the new 
inembera of Council, I shall be glad if y»»u will kindly afTord 
roe the opportunity of giving the reasons which induced mo 
to take so decided n step. 

Of Dr. Tlmdicuin, I may remark that he Is a gentle- 
man holding B high official pusiiion ; his odvloe and sssial- 
gnco on scientific and ch^n^ic-al subj^^ts ure frequently 
•ought by diOerent departments of Government; and his re- 
«earche» in spectrum analysis, and elrtborate investigations 
on chemical pathology in connection with the cholera, are of 
very high scientitic value, besides being of almost national 
importance. Besides this, the gentleman I have the honour 
to nominate has the advantage of ttve years' seniority in our 
eocieiy over Mr. Chapman. Of the latter gentif man, I do 
not wish to snj anythttig that can detract from his known 
abihty, bntthitik that the interestjt of the aocioty would not 
suffer from his absence from the governing botly— at least 
until his Judgment ia a little more matured. — I am, <tc., 

JOHN^ SriLLER. 

IWe feel it onr duty to allow Mr. Spiller the opportiinitj 
of Hijiting tho reasons; which iriduoed him to write the letter 
which wiis read from the chair at the laat meeting of the so- 
ciety. According to tlie fifth by-low. our correspondent's 
proposal, after luiving been read from the chnir, is to be 
publicVy suspended fn the society's ruoras with the list re- 
commended by the council. The bnlloling pnpers, which 
have now been s^nt to all members of ttie society, contain a 
notice «'hich is intended to meet such a case as tliis. They 
•tato "If you wish to substitute any other muo in place of 
["Ihat proposed, erase the printed name in the second column 
' write opposite to it ia the third that which you wiab to 

[ substitute. "^^ a y.] 



To bum Oryg^n or Air in Hydiroym w Coal Om, t» 
itiol Combmtible and Supporter of OomtmstuM art Htlatipt 

Tervut. 

To the Editor of the Ghemtc.4L News. 
Sir, — ^Tbe following simple arrangern&nt does very 
deed for experiments of this character: — A piece of 
tube, a foot or so in length and about nn inch in diameter, 
fitted with a good cork at each end. Into one of the curks 
is inserted a short piece of glaais tubing, | Inch in diaroeler, 
to which is attached a piece of caoutchouc tubing provided 
with a picrh-oock. Tlie other cock is perforated, and a met- 
al tube, 2 or 3 inches long and | an inch or so in diameter, ia 
inserted into the cock, but does not pasa through it The tube 
is filled with hydrogen or cool gas. Far this purpoee it is 
clamped uprii;^'bt, tnetnl tube downward, and the gas is let iu 
at the top through the caoulcliouc tube; when full, a light is 
applied to the gna at the extremity of the metal tube, and 
the pinch cock turned, until the supply of gas is reduced so 
that there ia a small flatne only from the metal tube. A glaaa 
tube, about ^ inch diameter and terminating in a moderate- 
ly fine jetf U now counectod with a bag. or gas-holder, con- 
taining oxygen, the oxygr-n turned on, and Ihe glass jet, 
with the iasujjig oxygen, passed through the metal tube lat4> 
the glass one, when the oxygen, lighted as it enters, will 
burn in the glass tube cotituiuing ihe coal gaa or hydrogen. 
To bum air, a similar annill lube is taken, but with a large 
jet s the tube is connected by cooutchouo piping with a coin- 
mun pair of bellows, and then, while an assistant gently 
blows air from the bellows through the glass tube, it is pasB- 
ed through the metal pipe, when the air will burn iu the 
same manner as the oxygen, bu». with a feebler flame. To 
burn the bronth, an experiment, I believe, shown for the first 
time by Dr. Odiing, the same small tube may be used as the 
one just now menliouedf air being gently blown from tl>e 
mouth while the tube is introduced into the hydrogen. The 
following are the coadilionf^ or easen lints of success, in ttte 
aljove expc-rimenis : — fa) TJie g'oas tube must be complete'/ 
filled with gaa before lighting, ihnt no explosion may occur. 
[b) The delivery (glass) tube, connected witli the beUows of 
the mouth, must be suflideiilly large, and the air must he 
driven through the lube gently, (c) Id paBsing the ignited 
air into the glass tube, the jet should not touch the metal pipe, 
ns it may he extinguished on its passage. A, parafBn lamp 
chtoiQey will serve very well instead of the straight glaaa 
tube sp^nkeD o^ and ii^ perhaps, more easily obtained. There 
is one circumstance whicli mars this experiment to some ex- 
tent, and that is the deposition of moisture on the interior of 
the tube, which soon accumulates to such an extent as to 
prevent the audience from seeing clearly the burning air 
wilbin. I should be glad of any hint for a method of prevent- 
ing this deposition of moisture, 

C. J. Woodward* 
Vidlaod lutltntfl. 



TRe Kon-Preeipitation of Sulphide ofManganae. 

To the Editor of the Chevical Nswa. 

Pra, — In the short communicotion which Professor Fovf, 
of Nova Scolria addressed to yon hst week (Am, Repr., May, 
1869, pfigr 236), ectitied " On the Non-Precipitation of Man- 
ganese by Stilphido of Atnmonium in presence of some 
Organio Anunoniacal Salts," your correspondent evidently 
wntos under the impression that the remarkable behaviour 



4 
I 

I 




[Magttmb EdiHtm, 7oi Zt v, No. 49S,p^«M \&3,\S4,\&S-, 1l«.Wt, ^i.^ l^-l 




May, UM9. \ 



Mhcdlaneou^. 



<it %hiB metal under the circumatancca mentioned by hftn haa 
not been previouslj uotioed or desiiribed, and lu givitiK jou 
hU reeults he naturally refers to them aa " posaesaing oovel- 
ij and mtor«st." I havo, however, to request the favoor 
that joti will allow roe to point out the fact that the rcactioos 
In questioD forajed part of a communicailou which I read at 
a meeting of tho Chemical Society of London oa far back as 
tlie i6th of Man.'h, 1857. My paper (often pages) contains 
a long Inventory of casea in whicii citric, tartaric, and other 
organic acids wore foutid to erert important lafluenceB on a 
variety of chcmiral reactioDB; and in the titlo, I specifi'T'ally 
ref&rred to these cdWctd a»>" remarkable oircumatauccB tend- 
ing to diagui^e the presence of various acids and basea in 
chemical analysis." One of the moat BtriJcinK anomalies ob- 
served by mo was the non-production of the ordinary pre- 
cipitate upon mixing chloride of barium wUl/a soluble sul- 
phate, when an alkaline citrate w»s present in the same 
Boltition. 

The sulphides of roanganeflo, arsenic, and platfnum wore 
those which showed to the greatost extent Uio interfering 
action of the citrates, and tho eQ'cct of tartaric acid was oh* 
served as being exerted in the same direction. I quote 
from the QuArlerly JotuTial of the Cketnieat Socidy tw<» or 
three paragraplia descriptlvG of the modiflod reaetiona of 
manganese:— 

*• Ozide of Jifanganest,—T\\o most striking re«iill observed 
Trader thi« head relates to the behaviour of the sulphide 
The fleah-coloured precipitate usually oliUined on adding 
sulphide of ammonium to a aalt of mangHneae does not ap- 
pear under those circumstancctt, and the sulphide, ufler pre- 
cipitation, is freely eolublo in an alkaline citrate. If citrate 
of ammonia ho the solvent employed, vapour of anlphido of 
ammonium is evolved on boiling. The protoxide of man- 
ganese is not predpttated by potagsn^ nor the carbonate by 
carbonate of soda, tn presence of a solublo citrate." 

" Tartaric acid prevents the precipitation of a -salt of 
cobalt by potassa, and, in the form of a neutral tartrate, 
retains in solution sulpbate of lead and the stUphide of man- 
ffanesA. Prussian blue is not formed in its prcacnc«; and 
tlie precipitation of sulphate of baryta is to a small extent 
retarded." 

" GVape ^ttjar, likewise, prevents, in the cold, the forma- 
tion of sulphide of nvanganeic. Neither cane nor milk-sugar 
appeared to have any inHuonco in this direetion." 

It vriD be seen, therefore, that although the results of 
Professor How are undoubtedly interesting, they fail to 
posi^fiS also the chaiTo of novelty. Many am old fact han 
g&Tnod importance by being recited, and I think that the 
suggestion of the interrofencH.* being due to the production 

of m-- '-- • -ammonium may possibly roooive conflrmation 

froi I cirouroatances observed in the ca.^o of ar- 

aeni , :... alternative of rorerrinig them, in other cases, 

to tho existence of a class of double citrates, as indicated in 
my paper twelve years ago.^I ntn, 4c^ 

JOH» Spilleh. 
LoadoD, Uarcb ^^nd, 1869. 



I 



The Chemistry of Sugar Refining. 
To the Editor of the Chemical NEwa 
, — In your isHue of thi^ week {Am, Repr.^ May, 1869, 
259), there is a letter froni Mr. E. Bcaues, which seems 
for a brief reply from me. 
Mr. Beanea makes it nppear that I '* announced " the fact 
that "adds invert cane augar" as iin orighioJ observation, 
and rojoioea in having known it for the last thirty years. 
I need scarcely state that '* the fact " is one of tho first with 
which students of organic chemistry are made acquainted. 

Mr. Beancs further Stated that "our refiners load with 
calcic carbonate the very carbon surface upon which they 
depend for tho decolourisation of their syrups \ " ThLs is, 
as applied to British rednera, simply absurd. The cjdcic 
carb^nabo, wUcb ib not an impurity, as Mr, Deanes states. 



tut an essential constituent of animal charcoal, conttnually 
decreases with use, and, occasionally, almost entirely disap- 
pears. — I am, jic, 

WlLLLlM WAU.A08. 
Qbigov, March 97th, 1869. 



Apparaiw for showing the li^ciprocal Kalure of Combustion, 

To the Editor of tlie Chemical Kswa 

Sm.— T have taken much interest in Mr. Woodward's de- 
striptious of lecture experiments, and it affords me great 
pleasure to Ix? able to help him. Thc^i apparatus I employ for 
showing the reciprocal nature of combualion h niodided 
from that di-3«?nbed in Bloxam'a •* Cbeniistry." It conaista 
of a paraffin lamp glass, placed iu an erect poailiou and 
closed at lx)th ends by perforated corks. Through the 
lower cork pusa a unrrow glass tube, for the admission of 
coal gas or hydrogen, and a wide tub^ of brass extending 
about half an inch ou each side of the cork. The upper end 
of tlie lamp glass has a perforated cork and a short glasa 
tube, to serve as on exit for the producUj of combustion. 
Tins seems to be misi^Ing in Mr. Woodward's apparatus. 
This coal gas is first tunwd on full and lighted at top and 
bottom^ and then, by diminishittg the supply of gas, a Same 
of air is obtained at the interior end of the brass tube, and 
may be exchanged for oxygen or dilorine at pleasure^ By 
blowing out the upper (lame, the apparatus shown the pro« 
diiction of acotyloue, and by extinguishing the air tlamc, it 
afforda a good illustration of the theory of tiro Bunsen flame. 
No moisture is deposited, tho air tiame burus continuously, 
and frequently produces a mtisical note. Mr. Woodward 
should admit hi^ coal gaa below, and have an exit tube 
above. 

AU'EED H. Allbn. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Beol« P^ratlque de« llnute* Etudes, ParU.— 

The new school and the laboratories at the Sorboone, whicii 
have been fully described in the Journal of the Society of 
Arts, were expected to bo opened in tho course of January. 
M. Milne-Ed wards Dean of the Faculty of ScieiiccB, haa 
rooentty made a report to tho Academic Council of Faria 
upon the progress, with one important change, made in die 
arrangements for the new high school and laboratories. 
The faculty already is in possession of two physical labora- 
tories, one for instruction under PioffHsor hesaina, in which 
candidates for the degree of Licentiate or Doctor may learn 
the management of instruments of precision, and exercise 
their faculties in the refjctition of classical experimenta 
relative to beat, light, electricity, mugtietism. aud ucoupilics, 
^The rooms set apart for thia purpose have been found in 
three old houses, cloHO to the Sortwnnc, and placed 
temporarily at tho disposition cf the faculty, and Ihey w'dl 
very shortly be opened four times a week to the pupils, 
The second phjsical laboratory ia for scientific investigation, 
and ia installed in a new building erected by the municipal 
outliorities expressly for the purpose : this is under th<) 
direction of Professor Jamin, and was opened in the middle 
of last summer. The large chemical laboratory, under tlio 
direction of M- Saintc-Claire l>cville, assisted by iL Schul- 
zenbergffr, was to J>o opened early in the year. The practical 
study of mineralogy is to be carried on in the study of M. 
Delafi'sao, once a we«k at flrat, but aflorward46 twice, if nc- 
cesHary. There are provided two geological lakioratoriea, 
lK>th under the chargei of Professor Ih^beri. and to be 
opened twice a week. The study of botany is to be divided 
between the Sorbonne and tho Museum of Natural History 
at the Jardin >]>■» Pljintes; tho l;jborati>rv of tho f.iculty, 
directed by 1' ichartre, to be d .on^ 

microscopic 1 n and analysis, 

haa been made with rospect to tbo^ »tuil|^ ©f 




[Eagli^h Edition^ 7ol, XTK^. No. 487, pafM 166| 107; N«. 402, f«4 



ICawttcat 5gi 








Dr. FnaUmd, wbo had bceo 
totlM 

to Ms ppracvt I 
dntiea. Th» 
jKt if Mflwrfy inmiiyf^ Ite attenCSoa of tfae CmoeO,^ 
il it €iyiiat< betev tfeeacst mee^iig. tbtt a new banotfag' 
fai far t&» etectfaa of O0eera viQ be fbrrarded 10 iho 
Ae Oo«aeil^ Hit Ibr the etedioo of the other 
of CoMMJl ilMi^s ai rollo«s:<-BL AtlLuison. 
PU>^ J, 1^ BA B. Tl OwpoMii, tr. Crodlcei^ RR&, D. 
ffteWB. T.&&. D. Djabory. F.RS. A. MatthJesaeiv FIlD., 
FJLS , E. J. m^ J, Pkwiwiek. FJLS , MiixweD ~ 
Ph_D^ FEE, A. Toektei; PtLD., C. GreriDe WaEunft, 
F-RA 

Bczt BSBkber vOl be gircfi ■ 
diflcoTcred t*/ racftftt 




mtmlrim 



r^lt «p9can 0M na 1864. «» 

exeeplike ■lQQh«l 

ft yaper i) the Aewlena j of 
Mdb hft tfenoDfllnted that the daacooe of 
I ceriidftMl itt Ibt hqmottaSied almnlhe in 
I of ftvMCj g i Mi— a €f o w Liuu to 100 mica 
Tgmtd that 0na eatMoe had apMidnaij 
eibn to ibe htain. lo 1867 a petitian waa pre- 
I iIm 9eaali; prajing that the iaia of abaiatha 
afiaoliilelT' fbrNddeci, Koibing came of it : and 
''qocafkm of abatnthe** has bean onoe niDTe 
nrd hj (wo pbyaEciaDa, MM. M^^s and 
vhcv t» tb* ftnt tiBB«^ >^*v« a>»de regular 
atfrnne cxperfoNttla with tbe qoeatkmable stoif Th« ob- 
jacf af Iha aipariaMirtaliita ma lo ahov what th«^ effect of 
fVm ilMHf voold he oa a gnhiaarpigf and what the effect 
«f aUiPlbii. Wish Ihia view they pboad a guioea-pif nu* 
dtor a fiMM eaae with a aaooer fun of esaenoe of wormwood 
bf hfa tida, aaoUier gwi i w a yig being placed trncier aoother 
§itm mm with a laaaer fan of akoboL The gauMa-fiig, 
ifhob ia 10 mff waa baiikg ** treated ** with abamthe^ niilfed 
flilfaf AMaaa^ aadlbrafewmoaianla aeoraed, like the ab- 

'* sapremetT happjr.*' 
heaTj and dull, and at laat 
AB ao bb ifda. agitatl«f hia liakba ootirulajrelj, fuaoiing at 
Urn ttomb, and praaeotitig all the aigits of epOepaj. The 
iMto t pt l a p tia iTBiploaM were Bttnifeated od the paH of a 
CBl muA a rabbity wbo^ la a ^taUcr maiio^r, were made to in- 
kala fh* ftnaaa of ab«nthei On the other baud, the guinea^ 
p^ who fraa forced td set iotosksted with pure alcohol be- 
Wad tUca 8D ofdlaarf dnmkard. Qe became livcl/, then 
railed ahoet, and at taat lay down^ and foU into a hearr 
ateep. - PaU MnU (J^mOe. 

Mlrll flroaa i:.telieiia._Mr Sienber^g has ju.^l made 
aoiae erptrlaMfntJi with a view of oonrertfn^ the ooUuIose 
of Cgirtafo apeefea of Ik^teoa, wh!ch are verj common in 
Hweilcn, tnto fUioom and aloohol Tlie «pcoiea Viadonia, 
rnnfff^inn j1*»MM ffm lw?^t nitalts. Boiled Tor twelve 

i per oent of sulphuric acid. 
of gliiooae; fenncnto^ and 
^u.iMii im;! fotiitd to poasesa a peciiltar 
ii/drocyaolc acid 7), hut waa not other- 
M trtit«v««k> ij-fiiiiti'il and examined had 
*> are poi8f»nou« ; 
iiorn olime#, con- 
-^U'^ prinoipk. 

; of the rhaaileal «U>elely.— At the 
of liiiii Sockt/, held laat ereniug, it waa anoouQcod 



ITntArttiabed. — Manj 

ia aor h%b schoota, have aoditua pre- 

Bnt the beaotilul 



I :. 



ia takaa o«t and a fresh eut madev thia oolj 
aaftaak By the foUowicfr ortlfice 
of sodfattB may be pcnsanently ox- 
:^Tak« twe ta«t liibe% oaa a bitle tsaaOer than thi^ 
o as to afip into the Eaiter wufaoot lesTing much 
apeee betweeo the two gkaa walls \ pnt soBke carefully 
deaaed sodinm ia the wider tabe, insert the more cuurow 
ttibai, baring prefviaaaly given a thin coating of beeswax to 
tfae vpfier part of thia b^ar^ tban g»itly heat the whole 00 
a aand bath. The sodtoai wiO Aue, aoid by a g^tle prea- 
Fore, the iooer tube is preased down, so a« to for» the 
fosed metal orera large tor&oe between the two rubes, 
while the air ia toisBy ezdnded by the beeswax. I hare 
kept sodiQin for more than six Bao&c]in iti this war, sod it 
is oow as Irigbt sad brilliant ss when first put up. — /Vt»/. 
Csilaiat Bnfie^ m ih* SeUiUipe Jirimcoa, 



•very or tbe ^TclKbt «f Alr*_^Th© following 
extracts from a letter addressed to ns by the Ahb*^ JL Ua- 
my will be read with interest: — It has long tioeii asserted 
that, befoie Gahleo'e experiment in 1643, the weight of air 
had not been demonatrated. Howerer, many learned men, 
both of former tinea and of the present century, acknrjw- 
ledge that Aristotle attempted to demonstrate Uita ixnpor- 
taot lacW while, at the aame time, they are unanimoua in 
declaring that the means employed by him were inadt^uate 
to the end he wished to acoompiisb. The, honour of the 
great discorery is now yielded incoutestably to Galilea and 
what chance I shall stand of restoring the glory of il to the 
philosopher appears doublTul ; hut my cou?1ction Ia, thst 
he has s right to it, although his opinions 00 the nature of 
grsTity differ from those of modem scientific men. In *' Do 
CcbIo," lib. 4, we read; — '* Sue emm in loco, gra vita tern ha- 
bent omnia pneter igoem. Stgnnm cujua est, utrem ititla* 
turn plus ponderis quam Tacnum habe«e." " In their own 
medium, all bodies except heat, have weight ; the proof of 
whirh is, that a leathern bottle weighs more when filled 
with air than it does when empty."* It was, I belisve, on 
this experiment that Aristotle founded his asseftion of the 
grarity of air; and the only ground on which men of 
Ecience baeed their opinion that the merit of the discovery 
was not due to him was, that in endeavouring then-selTca 
to tefit the truth of this assertion, many of them failed to 
detect any difforence in weight between a bladder filled 
with air and one eulirfly empty. Soch wpre the arguments 
used till the time of Galileo; then by the exact mcaauremeot 
of the graviy of air, tho fuHure of Aristotle's experiment 
could be accounted for; and, during the present century, 
in all elemeutary bnoka in whidi the barometer is mentioned 
the vain attempt of Aristotle to measure the real weight cf 
air is also spoken of But it appears to me, that the argu* 
monts ased by the philosopher's eDomies fail to proTO yghaX 



4 



iMit^ti Sim^a, 7ai ZIX>, Vx 4fta, pa^a 1(I7 ; Mo. 483, pagaa U3, US, US, US.] 





Miscellaneoiia. 



263 



RNillj intend. Of oourae ihej are right ir they can 
Btrate that he expetimenteil with air at the B»mo 

ure n6 that of the attuospherc. But what gn^uuda 
v« thcj for duch an opinioa ? Is it thai they attribute to 
iSristolle wliiii are, ia reality, the fuilurus and miBtukea of 
his followers? We have, ou the one aide, the clear osswr- 
tiort that ul) bodies except heat possess weight; and, oa 
the oiher, Aristotle fumishoa us with a process tor the ve- 
rificatiou of this statement, which rouaists in weighing, 
not oa extensible bladder, but an almost inoxteosible lea- 
tlicrn jar auocessively full and empty of air. Now what 
eoncluaimi are we to arrive at from such premises ? That 
U 18 impoesiblo to auoeeed ? Or might it not be more coi- 
roct to say, that by a process t!je details of which have not 
been transmitted to uft, Aristotle liimself ancceededl iu 
proving the gravity of air, wMIo the attempla of his follow- 
era to do the same resulted in failure? For myself, I be- 
lieve that the great philosopher, by means of a blow-pipe, 
oonflncd in his leathern jar more air than it would con- 
tain at the normal pressure ; and, after weighing it, first 
empty and then full, he found such a difference thnt ho 
could positively nsaert the gravity of air. In these days, 
when ti priori arguments are so decried, we may be allowed 
to dissent from 3 similar reasoning which would rob antj- 
^ quity of it«f glories. Therefore, instead of saying, •' Al- 
though Aristotle stated that air was heavy, ho tested it by 
a wrong process which tended rather to prove the contra- 
ry," it would be more just to say, *' Although Aristotle 
made use of a process, which, »t flrst slghi appears a 
wrong ouo. yet, as we flnd'that by the supposition of cotn- 

» pressed air he might succeed, we conclude that he dis(»y- 
erod the truth, since it was ho who asserted the fact." 

Application ortheSpeelrunt-IVIlcroiwope to mine- 
raloicy._At the jsoirie of the Royal iiociety, on Saturday 
last, Mr. Sorby exhibited speeimens illustrating t)»o applicu- 
tioQ of the 8I>cct^UDQ-mic^o^ioope to mineralogy. He showed 
that the following substances could be recognised tu trnuH- 
parent niineralii or blowpipe beads by means of tlie charac- 
teristic absorption band:* seen in the spectra, even when they 
were much coloured by the oxid«9 of iron, manganese, or 
aioke! — rix., didymhim, erbium (erbium of Bunaen ; Delafon- 
taine's terbium); uranium, eobolii chromiuiii, oopper, mau' 
ganese (when it occurs aa permanganJo acid), a new earth, 
for which the name jargouia is proposed, and another snb- 
stance, perhaps ahio new, but not yet sufficiently atudied. 

Boloblllijr ol indlco.— M. Camillo Koechlln has dis- 
covered t!ie curious fact of the solubility of indigo in alkaloid 
salts, and particularly in the acetates and chlortdes of ani- 
line, morphine. &c. 

Fcarfal Exploaion — On Wednesday afternoon {March 
loih) a terribEo explosioa occurred at tlie works of Meaara. 
Demiith and Co., the well-known carbolic acid maouraoturera. 
A retort burst, and sot Are to a number of barrels of naphtha. 
Two of the employes were burnt to death, and four others 
received very eeriuua injuries. 

S«lentlflc Iuiitriim«*tilii.^Wo anderBt4ind that Mr 
Ueisch hus relinquished the propriotarship of the business at 
69^ Jermyn Street, carried on under the name of Murray and 
Heath. He ia succeeded by Mr, Kobert Murray, whose 
flithcr established the business, and aa he has for many 
years acted a3 manager for Mr. Heisoh, he will, we believe, 
folly mainiain the Just reputation this ttrm has acquired. 

Ramiirkalile Property of Teroxld« of TlMltlani. 

— Ctieinical processes eaabb toroxide to be obtained with 
great facility a£ a dark brown powder, presenting a striking 
reaembbnce to peroxide of lead. All that is necessary for 
this ia to digest by heat some newly precipitated chloride o^ 
thallium in a solution of hypochlorite of soda, cor/taining an 
excess of alkali If a mixture of this dry teroxide and flour 
of sulphur is submitted to a moderate friction it Ignitea with 
ezplotiion. When, on the contrary, to the same teroxide is 
added the eighth of ita weight of the product vulgarly called 



pr' ' ' -Tuir^ it 19 observed that the ignitioo reqitlres less 

f ! takes place without explosion. Wo may then 

huj. , .-.jrviicf or later, for a useful pyrotechnic application of 
this proJucl. Among other properties, Mr. Bottger^^lls 
attention to that which tlii^ mixture possesses of being set 
ou fire by the faintest eliK:tric spark, fur surpassing iu this 
respect the known mixture of equid parts of chlorate of pot- 
ash and bhick sulphurct of antimony-. The author observes, 
by the way, tlmt tho picrute of oxide of thallium detonates 
nl<»o very easUy under a bbw. — Jtxhrtsbericht df.% Fhysika- 
lischen Vcreim in Frankfort, and Bingler's Potyitxhnischea JouT" 
nol. 

Obroine Grcen._Ojtidefl of chrome are prepared either 
in the dry or wet way; obtained thus, they vary from 
greenish grey to a more or less deep greenish yellow. Thej 
gener0lly have neither brilliancy nor freahnts?. It is possi- 
ble, however, to produce green oxides of chrome which ar© 
not devoid of beauty. One of the most intelligent chemists 
of the oomoiercial world, M Casthelaa, has, conjointly with 
M. Leune, prepared a chrome green, which is justly styled 
imperial green. This colouring matter of a superior brilliancy 
i.^ obtained exclusively by the wet way. The proceifs con* 
silts in slowly precipitating chrome salts by treating them 
with hydrated metaUic oxides, insoluble, or but slightly solu- 
ble, ill water, or by hydrated metope carbonate?, or hydrated 
metallic sulphides, or, again, by other salts of weak acldft, 
which easily leave their bases; the action is only produced 
progi-Qssively, and the oxide of chromium is precupitated in 
the hydrated form ; the colour of the o^mpound is maguiHi- 
cent, of a deep emeraJd greon. for this preparation, it is 
convenient to adopt econooucal reageuta, audi as gelatinous 
alumioa, oxide of zinc, carbonate of zinc, sulphide of 2iQ(\ 
ic, whose price i.i reasonable. The same result may be 
obtuioed by treating a chrome salt with the nou-olkaliii© 
metals, which have a sufficient affinity to unite with tho acid 
of the chrome suit and precipitate the oxide. Iron and £ina 
will be more particularly used, as thoy are cheaper. It is 
necessary to select hotn among the metals, with tlioir oxides 
and salts, those which, with the acid of the chrome salt, 
give sotubk salts, as thoy should he removed by washing. 
If recourse ia had to reagents forming, with tlie acid of ths 
chrome salt, insoluble salts, it is only In order to modify the 
colour and compoFitiou of the chrome precipitates and of the 
green oolour thua formed. As to tho magniilcent imperial 
green colour obtained by M. Costbalsi^ it possesses proper- 
ties which will enable manufacturers ultimately to reuouucv 
the justly condemned and dungerous copper and arsenic 
greens. The use of tlie imperial green removes all danger 
from iuaalubrity ; it is an uaiwdpuble sul>stance, of perfect 
tfcuviity. It ia believed that tlu« property will cause tho new 
green to be adopted for printing on stuffs, and for other 
purposes. Tho oxides of chrome known up to tho preaect 
time, and generally obtained in the dry way, cannot by pul- 
verisation, attain to the degree of fioenes.^ of the imperial 
green. It m expected that this substance will have groat 
success ID oil painting, coloured papers, colours, and artificial 
Bowers, printing, lithography, perfumery, and soap manu- 
facture, as well us in the making of glass and in the ceramic 
arts. — Momtc\tT Sckniijujuc 

Alixarlne.— Mr. Martin, taking advantage of Sohiitzon 
berger'fi investigation of madder, has invunied a process for 
tranafomiing orao pro -madder, purpurine^ psoudo-purpurine, 
and lantho-purpurlne into albtarine. Tho several colouring 
matters are first dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid; 
next, powdered sine is added, and heat appliod : when the 
reaction is completed, tho mass is diluted with water; an 
abundant precipitate falls, which U the required dye; this 
after washing with water ia ready for use. 

The Ca> Inapcctorahlp for the City. — Mr. Charles 
lleiseli, F.C.S., was 00 Thursday la«t elected to tho office of 
Gas-Kxaminer to the City oT London. This gentleman is 
known from his coonoction with the Urm of Murray and 
Heath. 



[Sfif lUh Gdilloo, VoL XIX., ITo. 4B3^ paft llA j No. 464, pagM 134, 131;_Vo. 485, F«gM 136, 142.] 




Conlempora/ry Scientijic Press, 






' New .Pocket 8peetroacope.-.Mr. W. lAdd, of Beak 
Street^ Ee^nt Street, h&n inventtd a small pooket speotro. 
Bcope, wliieh i«, without eiceptioTj, the moat powerlul for 
the^izo vre have ever seen. It conBisLa of a leas, a Byotem 
of direct r'mon prisms and a fUL The Bytttem of prisms, 
eontainmfr 3 flint and 2 crown, la about f of iin ioeh long-, 
and the whole only occupius u tube obout f an inch wide 
and r J iwchea long. It shows the Fraunhofer Itnea very dta- 
Unctly, and by holdinpr a jargoon in front of the sh't we ha?e 
been able to detect the absorption bands of jargonium. 
Groat credit le duo to Mr. Ladd for this ingcuious, uaoful^ 
and very convcuieut rorut of spectroseope. 

Royal ■n«UKvUon._The foUowinp are the probablo 
arranj^tijentB for the Friday evening meetinga after 
Easter:— 

April 9.— W. B. (5arpent<»r, M.D, V.P.R.S.. Ac; "Oiithtj 
Temperattiro and A nlmal Life of the J>eep Sea " 

April 16.— W. Curruthors, Esq, F US., of the British 
Museum; "On tlio Cryptogamio Foretts of ihb Coal 
Period." 

A-pnl 23.— K, B. Tylor. Esq.; "On the Survival of 
Bavage Thought in Modern Civiliiuition." 

April 30.— Rolicrt H, Scott, Esq., of tbe Meteorological 
Office; **'0u ibo Work of the Meteorological OfHoe, Past and 
ProBent." • 

May 7. — Capt. Moncriolf ; " On the Moncrieff 8y«tein of 
Working Artillery." 

May t4.— W. H. Perkio, Esq, F.R.S.; "On the Newest 
Artitlcial Colouring Matters." 

May 2 T-— Professor II. 0. Flcemiog .Fenkin^ F.R.S. ; 
" On the Submorsioa and Recovery of Subuiaritie Cables in 
deep water." 

May 28.— J. Norman Lockyer, Esq., F.RA.S., M-R.I.^ 
" On Recent Discoveriea in Solar Physicu made by the 
Spectroficopo." 
^ June 4.— Professor Odling, F.R.S." 

The Prestdfnex or the Cbeiulcml Society— Dr 
Frankland having been nominated by tho Council lo the 
Presidency of the Society for the ensuing year, and he having 
felt him.st'lf oblig«d to dfoHno tho office, — at a subsequent 
meeting of Llouncil Dr. Williamson wai nominated instead, 
Aod n«w balloting lldls wore ordered to be cireutated among 
the Fdlows, 

Dlsrovery *>f PUIInniti In S«otl«nd._ According 
to a brief account in the Mining Jounitti, an explorer an- 
nouncea tliut, during Wma iuve&ligatiun in^o the aurtferoua 
naluTu of Scotch quarts, he hag discovered small qiiantiiie* 
of platinum associated with the gold tlicre ©Jci8«ing. The 
platinum exists in the form of small scales resembling 
silver, bijt they are not magnetic like much of the crude 
platinum found in South Amerioji. la the process employed 
the tfold was vohitiUaed by cliloriue at a bright rfd heat, 
but the j'latinuni was left unacted on by the chlorine. Fla- 
tioum is very rarely found in this country. Some ten yeani 
ago Mr W. Mallet, of Dublin, found crude plalinuoa in 
minute grains and scales associated with gold, wood, tin, 
^c, in the aurifcroivs sands of some of tho Wicklow rivem; 
about the satno time it was also said to have bef>ti met 
with on a Tarra near the mouth of the river Urr, in Buiille, 
Kirkcadhright. i'laliuum has also been found near Loch 
Carohead. 

Explosion at Parla—QD Tuesday atUmoon, the ir>ih 
March, at about 3.40 p.m., a most scrioua accident occurred 
at No. 2, Place dela Sorbonno, Paris, oti the left bunk of the 
Seine, in which premises the cellars and ground door are oc- 
cupied by M. ViTon Fontaine, manufacturing chemist, as a 
store and retail shop During the morning t^fibe above day, 
there had been delivered at that place a piircel containing 38 
kilogrammes of picmle of potash, intended to be forwarded to 
the experiment submarine torpedo manufacturing establifih- 
menC situated oq the Iste d'Aix.on the const of the D^parte> 
jnent de la Cbarente Inferieure, there to be employed in ex- 



perimeDta. It is not prec-< u what caused 

material to explode, but it i.^ > be due to 

ncas. The violence of the t.^} .>,.. wras increased 

fact that a portion of the large quantity of ether and 
stored in gtmss carboys in the otjllara of tiie preraises ott 
Vapour becotning mixed with air, in consequence of II 
breaking of the carboys by the shock of the explosiooi 
partly exploded, and, becoming inllamed, set tlie whole 
building iu a blaze. It is autUoritatiTely denied liiat ony 
picrute of potash was made on the premises; and that u«)itlier 
oitroglyceriue nnr any fulminates, nor gun-oolton, nor gun- 
powder were ever in the place at all. The ninrrufactory ift 
situated in the remote outaklrta of Paris^ iu a lonely and^ 
secluded spot 

AnUlne Grey* — The following recipe has been published 
by M. Blocli, to produce no aniline grey colour:— 1 kilo, of 
aniline at jgo'', and 5 kilos, of arsenic acid in a hqutd form 
at 75", are taken and heuted on the open Ore in a cauldron,, 
care being taken to mainUin the heal at the boiling point, 
till the substance thickens and ri«ea, when the operation is ter- 
minated and the veaitet la removed. The subsianco obtained 
prciiieu 18 a blackish appeumnce; ills thick, and insoluble in 
water. In order ti> punfy the product, about 20 litres of 
water, nud i kilo, of muriatic acid are taken and boiled wiih, 
steam for half an hour, after which the mass is filtered. Th<»ij 
matter which is deposited on the Alter Li collected, waahed 
with boiling water, and operated upon a third lime by i.^ 
small quantity of carbonate of soda io s^^ihition. so as com* 
pletely to lieutmlize the acid. Kinally, the cftllecled matter 
is dried, and givps a fin© black powder. The wluliou of < 
this product is mude by treating it with alcohol, with an addi- 
tion of 10 per cent of sulphuric acid. Noihitiig now remaint 
to be done but to filter it. With this liqoor, magnificent 
greys of ail shades are dyed, by submitting its mordant to the< 
dyeing bath. For the dyeing and tho printing of this gr^y 
colour, the matter mu-iit first be passed ihrougl) a water, 
bath, strongly acidulated with sulphuric acid. A fikein of 
silk or wool is dyed by fivo drops of this liquor,— ifom'tew; 



CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIC PRESS 



ESS.^ 

:iejtilc«l ^^1 
I th« ^H 
ptpan ^H 
portAot ^H 
Cuaiu-^H 



[Under thtft bfrMllnfr It li lak-nded to^vo th« title* of all the dienaloa 
pa|H»rs which ore nubltvhrd In tliu principal sclenllflo jterlodlcali 
OoDtf titnL Artirtu wbtch «re mertly rcprtnU or tlHitnirLi of ptpan 
b!]'«ac]v iK>lfc«dl will t>« «>(nlu«>d. A^ftnicl-s of the mort liapbrtAOt 
FiaiH>rs hen* AutiouDCOtJ will a[i{>t:iu- io fuiur* oumtMffB of Uie 

C^>mptt$ Jiendu*. D«>cemb«T 7, t86S. 

Stccni : " On torn* PeeuU^riUet of Uuf Spt-cfr<t ofSoiitr A^lu^#P- 
anoe*.'" — A. DiiMOUR : '* AnalytU of Ad<tmint/rom C\ipa iinronnM^ 
Var.** — A. KtciiK: ** IiM»arche$ on ih* AUojf* of ('fl?'^ •• •••« ' Tim.,'* 
— Bk*tmiu.ot : •' On (A« Co'mbiti^nUm of Fr*4 Sitr . */y. 

Ifnt, and oh thi» iHrfct SjfntheH* <^ H^rocyauii- . \|i>i«- 

TP«;oi : " jVoto on tkt Lunar Pfx>iuhfirancM o6««r««J ..^ ^-^ y^. riy ai 
Ad6n during Ihs JSelipt* 0/ th« Sun of A uguA v\ 1868.'* 
D«c*Dibcr 14, i)it6S. 

MfttCTiOT: ^ Onikt Applicntion of Solar Fftai aa a SvhttHvt* fitr 
Fu*t in Certain Countfi4-»."—7f mlkk^ i>k i^ Rue: »• *>?;»*« r.if/I>n4 
Of» Phwutft Ciitlm to (At Invention of n ^VrMtowf 1W/(^«'o Butlery 
«/<wt»nt*"/ ?>y <A# Author and If. J/uW*r."— Bhktiielut : •• On M« 
Foimation ot Acftylmi^. and im tome othtr J'h^noTfwnn o/tkf Ac- 
ticm of th« Klfctric SjHirk on Afartih Gatr^C. FniKni i 
Mod* of FornuiUon of Ac^i^nylbtnsin* nnd cm tff 
A> tiyUn«:''—h.'Tmi<i^'T andV. fUiTTirMiLUR; " O,. 
<f Ovtinie ^cw/."— Riniwi. and Melukr : *' On tht \ 
on Ctrtuin Sutphid**.*' 

SUann^b^riehU der KUnifflich Aiyeri»ek«n AtadsmU dtr 

§chaft4n »u Munch*n, {MathtmatUohphftibaHteh* (Jl 

November 9, tg69. 

BtTCBMini: "<9»» tt« Formation of SulpMdt of Artfnte tn' 

Citrftsf of a Ptrton Folto^nt bjf Amtniout Aaid.'^—C. Vow; •* Qn 

t/u Forntution of Fat in the AMmal Body, 

Decembar 7, 1JI6S. 

F. TON EnBRtx: " On Typical and Empirical Formulitiin Mintir* 

a2(^."— Rt-cuNRH: " i>n th* Compotitit^ of tht Blood in CtMM «A 

foUfming by Pmuic Acid:* ^ ^ 



[SagllBb SdlUoo^ 7ol. JCIX., No. 486, p«(«« 143, 143 ; No. i8«, pages 154, Ifld,] 







Patents, 




' >r]/nt1phide of Cnrhtm ioxoar^t 

-J. iJL'VKkNOT: "Ofi Pimttria 

■-iRAi:*'*: "On the Compori(i"n 

f-r'rtf,j."—0. Vkiel : •♦ On tht 

^ .0, the Alcohol* of the PnroUel 

-V. LiwjhibN; "On t/u Oxidntion of Acttie Aeidto Omatie 

W. llKfNTz: " (?M Glycocotitmliii and Difftucotamadie 

*"^j. Wi»LtcB?tr»: "Ott IA« Bt-omimittd Addition Pro- 

fi>rae*miQ Actdy—i. DMiarr; " On M« 7>(in<«/f»-m«/ru>n 

Aeid iiUo Omffbtnmoie ^cW."— N. vow i>r« Bkuo- 

IA« DUthyt EOlmt ^f a IHtaetic Acid "—Kkact: *' On 

" On t.^nnamic Acid an/:! it* Jnomfr AtrojAc Acid.'''— 

»yi t ** On iK6 fteducti&n of A&etic AnJittdt-Cd* to Ethyli,' 

**Onth* Synthtttin </ Normal Primary Woputic A Icohol 

tatioti "^-A. fillSftOU: ** ReMenrcAfM on the Trawtfortua- 

AoprttpifUo Alcohol into Butytie Akohci:' » On JaQpropyta- 



Journal fUr PraktIteAa CKtmiA Norember, 1868. 
▼AW ANKim: "-On tA4 E'^$eniidl fHl and A« Poitonou* 
of rA* lioot of tk* Cicuio vin>»iK'"—\V. L. ClajBLM : " On 
# </ Potath Manure on B^troot.'* 

Decombcr, 186S, 
'A rolum*trif\ Jf(fthi>d iff Edimating roppfr."— 
■f>ti the Cryttaliine S/)f«inniin if A ' 
trie.tvfrom Pfittch,'* *' (tn a Sjter'ittt' 
■n <^'lumb^^l.^V■. ¥. ScHONBUjf : "o , 

"I OrQiinic Sti}>etntic*».^ " Oh Vt* Trafit- 

So Nitritt>i hy t'onferVit and other Organic 

' h^ftiical Propertiee of the Seedn of Ptonte.'* 

Moid I/elicuU Teei for Ptro^ide of Uydroaen.'* •* (in the 

^ »f» €^ Ea^fMt qf Midt and BUmd ('orfnutciee towftrde th4 

C»lrg*** eoHtaintd in CampMne and in Fattjf OiU" •* On 

ihatiUmr of Aldehyde tovKtrdA Ordin'iry (Kt^fftn^^ " On th4 

*iour <^ c*rutin Organic Mature toicarde Omme.*^ 



PATENTS. 



Coa»mun!caied by Mr. Vawhtan, F (T.S., Ptttoot Afeat, 54. Chatu»ry 

Lane, W,C 

ORAIPTa OF PROVISIONAL PROTECTION FOE SIX MONTHS. 

39*3- A« 0- OiMlat. Kutv Grtlllnn, Taria. " Impr^vtrntntA bn the m»na- 
nc(ar» of tied, and In the ajipuratut cm[t1itjfd therein." — Pellilua re- 
jiOtd»a Deceraber 33^ 186S. 

37. L. Wrajr, liain««iitfl, Kent, *'xVn Improved proc«ufur oarboali- 
[ttad turdeDing wrou)(ht-lroD."— Fvbmsry 3, ifl6r>. 
;. f Bnby, CwntHrwell. Surrey. " jDiprovemonU In Iha Lrra- 
mod atiUfialiub of the wMte eulullon uf tnlplmte oflroa rmulttiis 
tbe cto&nslng of troa surfacei In the pruc«M uf ^ tiraJilsJtiK.'"— 
ebru«ry 5, 1869. 

_4l9i P. lajften, Leltb, Rcntlani), " IinpraT«n]«Qts lo the laAnnfaoturt 
•tcarto Eud oltJc »cl<l»."— A conitdutikiiUaj) JVom J. 0. A. Bock, 

bagon, Pennutfk.— February jo, 1H69. 

IL £d*»rila, bUjile loo, Holboro^ "Ao lniiproT»d preacfTed 

W. E. Newton, Chancasrj Lan«, '* Improremeuli In lh« nutnurac- 
©f exploalvo coTDpounda."— A comuiuuicatiuD from A. Kob«l, 
i8.~P«?bruary u, iS6<). 

A, H, L<wU, Feiiwick St.eet, LIvcTpook ""ImproTPiripntit in ex- 
J»e i)««ppor from lU ores/'— A comirjtmlcatton from T. ri, Ifuot, 
treat, luiit J, DtiUtflna, Jun., Quebec, Cantula —Fdirnory 15, i86y. 
469. L. N. LegraR, Wardour eirt-et, Mlil(]l«ex, " litit'iOTetnenUt fa 
ieprescrralJon and diiiinfrctlon of anfmitl and «lhi?r 6ubsUuctfa» and 
' tue Biiparatiia employt'd tb«relh/' 
?^_ d K. JlrooiDan, Pleel Street, London, •• fmproTcinenla In treat- 
UM wa(t« of wi«j1, aillc, horn, and other nllnjgtniaed animtl rnal- 
10 be twed aa maaure,"— A cnnuaunlcaiioo fruin P. Picbuilti, Or- 
i, Franre. 

I, W. E Lake. Southsirapton Buildinft*. Chancery Lane, *' An Im- 
red method rifohtiUnlrtf; Ijcuzole and Ita hoiiiuloi;oti« aubstantreafrom 
l"— A eommnnltatliju Tom H. Cant, A. Clcmm, C. CUinm, and 
ilburn, Mannbolm, Bart eo. — February 17, 1S69, 
TJ. Doraett. Londoa Street, Londoa. ** ItDpiovemcntt In nsonna 
>arnl<Jt for Iit^ntlng, ptiiottSiig, and working: melul^, and Iti fur- 
ltipli>y«d tticrfin. which Improveiuenta art< alio ajjpllcuMe lo 
and otherwbo ofierallnjj upmi mluerab and other aubfetaactfa.** 
on ri'cordfil Kebraarv i.> 1S6.J. 
T. IL Simmr.nda, Cireat Mitchell fttr<'et, la th« county of MlddlP- 
sd H B. MorrLani], Barihotomew Clixa, London, '* An lm|»iov«d 
ipoiind for gra2lMK of 'flnlsMag' tinen fDc^id paper lued in the 
LDufacture of coUun and cuflTa, aud fur other parptiBct." — February 
I 1869. 

546. T, 8. Blair. Htt^burg, Peon., U.S,A., *' luiproveraent* In the 
»|]Hilko(unr of Iron and »tcel.'''' 

548. B. J. B. MdU Pouthauipioii Balldl^r^ Middleiei, " [mproTe* 
WQtii Iq tbe loanafacture nf arllQclal atone?' — A oommunlciiUoti froca 

Monroe, Bint<in, Maaa.. L'.tii. A, —February 33, i3(xj, 
565. 8. MoJrrivd, Newton Heath, Munr-heiler, '•ImpraTcnieiitfl fn th« 
tAcoTicry of aiiii«tnDc«i awKl In tbe punflcatloa of fat for Ulumliiailon, 
and uf waato pruducta arialng tbarefrum.''^ 



566. H. Beaaemer. Queen Street Place, T " •- 1, London, '*lm- 

proTementa in tiie i'on»tfui-t1«'n and arrom.- .rLlucry, appnra- 

lua, and balldlnga cmployt'd In or for iIm n- or pio'Iuctiod 

<if caftt-iteel and n.aileab'lc iron from pljf <ii ottier carburet of Iron.*'^ 
February 13, i86q. • 

574. J. d. VflUftban, Mltr« Imthk rear Ki'DSfti Oreon, JJlddleapx, "ha* 
jiroTi'incnlain treating, ooarurLlniz. Hnd ulUlfing the tneiaiiio «4lta and 
Mtlphitrlo add C4)til.*ihied In or lUrivi-d from the n tiduiil ur wu»l« liquor* 
of tiaoed plate worka and petroleum and parufOa rvflDerlea."— Febru- 
ary 34, »86ft. 

JJS6. W, E. Newtnn. Chancery Lana, ** Improvementa io furoacea and 
tpparatna fut oxlalSaluic i^rid detulphurlting iron anrd other ure^." — A 
cominunScation fruui W. U. Iteltiuebl, Piue GrOT«, PaDD., Ud^A.— 
February 35, 186a, 
\ Sg?. J. A. F. ttnier. Hereford, and T. C. HInde, Fownhop*, ne4f 
Hereford, "ImproTenn^ula In furnno-a and In tbe ooinbuAllon of fual 
f T oMlting at4«l, and fur uther purpuaea where bifh -tcmperaturea aro 
required.'" 

598. G. J. HlnJe, Wolyerhainpton, "In !i Ui coftting Iroo 

OT at«el with Cfl|;»per or hnus*. or niher all^ ■ 

600. J. TowDund. Gla!(|row, N.li, " Imum h extracting V^A 

In rcQnInf olla and other producta fruui' riui»-riki an<l other inaterlal* 
conlalning carbon and bydrogeo, and In apparatUfr therefor." —FebrU' 
arr a6, ifeo. 

6l2i. J. Huit, Lambeth, Surrey, " A nf>w or Improved compoaiooa 
apecliiily appiicftble for use for plcioml and decurattve purpfj»ea/' 

63J, J. O. Wlllana, M. Stenhtn'i i rt-soent, radlln^on, "ImpoTe* 
tnenta lo the fnannfactBrc of iton and frtetd, mail in apparatua employed 
til erdn,'*^M arch 1. i>i69i 

637. J. Townwnd and P. Forbra. Glaapow, N.B., " ImpmvemeUta in 
reAnlnf ©r purifyluf oils and faU,"— Mareh 2. tS'jo. 

641. F. A. Oatty. Accrliiirton, Lancashire, "A certain ppiwas or 
pn>ce«aea for obtaining tht' colourlug matter of matlder audanoUiur uaa* 
fttl ptvdacl." — March 3, 1&69. 

INVENTIONS PROTECTEO FOB FIX MONTHS BY THE DE- 
POSIT OF COMPLETE Sl'IUIFICATIONB. 

67a W. E. Gedge, IVclllngtoD Street. Ftrand Wlddlcaex, *' An Im- 

(»roT«d procota and Icnproved apparatus, harin;|{ for object lo preserve 
n.113 oildation Iron shipi and metallic surract-a, ur iho^e of ctpper or 
lion with which MtJod»-ii shljis arc sheathed ; aUo appUc^tMe fur testing 
Ibe qoftlttlca and the humo^emlly of navtila."— A eoromunlcallon from 
H. iJcnuince and O. J. Berlin, Faubourg ^L Martin, Parii.— Pet) tloa 
recorded March j; ift6tj, 

71 J. H. A. Hnnjievllle, ChauiBt^d'ATilln. Paria, " A new aort of porc*- 
loli), tmd a new and Imr^ruved nroct^M. fur manufacturing tbe aama." — 
A commqnkatlun from A. Vldai, Bua Hi. ^aureur, Paris. 

NOTICED TO PROOEKD. 

3154, W. B, Geil|C«, WclUngtoa Htreet, Strand, * IroproTementa In 
the manuflKture or p^^p»ralttm of artlftcial fuel." — A communicatioo 
froi!n i>. de Ua, and A. 0. I>almu, Rue Bluiidel, Pvla.— P«titioD re* 
corded October 15, iSfiS. 

3177. E. T. Hu4;he«>, Chaneery Iadc^ "An Improved arlhwlve luly* 
«Une«/*— A. communication from J. Tolin aud A. Tutln, MuDtreuil, 
Franee.— October 17, 1SIA8. 

jjoj. G. Ctiaptuan, Gltwjo*, N,B., *' iinpMTemeDla In trpatlnf 
aewagt» ta ordar loubtain vuluablo producti tborcfroin,^' — October ao, 
18M. 

;P48. J. Bocrp, Higb nolboro, *^lBipraTem9iitatDam«ltio(,carbttrlf- 
lug, and ptn'lfyin4{ iron." 

3350, J.'Spratt, flleh llolboro, " Improved preparations of food tor 
horaes, eaUle, pima, ponUry, and cthsr daine(4|eaiiimnl»,iiu«b prepara- 
tiotia being capable t«f admixture with ootu{jOU(idA furliie prodooUoit 
of a niedic&teil fi»od fitr nmn,"— October 34, 1S6S. 

375. N. C. Sierelmey, Bcl/rnve Koiitd, rUulIco,. "Improvements In 
maitlnf tarpaulin la different coioiira. and !n trentlnx «>all-dolb and 
other fabficj to prtf-arvv thorn from rapid dettruoUou by the aea air aud 
other corroding In BueDc^."— January jij, 1S69. 

3226. C, Mttcmlllian, Sundiiland, " Iinj roveuienta in pTolecting boa 
ahlpa and other siibmerg< d tuifncrii from corrotlon and marine irrowtha, 
and la compoaltlona to be au employed."— PotStlun recorded October 

3356. A. Glraud, Gray's Inn Road, Mi^ldlesex, 'Mmprovement* In 
aeparallnc silver from argentiferoni lead, in purifybig lead, and la ap- 
paratns for the Mine/' — tictober 34. 18OS. 

3^67. P. M. « raoe, Mancbester, " An Improved eonipoand OT«lxe to 
be u»ed In tilting And dreailnK cottua yarns or cotton warps/'— October 
j6, 18&8. 

J301J. W> H. Lidded EdiDburgh, " ImprovemenU In treating all kioda 
nf pljj ikln* la tbe proctMe* ofpreparailoD, tanaitig, carr>lnc, enamel* 
llnfT, and Jiipannlng, and In titlUsIng the products. " 

3315. k, Oxknd, nymnuth, " Improvements In the treatment of orei 
atid minerals for the Miraction of tin." — Oct-dnsr 3<), 1S6S. 

3353. M. Banttvr, Ruo du. Utbauaseo d'AntIn, Paris, " IinproTemente 
in ])reparlnR and preserving vegftablv and 4atmal sobstancee."- A cora- 
rouni cation from W. O. Glltf, New York. l^.S.A.— Nuveiobor 4. iStS. 

3761. W. 8. Jaciuon, Walworth, Burrey, " An Improved method of 
tTfuiting bones and the prwlucts obtained therefrom, an aa to render 
them available for varlons nspfuTpnulur-ts," — December lo, r868. 

370. W; It. Lake, &t)uUjBm|-lf'n Bulldlnv^f'hnncefy Lane., "Improvo- 
matila in puddMng and other furaact-i empl'>y< d In the manufiustore «' 
wrought-lrun and steel/'— A cxEuoiunJcaliuQ from S. Daska, Cindnoi 
Ohio, U.^. A. —February h. 1869- 

386. W. K. LAk^ BouihumpUin BHlldln^^ Cbon«#— 

Krwved lining for puddling and other farnaeea" 
■um a Dnnki, ClnclnaaU, Ohto, U.S.A.—Februj 




[BiHfUah Edition. Vol XIX., No. 485, page IM; Wo. 484, pa^e 132; Wo, 48P, pace« 158, IM 



^66 



I^^oU^ aful Qtm^iea, 






NOTES AKD QUERIES, 



fhthftiiuf* for Whtt« L4ad—yfr. S«i(*e has cnlled attention to the 
flict that turni*l4te of bnirta fiirms an cxet-Ment white pi.Fnt. « hirh ha« 
«f (?i"^«d ft tone nnd 'leplb w white lernl, »nr| bn* the •<Ui\iit.njfe »bo»e 
Ihlft Iff not NcoonnInK blackened on rx|>osurtr to tlie ntntosphfre. ZIdq 
wbitf, whkh was tried oa a gabatitut« for white lead, ba« falludtbrciugh 
wanting body. 

Ptfrnunt Ooloura. — Among the »ery atnall number of booXs pub' 
\Uhod on th< itibject of the mnniinictnre of pKtmrtit oolorim the m'wl 
reoeat Is Ibat edited by ,|. O, Qentole, pubJlahed nt Brutuwlck, by Vie* 
*P(r ami t»on. under the title, " I^hrbiurb der Farben Fabrikatlon ; 
Ac." 186a, or Lit4'r. Thlft li a moiit uM^ful and complete treatise ualbla 
■abfect, and full of aound practical inrirrmati'id. 

Xtmovinff Cfirhonic Acid Gat /mm W>//ff.— A corrfitpondenl of 
th* Keitntljtc Am*ri':an plvei an aecount of an knpenlonjjy i'xti*mpiir- 
lB«d a^pa^alu9 for removing carbcmic acid fk-otn wf'Us. It w a? >lmnly an 
opened out and exUTidod umbrella let down and rapidly hnuled up a 
nambcr of Mmt» In succeMJoo. Tlie effMt wa* to r«inove tba %s*it\ 1 
few minutes from a well m foal aa to InaUtilly extlogulih a candl« pro- 
TtoQs to the nac of the umbrella. 

Goal AfhM.^A Beri»a of eiperlmonta conduct«d at the Ma--eam of 
Nataral History, Paria, durln? tho past year by Profeasor Naiidin. baa 
reaultediit the conoiiirlon that eoni nsboft actt noltber aa a taanur*' aor 
even a* «*rth of thp moBt inf.Ttlle quality. It i» cortaln. howevrr, that 
upon a heavy clay Ihey act as dlslnteicraton^ an elfe<?t which cnrinot 
Yery well bo only mi-chanicdl, a« a %'ury imall amuunt of c »a] aahen 
U aiiflleieDt to desrlroy ihe sdbtitlTeDeu of a large amount of clay, — 

firatturU 0/ an Alkati ITwr*— What lath* yellow eoloorlfig fnal- 
i«rln (TT'Od stronaaulpbate of »«>daf What Is the red cotonrlnR matter 
In re<l ball*? What I1 the rt-d ciilourlnj/ matter in re^l ]lq«or? What 
ta the red oolonrinK matter In ordtoAry lirdaa^h ? In utHkirvi^ a ThII adu- 
ly^ of soda aah ou»^t the soda wh»eh l» combined with the illtca ta 
be deducted from the total available fcidaf or, in other wordd, »« the 
total available aoda alTected by the prei^^nce of iiiUeat'? of ii>dnf— X. 

Df/«M ffom OcihtUa Wttd': C>rcAe«a.— " ChroiTio ' la referred to 
"Urc's Uictlonary of Aria, Maoufacturea, and Mln«->," 6th edillmi 
fartlelcs : Litman, Lichen, Orchelhi Weed, OrHo); ala<> to " WjittJ.'a 
Dictionary of Cheinbtry," vol. Iv. (artlclea: Orcein, Orrbll, Nnd olhenv); 
and lastly, for a full itcc<<ant of ihU nutter to '* 'Hieorle unl I'raila der 
Gewerhe, Hand tjnd Lehrbuchd.-r Technolotde," von l>r. John It. Waur- 
n*r. v«l Iv., pag* 470 nnd following. All tb<«e works may be loiipcL-ttfd 
tt the library of the CommiHl ner of Patrnta. 

Atinj/ /or aUvtr Qtinagt.^Thf nuthorllb't of the Mint «f Franf'O 
have been esperlmenlluefor replacing c-«{.per either parti illy or en llr*ly 
at an alloy fur the allver rolna;ee of that ctumtry, The advantavei are 
•aid to be that th« metal (alloy) Is more hriinu^neou*, ha;^ at ieaat a flnv 
whtte hiatre. and [iomiobms a clear rlnfj^ and eonakdi-rable «taat)dty. 
When toiiirhened by continued or repeated roSUng it atmealed by ainiple 
beatmir. It la leaa liable to b* bjacfcenid by Ibe salphuritted hydroeea. 
A ndalarecontiilnlnjir J<j5 part* of allrer, 93 i>r<xipp*r, and aud 73 of zlno 
la reerrmraenderl.— £>i(iriM<'#r. 

Lute jbr Corkt, — l4ufcr«<jr Itlrtel, of Leipzig, recommenda aa a luta 
for eovertnp enirka of vei.fela conUinlng volatile subrtiincei (jia fbr In- 
«ta.noe, benzin. ll^ht pt'tnjIeuiD oil, and eMcnllal olb) a mixture made 
up of finely ground ifthnrge. and cQBoentj-i*ted glycerine ; this ia nindw 
into apaat^. and Ibe c«rk»or Itungs are covered with it: tbja ntiictiire 
bardeiia very rapidly, is Insoluble In, and not at att acted upun by. th» 
•aid llqalda, and ta inexixnaire, tnaamuch ai even enarae glycerine pro- 
vided it ia cuaccntratatl, aaawera the pwr\iOM,^Dingt. Poiyt. Jour' 
naL 

Ch*mieal Ntmumclaturt^—M itrikea me that the following rale 
would be deairablu in dUemiral notnenclature, at least aa to otgaulc 
combouhda:— Tb.tt "oxide of" (or cbJorldo^ Ac ) ^hoahl alwaya be 
used where oxygen la added to the body, and '* <uid»'"' (Ac ) after the 
Dame when aaoDatltut on talit-a plaeo only, thua :—The iruu cooatttu- 
tlon would be ezpri'saed by the name (tay 0I CHU) whether alkd 
*^todlde of m<^thyl/' or ** methane jodlde"; bol It ahould rierer be call- 
ed " mnthyl ludldr," to AV'>id coofuilon. So far aa aupponed raitkalado 
Dot exiiit, unleaa In com poaltion, attention to tbia rule would do away 
with an unneccaaary a.'wumptlon, and make the aamee more eipreaaivc 
of actual knowUdgft,— IL IL 

glycerin*: iU Um» and Abutt.—TvX* and pallt itatnrated with 
f^yecrioe will not shrink and dry np, Ibe hooiu will not foil off, and 
there will be no aecenalty for keening these artlolei soaked. Buitier- 
tuba wIP keep freah and aweel, and cab be UB«d a aecond t!mo. leather 
treated with it alao remain* molat, and ia not liable to crack and break. 
U la u»ed for the extraction of perfutnc ft-om ro«o leavea and oth«r 
•eented matertala; employed to pmerva anttnal matter from decay, 
•nd therefore alao to [irerent many articlea of food fWim undergoing de- 
compoaltion ; mixed with Ita own bulk of water it la used In gatwnui" 
Ura, owing to Us reqalrinc Intenae coUl to freeze: the works of delicate 
ebronometer^, cI^h ks, and watches are lubrieateJ with It. It ti largely 
ttacd In phamiacy to keep moist and preacrv. eztrsctavpllK and other 
prcpanitlona; It la used In dyit^g AOtue of our beautiful organic colours; 
in cheinlttry it b applied to prevent ihe precipitation of the heavy metals 
by the alkaliea. and ii thua a reagent In ai aly^l9 ; It is used In brewing 
beer for making an et tract of malt, as also in the m.anufaclure.iflJqueura 
(eordiali) ; it la apidiiid to tlie preaervatlon, and no doubt to ruorw than 
Ihat, vlt.. the inaLlng of wines and chtvm|^agne. Since glyc<>rlD« can be 
fkrmented Into alcohol with chalk and cheese, tt may in future become 
ft sonnM nf aloobol and aoetlc acid. Ij^ttly, glycerine t^ the aooree r>f 
Qltntglyeerlna. a mnst daugDroua exploaive substance, and of dynainlta, 
wblcb la simply nitroglycerine mixed with sand, aad is maeb Icis d«a- 



gerouit tbau ullriiglycorlae, and nearly as deatraclive In Its effeistA, aa 

conUdna 76 jK-r cent of nitroglycerine. --.jl6ireeia<[ee//rtfM» tKe Stii*nt(-t^ 
Jlc Amfrirnn, 

--fiifYif^rtl .ViZi- — Itesulla of anatysea o''- t„ 

■ \c\ of Tllk, prepared at ^.liani. near l. ] 

A Ur. Bulley, loopaita uf the conceatrai 



Biilier (fatty matter) , . ^$7 

Caaelnc beuI lauto-prulelaa ..ij/jy 

Bugar of mtllc 10 Sa 

Caotf sugar ^a^lded prerl<»ua to be^j^imlnc I'm operation 

ol cfuiivntratioo). ,*.,. .40 49 

M)n<>ral niatler... ««....,.........r">* ••• «'<! 

Water , ^ ,. 1413 



If we de()aet the quantity of water and that of the cane sugar, tbera 
rfmalns 35- j<j per cent for the conatitoenia of really dry milk. Since the 
dry matter of gowl cow'a miJk contains, according to aa aTwiige nf 
(our amdyacB made at Cham by l>r. Bolley, 



Butter (fjitly matter), 
Piotrlnrt aiibaturtcos.. 

8u/ar of milk , 

Mineral matter...... 



.-. 3'95 

... 4'3«» 

... 4-60 

... 07J 



the 



It follows that }6t grammea of ibis milk enntaln •• tunch drr S'^Hd 
ter as roo grammes of the cuticentrated milk,— ,ii*f/*«if <•<» /rwffli Ci 
trtrbtbtatt, dlt\,/ar £ay4rn. 

Guano of ifeaUlonn contains, •oeortllnfj to Bobterre's analyses^ 
per cebtuf pboaphorlc add, equal to 71/5 percent of trlbaalc pboepb 
of lime. 

SiJiiattd niidrog^n.—Y.T. Freblel bai Jnat diaeovered that Iblacs 
Is entirely decomposed by the electric npark, eivlng rl»* In Iha tudl 
meter to a ahower ofarnorphuUH aitlcluin of a town . oImut. 

>'i&Wfi <^ JUmkIv— Acc«rdlng to M»«ra. B* 
tranc4 denominated flbrln of bUwd is only .^ i 
by the microxymaa of tbe blood aMoclaled l: „ , , < 

stance accreted by them by means of the albutuuuoid *uti«lAbC4!a oi 

lloOil. 

Aniline S^kjA-.— "New Berne" ia referred for tliia matter to thft' 
runi«io*L Nkwb, Aneust, i^^O [f^no. Sti.), p. 59, and to tbf volumea of 
El'-ner's C3'i#rMMcA r*<'A«tV'Ae Mitthfitti"ae^.l>^t>Wht6 aniiuatiy alnc* 
1^461, all of which may be in*pcLknl at the free lil>rary of the Commla- 
slonera of PaTcnta. 

Prettrvtition of llydrtodie Aeid.~-'T\\\s add b kept and pm[»erly 

f •reserved in a«rliile slate \ii the preaence of luniini!* of t 
odlde of ropjter which U alowiy formed is not itt'S'lved 
hydriodlc add which hiia b«como bruwE-colored » lii be ri 
pure color wbt-n abakew up wUb ooppar turulnga.— /toui*L . 

Aniline BlttfJc for rol/on.— ••New Berne*' enqnirei In the "^Ki 
and Queries" whether there Is an aullin* bli»ck for cotton. Tb 
aniline salt used in thh district by many calico-prlntrr» which, 
with an oxidising paate made on pnqvwa fur it, produced a bl 
g|.>ered the be«t out If your cotrv*i.ondcnt will apply to fi 
OfBre, Manchester, be can learn all about it, 

Atomio Wti(/ht of fMnihanum.—M ZschieJcbe has prepared 
phnta of laQthanum of such a purity tiiat a Udcknea-. of if c.'.tiiuL-tt*»i 
of a saturated solution gave no trace of the ab'orp^^ ' 

diilymlum. Wurkmg on this, he baa fonnd the atomtc ^ 
thanuin to be, from a mean of alx experlfnenta, 45*09. 1 „ 
wore 44 7 J and 45^25.— yf>«rn. d* Chim, Frot. 

PUsrate ofQutftifU ha» been tiled, according to the RetU* UanMi 
tt CUoninU. \n the French Navy and some Fru^ fi •■ lU 
Aata and Africa where a peculiar kind uf a;{iie waa \ 
not been found l<> answer at all well, aa tt affect*, tlr 
besides IblS' picric add, althouch Intenaely bitter 1 .... .... _ - w 

con.sliIered not to po^ai-M any inedlolnal propertlea »i«ii,h *ouid reader 
il peculiarly valuable ; it* internal use tingt^s the ekin yeliow. 

>tctaon of A^wi R«(;ia on Sulphur— Mr. h»^f.»rt haa aUdlrd 
action of aqua regia npon sulphur and lutplinr ores; be ntuda that 
flrat there ia a oblorlde of ■nlpbur forBoed by tlte dlaengaged cfal 
bnt soon after tihis eompoand la acaln deatroyed by ti^e action of 
nUHo acid, and chlorino is #01 free, while »ulphurlr. acid ti 
L«fort finds that the best proportion of the mixed iicids mD>t atiltal 
fo- the rapid oxidation of aulphur la i part of bydrtwrhloric and j 
nitric addjK precisely the rercrsod pro|K>nluu as uawd for ordinary aquA 
recta. 

JIfr. Sor^if't MMearehta on Diamovd^.^yir- &orby flnda that 
supp^ned cftTltles in diamondad.*acrlbed fay Brew»t*r are In reality 
Dlo«ed crvktals, and tbe eonrlualon arrived at frotn ibi* coniJderal 
nf tbe whole struetura of tbe diamoQ»1 Ia not oppoMd tt> Ita hiivUtg t 
formed at high temperature. I'he crystals enciO"<-d In dUmonda 
freguenily «e^a u* be mirroundi-d by a aerlea of fin* radlatln;; vrmc 
which are proved to hare been the result of tbe eontraotion auffei 
by the difkmond In lolMlfylng over the cncK>se(t crvAial, and tbta ex- 
rlanftllon baa hwti artillrially verified by exaiijlnlng cryauila formed In 
fnsed globules of borax gIas^ cooled slowly, wban the same pbcnomasft 
ar« secn. 

Anaay nf Gold ^nrfa.— First let the rack contalninn groti be 
roasted at a r«d heat, aa la practlaed with regard U» flints Inlnndad fn 
pottery-ware QiaDufaciure; this roMtlnf randrn U easy Ui brea^ 



■14 UB 

■ 



ISngU^ edition, VoL SIX-, No, 463, p«c«a 119, 120 ; Ko. 484, pags ISXJ 





where 



atletyf.\' - li.iil pk'crs. In ih\a atata tho rock shonlJ bo 

In ft riirnre (flre-claj) tube fixinlln a fiirniacc In a 

srsirtK iij^u OrL-oUy n-toVu used In Lho ra3inuri4.ctureor 

pA (drtObl* j-*lorU), ..jicH at b'ilb ends and pfjeotlng bi'j'Otid llio rarna£« 
each «Bd; Ihr lieat In ttie lutorior of the tube ^lionM bo bright 
. -red. Jf, under thp»eclronmstkncov » current of chlorine iTmn h« 
pu4«d through tbe rrVjrt, the gtjlil contaiofd in tho rork will combloe 
«tthc high tem;»er-ttur« with the chlorine, and bocotn« volatile tb«r«- 
wiUjL, «herca« at lUe |»lace wtit're ihv bt-at of ibe tub« or rdtorl l* It-ai- 
btgh, th« chloride of gvld wUl become kgaln (lecoiiiiK>i«d and guld dc- 
I>-'--Urd, 

Hi// Stmm IffnHt CombwttibU .<»w?>t^Tne<f*f— Thlf-cnrlonsjjawtlon 
la dJBk-iuaed io a r^ci-nt nunibcr of the Scientijio Anieritmn. It !■ urgoij 
lliat ■■ tlw hiiat (;0n«<rat«d by a hydracarbon in eombjpalliin wUh a 
combuatib)* ftbro wJll (froduce cambufiliuci, und as a fllirout toalerial 
■atqraUHl «hh oil will il iixp^^Bfd to lite »iinfB raya, biii-«t Into fljuao. It 
Adlows thai H f;r«nt«r degrre uf heat, whether produced br stentn or any 
iKher a.;<'ni.y, inay produce like reMilta. After nu-nti»nlnff the In- 
flamm. ti acq aired by wood through whkh aAt«Jua-pipe baa 

Uetn J tiiuked that eirwry ^nicbetT tif iunie enperlcace imd 

e)*«e > .[iow» tbat ft is posbible to l|{nlle c'oriibaHlbte or In- 

r« by the direct imr>iuMor Mvam. Cafca are on record 
i4 li^nStod by cDcapliig ateam, and, a» an evpfrimetit, 
ou-an'o t waJte and dry pine wcHsd taVf* bci-n liRht'd by 

Iha ^l***!!} frtmi u l-oiler at a dUtanceof i a feet, the preeaure of the aleaiti 
bfin; at the lime ooly ^5 lbs., and the temperature of the ateutii, In- 
il'lc the boiler, not at la feet dlaUnce thorenf, ^^5* F. ; lhi> Biaterjal 
bnrat into Aame in a few miouteB, I wltnesaed many yean ajto a Ciiae' 
where a quantity of racinn. Lt., madder ro^>t nor yet :^ouQd, tw\\k rir* 
almpljr by bfing heitted up to abool 210° T. by meana of the vsmU tx- 
kauat ateatn frura a smull hlith-preaaiire htfam-enftine bi-ing toudo to 

Kie tbruiigh a tvcriea of pip<>9, ab>'Te which tb» raolnet wai* ftlaccd on aq 
n |tniiir»g In :i lay.r Mime 4 incJie* In Ihlckne^*. — I>r. A. A, 
Carltolie }■ larl, an Italian cbemlal, bm lfiT»>nted a Itind 

©f pttpcr wf, i^lr] ii «o. tb -rouxhiy lH€nrpi>rat*Hi that the 

I*pf r, M ti<::i ,. animal aub^'tanceri therein, prceervea tiicaatotf 

i!".- w:t].i<ul salt or any curing' whnteTer. 
''Cf. — In the obituary notice of lS;iron von Rpfeh(<nbach, 
i "L ilx. {Am. litpr,^ Hftireh, |,V^ puffe i6j). of tlie Cmkmi- 

c»L Nkwmi it la stated he ba% ini'C!>tlarat«d the •Upp<t»e4 new i>dv(io 
force Caa any €»f your (tub*cHb«ui g\y« a li*t of bla wrilinira nn \hK 
•ubjict, *^'r lhfi(!«* of ftr»y other Buihor who haa written un the aame aub- 
J<'Ci in French. Oemian. or Enirll'*h? 

"f »nme Stte Protiucta Ohtain^d from Amtrican PHroltum. — 
Lef-l-vre baa found ilierein u sub>Unce which boUa at 13* C, and the 
eomp«-.ttl«in of which la eiprew?d by Cr,\U ; the npfdnc ktbvUv i.f this 
Hqttid la o 6rv the vapor dentity b r6a; with bydroclil'irlc aclil it forrna 

Eroprl eblorhydric ether. The realdue of the rfOtlOealion of these 
Snda of i^rlruleum >b-lded hydride of butyl, t^lliy, which boto at o* 
(.., and h'.i» a >piciflc s:ravUy of 0OJ4. 

Vitnttlin4.—yLT. (iobtey haa Inrtltnled ri'»earc1ifs concemluif tfaa 
odorlfenma principle of kbtiIIIb. He fonnd a aubntanee thcrelo which 
cryatalll»7a in loni; roloarlesn needle:*; tr> t1 e toate tida anbtt'tDoe wan 
aromatic and hot ; it do4*a not atTt'ct l|Lma« papxr, fu^e* at 70^ C^ vola* 
tfllae* at i^J^ C, 1* aeiirlp In^jfuiile In cold, auiiicwhat more aoiublfl la 
kai w«ter, and vi>ry »ol(ibie In alroiiol, cUut, and volatile as well m 
fUtf oUa. Ita comp-jaldi^n la expresaeri by C«l(aoi. Oobley oalIi» H 
taniUine. 

Action of Rent or0l\irtaric Ac(d.—T>T. Baee hna heated tartaric add 
\n % Urge tclaa; retort, taitinjr cjiro that n<»t a partic'p of tbe acid ww 
I orer mecboniaJly darjoit tJie prooesa of distillation H*i ob 
la tbe receiver a very ftcl'1,ni«arlycoluur!ci!*. very niobite liqnld, 
tamed out to b« acetic neld ; there wna l-'ftjn the ratort a car- 
e mnaa, widle carbonic acid wan e'lven oflT. Aecordln^ to the 
b (Kiaiible that tartaric actd i* a double add made up of oxalic 
caclda. 

ry/.— Would you be pooj enough t"> inform me what ia tho 

'wid propertle?! of **hydrr»xvl t '^ Tlila aitliitanco ta one with 

ktididati-4 In the eotnlns exatnlnntlnn of the Hepartment of 

fe and Art are expccled to be acqiDilnteJ with. I for ono neTer 

of It before, nnd a i<:eaich I hnre madt^ tii And It oven uteutioni'd 

richer Watta'a" Dictionary "or In Mlller'jiand Roscoea book» h4« been 

luece^sful. 

[llrdrKiyi ta another name for peroii<le ofhydrogrcn. ft la aiippoied 
' oa a coraiKiuud radical, equivalent to thti a'.mple radical chlortuo. 

C A*.] 

fiiug Orten Wood.^K new method fnr dryinpr green wood in a 

tlmo connbta In l>olI]njr tt f<ir aomn bourt in water, then teairtnir 

cool, n«'Xt Iridllng It In an aqueous aolnll'm of bonis, whereby the 

}luble albumen of the wrmii ia rendered soluble and eicnpoa fbvm tta 

pft, TbH w.mmI \» then dried in ehsmheri heated by steam, and left 

for three (iays. Wood «) trealwf la more Oomj)iiol than It would 

Lir (en year*' expoiure to air; It Is f;ir more acfiupe ajniloat decay, 

r» not fhrlnk nor wtirp, and la more easily polished on art'onnt itf iu 

ring obtained bv thdi treatment a more dena{> atrueiuro — i?(»i(/der. 

<A« Solnhlt Htjdrati'» of C>irbon m^t vrith in Fruit*.— C^tm- 
litle aa^orta th it the aaccharme materlala met with rejtdy formed in 
IUl and al*.t ihe »ub8tanc<'9 which are Aapabic "f becornfnf aaccha- 
caatter, are far tnore varied than ta naiully aiipposed ; in melons and 
Commaltic, while toating tbe jaioe of theaa fru'ta at direra 
uf maturity and devehpment, fnand aometlajei ftiireharlne »ub- 
JfeapabJe of left-handed pnlart-taikin, aoroeltmea aubttaneea en- 
''vltli riKht harid<>d polar) antiori, wanietlmea he fnund leviillne, 
olh. r (Inkcs substance* aa yet either entirely unknown or Imper- 
•1««>-r1b<'d ; he cotn4*B to the oonclaalon that tbo varlooacubstaQoea 
tt with In n'uita are aJwa/a la a atate of abange. 
jPM(Mff«0r iTt^MMf— Will OQO of your nam«rottJ reader* tteao 



LEngUah Edition, VoL ZIX, No. 48i, psf 



klod la to lafonn me which It the jHttUHt and wbl'^li (he ntgaitv* end 
of a volt^dc battery f Miller, In vol. I., p. 577, pays Ihe zlneodtt in the 
aame an the anode, or poaltlrc polo, and that here we hav e O, ft, and 
add^ which therefore must be eJectro-nogjiiilT.a. J be plutlfn.dr b aald 
to be the auiuo ^ the cathode or ue^ntive pole, and thtit here we get H, 
melaJa and the alkall«« (electru-poaitlvea). In Lardner'a " Htindltook 
of Klcctriclty," edited by Koatcr, p. 104, lite zinc en^l Ih marked nepitlve, 
and the copper posftlve. Oanot, in his *' Physique," 7tb edition,' tS^y, 

[K 5<^, aaya, ^Le polai poaitive eat toujoura Ji i'extremii<$ vera laquello 
es line do chaque couple aont tourn^s; el le jmjIb negailf A I'exlr »nll^ 
vera iaquelJe aonb toQm<*a totlv lea caivres/* All Ibia la sunioN-ntly 
puiiling, but on referring to an old edlUr^Q of OoMing Bird (1^54^ p. 
.141, he aaya that both O and 11, together with N, B. I*, CI, t^tc . are clee- 
trn-negatlTo elemente [f O in given ont at one end, and II at tbe 
filher, how can tbey both be electro-negaltvef Aealn, he aaya (p 344^, 
'^' the poillire current pa»*ea/"twn. the coptier to Ibe ilftc plate." Other 
Wrltera ««y exaoily the reverae. If uny one would put UUa matter In a 
clear light, the me<i(cai atudeata of ibis country ought to vole him (t 
don't say thej will) a piece of niate < not electro^.— A MKnioALSTrnKJir. 
€hn 8om4 afth* Change* PttC'T»fl Undergo*^ wAeia Ifatit^dL—Dr. K. 
Hiehter recorda ao«oe eurtoaa phenomena coneerniDjf coal when «ub- 
mhted fur »ome time to beat He took coal, reduced it to powder, aud 
dried tt in tho cold over aidpimrk add, until H ceasf-d to \<mt weisrbt; 
the coal was then heated to a lemperatore of from iSo" to 300* I', ; after 
baring Inteo itibtnitted to tbia heat, even for a abort Utne. an Inorttfufeof 
Weight wat found to hnre taken place; thia Increaao In weight waa ob- 
aervtd to go on natil, after twenty houra. It reiched its mnximiun, &ine^. 
if tbe heating were conltnaed after that time, a decrraae of we^^hl waa 
obacrved. Ihe coal, the weight of which had increased, waa lound to 
differ from tbe co*l originally taken tn the rolk'wingparticMlarar—tta out- 
ward pbytpfcal onpejirance ia not perceptibly altered, I'Ut I' bM increnaed 
la apttokHo gravity, Ita chemical comp<«ltion ia change'i, it behitvea io » 
peenllur inaunur when coked in a covered cruolbto, and It baa oblalfood 
iocreaaed faculty of attracting water frt'in ih« air. Even when tbe coal 
Ortglnnlly taken and dried under a deaiccator belonged to the caking 
coal*, after heuting It *io«'a not cake any loti^er. but behave-* as a noo- 
cnklnc coal when ignited to a cloae cruiible. When ^ubmitted to de- 
etructlve diatlllallou, tbe drat product whic.h cornea over Into the 
rec{>iver showa, in a very remnrkable degree, a reddenlngof bine lilmiie 
paper, white no lar (a produced at all. When a tn^aRiineaor the pre- 
viotialy heated (to jSo'^ or x»°) coal were left expoaed on a watch gfoas. 
eveo to ft rather dry Btm<rftphere, it waa found thai, afler fourieen and 
thlrty-eix boon' exposure, the laereaae in wekht waa respectively yi 
per cent and 4 S (kt cent; wht-n expoaed in a dryiu|r alove to a teu- 
porature of 105" C. tor a quarter of nn hour, the urlginul weit;ht waa 
reatored agalo. Aa regarda Ihe chemical comp'-sition. it waa >ib»erv«d 
that the previooaly heated eoel dllTered from that dried under tlte dealo- 
cai^or by a b>as of carbon atxl hydrogen arifl an increnae of iixygen and 
nltrotten.— jlfrWrfj/erf from the Itevitcht Industri* Zeitvng. ' 

Prsuerration o/i/e/rf.— Aceordlng to Marebal de t.»lvj, nteat mny b* 
Jtept in a freah slat* and without rUk of pulrefncllon by beliie placed 
for some fifteen ^ir twenty minutes uzMier a bell Jar wherein aulpburbaA 
been rall^r'-d to burn. 

Aetion cf Iltal on Zir<fon».— lletVinf\iKt^{CJii>micalG'^at:U*, 1R4T, 
vol. T,, p. 96) noticed that xircoua Increased in density by being heatea^ 
the cliaage being accoropaniod by phrt*phore«eenee aud a pi-rmaneirt 
lightening of color. Prevloua to ignition the cry&tala {ioeae«t«d the 
ap«c(fic gravity 4'6t.5. and after Ignition 4710. 

Sf^p'tritUan of Zino ami Copper.— M. Q. 0. Wlttateln wrilei, In hli 
Revv* 7Vinu»tr., that for thw aeparutlon nf xinc frfim copper the treat- 
ment of iheaulphldos with dilute anipburio acfdmiay be applleil, being 
tba toeibod pointed out by Dr. Hofmatm for aepuratlug cadmium froni 
copj>er, 

Antlins Gresn.-W ^^ stated that Dr. Hofmann and Mr, Charle« 
(itrard at Berlin have aucceBfifulty obtained pure aidline grrflti, which 
green H only di«ilnj£utalud from the aniline violet by the elenii nta of 
iodide of methyl, «o that the TioUt can be readily converted Into tho 
^^rei-n. and the green into tbe t\Q\vX^^M<fHit*ur Scieittijtqu». 

Oitrdenin Oranili ffvnt. -Ctn hny of your corrcnpoodenta inform 
me through (he medium of Notes and Queries where a amall quanlit/ 
of the aeed of Gardenia ffrand{flora cnld be procured ft^r experi- 
mental purj>o*ea? What would be the beat mcana of briotdoff into 
notloe a maJiod for linproflng I'VW, groeniah qualltlea of LadigoT— 

ClfROMO. 

Oil from th« Curcrt* Pvrgant has been Investigated by DaSIIra, 
who atatea that It famLahed him a amall qaantity of uctyiic alcohol^ and 
that it yielda aa mucb a^i bio per cent of nitrogen. The Oarvtta pur- 
gan4 it an taphorbiaeeoua plant, wblcb rirnish««s a kind of caator oil ; 
It growa iu many jrarta of Africa, and eapeclally In tbe Capo de Venl 
IktandA. 

DtMuIpKurMnQ CVwi/-— Meaara. Grandldier and Mareel hnYo lo« 
vented an apparatua for decomposing, by means of tbe cxinblned 
agency of heat and eompresaed air. <»r heat and high pressure cteant, 
the aulphnreta of ]r<<n cimtalned In orea, ruat, and alao coke. The aal- 
phur oxidised compictely, without afTeclIng the good quolllies of coal or 
other material tahmltied to the action of thia procets. 

Ii^u0nce of Prti^ur* on Cfiemicai Action — Acconllna to experl- 
oieott aod obeervatlona made by < ftllletot, the atr \>Tt,ptrif 

mixed wflh water oeoae to exercise any aolvent ' Iseogage 

hydm^n g«a hrom Iron, tin. atnc, olimlnlum, ir , roo (aul- 

1)huretted hydr«>t:en iraa), when a atrong preasiire is n.xtlc lo exerotae 
ta fnfluenoo within the ecasel whcrvia the chemical aeUon 1:1 taklof 
place. 

New Freezing Jfiwtw^—^ »»••'« »>i'** -"^hier ■ appear* 

to ma of oon»lderr*»'» ' -' ' iseU oar* 

boMtoof a<M* ' •into* 

putf-ar* ''fTita 




[nawers 



of the substances Krn orcd. Ihe temptruture fallii from 60** F. to S^ F. Tb« 
mixture, for a lime, 1« full «>r air but)blt«, but ■<x>n bi-coinra aclc>Ar, 
dvoae, tyrupy fluid. Tlic tvm caa«a Lu wbicb 4ry hillda act an eacli 
g(h«r al'irdfiiary UmporMCareft giTo a vaJu« to eacb addklooali liivtaDct). 

Cem«rU to Rtf*iti Rtd Iff at and Boiling WaUr— To (qut ct tvt 

fiortaof clay, tbori»ugblj dri^d aod pulrerlEcd, add two pai-ta of Sue 
run Allngi fr«e frooi oxide, on<' part of poroxlrte of m«Djnin«W'> one- 
balf of cwitiiiwn nit, and Lum-balf uf borjii; mingle thoruorhly; render 
aaQiieufl |Kjisa(bIe; then rt>dure to a tblck pa«t« ki\Ui im neceiurv 

auantlty of i^aler, uiIxidk tburoiighlv will. It uiu»t be uied Imme- 
Uti'ly. AfUT applkallun it »bould be ripos^d t*) warrnth. pcradually 
IncroashiR altnoH 10 a whlJe h<>'at. Tbis Mtni'iit Is rer)- bard, and pre- 
aent) conip1et« ri>«[HLaiiCf alike to a ri?d beat and bi>tling water. 

AnotK4>r Ct:m*rit. — To uuujd parta of •lttc>i ptTOXide of iu«ngan*te 
tod w«i) pulvcrlud sloe wnlte add a anftid^Qt qiianlllj of romuierclol 
aoluble iflaa* to form a thin ptuitc. Thi» tntxture. whtn uifd InimedS- 
atcly, forma a cern«at quite equal Id liardneaa and reaiitauco to tbat 
obtained bv tika firtt m<:V\>o*l.—MutUr fur Gtw&rbe. 

Chemical Xom^jnilaturt^—h ttrikca m^ that " IL H." Iiaa not clearly 
eSi>rc«Atid what bo iDrana. I'be well-kbOMra cbartcter of oi^nlo radl* 
c*U baa t>co(i »u abuiidaotly c4tabU>bed, and to aiany bave bean biiiaV d 
in aiib«<.'qucnt corroboration of tlieir nonicnclaturc, tbat |>crtiaii* it 
would be unwl*u to compllcnte a 6tructure atn-ady fjir loo cunibron*; 
bat tbera are oxy*, cbloru-, »ta., carbydrotrea comMDatiooa vrbich 1 
would luirii'eBt bare been ^'atly ciiufuicd and miauodcrstood by 
tuodera chemUta in trratlng ibrm aa ozideJk idilorldti, etc. That we 
bare an oxide or bbioxide of (OjH*) or (CiUi> fu tbe ncnue tbat wo 
have nldft'j of etbyle or metbyte, or Ibat ih6t9 to-oalli^d dbitomlc 
radlcala can rt-place tUbur tl or ill ii wbat I would inuat ■Iruugly baU 
\» quieation,— S. K, P. 

AMrndK f{f Patchouli, eltbrr wbrn left to Itaelf or wben treated witb 
debydrtkiltig sub»l;incvi, yleblB a camphor wblcb 1» a black ci>lou red 
aolid ant)iktnnce, and baa a composition wblcb b t^omcrlo wUh tb« 
eaaence; Ita composition la rrpraunted by CjoHtA, ft incite nt b<'tw«rn 
54* and 55* C, and boll* at ^96"; density si 1*051 at 45" C. Vapour 
(iMnitkiy at ■^3^'* ,-, sco. WLen cstciice of ratchouU it healed up to 
ffoin 3?3* to a^i*. It Is entirely onuverU'd into thU camphor, wbtob la, 
Quwrvover, boiiioL^ouR wlUi oitrnao camphor. 

Paraffin.— \>r r,«ll.y baa found iliat parafRn (a pur<» WJtifd« of 
wbtcb tiavtng Ita melilnR puint at 33" C, and which on analyi^b woa 
found to Contain Id too parta— C, 85-61; II, 14*69), after baring l>epn 
kept for vijfbt dayii at a temperature of 150 C., had become a browijlF-fa 
juaiy maaa. A portion tlu'raof wjia toluble In nkoboL, and wna unaltert-d 
IXiraAln« but ibe dark-coloured resldne vlt'ldiM) on ana1y«^s C, 70-04; H, 
io-a5; O, i9'7a- -A. sample of paniOln which bad been kept for aooia 
time at 3130", gar*; off vapiur^ nc bdng afttsrwarda a^ain liealed np to 
t«o*. TaralDu la, in all probability, a mlttiirt- of varioua bydrocarbon3>, 
ftl) of whleb liare raryltisr melting and buUIng polnta. 

WUdinQ Coputr.—th^ pr*al obatacle biUicrtt* experienced In 
waldkn^ cop[)«r Eas been that tbe oxide formt'd U not fuitble. Mr. P. 
Rnsl, Btartlnt; from the well known fact, thst llb«ilbenltc and pl>eadn<^ 
Qialacbiie (t>oth Dative comnouudji of copp.er and p}iaa[>lkorlo a«ld) art 
rery readily fualble before ibo blowplp*, cuQoiuded. that atiy aatt con* 
talnin; free |:>lK<ipiborlc acid or cafiable of yielding It at red beat 
would make tlie weld eoay l>y remorlng tbt o>xld« aa a foible |J«g. A 
first trltil waa m>ide with microcoAmlc salt (pboairhate of eoda and 
Mnmnnlfl) and aaooecded perfectly; iia that salt, homwer, ti nUbir 
ezpeoiilve, btf aubstitoteil ibr It a ndxttirt» of one part of phosphate of 
soda, and two i)artaof borax, which aoiwera the purpo««, altbougb Lb» 
alae formed Is not so fittibla. — AbbnxUiff^i frovn IMiiffl. i/iaum, 

PtHUin or Kfgii:ivtr—\ »<ib*cribrr to the {'nKMir«L Naw« 
deeply Fytnpatbl^ea with "A Medic»l t^tudent.^' There li nn dnubt 
tbat our Rianunis on chomlstry and eleetrieltr are rery confuaed, 
but they art* all right frnm dffferi'ni tiAints of view— except all the 
noniriu* about nocaiivc II, byclriictd», etc, which Is Intenaely abanrd, 
lie abould try and Uioater tlte e»<«>enlijil pbi|oM>pliy of battery actina, 
luid be indrpundcnt of auch {litlful K'tidea. Eai-b end of the batt^rry 
■«tlnn baa two pnlea— hartntj reference to Ibe fluid half, or to lite 
inetillle (wire) half of the clrciilL Take tbe zitic end — ItlapoaiUre 
Inwards to the lluld, ther«»fore attrncti and conitdtn'B with oxyicen ; 
ontwards it la oeiCAttva, and Rlvea ott tbe electricity. Take the copper, 
platinum, or cnrboo emK-it In ncirat{T>> inwordi* to the fluid, and 
oUraota. eomblnea witb. or liberates tbe positive bydroEcn, while otit- 
wwrda It lanosltlve. The proof conitf>t« in lb!-;— That if you in«<»rt 
a d«com;K«ltIon cell (of wat<<r) in the metallic half of the circuit, ft la 
la given off towards tbe ncf^atlve «r tino poli<, wb'le O \» pcifen olF 
towards the other end. Or. If ole<-tro pbiil«»E bv tbu object in rit'W, tlwa 
C'pper is attracted or prt-cipluted lownrdi the n.'ciitlve ur rlrvc pole, 
while the copper plate Id coDn«iCtl<n with tho fx^lttveeckd of the battery 
b oxldiacd to replcnlab tbe toluliva. Ihe anbjrct b both idrnple aud 
ooBiplcx. and much more mlRbt be said. Tli« que^tIon whether tbe 
aurreiii rmMcs from the oopjicr to ihe zinc plate ([which way?) U a 
pDXzle which needs, ventllatloo — but more anoo. CHKNictraL 

Ifydri*xj;l.— I'o»iliv« or Jt'tgntive f— Iljdroxyl la to b* lotjnd In tbe 
B«w edition of Miller, p. 357 ; and in fownee' n*w edition, p. ?<». How. 
may I n>k yotl, are wc to recondle the forruub of Fownca <0H) with 
Vbe formula far tbe peroxide of bydroiian (llvf^'). in the tiieory that 
bydroxyl and peroxide of II are one and the aarac ? "Medical 
Rodent '^ may bo certidn that there b no reul difference of opinion aa 
to (be poles of a battery ; tbe conductor from the sine is tbe neiratlve 
jk>l«.Troin the eopp4>r the poiUlve. The rarlou* ni'>de« of exoreaaion 
adopted by author* hare for object, cither to aet forth more clearly th(« 
recoivflJ opinloua, or to coaroy more correct nutlona. There arl^c^t 
f^om tliCAi* rarloua views an apparent cootradietioo at llmea, Bot the 
atudttnt will aruld eonfusion of Ideas by mcaas of one or more of the 
Ibllowlog rule*:— tit See whether there Is queattoa of lb« InterDal or 



external part of the ruHaic drcult. What oeenrt Instde tha battery 
as to the •■►-called current, the oppofllt« of what occurs ontalda <n ( 
coniluclors. ad. Obierre If the author ia ^peaVlne of the ntetab Id thi 
Unttcry. These may be called porUirf and '• ^ "od eoppert, 

but tliclr conductnra are ncg-atlve (ilnci and [ 'D; the posi- 

tive mttrtl if the poiltlve end of Iha battery, ( negative pule 

y\. Kxamlne the U xl htjA c«nlcxt, ami, If'poMlblc^ ft*:ure to the mind, 
uiechanlcally. what b itated : thus, e.g., \a Oaoot's word*, imagine the 
lino looking: at the cofiper— It I,^* lookinir at Ihe positive pole, Afain, 
ItitU* lower down, in tbe text of Goldinp Blrl, an explanation Ii (flf'i 
the tables of netnttlrc and po^ltl;rc metab, which explanation clears 
dlfllculty.— E, KaHWAW, UIoD{;owcs, March 32, 1869. 



^ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

yoTICK.— Tht Amfriran Puhfi»hfr» p.-'Trf CiiFVir^i Xnv* 0^' 
itatic« tMi in aci-ordiJH.cs vith ,t • «. ; \ 

Kilitor and Proprietor of t/i* E'>i. 
pUfTttft to rfr*\rf mill ^tririirft ( 

p»bli<^itio • Amfficft, / ' 

and Qi^tr i\tr-r0*p<Mi i 

reply, Th , . so/ conimn ' 

tf<^ <Ai'e V^t-p iieairuitU to all pertona 
I**!* to eortUr with htnK Adtirrn 

W. A. TOWNSESD A ADAMS, 

434 BroiftiM Street^ Ktw Yo>tt. 



Ui* UfUUd SUtU* v^h» 



S. C. <^.— W« will make InquHes, 



A Subscriber who Inquired for 



So<ip-Tiift.'i)t Stttinpinq VucAifi*.— , 
aNove la inf<ouied that Messrs, W. N*-ill »rid Son, Kfi|?ineer-. B"ld, 
Helen's diinctloin, manufuciure a patent iteaiu-power eOB|j tubletata,m: 
Inc machine. 

li'tjt'ner.—h hns niready been recorded that the heat of steam wUl 
Itraltc Some rearlilv combustible aoltftancea, oarieolally after they har^ 
become rery dry, " Tub b ao wall known in so jar worli^ that J-tes 
ptpe^ whirerer they come near wood work, arc always enrelopcd wl 
ftbe«t bad, fett, nnd a wutKbn ciae contaloltifr ashes, peat aeh In pr'rfc 
ence. Snricua Ores bare been oucaitioaed in oil aud p«I>er mllb ' 
steam heat, 

/tjrf/tfny.— With ihb number (4«Js, Eng. Ed.)\s given a sefiar 
cheet contalbirta a portrait of the late I'rufeiaur Faraday and a /t 
Mimile aotoprapD. 

O. Jf. OgetoH.—yiewrA. Reea and Ct^t btUir renders yourt onoe 
sary. The eorre!«pondeneo on the subject of Biphoapbated Perut 
Onano bad better ticaae now. 

Sub»€rib»r.—Th« ft||b<t detaib are given In Freseaiua'a "QuaqU 
tlve Analysis." ^ 

//, .(^riiiM.— Uoftaann's ExhlhltloD Kcport la not to be had. Too 
miebt «e a cfpy in »ome library. 

£. BugyUy.—Wv regret Lbat we ue unable to supply tbe Infiirmft- 
tlon. 

York. — Nn trustworthy detnlb hare been publbh^. 

£. V, C— Vou will And the {xtpcra rcftrrud to In one of OUT reo 
rolntnea. 

X. G. wiib« to be referred to tbe best work on pottery. 

K. Keman. — We were uuabk- to offvr any exp1^a«l"nof tbe 
mena of the apvctrum llncB 6|>oki'ii ol, and inatrU'd ih<» query In 
hope that some correspotvdent would be abb tu throw aome lljjbt 
lh(» autject. „ 

CovimutUc»iion» hart hetn receitfd frmtk Profe^^or Ouatav 
HinrithB,Jowa(wtth encloaurer); tbe Qneketl JlbtosroplcJti S«oc1et 
I'rnfeaaorBnucbr; O. Blogg; J. Iterirer J^incntc ; Dr. U. Angus &nd' 
F.RR; J. II. lVii|«r; t*. Ikbch ; K. Murray ; Kce* and Co.; G, 
OmIod; W. Mackerixle; W. M. WlHiara*; F. 0. Calvert and i;" ; 
hIK; W. H. IlarriB (with enclomrc); .1. Mufipratl and N«n» ; Dr. A 
drewi (witlt ench«ur«); Munpratt Brothers and Huntley: O. 
GJuvcr (with encloiurcli: Dr. Rohriir; II. C. Sorby, F.H.S : Profi 
Churtij, M.A.; K. P. II. VaUKban; lYofeaaor Qustaru* Illnrbbs ( 
enclfwnre); Townsvnd and A<!ama; 8. i, C: P. S. B, ; J. Spill 
lllJl; M. A. Baincs; 9. E. rbUllpt; York: Clu-omo; W. H. Wal 
W. MattieuWUttami; J. Pattlnton; H. Bmltb ; H. C. South; E' 
Fmlth, M.A.; O- Bairoloy; E. V. Blackwell- O. H.Op*t*vn; Mu»i 
Bros, and Himtby ; Uer* aod 0>, ; llerrlnffi and C\j. ; T>r. Aloln Pfl 
haupt: A. Cosartel 1 ; t{, J. Reynolds ; P- Curie; J. Wllklnaoo and C 
F. K. S. Jcmlnpbanr, A. Olbbs.; T. Felton ; D. Erani (with cncloatu 
OrooDibridKe and Sons; 8, M, Harirfnon; F, B. Blllitiw; J. W-'-*'- 
N. I'abocr; R. ?chehk: T, Watt*; W.Mackenrb: Maw son 
K. Lavender vwlth cnctotarc): C, C-Ochrane (with endosore); 
land; 0. M. Kiiijt (wlUi enclosure); blr t'harl«!« \Vbeat*ton«» 
twttb enobmire) , Tb« Astronorner-Boyal; Ikliu Banvill; Th« Ki 
Ob^erTftUfry ; .1. W. Sinter (with enclosun) ; J. BplUer; Dr. Ad 
R. Unie«ier; S, E. PtillHpa; E, Kernan; II. Stepheuaon; K 
(with encb*urc); W. Ji'ol«rKit) ; F. Andrews; W. L. H 
I hapnian: F, H. Bnrry; Archibald W;*lker and Co. ; tl. F, 
11, T. Clnrke; W. J. Morgan ; A. Bojtter; Miss Bcnwell; J. 
W(tthcncbtsure>; iJr, E, Oxbnd(wlth enclosure). 

B>ck4 IUc*ittd :^"^1ht .Medical and fiuritlcal EeporltTi 
Nob. I to 7. Ph1bd*'lpbta and New York. 'Brenthlnp conalderrd 
relation to the Bodily, Menta). and S^Hjlal Life of Man " By 11 
Hobiuaon, Gliu^now; John Thoni«<>n. *^'Not,.* on the Ale^ttiola 
Coal Tar, and on llhiibiirb." V 
Merrthew aud Hon. ** Facta aTi 
tors Written with reference to ,i , 

of Supply of Waitr," By Jolm J ;iy ior, ». .t. Lunaun: i,, aud 
Spon. 



I 
I 



[EagliMb EdJticA, 7oL ZIX., No. 48«, p«fe 1£6; ISc. 4S)^^^«\1&\ Va. 4B5,paee liS] 



' IMP. 



American Supplement 




AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT. 

New York, May, 1869. 



Irlt PhoCogmpbs. 

so^cdUed spirit or ghost pbotographa have been 
H from the beginning of photography. Aa an 
nt they have occurred to every photographer, 
any person of very ordinary capacity could invent 
of the many ways of prodjcing them. In these 
cture^ as lately ma le, beside the hkeoesa of the sitter 
pears a misty, hjulf -furmcd image of another pefMon, 
d generally in some awkward or extraord nury 
rtittide ; this second image is intended to ropresent a 
I or spirit. Spirit phutographs are seldom iirtisLio, 
they elicit no rea>otiable curiosity except as to 
w thr?y are produced. 

A moil V' the photographers who have m:u3e the spirit 
ihs ia Wm. }l. Muraier of ihU ciiy. Spirit 
hy bus been hia apecialty for t!je past seven 
eigne, years, and be is probably better skilled in the 
than any other person. The piciurea are a little 
re troublesome to make than other photographs, 
1 he liaa very properly charged a higher price for 
Bat he reprcainta that they are produce 1 by 
tural agency beyond his control, and that they 
t genuine ipirits. The at t is, therefore, in hia 
A low sort of awitude akin to the fepirit- rapping, 
le-tipping, and fortune-telimg trickery, and perhaps^, 
18 lUe fashionj ougbt to be ignored by the executors 
the law. The protilj? from audi business are small, 
d pfiihaps ihe dupc'8 of such ihallow artifices deserve 
be swin^Jled. But some eatimable gentlemen, be- 
FJDg thit Mumler'a olfence merited conapicuoua 
nbhment, causL-d his arrest; he was certainly amen- 
able to the taw, an! the case before tLe court appeared 
a very simple one in the beginning: Did Mumler 
make the representations as alleged, and did he obtain 
money iher.'hy? were the only que^tion^ of fact to 
determined. These questions udglit have been 
werird in a few minute's, and ihe case have been 
ded; but afiairs tjok a different turu, and the trial 
mga on for about two weeks. 

Tlumler has the assurance to reply to the court that 

spirit pretences are true, and not false j that the 

turea are genuine spirit piiHures; that spiritual 

«ifestations are a fact, and the leainr^d Judge 

owling) allows the rriul to proceed on the la^ue of 

pernaturalistn and spiritunliT-m, Mum'er hits no illf- 

ulty among liis multitude of dupe^ to find enough to 

wear to ihc genuine spirit uuHtj of h'a pictures. One 

them, an ex-Julge, testifie-^: "I did not examine 

e pr»ceas, a^ I am not an export in photography, but 

confident the likenesseH arL* really those of spirlls; 

iive frequently seen spirits with my own eyes," &c. 

n the other hand, it is shown by several practical 

p' I hers that pictures 81 milar to Mumler'3 may be 

t. hy various simple mechanical apphaneea. 

Tiie < viaonce of the prosecution was not well managed, 

nd lacked in completeness and system. In short, at 

couclusion of the testimony Mumler has much more 

the public sympathy than at the beginning, and the 

ce* are good that ho will esmpe unpunished. The 

is now (April 28th) adjourned for the lawyers' 

che* to May 31! 

Spiritual phnto-^raphy implies gpirltnal chemistry, 

r^fjd that chemical action may take place in the absence 

of the conditions of chemical action. The spiritual 



manifestations at interpreted by spirifualials involve 
the taking away of t)ie funtlamental facta and data of 
science. If the aupemalural is allowed as a defence lb 
a criminal charge, where is to Le the end of such 
a practice? There is no crime that may nut be com- 
mitted in the name of spiritualism. 



Plioaphoric Jk«ld In SoIIb and In Iron H^rea. 

Thk following paragraphs are extracted from a papet 
by Dr. I'aul Bchweitzer, of the School of Mines of Uo- 
lumbia College, entitled: ''On Tribo^ic Phosphoric 
Acid, its History, its Modta of Sopuration from Sesqui- 
oxides, principally from Sesquioxide of Iron, and its 
Estimation/' The paper is of great value to analytical 
chemists, and we regret that our space is bo narrow 
that we are unable to reproduce the whole of it in the 
SUPPLEMKNT ; it will appear entire in the forthcoming 
number of the " Annals of tlie Lyceum of Natural 
History : " 

" This tenacity of the seaqnioxide of iron to retain 
alkaline salta, especially salts of potassa and ammonia, 
connected with the same degree of al!inity it has for 
pliosphoric acid, seems to me of great moment in the 
process of nourialunent of plants. The hydrated sei^qui- 
oxide of iron, which to a greater or less extent is never 
wanting in any soil, is like the humua the upper crust 
of the land, a holder of those mineral constituents oQ 
die presence of which in the soil the existence of vege- 
table hfe is dependent. Yes ; I may say, considering 
the powers of the sesquioxide of iron (us well as alu- 
mina) to condense in its pores gases like carbonic ncid 
and ammonia — gases that are the daily food of plants— • 
it is, perhaps, possible to demonstrate the fertility of a 
soil aa dep«inding upon a certain amount of sesquioxide 
of iron. Certain it is that the latter substance, chang- 
ing continuatly, converta, by its own oxidation and 
reduction, the complicated carboniferous compounds 
with which nature and human foresight supply the 
soil into more simple forms, that alone are adapted to 
the maintenance of vegetable life ; and after having 
converted ■ tliem into tho*e compound^ retains them, 
ami disposes of them U) the plants under the ioiluence 
of the stronger, living powers of assimilation, by means, 
perhaps, of the hydrated water which always, even 
after the long-continned heat of a hot summer, is 
to be found in sesquioxide of iron, and wliich; if I 
may say so, serves as a canal of tran?portatiim of the 
inflexible motionle^ of the dead mineral into the plastic 
moving — into the living protoplasm — of plant and 
animal. 
♦ ♦ * « * # « 

" As this finiKhes my actual work as regards the 
separation of phosphoric acid from iron, I may be 
allowed to give my views as to the state in which this 
acid occurs in iron ore*>, and submit to your consider- 
ation some points which may finally lead us to succeed 
in preventing it from entering to a larger extent into 
the composition of metallic iron. 

*' Phosphorus is always contained in iron ores ii« 
phosphoric aold. I believe this to be the case even io 
bog ores, the only ores in which we might question 
this statement. The oxides, and prinr!ipidly the 8e£:qui< 
oxide of iron, Imve a great affinity for phosphoric acid, 
and will retain it with a strong force ; the subglaaeeK, 
however, accompanying iron ort s. as alkalici*. alkaline 
earths, nnd alumina, hare a stUl greater ajfiuitv ' 
pbosphorio acid than even seaquioxide of 



i May, ]b«. 



■will have taken up in the process of f«irmatiun of iroo 
ore-be J.<, — may <b a have been ^ dry or a wet proc<<»«j 
— most of the phospbot ic acid^ so that tlie iron ore pro- 
per, it being couiuuered & mixture of a pure compound 
of iron wiui aorae gaugue, or n& the Germans call it, 
" beglciter," will onlyconfain a very einafl amount of 
it. This amount of phosphoric acid, which necessarily 
if contained in iron ores, will be lest in the magnetic 
than in ibc hematite varii tiea, inasmuch aa the strong 
combining: power of ihe aeaquioxide in the former has 
been ?fttisGeil to gome extent by the protoxitle present, 
And wc arc tlierelore able to obtain, under tiiniilar eon- 
di lions, a better iron from thi^&e than wo can from 
hematites. 

" This slight Amount of phosphoric arid in the iron 
ore proper will enU^r irt^j the ma^^a of metallic iron by 
ti»e proceaa of reduction and anielting, and in combina- 
tion with other con&tituenlH give it its distinctive char- 
ifct'tcr. This i*raidl percentage of phoBphorua in mttallic 
iron I bold to be necessiiry ta constitute it a good 
artic^le ; and I do not doubl tliat a k'S.-; amount of it, as 
in the ca?e of iron made from 8i>me niagnetiu and titanic 
varieties, will be pubatitutc-d tliere by jome other sub- 
Btani'fi, say au'phur or carbon. A diflerencc in the 
relative proportions of carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus, 
will change the [)ropcrtie8 of the metal in a way to 
render it more or lea-? a<lafite'l to certain practical uses. 
A«, however, very i*ivf exact «nalysefi of metallic iron 
exi^t, we UiM have to asc«Tiaiii tlu>8e [iroportioiia of 
carbon, Hulphnr, and phoj^phoruB, and their relatione 
to the chauf^rs they etlect in the propertiea of pure 
iron, bef ire we are able to produce an iron of a certain 
charat-ter by the ndxing of diffejcnt ort^s the composi- 
tion of which we know. 

'* We have aho lo distinguish two things, the phos- 
phoric ac d in »he ore pr<»per, and the phosphoric acid in 
the gauguf. This laiter I believe to be comparatively 
easy to eiminate and bring completely into the Flag. 
Tl*e proof of tl»li«. and an attempt, to remove an exci'ss 
ofphOipiioric acil rhat by some peculiarity of coraposi- 
tiun or form may hiive entered into combination with 
the ore properpwili be the subject of anotlier series of 
experiments whioh a: wime future titno I will have the 
honor to biing before the Lyetum." 



4 Fro«cn ITIJiie. Tli*? Theory of IJcw. 

Nkar Gcorpct'Tiwn, Char Creole Co., Colorado, in 
about the latitude of Washington, pretty exlenfiive 
mining operations are curricJ on in soil and rock wliich 
are perpetually frozen. This frozen grouiKl in part, 
and probably tiie greater part^ of a hill or mountain 
which rises above ilie surroundirig plakfiu only about 
1.500 f e». During (he summt^r the soil thawsi to tht- 
depth of a fpw leet, and sufticient to permit a pood 
crop of grasa; in wiiiler everything is sojid. Three 
mining iuune's or levels, of tlie h-ngth reapectivefy if 
250, I So and 100 feet, have been led into th** mountain, 
and B ill no limit to the ice is reached. The mining 
operations nre, of c>urRp, not impeded by running 
water, but in place of wat»^r rhe ice has proved to ba 
about as great a nuifc^nce. The rock ia sritunitcd wiih 
ice, and the ic<-' is abundant in the Jis-urcs. It is found 
nc'cs-sary to thaw out the rock as a preliminary to the 
ordinary mining work. Fire^ are therelore kept 
lu niug during the night, and in the morning tliey are 
extingu slied, and the mine cleared of emoke for the 
workmen. As it is practicable in this way to thaw 



only the roof of tbe Dune, the blasting and digging is 

all upward. 

The froxen ground extenrls nrither to tl>e lop nor the 
bottom of the hill, but occupies the space between. 
At the foot of the hill is a ^orge in whicli tlicre is a 
jitream of water in the early epr ng aud late in the fall 
In the neighborhood are other hills, but the ice phen 
menon has not been noticed in them. 

The particulars of this interestmg ca«e are furnish 
by Mr. Frank Dibhen, who lia?! resided near tlie s] 
for several ytars. The theory whii h he propcaes sec 
sufficient and salisfactory. Indeed, the staiernent 
the further material facia will make the cxplanati 
evident. It is only ihe north si'le of the hill which 
fro?:en, the side on which the stm's rays never fair 
strike ; tj'c frozen side is in the shade. The pbteau 
which the hill rests is 10,000 feet above the sea-lev 
and consequently the surrounding air is thin and df 
Such sir does not eas'ly become wormed by the so 
and thus a^^sij^ts very little in conveying warmtli lo T 
shady places. Moreover, it bectmes a positive cooh 
agent by proraotinjj rapid evaporation, and radiati 
of beat into space goes t;n fietly through it. And 
sum up the whole matter, very httle sun-heat directlj 
and fairly strikes the frozen f-ide, and that little is ne 
traHzed by free radiation and evaporaiion. 

In the neighbort ood of this mountain the clear f^r 
mer nights arg alwiiys cold, and when the proj»er p 
cautions are taken, waier wi\y be frozen with cerlainf 
and econom call}', Mr. Dihlx-n has observed tliat tl 
freezing of wat»r under a clear summer sky is di:cmo 
to the rapid evaporation of the wnt r, than, as is stal 
in many of the text-books, to the radiation ol hvatinto 
.=pace. The importance of radiation in this case, »n^ 
in tlie tlieory of dew arid frost, is greatly ovrresiimai 



T1i« PalrlniK of tht ClemenU « TrM of the Alomlo 
Nuntbera. 

We propose the pairing of the clcmen's as exhibit 
iu the April Supplemknt a« a new confit mation of ihj 
modern atomic weights, and of the dc»ctrine of atomi- 
ciiy. 

The fact of Ihe pairing cannot be denied, and it is bOh 
con.-'picuous that it cannot be attributed U* chance. K 
accidental mixing up of the names of the elemen 
would allow them to be brought out in two colum 
with tuch extraordinary coincidences as our tabi 
«hows I if a deUberate attempt were made to pair 
elements of even and odd atomis iti<J», independent 
rhe atomic numbers, it would result in a table substan' 
tially such as wo have presented. The purpose or lh 
utihty of the pairing is, indeed, not so evidcui ; when 
becomcy S', the pairing will be estubliihed aa a natu 
law. 

The pairing does not appear to be the result of any 
of the known propfTiie? of matter, nnd is thus a new 
and indtpcnd<nt phenomenon. Any arrangcmente 
basf d on it, and conscqucneca deduced from it, may 
therefore aUud alone, and have an independent force j 
they may serve to confirm or to refute, or to teat olli 
statements. 

Now the pairing is exhibited by an arrangement d 
pending upon certain atomicities and atomic numbc 
If t! e pairing can be brought about only by certain ex 
act conditions, there is a pecuhtr virtue in the cond' 
tiona. Hero i.** a remarkable relation of number*, atonii 
cities, and pairing, and these three facs are at the 



'^ 





CtnmcMi Km, 



^rican Supplemerd, 



2jt 



I time quite independent of each other, imd neither is 
comprehended in anoUier. Here are facJa of different 
■orte, obtAined in different way a, and for different piir- 
I pOKS, and whiclj, when brought in t-onj unction, d»-'Ve- 
Kop tk new and remarkable relation. This now reUtlon 
ia a confirmation and test of ihe authenticity of the facts. 
The atomic numbers and the doetrine of atomicity 
[ develop an unauapected harmony ; they are in beaud- 
ful accord with othur facts which were not known lo 
have any relation with thyrn. Truth is always consis- 
tent wiih other trutli, and the very haritiony i^ Bome- 
tiines aufficieuL to estab'isb the trtith. The atomic 
numbers and the doctrine of atomicity are true, by 
j reason of harmotiy with the laws of gaseous volume, 
I lipecitic heat, Arc; and now for (ho iiew reason thai 
tlicy pair liie el- menta amon^ themselves, in accord 
wirh tbfcir well-known piopcrties. 

That new criteria or testa of atomic numbers are by 
no means euperfliious, is apparent when we observe 
that Uie determination of the numbers wtjich arc now 
accepted ho.^ employed the beat geniua and talent of 
the chemical world for more than fiOy yparH, while the 
material considerations which were the basis of all the 
«^t.mationd were known or suspected from the be^n- 
iiinu*. It is only within the past ten yeais that the ar- 
vudicnta have been fully summoiJ up and a final judg- 
ment recorded. The reco;.'Eiizt'd (est? of atomic uum- 
^^hen are not altogether what is to be desired. Some 
^Baf them are, in certain cases, wholly inapplicable, or 
^Hlven g.ve contlicting reaulte. It is only by a carelut 
^v^r n of all the facts in a ch«o, and a pntcess of 

H r- that any nuojber is establiBhed. MorL-over, 

' tht^ luutiainental fucti rest upon the testimony of a 
▼ery few experimenters, and they cannot be verified 
except at great cost. The test of the pairing, although 
not so important as the other tesia, is yet une that all 
^ncRn eaai'ly apply and understand, and it may be that it 
^Hprill secure the decision in duubUful cases. 

F 

^ A Qneadon In ITTerbanlcs. 

Wb have received a communica'tnn from Professor 
Henry F. Willing, of La Fayttte College, Easton, Pa, 
on the question in m«:'chani "S which we prei«ented in 
the January supplement The letter comiBeni'cs by 
Eluding to the crijiiii of the tlL^cus'-ioti of the question, 

d to the fact that matlicraaLicians of eminence are 
itill divided among tliemselvesj asserts that tlie expres- 
■ions MV and MV^ are both proper, but independent 
measurct? offeree ; and then continues as follows: — 

•' We may avoid all confusion in this matter by 

opting the modern expedient of giving diflTercnt 
'Dam<^ to the s-une agent, in con.s;deritig the diflfk-rent 
eff^ts whicli it cau8> B. If we define force to be that 
which, when associated with matter, cnuses it to move, 
Iho appropfiatti measure of quantity of force is * quan- 
tity of motion," or monfuium^ repre?ented by MV; but 
■when we consi ier the tcork which is performed, or to be 
performed, we find it convenient to use a unit of 
moasurcnunt entirely dilTerent in iss nature from that 
of quantity of furce or motion; and when inea?nired by 
lhi3 unit, we term the acting cause 'power' or ^enn-gyj 
The p« if rni.ince of work may be L'fntrnnv dtfirifd as 
the : bodies, or par is of i cer- 

tain /a<rM, against con tin -.' nr 

Opposmir iocvS. It maybe r 
ftn equation, thus — V—pn^ y 

hich P represents the qaaai<t« 



P^ the continuous pressure, or its equal, the realstanoe* 
and ff, the distance passed through. 

"If any doubt should arise as to which measure is the 
proper one to make use of, we have only to aek our- 
selves wliat kind of effects are to be taken into eon- 
S'Jit'ration. In all tlie operations in which niuacBbr 
power or motive power cif any kind, acting tljrough 
machinery, is conccTned. a/xice effects are what we have 
to do with — that is, we have to estimate the npacea 
through whicli matter is moved agiiinst opposing force ; 
and |Wf or its equivalent, MV, becomes the convenient 
and proper measure. On the other hjind, wh»'n we 
consider the effect of a uniformly acting force like ter- 
restrial gravity (within narrow limits), in giving motion 
to a body freely acted upon, we 8^>e that the ft»rce 
which Lfceomes associated will be directly a^ the time 
— that is, equal incrementa of force will he added in 
equal times; and since we find that equal incremenTs 
of velocity are also added, we ha*'e F=r/?, prop^irtional 
to MV : F n presenting the entire associated »orce; / 
the force developed in a unit of time j and /, the time. 

*' In applying these pnnciples to any 'queauon in 
meohanic8*— that of the rwilvvay-trainj for instance- 
it is only noccss.iry to state thft question clearly, and 
its answer is easily j^dven. Theru are lircums'ani es at- 
tending the motion of the train which tend to compli- 
cate the solution of the problem, namely, the resistance 
of tlio nir, friction, A'c. Frictional leviistance is a con- 
sequence of motion imparted to molecules, by wliich 
tlieirhcat is augmented; the resistance of the air is sim- 
ply due to its inertia, and thu* a large part of the powef 
of the locomotive is consumed in space elTecta upon Uie 
air, and the atoms or moleculpg of the r^uN, wheels, 
axles, &c Having no exact mcatis of determining the 
aggregate amount of these motions, we can only ascer- 
tain it by actual experiment. 

" We may, however, sitnplify ihe question by yuppoa- 
inf the rails to have just sufficient inclination down- 
wards in all parts of the train's progress to exactly 
balanre the external resistances abovv mentioned. If, 
noWf you would know the moving force requited to 
give the t' ain a certain velo-dty, it is clearly measured 
by MV, a.s shown in the previous editorial article; but 
if you wish to estimate the work dove in giving it fhis 
velocity, or the \vo:k the moving train is capable of 
doing, if rendered independent of the loeomorive, ps 
the distance on a levt 1, or up an inclined pline, it will 
move against a constant resistance, this quantity must 
he measured in uidts of its own kind — tliat i^,* of ^«, 
proportional to MV*. 

"Ill estimating the amount of coal which mu-t be con- 
sumed to perforin a certain amount of work, we mny 
suppose that the effect is due to the faUhg ingdhtr of 
the atoni-^ of carbon and oxygen, increasing the mole- 
cular motion or heat of the compound atoms of carbonic 
acid thu4 formed. This motion is tran«^ferred to the 
aqueous mfdecules, converting tliem into steam ; tho 
molecular motion of the steam imparts motion to the 
pi.<?ton of the locomotive, and, finally, to the trnin itsflf, 
Tho sum of all the atomic weights, or rather atiracti.^ng, 
multpli d by the distance through which the atoms 
have fallen, is the amoutitof work winch they are capa- 
ble of doing. He ce the power thus generated is meas- 
ured in units of p», and is in direct proportion lo tlia 
quantity of coal cousmied. 

•• W,- perceive, to sum up, that while MV is the tree 
', as an abstract quardity, p!t or 
a^ure for power lo perform all 
QjeoitaiucAl 4WHir^(,Joa£." 



American Supplement, 



1 JAirttSai. , 



The Fhrnleal Bast* ofl^ln*. 

A DiBOotTRSB, uD(3cr the above title, by Profeasar 
Huxley, of London, haa become one of tne great sensa- 
tions of the day. It was first, reail to an audience in 
Edinbargb, November 1 8th, iS68, and next appeared 
aa the leading article of the Fortixighthj Rcmf.w for Feb- 
ruary, 1869. It attracted ao much uttention that five 
editioiii of t!ie Reviruf containin/ it were printed and 
sold. Iri America ii baa appcarel, at leaaf, in three 
periodicals and m two pamf4ilet editions. Its diacas- 
sion haa been the order of the day among all thoughtful 
people. 

The discourse U aoraewhat unfriendly to the prevAi]- 
ing religious sentiment,, and many suppose that it con- 
tains new facts and reasonings whicli bear 01 (he rela- 
lion of mind and matter. The discourse is spoken of m a 
defence of mnterinlism, nnd a denial of the existence of 
spirit independently of matter; in short, it is supposed 
that Professor Huxley admits no oth«^r ba-is of life than 
the physical These views of the d soourae. itaeema to 
us, are not altogether well founded. Professor Hux- 
ley describe!!, under the name of protoplasm, a peculiar 
sort of microscopic matter which has an appearBncc of 
vit dity, and which ia found in the sap of planU and the 
blood of aniniaK He suppo'icB (hai out of protoplasm all 
otlicr organisnaa ac construe* ed. It, should be observed 
that proioplasm is as yet only a theory ; and we do not 
sec that any obj»*cti«)nable materialism b a logicalconse- 
quence of it. Mind and matter, to us, practically and 
really are two distinct things, although in life they are 
so joined together that we cannot understnnd how 
they may he separated. There is here a mystery which 

S)hy8ijal science may nev r penetrate. In her present 
ecbleness should she attempt it? Has science ony- 
thing legitimat»:'ly at all to do wilii the question? If 
we were able to exhibit the proximate causes of vital 
motions, or to demonstrate the dictum " Ohne phos- 
phor kcine gedanke," we hivu made no progress U>- 
wards determining whether mind is matter, or can exist 
apart from matt r Protoplasm, if there ia such a 
substance, ia a curious and important physiolo^'ical 
fact ; but it is only anoth-T hnk of the material chain, 
and leads us practically no nearer to the junction with 
the spiritual. Gnmted praloplasm, and nothing comes 
of it. To say that life has a physical basis is no more 
than to recognize fficts with which all are familiar. 
Man was created from the dust of the ground ; he is 
constituted out of what ho eats and drinkj*. Living 
things originate from germs which are almost micro- 
seopio; »nd yet from such, by aggregation of otlier mat- 
ter, we at lo-st have the oak or the leviathan, and man 
himself. Yet how partial and unsa isfactory is such a 
statement. It throws not tiie feeblest ray of light on 
the existence of the nietaphy'^ical, or its relation with 
matter. Life has a physical basis, and science n»ay 
teach us abont it; and there is something else of life 
with which science is not at aU concerned. 



State Geolosrk«al i^ui-vey*. 

Tnc legislatures of several of the Western States, at 
their late 8»'Ssions, made appropriations for geological 
surveys. Ohio votes $14,000 per annum; and prob* 
ably I'rolcss ir J. S. Newberry, of this city, will super- 
intend the work. Michigan votes $5,000; and Pro- 
fessor Winchell, of Ann Arbor, will agiiin take the 
field. E. T. Cox, of Kew Harmony, will explore In- 
diana. A new appropriation has been made to com- 
p\&ie the suryey of Illinois, no# io chirge of Professor 



A. H. Worthen. In the East w« have heard of no new 
survey except that of New Hamipshtre, wliich ia to be 
pushed with vigor, by Professor C. H. Hitchcock, 
coming season. 



NEW PUBI<|CTATIO?(S. 



TRKArmi* o« Stort. Coiom ELicrmcrTT aud MAOJfrndsi. Ff J^hi 
Fttrdin*nd Jenckm, M.D. TnirulAtcd an<1 prerncvid by IlUlorii 
and CrtUcttl ErtPftj-H. Ut Heory D. .!♦ nrkm, hattilvr %t Ijiw 
M.R.8. RRO.W.. Ac. Ac I'p. 83a. Lnudoo: Trubner 4 Co. 
Now York : John WU«y A. ?oii. 

Tiiw f» not • eommfvn wrt of htntk. It U coniplciionilT orfcinul to 
tltoagtit ».nd stylti. As a aunpie of It w« qucitv kt random p. 1)7: ** Vt-> 
bfAtluh U c<>nAenu*'nt Io UR i»n 4II, but luflnfU-ly arvf-leralfd ^xchoajfa ; 
ftfid tbc, ethiT, llkf crcjy etetnenl In fad, is thn vvponnnt of the pro- 
ce^of a force taklnir ha ftrlgln )n tlie piimury lawn of Bcinp; and Be- 
coming to Kt^. And ai Bt\D$ can but rxi^t lu also a Beconiiof to Dr, 
no power C3J] exist without action, an<l tlili action li reall»Ml aa ehaogv 
t'flwwtT, \u eiidl»» Bucppjsioti aad onward pr*>freM, and traoainata' 
tluQ from the fliieit to U*e euarMcat. atid from that to individual dia- 
Unptive funtiation ; hrnce, <*orjr power U at tbe tame time an elemea* 
Lary inalcrfaL" 

T«« EtKCTRO-CiiKMiCAL Batit: Foandfd 1^55. Tt«u»wand otfcrt* 
lo«trul6d In a Strrles irf Btrientlfle I>ocuinenU ami Antnjr.ifili Te»i 
inonbilafrdTn pktlrnl<t treat«>«| and cured by ft* i\u . 'ha 

rvctkuQ of the tnveutor, .1. F. I. t.'^ipUn,"M.I»., I ind 

ElectrtHan (t«r appolntinart) to the Krenoh noM •' 

*<\ ■* What Art cannot perform, Nature alouc icc.mjili 
Third F.dlUon, rcvl>«d an<1 enlaPKed. l'i». jtttt. l^udoa : Traba*? 
* Co. Kew York : Jubu Wiley Jb b'»n. 

TttPHrtFH AS© LioirrsiHfi. Bt W. ])e FontTUIo. Tmnilatrd from 
the Francb bjr 1'. L. Pblt«»oii,l»b.I)., F.CS,, Ate. Tllnrtraied with jg 
enjfraTinfi on wood. Fp, 185. Now York; Ohart(f«:><nbocr A 
Co. 

Tn« WoNifna or Optics. By F. \farfon, Tran«lat«il from the 
Freneli and Eillted by Charted W. Qu^t*. F.C.8 Illaatraled with 70 
engrsvln^i nn wood and a colored Frontlapkce. Fp. rjt. KeW 
York : Charlea 8cribner St Co. 

TnRftK booka are lli« aniplcloaa heglDDlns of a «erles Irteoded to ihow 
forth tb« won^lerful facu i»f Aclenco. Comkne from the FrsBab, thry 
pr«Mnit the subju^cie In a libeller 6t>'le than what w« arc accustonifd 
to. The houks alRnitirt tn new facts, carloua Blurlfg, and novel new*, 
They are good bookji for yoimpt people, anfl yet they are quite a* w»U 
Goliad to tbe maturer laitea of the h4*ad.s of famlUea. We bare grt«t 
pleasure In commi'Ddlng such buoka to ihe central pobUc. 

LnaoxB i» F.lkmcstakt CmmtsTET, Ikoroancc awd OBa^jrio. By 
Henry E, Koiooe, B.A., F.R,S^, VraftsMor of Cbandstrv tn nwent 
CoUef a, Cambrtdfe. New EdltloD, i'p. 45S. Li>ndMi : .^nomiUaa At 
Co, New York : D. Van Nostrand. (AU rights reaerved.) 

Tnta book ts esteemed by many of tb^iBe most capable to dedda, to be 
Uie very beat claat-book of Mo<Iera Chemlatry which has yet appeared. 
And thIsUa very hijjh c«mijUinent, fur it compefes with the mc«.T^5rulJ 
pfTnrtB of WUliam«»n, liofTuiLiFin, and other eminent men. It \\ we 
itifrrmtsl quite extensively uaed BA a clflft^-biHtk In England, an<1 Uaa' 
recently beco adwptedi atl'ohtntla College. The preaent e<lltlon wm 
revbed by the author 1^ January, and La probal>iy free ftom all dU- 
eovonibla errora. 



1 



i 



PAMrilLETS. 



!4 

I 

4 



Tri Axnioiv JotrBWiL or Obktrtbk:! *ifi> DntAiss or Wovm 
AftpCnlLUftBii. Edited by E, Noi'irgeratb, M.D , late PrnfcaiorofiVH- 
■tctHcii ftnd l>}?ea*e« of Women and t hildren In the New V<'fk M*-dl- 
cuJ Collupo; and H. F. Dawson, M.D.. Lecturer on I ferine Palliw- 
lo^V in the Medical department of the Unjveriltyof New York. 
February. Fp, jji-44». New York : TownMud Jk Adaroa. 

Tni! Burcett of tbL« handsome periodical ba> been «o vreikt tbftt th« 
pitbli-.lierB bare been ohll^pd to double the edidon with wblcb ih»'y eom- 
mencvd, and toreprliit Ihe Brat two numbers. Also, thuy are enooar- 
accd to make B^'tne vcituAble bnprovemi-ota In the new < -n T>ihmh,.. 
which coTTitni'ncea In May. iSi pacrt-a are t«} he addc-d to th 
▼olnme, and the editorial stattb to be «irenctb«'ii«d by tb*' 
of Prof. A .lacobl of tbte city, wbo baa aa eaviable eadLii..... ,.4 —i 
(irofeHluo at au author. 

On Tit« PmsitAL B,i»M or LirR. ByT. H. Tlnxley. LL.1)., TJLi 
Fp. 34. Yule Collofi^, New Uaven, Conn. ; The CoHegu Ownial 

TmA Ti a reprint of a leodfog^ article of the Fortnightly S«Hew 
Febnisry, 1869. 

CoKTRincTioitR TO GTwrxoLOCT, No. 3. A ease nt RetroT^ratoo 
the li tenia, of eljbteen yt-ara* etaiidlftK. 'U<^rewf)tl<v irp*r..,i t.v t'l, 
Irorrhaphla, whh Clinical H^inarka, to whieh la ad.^ 
hUtorj of ibe same cue. Head Ix'torc* the New ^ 
dety. By John Bjrne, M.D.. ete., t^nrgeon of bt. i\... , .- . ^., 
pltal of Urooklya, Fp. aa. Mew York : TowaMnd it Aifai 






-p= 



American J}ruggi^t^'' Price-Current 



^73 



AMERICAN DRUGGISTS* PRICE-CURREISkT-NEW YORK.-JOBBERS' PRICES* 



\ 



]»R17GB AN1» CBEMlOALfi, 

Aettoa ,|M!t i>s 

Ad4, JU«tlc« No. & per lb 

>p. irr. l,04T U.a.P„ per lb 

CbcmlcAlly Pare .per lb 

Gl»clal iHjrIb 

Beozoie, Grnnmn..., .,,,..,. ........ p«r oz 

Bornekc, paw j^cr lb 

ntrte per lb 

FlQ*rle, 1 lb boUlM per lb 

PvnBto .per lb 

6*1IW! ...„,».....p«rlb 

tt]pdr*itbof pboroTU. ....>...... per lb 

lAcile -,. i*rlb 

AtorUilc, 18 (Iffn^eM per lb 

ch«mk«l pare. per lb 

mtrlcWdejrree... per lb 

cbetnieul pure. ,. »..,.|t«r lb 

Oxiilte. pat«DL p« lb 

PhoMpborie, cloeiol .par tb 

t*nnfeio ..... per os 

Balpbnrio ,♦ ..per lb 

chctnicAl pure p«>r lb 

Valerian per «« 

TarUrie. powdered per U> 

Ae«Mt« LeSToe ..,..p*r lb 

AcnniUa. , p«rdr 

Acsrie Aiha.. , p«r lb 

Al<i4iit1, M per <jt .^..., pei'StU 

Al'>««. Cup?, powdered.....,...,,, per Itf 

aucotrlDe, powdered per lb 

Alcsk, Koman. , , pei lb 

lump.... , per lb 

Amberprih. gray .per «» 

AnuDouU Carbonate, bolk .per lb 

ia \u% p«rl^ 

Muriate..... .,. per lb 

AniBoofa Aqoa, SOdefrvee., per lb 

S6 deirrees ......perib 

tf.Tpnphoiph[|« p«rtb 

0»aUto p«rtb 

Phf^pKate ..«..,,.»... per lb 

Bulpbatc ,,.... p«r lb 

Ammonium V&tprlan. Crjtt^t . . . , . , .per ot 

Aauauatom Bromide ..,..,..»... .per lb 

Hydronulpburet per lb 

Io<lW« ..{fffte 

AjDrrdalln ......,,„.., paras 

Aa^ooj and Petaae per tb 

^Uer. per tb 

Arnlcft Lemree.... per rb 

Arrow Rool, Bemada.... per lb 

Si, Vincent perib 

Areenlc, wliUe powdered... per lb 

red pair per lb 

r*d, lump .............perlb 

ArMnIo SAjmion, Fowlei^e per lb 

Iodide per OS 

BoL, 1>oiiorao'i,. ............ per lb 

Aeb«a«o» pertb 

Aeparsgia... ,,*.*,. ,,..per«i 

Atropl* - per dr 

Sulphate {ler dr 

ValerUa per dr 

Bakam Fir ......,,..,.«««.. .«.«,.«tiii..prrfral 

Ccrpelra.... .#»....... p«r lb 

Pertirlan ♦ p«r lb 

Totu. true ♦ p*rlb 

B«rbe<1oei Tar perib 

Bark, Elm , per lb 

BaJrk^ Caltaftya, qolll .per lb 

Bed, qaill . . , . , ..«. per lb 

PlUyo ,, .per lb 

Oaeewllla. pertb 

' Betercon ........,,, per lb 

Paeeafme per lb 

Baryta Muriate ^..... per lb 

^Mtrat« per lb 

BajEutn p<r ir^l 

PUTP .......,..,, ,...,.,. ptT OS 

fiulpbate per r,» 

Lenvu ,..,,,. prr lb 

iiMc Soda per lb 

PotUb p«r lb 

Metallic per lb 

and Amtnonlii Citrate »okib]e per tit 

and Animnnla CitruUi Solutlun «... per lb 

Osycbl*i.rtde ,,,.. per lb 

eobcArlK^Q .par lb 

liub-Nltrate per lb 

Tannale. 

Vateriaoute ...pttroa 

r«b 




to 
13 to 
Ui 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
U) 
to 
bi 
to 
ta 
S to 
4 to 
to 
H> 

to 

to 
to 
to 
to 
Co 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
io 
to 
to 
to 
to 
B to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
la 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 

r to 
til 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



to 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



85 
80 
8* 
5S 

1 flO 
85 
8» 

1 SO 

t w 

aso 

886 
4 fib 
4 25 

sa 

15 
88 
85 

800 
« 

M 

1 40 
80 

28 
fiOO 

80 

2 10 
84 

1 && 
II 

14 00 
88 
84 
17 
18 
82 

4 8a 
a 8fi 

8 00 
10 

1 bo 

8 00 

T5 

sen 
a 7B 

1 10 

80 

CO 

50 

13 

10 

85 

80 

17 

»0 

88 

\h 

8C0 

850 

8 00 

4 f'ti 

4 \b 

I oa 

5 00 
1 Sft 

»!!* 

1 AO 

1 86 

80 

^90 

83 

1 

80 

40 

8 75 

580 

8 SO 

86 

T 

81 

860 

8& 

1 80 

T 00 

800 

760 

1 fiO 

8 40 

600 

A8 

10 

40 



Btirjmndy rttcb, troe per lb 

Cadmium, Bromide .per >« 

Iodide „ per oc 

Mctalflc per lb 

Balphate... ..*....... ;.^..,.. per lb 

CaffeJiie .-.--,, - per u« 

Calcium r'lilorlde ptr lb 

lodltl e per lb 

Callaaya U&rfc, Mllbau'e OHginal Elixir of. per das 

-pergroea 
CallMja Bark, MUban'a Cba]jbc»te ElU. of per di« 

« *» •' perBToet 

CWrtthel, Hydropnb.... ......,,..,.,.,,. ...per lb 

Camphor, KcQiied.. ]>er lb 

Cannella Atbn .per lb 

Cantharidcs, powdered.... .......».*.. per lb 

Carbolic Acidf cry » tali....... ,..,,,,..».,.. per oc 

" " Bu'luttOD. per lb 

" '' " common. per lb 

Carbon Bl-9ulpharet. . ., .......... .per tb 

CaacHrllla Bark ........,....<..... .per lb 

CaMla Bud* per lb 

CftMorOtl prrpil 

Caustic lioda ..per lb 

Centaury Minor «. per lb 

CerluDi, Oxalate.... ...............|icrox 

Mirate .. «..»... ..per iK 

Chalk Preclp., Knglfab. per lb 

Cberry Laurel Water per lb 

Chlorate Potaaa. Engliab prr lb 

Chloride Liine. .........per lb 

Chtorofitrm ., ..per lb 

llnrtamon, Ceylon, true ................... per lb 

Citrine Olntmeiit per lb 

ClTet..... per oil 

Cobalt per lb 

CoeculuB Indleoa.. ................ ........ 'ycx lb 

Coooa Butter..... per lb 

Codeine..,^..,. ...per dr 

Cod Uver tMI porffid 

Q^ Mver Oil, ('♦ Share Oil **> per gal 

Cod Liver OU, J. C. Baker A: Co.'a per dnt 

" ^ " .......... per groM 

•* " " . . .6 groaa, per gr 

Cod LWcr Oil, Haxard k, Caawetra per doi 

•* " " pergr 

C«4 LlTtr Oil, Mlihaa'a Oolden .per Oo« 

^, llllhaa'i Etberized . per irroM 

0>d LiT«>r on, MllliauX wilb tlie II7P0- )per doa 
phoitihite of LUne ) per eroM 

Collodion per lb 

CanUiarldal per dos 

Colocynth. powdert>d.... per lb 

Coofectlo Uoan .....,..,,*.... per lb 

8eankB......„. ....per lb 

Contum Leav^ ..per lb 

roniln per OS 

Copper Ammonlated. per lb 

Black Oxide per lb 

Carbonate .per lb 

t^ulphur, pur*...... „.. per lb 

Copperas.. ...per lb 

Ci>rri}9lve Bubllmate..... per lb 

Cream Tartar, [lowdered. par* per lb 

CnhebA ^ ............per lb 

Cubeblo per dr 

CiEittl#fiBb Bone.........i, .i*er lb 

BIffUtlla llerb « .per lb 

Ulg^Uhne |wr dr 

DiiTer'e Powder .per lb 

Dro^un^a Blood, man .per lb 

reedi^.* ....per lb 

Dulcamara Steau............. i>erlb 

Emetine... — iHiroa 

bmer/ Com per lb 

Flour.... «. .per lb 

KpMtn Salta... ....; \¥tx lb 

Kr^nt, new «... per lb 

KrKf>tlDe. per om 

Etber, Aoetle per lb 

BuljrHc. eaneentrated..... ....per lb 

Butyra<Hrfaus. ...per lb 

Cblorle , .,.., per lb 

o<»n4x>ntrated. portb 

Formic » pertb 

(snlpburlc... per lb 

waahrd...... per lb 

concentrated. •. per lb 

Kxtr. Joclfcr Club, ClilHn .per lb 

Kxtr. K«a, Bouqut-t, Cblrb per lb 

Kxtr BfUiana. luperlor ^ per lb 

Kxtr. i>r«nge, anporlor.. per lb 

Fluorspar .......per lb 

Flowere, AUbea..... per lb 

Am^oa. ... ,..,,. I ...........per lb 

Borrjime..,,,.,.,.,,...., ........ .per lb 

( -hjim^imlle, Orrmao per lb 

Ciiattintnlite, iU»uiaii, 1S67 per lb 

Lavi'ndf r per lb 

Ualvo^larfe ...perib 

..,.„ .v«R^ 



8 7* 



to 10 
to 00 

to 70 
to 4 80 

to BOO 
to 9 00 
to 90 
to 6 BO 
to 11 00 
t4*180 00 
1e 11 00 
tuldO (10 
to 80 
to 1 10 
85 
S 00 

ir 

88 

85 

88 

CO 

I 80 

8 90 

V 

86 

1 80 

1 76 



i;oo 



. 58 
50 

8 

1 88 

I 76 

(« 

50 
28 
88 

1 15 
9 50 
8 85 
985 
800 

.. 80 00 
toST 00 
to 7 bO 

to 80 no 

to 7 CO 

t<» 78 on 

to 7 ftCI 

to B4 00 

to I 70 

to 4 50 

to 75 

to 48 

to 48 



88 



10 7 60 
to 1 SO 
to 8 80 
to 8 90 
to 8» 
to 4 

to 89 
to 50 
88 
85 
80 
18 
8 86 
8 00 
1 <I0 
1 18 
19 
8 85 
11 
8 

1 80 

1 15 

86 

4 10 

1 80 

70 

85 

400 

70 

80 

1 05 

8 85 

8 75 

1 95 

1 V* 

18 

48 

18 

85 

85 

80 

8 



to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
la 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



274 



Ai7i€i*ican VmtggisUt^ Ptice-Curreni. 



JTajr, im 



Flowen, RtvMmarj. per lb 

TIIIm ,,. p«r lb 

Violft per lb 

Tatcl Oil, pQrlfWHl per lb 

Vtno - PhcMi>h(vni(«d ElUlr of Gkltsii-k i {wr Ant 
B»rk, U«x4r<l A CmwcU's, ) p«r f » 

Otint-0|».... ..per lb 

OalatlDM >Vncb Pink i>«r lb 

0«laUDe, White Preneb..... '. per lb 85 

Cdx'» *.-.......... .p«>r clos 

Olnjper, Junalcm bkMktrfavd , , . \»*r lb 

Glivi«nii;..., ..per tb 

aiiititier gftlta pe^ lb 8 

GljrcvrUie, ctunmon per lb 

concentrated per tb 

*'Bower«'^ ,.... per lb 

•• Price "s" p*'r (b 

OlfctTole Hjp<iph(»phJte.... ........per Ii> 

Onliu D'Ambrette per lb 

P&rwiiM per lb 

Gom Aoroldps ......,..^..,«.«....... . .]<er lb 

Amber ..,....,.. ..*.,,.»,,.,,.... per lb 

AmmorilAC. ...per lb 

Arabic, Tarker, »orta per lb 

Iht picked, TrkdiU. pi?r lb 

4.1 - " perlb 

8d " •* pertb » 

B)irb»iT jwf lb 

Awtftetlda perlb 

Benzuin, commoti* ,. ....per lb 

prima. ...-.», ..per lb 

wtiUfl in«rl)]«d. .,,,.««..,. ..per lb 

Copftl, AcfDi.. .perlb ' 

Beniniela. per tb 

Kowrii'. ....*..« per lb 

Paraur, Hixtavla... ....... ........ ...per Lb 

Slnpnpore. ...... .....,.., per lb 

Klemt, Ammatle, .|i*rlb 

XuTibiirhl It m. per lb 

Galbauum.. .per lb 

etralaed per Ih 

Geddft ......per lb 

OBniacaai perlb CO 

^ itrAlaed ...........perlb 

Kli»o perlb 

MmOc. * pvrlb 

MtTTh, Turkey, powdered. per lb 

Ollbanum.. ..|»«r lb 

te»n per lb 

fundarkc. .. .per lb 

fibellAC, Canipb«U*s D. C... per lb 

Oamat ^^■,. .*>.,., ..per lb * 

No,8...,..i.... perlb 

Nktlfe. perlb 

PetieM.1,. ......^.. per lb 

TrngBeAoth, rtentmon per lb 

flake perlb 1 80 

flakj aerti .per lb 

TTartem OH, Dntcb . - . , , . j>er dni • 

Htfirmiin'ft Anodjop , , .,,.,,.. per lb 

Hydrlodate Puiaah, Atklnnn** per lb 

Cenrftifi ....per lb 

H jro^craml l4"»rea per lb 

fljpophowpblte AmmoB.. ,.,...... perlb 

Iron, ..,.,. per lb 

IJine ...,.,.,..,,., per lb 

ManipUM«« perlb 

PotMik........ p«rlb 

Boda p«rl% 

lertand Mow , perlb 10 

Indian Memp. tme..... .»,........,.,.. p*T ]b 

]a>«cl prtwd^r, tme.. .♦.«,, per lb 

Iodine, Rcju><lfin»<1 , per lb 

Oade, In bulk.,... perlb 

liUalloM ,» perlb 

]reii.Alam perlb 

by Hydro(r«ii , per lb 

Corb. PToto , per lb 

Predp rk«r lb 

CltnUe and \tnraonla perlb 

Miirn««ta ,,. perlb 

Qninla .p*r lb 

Ftrvehidae. ,.,.......,.. ...per lb lO W 

lTyp<opbctphlte ...per lb 8 40 

Iodide ,.....-...,., .per lb 

Pyrop .....#....,.. per lb 

Lae'iife perlb 

Pheaphftle, FredplUM pfir lb 

ryroptKMtphate per tb 

Byrup, Iter lb 

Feequleblorfde.... ...per lb 

Sol .• perlb 

^esqalnltrnte ...per lb 

^nb»uI{»bAte p«r U» 

Stilphato, pHre .per lb 

Snieeat..... p<i*r lb 

Balpharet. ... ,,,...,..,...,.,. .......i»«r lb 

l^aperphmpbataSTnip,..,,,.., ..per lb 

T*iinal« ......*..... perlb 

fnOis Ink perlb 

l*ittgiM«*, AmericM ,,,.per lb 

KoHtflaa, true,,,,,,^ ,.♦,.,,», per lb 

*roolper rterrltv. . . . p^f -f, 



to 


TO 


to 


It 


to 


m 


to 


»«5 


to 14 (X) 


to144 00 


til 


1 80 


to 


1 4S 


to 


1 no 


to 


S AO 


to 


80 


t4> 


S& 


to 


4 


to 


8» 


t» 


CO 


to 


ftO 


to 


I 10 


to 


1 T& 


to 


flO 


to 


8S 


to 


Si 


to 


&I 


to 


80 


to 


b& 


to 


■ft 


to 


78 


to 


m 


tA 


40 


to 


w 


to 


«0 


to 


1 flO 


to 


1 10 


to 




m 


80 


to 


45 


to 


80 


to 


56 


to 


09 


to 


W 


to 


1 00 


to 


1 2b 


to 


80 


to 


60 


to 


80 


to 


80 


to 


4S& 


to 


T3 


(0 


80 


to 


m 


to 


«A 


to 


60 


to 


M 


u> 


48 


to 


4a 


to 


eo 


to 


CO 


to 


1 CO 


to 


80 


to 


«> 


to 


48 


to 


(I 40 


to 


690 


to 


86 


to 


8 75 


to 


8B0 


to 


8T5 


to 14 Aft 


to 


8 7A 


to 


8Tft 


to 


12 


to 


1 80 


to 


1 to 


trt 


8 TA 


to 


880 


to 


10 


to 


1 f.0 


to 


180 


tn 


45 


to 


Sfi 


to 


1 45 


to 


1 8A 


to 10 DO 


to 1« 00 


Ut 


8M 


to 


8 M 


to 


*> 


to 


8 25 


to 


87 


to 


1 fS 


to 


(W 


to 


1 4a 


to 


«0 


to 


44 


to 


1 70 


to 


« 


to 


IT 


to 


811^ 


to 


8S 


to 


8 m 


to 


1 w 


t«> 


\ 85 


\n 


tan 


to 


8 


to 


8 "ib 


to 


\ 10 



LoctncarlTini |wr ai 

LflAd AoctAle. piKt* .•..••.'.••..•'..... p*rfb 

Licorice l'a*le, »nl1d perlb 

Sicily perlb 

Calabria. .ji.^. •,,..». perlb 

ImltAtluO , *. , ....... -per lb 

Darrocou.... .per lb 

P.8 perJb 

Llrue, Carbnnate, PredpUile per )b 

H ypupbuapblte pe? lb 

IiKlliie , ..p«^ lb 

Pbospbate, Preeipitate.... ...perlb 

8ulpbite per lb 

IJme Juice „ perpJi 

LlnLTHvlor's , perlb 

Lapla CalaiTilnarlj .,»4,«.«.« per lb 

Laurel Berrina ..,..,,........,,., per lb 

L<'*re« , a, .................. per tb 

Ll<jMtd Blynix pet lb 

Iy<»njf Pepper...... .pcr lb 

Lunar (.'austic, pure per as 

6T per cent, N. B ....prros 

Lycopodlam.,., , .......per lb 

MagOBaia Cnrlxinate.....,, ...^ ]ft lb 

Ctilcla«d.......r ,., ....,, ..per lb 95 

pooderooBv .per lb 

ntratc perlb 

. 8u1phlti< , per lb 

MattgnnssCfpowJered..,.,.., .per lb 

8ii5f«iriy.... ;,.... perlb 

Manna, nnaO flftke, '88...., ....per lb 

larKe flake, '81. ,.,..,,.,,,,,,.... .per lb 

■ortjs, new per lb 

Matfcn LeaTe^ Ime.^ ...perlb 

Mercury perlb 

enra Creta ....,..,. per !b 

Mafmesla perlb 

Cyanuret , perlb 

SnJptinrrl , perlb 

MerearliJ OtaUnebt I^M), perlb 

(«M) perlb 

IforpblaSelphatt.. ,. per us 

AcHate ., per oa 

Mnrlnte per oa 

YalcHaitate * per oa 

Mnak, true p«r 01 

In Brain true..... .per oi 

NnxYonitca per ib 

Oil, Anil»er, Crude .perlb 

AlnioQibi (Expre«B«d> Allen 't per lb 

Eiienllal, Alten'i pir lb 

AniM.... , ,,.,,...,.,,.. per lb 

BargatQot ....per lb 8 08 

FF, new erop ,.,..,. per lb 

Beriraniot, r>iiijner*8... .per lb 

Veoramot,— daadenftOiii perlb 

Cude.... ...per lb 

Caji^P Bt per lb 

Camphor. ,per lb 

Caraway ,.,, ..per Ib 

Seed per* 

Caaala ..,.„ ,.. ....... per Ib 

Cinnamon, tme ..,....»,.* .per oa 

CUronvila, prime .,.,.,..,.,. ....per lb 

Winter'!.,,... ,. ,.p*rlb 

Capolva.... perlb 

CroloB perlb 

Cnbeba.... ,......,,..,,....,.,.,,..... .per lb 

Cummin....... J.. .,*».....,,.^..,,... per lb 

F«Einel,...........4. ........perlb 

Geranium.... ...perlb IS 00 

ChWi perlb 

Prepared.... per lb 

TurkWi perlb U 00 

JeBaamlne , ..... perlb 

Janlper..,..,, .... .................. .perlb 

Berrle*. true. ...perlb 

LtTender, Garden, forte .per lb 

floe ,. ....per lb 

Flowere, ClOrif, No. 1 ..... . .per lb 

lAveoder Bplke per lb 

Laurel. Kxpresied.,. .....per lb 

LemoTif l>>>ni)er't ................... ..per lb 

Lainon,— Q U. ii Co 'a..,. .per lb 

— Randor^on'a (sew) .per lb 

LemoncraRS,— Wioi«f %... per lb 

Mace, Expreaaed -...,...,„ per lb 

Mmtjanm. .per lb 

Myrrbane ....... perlb 

KaroU BIgarada...... ..per oa 

Chlria peroa 

Petit Grain perlb 

OIlTf, pure pcTiirat 

Maraellloa, quaria... per box 

plals...... ...per box 

Oranife..... .......,, per tb 

Origanum ••,*,« perlb li 

Patohenty , ..per 01 

rcnnyrriyal per lb 8 T8 

Pi»pprrmlnt, pure .,..j>er Ib 8 93 

Rhodium... •..,......,. .per lb 

Vuw«. YlXuKaWcW ...,..„ ..,.,..„. .jftt tm 

T!Wb era trj , T t t^e\i ....,,..,,.... .^w Vfc 

T T\«Va \ w \\v 

' CUL1f^a vw"** 



May, 1M9. [ 



American Drttgg^iM^^ Price- OittTent 



275 



Oil, Skblne. piin p*i lb 

awHirnka^ cmni pirr tb 

SeAftame, ^klA<1, tine **.,«.....•. .pvr lb 

toruffMloi, UoLebkiM per lb 

fifklke.... ,, , per lb 

9uec(iitiin, erode p«r]b 

rctlA^d... 4....«.< pcrfe 

T»nrr.-r*'Ki>tin»nV*.',i per lb 

Tbrmr, while, |>ur«...... .,...,..,««,,. per tb 

J T«l«<Tl»n. ...*.., ..♦..,.»,,....,....p«r lb 

VF iiDW-riErwii . . . , * , . . *.pw tb 

Wlol«rKr«en, 7»n D«U9«i} Brot. per lb 

Wonowood ., p*r Jb 

Wonafreed, WMtern ^, .per lb 

llAltiiBore .fttr lb 

BUcfc Pepper ^.. per Jb 

Cn^cam-. .,... pero« 

Etboi -.-.- pw •« 

Oplvm ,.p«r]b 

OfWi(e Bitdb or Applet ....... Iier lb 

CuracoK Rib« .per lb 

0*«o Rwe, pure ..peroc 

cnnmrrcbl , .per Ml 

Peppers, Zwuaber pur lb 

Pbosphftnu . ....,,...<..,«....,., .per lb 

Amorpbov* ..<«....«....p«rlb 

Pipcrin per cj« 

prjiSnphjrllln , ....peroi 

Poppy Ueula ..per lb 

PoiABM, Acrtat« per lb 

Bieart>onjite « p«rlb 

('mrbonat« .,.,. .4 ,,.,.per lb 

CMiellc cominoB.... .« per tb 

white ....« per lb 

Cllrale. .' par lb 

cam Colce ...,..,.« per lb 

Ily |iojihi<iph1te .per lb 

PeniiiinicBDatf, ordlnery. . ...,,.., .per tb 

PtiMphule r"'r '*» 

PntMlula , per lb 

Salphnte ...pertb 

Ttrtratfl ..^..<< per tb 

PoiiMlaiD .t peroe 

Broaildt' perib 

I'yuilde, rui...,w.'. per lb 

sran ...4 4..... .k. .per lb 

IwMile perH> 

Pafphurtt ,. .. , ..per lb 

QidfilDe, CiTrMe. with IrDA......i.,.t4..>...per cm 

Bulpbete, Amcrloan per «t 

Frendi .......ik.....<...rter oi 

QaMsla, ra.MiM pw lb 

RedOi^lkFln^rs ....per lb 

lCr«J Pf i dpi Ute . ..ptr lb 

ft««lD or>) lep, pure ,.....>.... per lb 

XocbelleBalt .perib 

Boole, Aonnfte «, ...per lb 

Alkanet ..p«rlb 

AHb«» per lb 

AncrlicA ...perM> 

GeUnius .per lb 

CoSchlrum 4. ««. 1.4.. ..per lb 

C»h*m\t>> ....per lb 

CuIt.t(9 per lb 

DeodeHnn «., ,, .per lb 

Oelnn^Al ......,<,*„^ ,, per lb 

Gratlen (,,.,-,. ,. ... per lb 

Gto^er, Kaee, Afnc»n .pe*r lb 

Jemalc^, Btceched \wr\h 

Golden 8e«J per ib 

Helleliorc bijtok prt Vb 

white, powdrred p^r lb 

IpereeuAntiiB ,.......,, .per lb 

powdered ...........,„.per lb 

Jelftp .....prrlb 

powdered .......<«.. ., ..per lb 

Ueorire ,.. , .per lb 

Ifendrake ..**., ..«.*>.. » ,«perlb 

On^ Florentine per lb 

Verooa..., f ......».*. .per lb 

Pink ,, V. ....prrifc 

RbeUn; .'., per lb 

Rbnberb, K. I , per lb 

Turkey .....it.».per lb 

fierfeperilla, ITondarAft.... ........ .per tb 

Mexlcaa. .per lb 

Tnrbeth .,...,v ;.*..p«rlib 

Tfel•rlu^ EtiffUth per lb 

Duicb ........,, .....;.. ..per lb 

Oemum per lb 

YpTTnotti ;. ....... per lb 

Baeke, Vlrglnle...... B«r lb 

8«Deea .... , .Jer lb 

Ea«« Le&ve* • per lb 

|l<'jaemi«rr I,,e*r te , .per lb 

BuMico Terri per lb 

fi&fftoo, Arneri«»ii, new ..,..«.,.,«. .per lb 

^penleh, trao...... ..per lb 

Peso. Prerl... » ...,......,,,. ..per lb 

BaUdin ,,, per oa 

— •-..' P*''^ 

..per lb 

perib 



to 1 SO 

to I 10 

to 9 U 

to 6 SO 
to 

to 10 

to TO 

to & 00 

to 8 T5 

to IB 00 

to & 00 

to A 00 

to 7 i>0 

to 8 79 

to 8 r.0 

to 1 U 

to SfiO 

to «S 

to 19 00 

to IS 

to tS 

to 10 00 

to T 00 

to S8 

to 1 SO 

to 8 8& 

to 1 M 

to 60 

to Sd 

to $(> 

to 8(V 

lo 90 

to OA 

to 9ft 

to 1 1« 

lo 7& 

to 4 SO 

to 80 

to 9 7A 

to 44 

to 14 

to 1 Oft 

10 8 70 

to 1 U 

to m 

to 1 M 

to b is 

to 85 

to 88 

to 9 «0 

to 965 

to T 

to 1 IS 

to 28 00 

to 48 

to M 

IT to 18 

to 99 

to SB 

10 to 40 

to 90 

to 94 



to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
9S0 to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
lo 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



19 
15 
90 
89 

SO 

14 

as 

S80 

8 40 
900 

iso 

IS 

1« 

IT 

^.^ 

88 

80 
400 

u no 



AUHBKMllaO 

Boda, Kawee«tl«. 

Baatonlne 

Smmm/YMgBmrk 



.pwlb 



U 

too 

n 
10 

990 

IT 00 

19 

IS 

« 

1 SO 



^oammotir, rlrf., tmo. par lb 

»ead«, Aabie..... ^ , ...perib 

■tar ...... •,., perib 

Gaoarj, Duteb. .,,..,..., ....;.,,..|H-rhnflh 

Smjmia^ .,,... per bq«b 

CaiPduDOtn, Malabar , er l^ 

Carol per lb 

Celery per lb 

CUJver ^ .....,,,.«,.,...,.,.. ^per lb 

Cotcriiconi .,..». »,^, .piT lb 

Coriander....,..., par lb 

Cumtnla ,...,. par lb 

Fcnrel perib 

Foenii greek per lb 

Henp.. ....per ba«h 

ULiaeed, Americas denD...., per ttiTce 

rough perbn^ 

Bombay (gold) p«r busJi 

Calcutta (gola) .perhiuh 

Htutard,brtiwB, ...»....,*,.... per lb 

wblte. ..,..:.. V. p-^rlb 

Rape .per hri*h 

Tinmihy ......•...'. . . .per tuab 

Worm, ..".....perib. 

fleldUtc Mixture , .,.:. .per fb 

Senoa, Honovfrlly............... .,,;...,. -per lb 

Alexandria..., ....:: ...par lb 

K.I ...,.•.. pfrib 

Smfllta. Blue per lb 

Bouff, Lorlllerd'A .M »ccaboy pt-r lb 

Coar«e Itappee per lb 

IrUh nSg^ Toirt. per lb S 

Fri»»h S<otcb pertb 

Soap, Ca«t|]e, MmiIlJ per lb 

White perib 

noatIn«.... per fb 

Low'e Brown Wlndaisr per jrr» 

Soda Acetate ...,, ;,; ...... per lb 

Chlunile ,...;,.. pwrlb 

Chloride, Liqaor .,..;.......... prr eal 

curate p*r lb 

Hydnwutpbate. |*er lb 

llypophctephlte. . ."* per lb 

Hy poeuJfthlte .. , p^rr tb 

Nitrate, pun* ., .perib 

Phiapb.it«.. ... ................per lb 

PyropliMphato. .,,... per lb 

SiilpbUe per lb 

A»lj .;....... par lb 

Swllttiii. perib 

Iitdldc .per lb 

Spirit Ainmoota ;..,. prr lb 

Arataiiic per lb 

Lavender. per tb 

Nitre Dulc. per lb 

Ro«omiiry..,....? perib 

Spoogea, Bahama per lb 

Bttthinv. FnrtnM ..|ter1b 

Coarte lirown...* p^^r lb 

Fine, mfdiiitn per lb 6 

HnTifceou'a. perib 4 

Zlrnooi,.... perib 9 

CuptTurkfj.... ........ perib *n 

Trieste perib 4 

Fine T.aiet. bleaebad. perib 19 

Floe Trieste, email per tb 4 

Olore.. ...... ..,..,.,, ..perib 1 

Or*.«*, ..-..;. .'...*'.... per lb 

£tbeen'« wool..., .per )b 1 

Bar Chujx.... per (b 

Bqullla :...per lb 

St. JtnhjCt Bread , perib 

StruBtla, MnrUU .....per lb 

Nitrate perib 

Oxalate per lb 

Blrjcbala, Acetate. peroa 

Cllrmte.. pt-r 01 

Nitrate *.«.f,^. per m 

Pore, eryitalltnd. -'. * p<'r oa 

powdered ..per i>s 

Balpbate ,, .perot 

Talerlasato per «•* 

myrax Calamtta ;•...'. perib 

BuKBr (if lyad .:..... per tb 

Sujrar of Milk .". ;... .•;, . . . p<T lb 

Pulphtir 9ut*Hme. .per lb 

TwnaHnde ......"..;..... per lb 

Tannin ...:;:.: perib 

Tapioca, Fast Inrllt, white per lb 

Pearl ..perib 

Tartar Emetic, powdered p«r lb 

crvitaUlsed .... ....... per lb 

TlBFolI,thlB perib 

Pf eneb. No. IS per lb 

Tobarro , . . . , .per lb 

Tonqua Bccdi, Par*. perib 

Augufltora perils 

Ura Ural, Amerlean............. ........ ..par lb 

French ....perib 

VaoUla Beaaa, BourboH.: par lb 

Mexleiia perib 

Ventre Torpeallne per lb 

Vrratrta , .......^w** 

VUrVftVWvw •V«''^ 

\ Oiaen * -V^"^ 



to 90 00 
to 95 
lo 06 
4T5 
4 TA 
4 60 
89 
TS 
IS 
94 
IS 
SO 
80 
19 
9 8S 



9S0 

9 SO 
880 

1« 

1« 

25 

00 
98 
4S 
9S 
00 
9» 
99 
78 

1 00 

as 
as 

IS 
S5 
„ 85 
to 1& 50 
to 80 



to 


siS ■ 


to 


fl 


to 


1 00 H 


lo 


1 OS ■ 


to 


4 10 ■ 


to 


10 ■ 


to 


■ 


to 


■ 


to 


193 H 


to 


■ 


to 


H 


to 


11 00 ■ 


to 


soo ■ 


to 


4S V 


to 


iJQ " 


to 


SO 


to 


40 


to 


SO 


!o 


90 


to 


4 00 


to 


SO 


no to 


T 00 


00 to 


t OS 


on to 


8 00 


oil \o 


MOO 


m to 


IROO 


00 to 


15 00 


m t<i 


460 


75 to 


9 00 


to 


85 


60 to 


1 TO 


to 


SAO 


to 


19 


to 
to 


& 


to 


SO 


to 


1 SO 


lo 


8 T» 


to 


75 


to 


S T5 


to 


8 M 


to 


8 95 


to 


8 75 


to 


600 


to 


SS 


to 


40 


to 


SS 


6Xt« 


T 


to 


10 


to 


978 


to 


IS 


to 


IS 


to 


95 


to 


1 15 


to 


4> 


lo 


SO 


to 


40 


to 


SS 


to 




to 


19 


to 


IS 


to 


11 00 


to IS 00 ■ 


to 


«s ■ 


Vft 


^-»^ ■ 


XV Ma ^> ■ 


'tSM* -*• ■ 



*?( 



\menmn 



'rtce-i 



'eni 



May, 18(9. 



Vltrlo!, Whit* , ..,.per lb 

Wm, Whll«,-J. 1. Elkeiii i>er Jb 

Nci H>rJb V 

rWIlIp** pMlb 

Tfllow per lb 

Whlt« Wax,— Lfonhardfi..,, .,_.|i«rjb 

Ockmld..., ....,*,. p*rlb 

tQD-blcftClietf p«r)b 

White Prrcipltate per lb 

WhIU' I>p|«»"r prr lb 

Wine, Colciilcum Beedl......... ,....p*r lb 

Wr»r>d K»pl]t}i«..,.,.i... ..,..., ,»,,,*..,,. p«r lb 

Wormwfiitft Htrb...... ♦...,,, ,,.,,, pff lb 

T«llow Bark per lb 

Dock perib 

Zaflte ........4 ..perlb 

Zinc, Acetate.^, .«««....,..,.,.. -.».,« per lb 

Chltirlde „ per tb 

DTBS AND BYKfrrfTFFS. 

Anilin* Bloe p*r ll> 

R«d ,.,, per ]b 

Violet............ per lb 

AoDMttn.,.,. .prr lb 1 00 

Cocbincii.1, ITcmdurmi , ..per lb 

Wexicso ,^ per lb 1 BO 

Cuflbear per lb S8 

Culch, Pegqe per lb 

Oftmbier per lb 

InUigo, Betig&t, Ane. ..................... .per tb 

good perlb 2 BO 

mifldttng per lb 9 OO 

HtLdrm^ €no p«r lb 1 60 

onllQwjr p«r lb 

Korp«b , per lb 

Guatemala......... .per lb 2 00 

Caraccdfl , per lb 

LacDjp.pjod (• Ada ..per lb 66 

Logwood, rainpcflc.faj' ,pcr lb 

Kondiiru per lb 

Jamaica.. per b 

Laumia , .pei>]b 

BL Dronlngo .per tb 

Extract p«r lb W 

" bibulk... perIb 

Mima Wn<Kl (gold) perbbl TO 00 

Madder, fiulch .„ per lb tS 

Fr.'noh .per lb 58 

NatnJla, Blue, Aleppo , perlb 

Orchliie , , jwlb »0 

P^ralao Berrl«t perlb 00 

SafBower. .perlb 80 

SapiaDwond ,,. ..................... ..per lb IB 

Turmeric.................. , perlb IS 

TTitramnrlne pylb 2S 

Woftd ptT lb 15 

IIBUGCilSTS* C^JLAStSWAAB. 

[PAOKAOK rSXClS.] 

Or«en Bottlft aad ^ala. 00 percentage 

0<>nDBn Kllnt Botllea aad rials M " 

Flint BoUlii nnd rial* SS " 

ParoUareWare ..10 •* 

Perfumer's Ware. ,.J5 ♦• 

Chemical Warfl.,,,.. net •* 

9rringet.. 10 " 

HotDovpatbic vUli... 10 '♦ 

NAVAL STORES. 

Pllfh.Clly....... perblvl 

Ea«ln, Extra Pal* per280lbi B 00 

1»»Ie •* TOO 

» Ko.I « 6 00 

No.«...... " 4 1M 

Strained. ,......„. " 4 OO 

Common , " 

Sptrita, Turpentine (North CarQUna)... per nl 65 

Turpentine, BofL perSSOlba 

OIL& 

Ll&seed Oil, American ....per gal 

Engtiah .»... .per gal 

Palm Oil , .....perlb 

Patafflne Lubricating (Ml p«r gal 

Bpcrm, Crude per gal 

Bpcfm, Winter, unbleached ........per gal 

Lard Oil Primes Hty p«r gal 

Bed OIL CUy dUtllled ...per gal 

Red on. Saponified per ga) 

Whole, Cmde p«rgal 

W hale. Bleached, Winter per gal 

PAINTS (I»BY). 

A^)haltom. oot perlb 

Bwrtea, Foreign per too 

BaiTte«, AmericaD perlb 

Black I.««d... , .perlb B 

Black Ivory, drop. fktr........ ...*»,,,, perlb 10 

good..., , , .per lb 19 

beat perlb fi4 

Bl«e CeleatlaL good ,.,... perlb 

C:hint0* pt-r lb 

FiymtAH. Mr ta tH-H perlb 86 

Caiift**rfa4 /air <o ^ert ..p«r«> M 



to Tl 00 



discount. 



to 




to 




to 




to 




10 




to 


ST6 


to 


m 


to 


800 


lo 


1 10 


to 


I 10 


to 


14 


lo 


40 


to 


S 10 


to 


« w 


to 


\m 


to 


TO 


to 


T9 


to 


1 HO 


to 


1 96 


to 


7 


to 46 OO 


to 


S 


lo 


19 


lo 


IS 


to 


90 


lo 


88 


to 


14 


lo 


1 00 


to 


\ 00 


ta 


4& 



Chalk, Lvmp........... .....«..pM-1b 

China Clay perlb 

Chalk perbbl 

GrreD Paria, fair to beet p«r lb 

Green Chrome, feilr to beet per lb 

Lamp Black— Coach Falnter'a^L. Martin 
A Cfl.'a. 



perlb 



I.>amp Black, iifdloarj yvr paper 

Lftharge, powderrd. American it Englifth. ..per lb 

Ochr*", 1 rilow, French, drjrl per lb 

Rf-d VcrvpHan .perlb 

Red Indian, fair to beat ...per lb 

bed Lead, Arae> fcia per lb 

KngUth .per lb 

Roae Pink perlb 

Blenna, Amcrlca4i perlb 

lUUaB, B'nt , perlb 

Uaw... 4. ........ ^.,.,.,. per lb 

Cmber. Crude, Turkey per lb 

burnt , per lb 

Tlcmaa's Calir. Vrmitlloa per lb 

Pure Carmine ., ... perlb 

0ff]ubli> Blue...« ..perlb 

VerEnllioD, Engilah, pale per lb 

deep .par lb 

Amerlran «... .per lb 

i 111 neee , per lb 

Tritat* perlb 

White, China perlb 

CremniH perlb 

IjMu], pure per )b 

gijod...... per lb 

Paris .perlb 

Zinc, American per lb 

Zinc, FrtDcb ...,«. ......per lb 

Whiting perlb 

PAINTS (IN OIL). 

Black eoacb per lb 

Blue, Chinese.,.,..... , , perlb 

Prna^lan, fair to beat... per lb 

BrowTi, Van Dyke, fair lo beat , , . ,. .per lb 

Dryer, Patent, American... perlb 

Ebgliab p^T lb 

Grean, Cbromn «. .prr lb 

Imperial ,.,.,.. «,.. ,,.,.. per lb 

ParU ♦*.*...* perlb 

Vrrdlpl* p«Tlb 

Putty, In bladd'-rt per lb 

tn bulk ,..*,♦ per 'b 

Red V^netkn, fair to beat. per lb 

Sienna, bornt, Mr tu beat pt-r lb 

W bile Lead, tnelJsh, B. B per lb 

American, pare. per lb 

good ...p*r lb 

fair.... p"' ^** 

White Zinc, Araerlcan ........per lb 

French per lb 

YeJiow 0«h re ptr I b 

Chrome, fair tobMt .....per lb 

SPICBS. 

C4iiala, In mata per lb 

novea. perlb 

Ginger, Race, Aftieaa ....,,.. per lb 

Mace per lb 

Nnlmegi, Xo. 1.. ....,., perlb 

Pt'pper .perlb 

I'lmento, Jamaica per lb 

WINDOW GLASS* 



98 to 

8 to> 
11 to 

«Kte 

B3<to 

11 to 

II lo 

to 

to 

T to 
18 to 



to 

60 
49 



13 






to 

to 
to 

to 1 
to 14 
to 1 



lo 1 

to 1 
to 

to 1 

to ] 



to 
Ifl to 
9 lo 
8.^to 
10 lo 
14 to 



S6 to 

90 to 1 

86 lo 

90 to 

ItXto 

m to 
la to 

88 to 
96 to 

6:5, u, 

to 

8 to 
t9 to 

to 
18><to 
11 to 
» to 
10 to 
19 to 

9 to 
IC to 



IS 
If 
14 

to 



ft 
S« 

T 
9 
10 

00 

16 
W 

Bft 
SO 
M 

so 

14 

4 
11¥ 
1« 



n 



14 
16 
ST 
14 
49 
M 

IS 

86 

1« 

14 

1t>i 

10 

18 

WV 

10 

8i 



by 



American Wloilow— lat, 2d, Sd, and 4lb qutUUea. 



11 by 14 to 



8 by 10, 
10 by 10. 
n by '^ 



Per fifty fc«t • ft 96 to 
8 T6 to 



]S. 



18 by 14 to IS by 14. 



18 by 98 
20 by 80 



to 18 by 
t.1 94 by 



24 by 81 to U by 

26 by 80 tu IS by 

93 by 40 to 80 by 48 ** 

9t Ly B4 to 89 by 66 

89 by 68 to 84 by 80 ** 

84 by 88 to 40 by 80 

The above la vubjeot to ■ discount of SO pfr cent 



T bO lo 

860 to 
10 00 to 
19 60 lo 
14 00 to 
14 00 lo 10 
18 no le 14 
90 60 to 18 
94 00 lo 18 
26 OO to 91 



French Window— lat, 9d, Sd, and 4Lh qualltlM. (Single thlek.) 



8 by B 
la by 11 



8 by 10 Per fifty feet f 8 95 to 



11 by 14 to 

18 by 18 lo 1ft 

98 by 99 to ^ 

«0 by 80 to 

94 by 81 to 

• 86 



10 by 
19 by 



by 
18 by 



by 
by 



by 

94 by 

to 80 by 



40 to 80 by 48i:aq1t«) 



64 to 89 by MfSqiTal.,. 
66 b> 86 by 80(8 qlu)... 
6» to 40 by 60(8 qlt*),.. « 

Subje^jt to a <llflcourit of 80 per cont. EngUah lell* at 10 per 
d\icoMuV dl <t« ifeoN* ta\**. 



6 Tb to 

T 60 to 

S 60 to 
90 00 to 
19 00 XJfi 
14 00 to 
1ft 00 lo 10 
18 00 to 14 
90 80 to I« 
V4 00 to 18 
96 00 to 91 



T6 
0« 
80 
00 
00 
00 
00 
00 

no 

00 
00 
00 

C4«8 



I 






Methods and Hsceut Progress of Spectrum Anulysh. 



277 



\ 



THE CHEMICAL NEWS. 

Vol. IV. No, 5. American Rejsrint. 

ON TflE 

METHODS AND RECENT PROGRESS OP 
SPECTRUM ANALYSIS ♦ 

BT A. S. HERflCITEL, B.A., F,R.A,3., 

rcorauoB or sj^tcrai, nriLOiopuT is tuk axdkiuokiax cvivkuitt 
or ciLAioow. 

Tf?i portion of the solar spectrum which m most pene- 
rallj Ti&ible under all circumstances of the atmosphere, 
and in which the brighl-line epuctra of the metats ob- 
tA-ned with ihe 8p;»rk of a Rhumknrff coil are most 
d'stitiCtly seen, is that contaiaerl between the Fraun- 
hiifers dark lines a and o, at the least ami moRT re- 
frangible ends of rhe epectnim as it appears in Kirch- 
bolTe raapa, the last of which was pijbli>hed in 1S63. 
The air-?peetrum between the poles of an inJuotion 
coil was subsequently employed by Mr. Hugging io hia 
" Researches on the Spectra of some of Lbu Chemical 
El«'Uientes>,*' published in lUe Philosophkal Tran sort urns lor 
I'^fu. as a ^tainliu-d of comparison with the bright»line 
p- 1, ra of the metftlH produced together with i( in the 
induction spark. The superior heat of the voltaic ore 
bein^ found to produce more vivid Bpecrra of the 
' nfs, and to exiiihit lines in tlie violet portion not 
lly seen with the induction coil, a blue tine in the 
fi> ■ctrum uf lUiiurri was tfjus* first flL-iCOvereil by Pro- 
Je-sor Tjndall in addition lo ihc orange line which Dr. 
I'jisen had detected in it by the application of a 
1: run kor IT coil. To exiend Kirchhofl"^ scale of re- 
ffretiee to the nid^r range of artificinl spectra, the 
bibonr of completinj^ the map of the solar spocirura by 
delineatitj^ th<i violet portion, an*l comparing it wiih 
the Tolt^ic spectra ol the chemical elements was 
,• .rrw.ii out by Professor Angstrotn with the n.'ssisiance 
r. R. Tluilen, at T'p.«ala; and the work was 
^ -he i in the Proccttiiuffs of the Stockhohn Acatltrmy 
lor Fcbruory, 1865, Confining tlieir attention chiefly 
to the iron sped rum produced by two stout irou 
pole^ of a Bunsen Battery of 50 cells, tlie specimen of 
lhi« metal vva'^ found to contain «o many bright linen, 
especially in the violet portion, that, in addition to 73 
ir»>ft lines found by Ktrchhoff and Hofmann to have 
counterparts in the dark gidar line-s between a and o, 
about 220 were added to the number in that ffpace 
and 170 more between a and h^ making the whole 
number of iron coincidences ab'^ut 460, to which, it 
lielieved, one or two hundred mig'ht have been 
L had not the short simmer and deficient sun- 
.11: J L iti the high Mfirthern la;itude put an end to their 
comparia una. With a greater battery power, and an 
c*(pi!i'ly extensive trial of other chemical elernentj^, 
whoije vapours appear to he pr<-*sent in the smi, the 

f)robability wasauggeted that ihe inrmraerable black 
in»'S of the solar Fpectrum, wliich still remain out- 
tanding when tliose of iron are subtracted, may at 
gth be acfiounted for wjih >ut assumiug the ex- 
cnce of chemicid elements in the solar aimosphcre, 
th which we are nnacquainted on tlie earth. The 
lar character of four new sodium iine^, which were 
I pointed out and their coincidence with Frauo- 
fer s lines was suspected by Mr, Huggins la his re- 
hesy wta confirmed; while tho agreement of a 

• Ah«trB«t t4 % imiMrr rt*«l Wf'^rp U}« Cli«mt<tAl S*«ii«»n of tb* pf.^.i- 
^bT««l 8*>cf-ty oT<llaa?o«r, on M<iti<laj*. Mwcli ist^ 1869. 

Vol. IV. No. 6.— June, 1869. 18 

[£n«Ualt 



prominent dark line ahniit. half-way between o and n, 
designated /* by the authors, with a fourth line of fhe 
spectrum of incandescent hydrogen was established, 
provin|;(, with tJie correspondeucea of tiie other lines 
at c, r, and c, the existence of tliat element in the 
sun. The niet^l manjianese was plac^ni for the first 
time on the lift of g^ilwr elements, and 50 new cor-, 
n spondences of calcium lines were noted in addition 
to those already previously observed by Kircliholf. In 
a Swedish work on 8;*ec»rnm analysis,* pulduhed in 
tlje following year, Mr. Th;il<5n has comptletl a very 
complete chart of spectra of the chemical eh^ment^j 
referred, like the above-mentioned chart of Mr. Hug- 
gins, to the bright lines of incandeseent air, and con* 
tinucd, fts ftu* ns they couhi be traced, lo the violet 
end of the spectrum. It will easily be perceived that 
the addition of so many characteiistic bright lines 
in tlie spectra of the chemical elements, by the use 
of the voltaic arc, by giving greater certainty to the 
results, facilitates, in a corresponding degree, the 
practical applications of the spectroscope. Moreover, 
in order to establish a natural scale for the uniform 
representation of artificial spectra. Professor Angst nun 
last year publishod a Normal Atfas of the Solar Spec- 
trum,! in wliich tlie wave lengths of tlie Fraunhofer 
lines are employed to delineate them, m) that the 
apace^i between them represent the dificrences of their 
wave lengths enlarged to teti million times tlu ir na- 
tural dimensions. The most refrangible Frnunhofer 
line, II, occupies a point at 3,933 millimetres, and the 
least refrangible line, o, a point at 7|iS5 millimetres on 
fhe ina[», which are ten million times the wave lengths 
of those fines; and the entire map, consisting of six 
plates of two lines each, is 1 1 11. 6 in. in lengtli. The 
violet end of the spectrum in lliis projoctidn is more 
corapresseil, ami the red end tnore expanded, than cor- 
re^ponda to their natural appeararjcc. If, however, 
in pluce of the wave lengths the number of imjiulsei* 
in a second, or their fcale of pitch, ns in mnsicnl 
notes, were employed for projecting the Frauidiofer's 
tine^, a nearly natunil representation of the pnsmuiic 
spectrum would be obtained; and the above olijection 
to the use of the normal scale, whif.-h may not, how- 
ever, be of very great thcorettcal imfioriance, niight 
yet practically be remuved with some ati vantage, A 
series ot elementary btighidine spectra, showing their 
counterparts ftmong tlie solar hues, is laid down in 
the margin of the map, with the fullowing numbers 
of the corie:«pDuding lines of each, in their correct 
pla: es on the scale, viz.: — Iron, 450; titanium, 116; 
calcium, 68; manganese, 63; nickel, 35; col'alt, tQ; 
chromium, 18; barium, 10; sodium, 9; J magnesium, 
7; copper, 7; zinc (blue fines), 2; alumininm (violet 
lines), 2; hydrogen, 4. By a series of remarkat le 
coincidences, if not of absolute agreements, twentv- 
four lines of tiiunium, Iwenty-one of calcium, and four 
lines of manganese are represented hi the map 113 cor- 
responding exactly in th* ir posilions with irun lines. 
A similar agreement between a double fine of ni- 
Ifogcn and a double line of oxygen was observed by 
Mr. Hoggins in the speeinim of incandeacenl air, || but 

• "?|WPfnir(in.nlyB, Exprtsu orli tllatnrlfe : Mrnl ea Sin-ktrelkArta." 
Af Rob. Tliai^n. tl|i«ala, tdqulftt A Berirlunci, 16^.. 

t *'t'rerirc Nonnal dii ttotclt; " [i«r A.J. Aii?«tr<im, XJ\n»\, I'SGS, 
Th« plute* an? driiWii by Mr Tt»A!«Mi. 

X Thrse «f t|i<» nvw lino* of llic ciMlltim upoctnim nrc «!<mbl«. tike 
the fAOiHIar D line, an rl the fourOi Is » iiurrr>tr lu-hulotiB line, iDiiklng 
the total Dumbor of aiuc separate bright lilies in Uw ai-cctruu u( tbU 
vapotir. 

r - u..^.,,.-.i ,.. .>n (i|n *rv..-.tr» of MtfDfor ihe Chcnilcsl EcnM-nls,** 
Tar tC^, pnrt it 



278 PrejMratimi of AUzaruw. — l^hya^wal Condition of Hie Sun, 



1 .Tim*, 1M0. 



as the conresponrlence .appeared, on closer examiua- 
tion, not. to be ubsolukly perfect, it was shown to 
be probftbly an nccideiual, although cerlaiuly a moat 
curious, t*oinoidcnce. In Angstrom's Norinal Atlus 
the flir spectrum ia f)laced on a paralU*! line witli the 
solar Bpectium, extending Ihroug^hout its length, so as 
to iui'lu«le the hues of the elementary >y('etia belweeis 
lljcm. ThH coDipsirisou of the latter witli ^^ither of the 
two standard jicaks is, accorditi^rly, marie a matter of 
ca«y reference. At the en] of the atlag is placed a 
churt of the atrao-pheiic dark lines and spuces of the 
solar f^pcctniin, a large number of wliieh are now 
known to owe their presence in it to the nhsorptiun 
produced by oqueous vapour in the eartli's atraos- 
ph> re. Thus cloudy group of hne.-? is well characterized 
by Mr. Tlmlen as forming a faint j^ound, from which 
the two solui lines ol tlie inverted metallio spectra, tol- 
erably deep black and well delinetl^, stand out, as if seen 
in perspective, in strong relioC In pl;iee of the four 
glass prkms u^ed by Mr. KirchhofT in his researches, a 
smgle bisulphide of ciirlKm prism with a refracting angle 
of oo"^, a coUimfitor, and an astronomical t*'lescope, each 
magnifying forty times, were 3t»und to be a sullicienUy 
powerfql apparatus to di-'-tinauiah all the lines shown in 
KirchhcflTs mftps, and to add to them the numerous 
lines recorded in the above-moiitioiied drawings by 
Mr. Thalen, From the foregoing di'.sciipUon of their 
recent publications it will be sei-u ihut the operations 
of the Swedish observers continue to atl'ord fresh datA 
of prac;ical value to spectral analysis, as well as some 
very important contributions of a Rovel and interesting 
kind to spectroscopic science. 



describe, confirm the exactitude of the rational formula 
previously proposed by us for alizarine. It is ust'lesa 
to insist on the importance which our dL^covery w; 
possess when the means are found to render it univ« 
sally afipltcable. The enormous consumption of ma( 
der1n tl>e printing of tissues, the large tracts of fertile 
soil made wm of for its cultivation, are so many wil 
nesses of the importance which a new trade wow" 
have, founded on the artificial preparation of sdixnrii 
by niciiiis of a uinterial contained in the oil of coal lar. 
It appears, according to further accounts from Bel 
lin, that Me^8l■a. Graeger and Liebermann, in order 
obtain fdizarine frosn anthr.iCk^^ne (paranaphthaline)i col 
vert that hydrocarbon into alcohol, and the alcoliol int 
an achi (lizaric acid and alizarine being synonymous) 
by acting upon the hvdrocatb.m wiih cidorine 
bromine, and next efi'ecting a double decomposition bj 
means of tjcetate of pi}ta&sa and caustic p«>ta«5«a; aft< 
whicli iigam ati oxidising ugent is made to act upon tl 
alcohol so oljtaiiiied. We tliirdf we may state that 
gentlemen above name<i prefer the oxidising action 
chlorate of potassa and hydrochloric acid. 



Oy THE 

ARTIFICIAL PKErARATION OF ALIZARINE. 

At the meetinfr of the Chemical Society of Bclgitini on 
the 24th of February, 1S68, MM. Graebe and Lieber- 
munn commuuicated a memoir on fdizariiie, from which 
an intimate relation was acknowledged between thit^ 
colouring matter and anthnicene. By heating aliza- 
rine, according to M. Biieyor's method, with zinc dust, 
they obtained, as the sole product of reduction, a hy- 
drocarbon having the composition CuIIm, and present- 
ing a'l the qualities of anthracene, 

Thif curious fa«::t caused aliz irine to be considered as 
a derivative of anthracene. It also led MM. Graebe 
and Liebermann to reject the formula, tlu-n very gene- 
rally allowed for ali/.tiriiie, dftFLOi, and to adnut for 
this bntiy the composition Citn«Oi, which they ex- 
pressed by the rational formula — 






Havin? thus obtained anthracene as a product of ali- 
zarine, MM, Graebe and Lieberraanu have since suc- 
ceeded in solving the inveri^e problem, that is to say, 1 
the artificial prepartition of alizarine by nwans of an- 
thracene. The tollowifig account of their new discov- 
ery is published by the-su chemist* in the llaj>port» de 
Ja SocUU dc L%imi* dt licrlin (January i ith, 1869). — 

**The properties of our product, as well as thecoloura 
which it ha3 given us on mordacitiid cotton, prove the 
complete identity of artificial alizarine with tliat fr^m 
madder root. We subtnit to the ins]ii'cti<m uf the So- 
ciety sample^? ot the colouring, matter in a sublimed 
state, as well as speciaiens of cotton which have been 
dyed with tliis product. The procecdinga which led 
us to this synthesis, and which we siiall hereafler 



RESEARCHES ON GASEOUS SPECTRA 

T.S RELATION TO THE 

PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE SUN.* 

Br DR. 1. rRANKLA!n>, F.B S., A5n> J. HORMAK LOCSYER, 
r.ILA.8. 

Thk authors have carefully studied the i?peetrtim 
hydrogen under varying conditions, with a view, 
detecting whether or not there exi;.ted a line in tl 
orange, and to determine the cause to which the thici 
ening of the line t is due. They failed to detect anj 
line in the hj'drogen spectrum near ihe line d. As 
gards the tbifikening of the line F, they have convinced 
themselves that the widening out is due to preasi 
and not appreciably, if at all, to temperiiture per 
Having detenniaed that the pheuomena presented 
the line f were dependent up(»n and indicated varj 
pressures, the authors w^re in position to deierrnine tfc 
fttmo<pheric pressure operating in a prominence, 
which the red and green hne^ are nearly of eqi 
width, and in the chromos|»here, through which 
green line gradually expands a^ the body of the su 
approoched. With regard to the higher prominen* 
they have ample evidence that the gaseous medium 
which they arc composed, exists in a condition of el 
cppTiive tenuity, and that at the lower siirfiice of 
chromosphere itself the pressure is very far below 
pressure of the earth's atmosphere. The bnlboua 
pt-arance of the hue f may be taken to indicate vioh 
consecutive currents, or local genera li<»ns of heat, 
condition of the chromosphere being doubtless one 
the mo?t intense ai:)ion. According to the hypothec 
based upon Kin-hhoff's researches and examination 
the solar spi ctrum, the photosf>herc itself is either sol 
or liquid, and is surrounded by an atmosphere 
posed of g'.ises and itie vapours of the substances inc 
descent in the photosphere. In-'tead of this co 

ftound atmosphere, the authors of these researches hal 
bund a guseour^ envelope, by which nearly, or at 
events midnly, the spectrum of hydrogen is givei 
while the tenuity of this incandcBcent atmosphere 
sucli, that it is extremely improbable that any considi 

• AbitrMSt uf « paper prescDted to the Bojal :?oclety, FL'bmirj ul 
1869. 



[Engii»h Edition, Vol. XIX, Bo. tt'', v*iw 151,168.1 



t N«wi, 



} Solar Aimo^Kiere. — EjqyloBii^e PowderB, — Analysis of Carhon. 2 79 



able fttmo^here, such as tlie corona ha« been imagined 

to inili»:atf, lies ouLniiie of it. With regard to tbe 

'.re ifdL-lf^ so far Ironi being either a solid siir- 

)i:fjuid ocean, that it ia cloudy, or gaseous, or 

t"-^ii, I'Miowa both from their obaervatiotas Wid experi- 

lenta. 



OK TITB 

lEFRANGIBILITY OF THE BRILLIANT YEL- 
LOW RAY OF THE SOLAR ATMOSPnERR 

BY U. O. RATCT. 

DAVE lately been enabled to determine in a rery ex- 
t maimer the position of this brilliant line by means 
l©f n very dispfrsive spectroscope and a line wire micro- 
leter. By taking;, jih unity, the distance d d", bcfweyn 
le two line^ ofgrouji ri, tlu' nuinlter 2*49 is found as 
juivalent to the distance betwei-n the brilliant line at 
>, and the most rrfrangible of the u raye. The proba- 
te crriT in tliis result m less tlion 0-03. 
Tlie balliant yellow bne corresponds to the division 
l6'8 of the scale of the Kirchh^jflTajicctnim. Adopt- 
^^tor length of wave of the lines d' and d" o'ooo59053 
i3m-, and O'oaosSgSS m.rn., tliat of the brilliant line is 
^0^00058327 m.m. The 3'ellow line may be seen upon 
jwhole drcnmferenceof the .sular disc quite ns easily 
three lines ofhydrotren : the incandescent gas to 
fch it coiresponds la theicfftre of the s .me character 
as bydrogfu, one of the conntitnent el*:'ment'? of the 
solar atm. sphere. Ar the point where the brilliant ray 
[appears, no blaik line has yet been perceived. 

The* mode b}' which I have daily examined the solar 

latniosphtrc was aw tollows: — I employed an equatorial 

with an object glass, of a focal length of 5 metres, and 

which wtus diaphragmed down Lo 8 centime tre:'. Ttie 

telescope was thus teiiden d quite achromatic, and the 

"Terence between the brilliancy of the image of the 

r disc and that of its atmottphere was greatly re- 

'd. At the principal focn.*, wlicre the clear imnge 

>f the sun f.dl, was iiLced tbe very narrow slit of a 

lirect vision spectroscope; the a-tronomJcal tcltpcope^ 

rhich !*ervc8 in tlie latter instrument to exatnine the 

ilrnm, is movable around an axis which is parallel 

li the e«lgtfa of I he prisnia, nnd it is qm'te easy to 

:eep only a smftll region of tbe spectrum within the field 

»f vifiioD, namely, that containing one of the brilliant 

inea. I hare also placed between the object gla«s and 

Ihe slit "f the spectroscope a direct vision prism, itself 

)receded by a narrow slit. This arrangement is very 

Ivantageoua aa regards a clear view of the yeKow line. 

In this case there is formed an iTOperfcct image a litt'e 

farther otT than the principal facua of the object glass*, 

from this a determined colour ig thrown upon the 

Lt of the epectioscope. — Comptea Rendu*. 



bore«, and an explosive powder for torpedoes and pro- 
jectiles destini.'d for the tmdermiuing of fortifications. 
The principal advantages of these new powders «re the 
following: — Increase of balistic power without in- 
creflfle of exploitive power; tlie base remaining the 
same, poasibility of regulatmg and varying the effects 
between the limiia of one to ten; also of regulating, at 
will, the rapidity of combustion of tiii.s powder, and of 
increasing the balistic power without chanuing the 
mode of manufacture. Other advantages are — regu- 
larity in the manner of action ; suppression of sulphur, 
and consequt'ntly of the vapours of aidphide of jjotas- 
sium aufl «ul()hurett*'d hydrogen ; absence of action 
on metala and almost entire suppression of smoke. Into 
the explosive poivderi* only two coraponeula enter— 
picrate of pot^ish ami njtrate of potjish ; the musket 
and gun powder!^ contiiin carbon in addition to the above- 
named ingredients. To prepare these powders, the in- 
gredienta are beaten from three to six hours with a 
proportion of water varying Xrom 6 to 14 per cent, aC" 
cordrng to the nalureofthe mixture; the powder La 
condensed by means of the hydi-auhc press, with a pres- 
sure of from 30,000 to loo^ooo kilos., graining of the 
powdiT, and pressing and drying it according to the 
methods employed ft>r the black powder. In order to 
increase the balietic fiowcr, the relative proportion of 
picrate of potaah in the mixture mu.^tbe increa^d. For 
musket powder it has been proved I hat not more than 
20 per cent of picrate of potash is reqtiired, while for 
gunpowders its prnporti«m varies from 8 to 15 per cent. 
Tliis corapnnent (picrate of potash) is of a beautiful 
golden yellow colour, and cr>staUi8<*s into prismatic 
needles pos^eBsing a brilliant refleciion ; it ia insoluble 
in alcohul, but soluble in about 260 parts of water at 
15 or 14 ports of boiling water. Heated Avith care it 
becoines orange red at a temperature of 300", but, on 
cooling, it assumes its original colour. Heated 10310^*, 
it det^jnates with violence. The researches of M. Johni 
Cftsfhelluz on tlie action of ijitric acid on phonic acid 
improved the method of manufacturing picrii^ acid, and 
produced cliemicnlly pure picrate of potash at. auch a 
reasonable price that I he now powders are not more eat- 
pensive than ordinary blark powder. 

MM. Desiguolle and Casdieltaz give the following 
proporti'ins for preparing deflagrating mixtures with,* 
coloured flames : — 

« , ,„„ fl-« T Picrate of ammonia 50 
Golden Are ^p^^^j^^j..^^^ 50 

Green fir« .. \ ^^7^i^ ""[ amionia 48 
{ Nitrate of barytas 5a 

D J fl i Picrate of anuuonia 54 

R«d fire...... -j jjji^g^^ ^f. ytj-ontina ^^j 

-^BuUeiin de la S-^cifia d' Encohrogem^nt. 



ON KEW EXPLOSIVE POWDERS. 

BY M. DEaiCNOLLE. 

(abstract.) 

Maft improvements having lately been made in the 
^rt of war, and partictdarly in the adoption of hrcech- 

iding arms, the want has been felt of new powders? ro 
[meet the requirements of the pre?ent arlHlery. This 

^ant hfts been supplied by M. Uesignnlle, who has in- 
[Tentpd a new s^'^tcm of powders of which carbazotate or 
derate of potash is the base. These powders are of four 

lads^viz., a musket powder, gunpowder for short 

)re cannons, slow gunpowder for cannons with long 



ON THE 

IMMEDIATE AIs^ALYSIS OF DIFFERENT' 
VARIETIES OF CARBON. 

BY M. BEnTtlELOT. 
(Concluded from Am. liupr., Mar, tS^ ptfesgi.) 

IIL Carboi( Separated from its DnrrBRXNT 

CoMBI»ATt0K3. 

T EXTRACTED carlion from its combinations with hydro-» 
gen, chlorine, sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen,, boron, and 
metal.s, varying as much as possible tlie conditions of 
the separation, 
1. Bydroearhon C(ymhinationa. — Thsae I decomposed 



[E»g««Ji edition. Vol XlXn Wo- *B'. P»«" ^^r 159.] 



Oni 




of Different Varkfies of Carbon. \ 






^ 



by licttt alone, by tho electric epark, and by chlorine, 
oxygen, &c. 

Beut. — Carbides of hy<Jrogen, <ioeompo8<?d by pa«"ing 
their vapour through a red-hot. lube^ yield amorphoua 
carbon, \Chich has a metallic brillioncy in that part 
which ndhere^ to rhe sides of the *ube, whilst the cen- 
tral portion is pulvcmble and soils paper; both will 
dissolve in the oxidLsinfi^ reafjent, but the metallic por- 
tion being more coherent, will require a greater num- 
ber of treatments. Charcoal furniihed ly bcnzenie car- 
bides does not ditTer in this reepect frotn the charcoal 
of other carliides — similar facta may be here remt-Tii- 
bered witli respect to charcoal from retorts, wood char- 
coal, and coke. 

The Electric Spark. — I have examined the carbon pre- 
cipitated by this means in th^ decomposition of maryh 
gaa; it consiijted of amorphous carbon and a small 
quantity of graphite. I believe the amorphou* carbon 
to be duo 10 tl>e proper dccomposmg action of heat, and 
the graphite to tljat of eWrtricity. 

Ch/omie. — The carljoi: precipitated from marsh gas by 
this means was amorphous carbon, sunilar to that pro- 
duced by heat. 

Iodine and lodhydrit. Artc^,— Benzine, naphthaline 
and sevend other carbides, heated to 2S0' fir ac\eral 
days, yield a special charcoaiyj^matter, interesting on 
account of the low temperature at which it is formed. 
Tlie eharcoaly njatters contained in benzine and naplitha- 
hne both behave in the same manner. They are easily 
diasolved by an oxidiainj.;; agent, and form a yellowisli 
brown compound, very emuUionable, eafiily precipitated 
by the addition of a salt, and, in fict. nenrer tlian any 
other to the state of graphitic oxides, witho'tt, however, 
being capable of total asfiimilalion with them. The 
charcoal derived from benzttie retains this property 
alter beiug calcined to a white heat in hydrogen; but 
it d(»es not then acquire the power of furniahing a true 
graphitic oxide. 

Products obtained ly oxidising boiizinic charcoal 
with pure nitiic aciil weresubjecteJ to special examina- 
tion ; they are soluble in concentrated nitric acid, but 
if tliis be ddutcd with water, a brown resin is precipi- 
tated, whilst an analogoua substance ia suspended in 
solution. The first, when dried, becomes brown and 
fragile; it deflagrates after the manner of graphitic 
oxidi??, but contains nitro clcmentn. On treating thi« 
insoluble resin wiih iodhydric acid at 280°, together 
with the soluble subatancf, ihe result wjis abnndauce of 
gaaeoas carbides and a few liquid c.irbi le?. The siiriul- 
tancous coot-act of iodine and ioilhydric acid at 280° 
does not then determine either the formati^in of gra- 
phite, or of a charcoal, transformable into graphite by 
calcination ; but at a higher temperature it is otherwise. 
The charcoal obUiined by the rfecompo:-itlon of iodhy- 
dric etlwr in a red-hot tube does, in luct, contain aeon- 
eideralde quantity of graphiU', transformable by oxida- 
tion into an oxide analogoiuj to that of electric graphite. 
With regard to carbon in formation at this temperature, 
iodine presents the same modilyitig power by which it 
eo easily changes ordinary into red pho^phonis, and 
soluble into insoluble sulphur. 

These conditions of carbon and sulphur are pre- 
cisely tho?e which are affected by the same elements 
obtained by the decomposition of their chlorinated com- 
pound,^. 

Oxygen, — Lampblack represents carbon precipitated 
by ine jmplete cotnbustion, in which heut and oxida- 
tion c««ncur ; it has been previously shown to consist of 
amorphous carbon, with a trace of graphite. The first 



I attribute to the action of heat, the second to oxidatloni 
affected at a high temperature. 

I have also examined the charcsoaly matter produced^ 
by the slow combustion of acetylide ot copper at th« 
ordinary temperature ; it is entirely dissolved bj 
oxidation,* 

2, Chloride of Carbon. — Upon decomposing thai 
vapour of perchloride of carbon, CsCU, in a red tube, 
the charcoiily matter obtained wa-* found to be 
mixture of amorphous carbon with a considerable quan- 
tity of graphite. The chloride of carbon does not 
therclVTL', (uruish the same carbon as marsh gag, not- 
withstiuiding the analogy of the formulae C»H« and' 
CX-h. 

3, Sulphide of Carbon, on being decomposed in & 
rod tub*', ftirni-^hes carbon in thin coherent pUtea.] 
This carbon contains much graphite,, but does not soil 
paper. 

4, Xiiride of Carbon. — Cyanogen decomposed by^ 
the spai k only fiirnis'hcs amorphous carbon w ith a trace 
of graphite ; the latter I atiributc to tlie influence of the 
apark. 

5, Curhonie Add. — Carbonate of soda is decomposed] 
by heating with phoBphorus. The carbon thus ob'»J 
taineil is black and light, and is not attacked by iodhy-j 
dric iicid at 280"*. It dissolves by oxidation, leaving %\ 
small quantity of graphitic oxide. It may therefore! 
be considered as a mixture of amorphous carbon and 
gniphite. 

I also caused sodium to react at a red heat on carbon- 
ale of soda ; on again taking up the mast* with water, 
the whole dissolves, except a snjall quantity of carbon, 
eonsisting prineipally of graphite. 

6, Viirbitie of Boron. — Carbon Is extracted fronri ada- 
mantine boron, by treating it with a current of dry 
chlorine at red heat. This waseffcctid at twodLfferent 
temperatures— vis5., at one interior to tliat at which.) 
glasd is softened, and ot one approaching that at which 
porcelain fuses. In both cases the carbon conflisted 
of grtiphit^s containing no traces of diamond, and 
transformable into graphitic oxide. The sole diflerenca 
between the two experiments was tlmt the graphite 
prepared at dull red heat was amorphous, wliile that 
produced at white heat was in hexagonfd crystaK 

The last-named Cnirbon was depo.sited partially some 
distance from where the boi on wa^ lir^t placed ; Uiia 
was pr*)bably due to the temporary formation of a 
d<mble chloride of carbon and of boron. Some ot the 
crystals, when examitit-d under the microscope, present 
the appearance of truncated octahedrons, from the irre-* 
gular development of their edges; neverthcle^'^, when 
closely looked at, their form, togi:ther with their 
transformation imo graphitic oxide, will remove all 
doubt 

7, Carhid^ of Iron, — The carbon comlnned with iron 
is extracted by two proce.-se?— viz., by the action of 
chlorine at a dull red h< at, and with bichloride of mer- 
cury. The carbon thus obtained consists in both cases 
of a mixture of amorphous f^arbon with a smaU quantity 
o{ graphite. It apfxars, tlierefore, that carbon sepa- 
rated from carbides of hydrogen by the action of heat 
does not contain graphite ; while carbon separuled 
from sulphide and chloride of carbon hj the action of 
heat, and from boron by the action of chlorine, contatni 
a considerable proportion of it. Carbon separated from 

^ The Metyllde ot copper was prepared with »colylet]» formed aa- 
der lh« fnfluctice of thu ulvctric arc and hj moans of lis «Jein«nta. 1 
waa able Cn eelmrate, by means i*t Gtiliirh)'«frtc arid, Akl^ tbe ehareoaly 
matter wtiidi lutd loriucU, afWr kecpin({ »cv«rml j'cara. 



[Enghsli EdiUon, Vot XIX, IS 0, 4B7, i^t^e* I£0, .160] 



Cftrl>onic acid (united with soda) cannot "lio obtained in 
condition equally simple; except in one case, this 
rboti, isolated either by phoaphonig or sodium, also 
mtttins a certain proportion of grnplut<*. It is the 
ime with carbon sejmrAted from orj^anic compound? 
)y incomplete combustion — tliat is, by the concurrence 
)f hent and oxirlaUon. 
The re«5nlt of these obgerrations is, that carbon, when 
[separated from hydro^entwd combination?, takes the 
condition of amorphous carbon ; whilst that derived 
from chlorine, sulphur, boron, and perlmps oxygon, in- 
clines to the slate of prnphitie carbon. Amorphous and 
graphitic carbons would thorefore appear to represent, 
Hot different con ]i lions of the carbon itscdf, but certairi 
•lyincric states coiT^pomling wirh that element. — 



I 



N THE WASaiNGr OP PRECIPITATES,* 

BY PBOFESSOR B. BCTN3£X. 

the process of filtration as hitherto condncled, the time 
required is so long' and tlie quantity of WMsh-water 
eeded ©o irrcat ihat snint? siraphfieation ofthi^ contitiu- 

ly recurring oiieration is in die hight-st dt'gree desir- 
able. The folk'wincfmetho'lj which depends^ not upon 
the removal of the iaipurity by simple attenuation, but 
upon its diflpincement by ibrcinj? the wa$h-waier 
through the precipitate, appears to me to combine all 
the requisite conditions and therefore to saiLafy the 
need. 

The rapidity with which a liquid filters depends, 
tittnlerti pnribux^ upon the diflercnce which exists be- 
tween the pressure upon its upfier and lower surface?. 
Supposing the filter to consist of a sohd substance, the 
po^'es of which sutTcr no ulieraticm by pressure or by 
any other influence, then tb« volume of liquid filtered 
in the unit of time is nearly propnrdoual to the difftr- 

ce in pressure: this U clearly shown by the tblluw- 
fij*" exptriaienl^ made with pure water and a QlLer con- 
sisting of a thin plate; of artilloial puinieo-stone. The 
thin plate of pumice was hermetically fastened into a 
futinel cou.^istini;; of a graduated C3dindrical glass vejssel, 
the lower eud of which was connected with a large 

ck Hask by oe-^ns of a tigiitly fitting caoiitch.otjc 

rk. The preasTire in the flai?k was tlicn reduced by 

refying' tlie air by mean,-* of a inediod to be described 
upon another o-ccasiou ; and for vac^k diQ'erence of prcs- 
eure, p, measured by a mercury column, the number of 
eeconds, t^ was observed which a given quantity of 
■water occupied in passing through the filter. The fol- 
lowing are the results: — 

L 

P- i' ^ 

0'i79 917 ...16*4 

0*190 8ro. t5'4 

o 3l52, 52-9. .,.,..... 1 49 

0-472 330 15 "^ 

In the ortlinary process of filtration, p on the aver- 
age amounts to no more tliau 0*004 to 0008 metre. The 
advant^nge gained, thertfore, is easily perceived wtien 
we can Hi.ccecd by some simple pnicHcable arid easily 
attftinahk' mefhod in multiplying this diflerencein pres- 
jnire one or two humired timers, or, fiay, to an entire 

• We »« lilR«11jr i»ermllled liy Itie nrtvpflelora of the PKitottf^hical 
Jfiri(7fwM« to cop; tlieie porUocLB of Pr<»fojA(iT BunMn'a \tn{\tv from 
^ t\T number for Jauuarj', iSt«>, whtr« iht cotoplct* paper may b* 




atmosphere, witl.ont running any ri*k of breaking the 
filter. The s^ilution of this problem is very easy : an 
ordinary glass funnel lias only to be so arranged that 
the filter can be completely adjusted to its Bides oven 
to the very apex of the cone. For this purpose a glaps 
funnel is chosen possessing an angle of 60% oriis nearly 
60** as possible, the walls of which must be completely 
free from inequalities of every debcriptton ; and into it 
is placed a second funnel made of exc edingly thin 
platinum foil, imd the sides of which possess exactly the 
same incliitation a? those of the glass funnel. An or- 
rliniiry paper fdtcr is then introduced into this com- 
pound funnel in (ho usual manner; when carcfullj^ 
moistened, arai so iidjusted that no air-bubbles are visi- 
ble between it and the glas-;, this fdter, when filled 
with a liquid, Avill support, the pressure of an extra 
atmosphere without ever breaktncf. 

The platinum funnel is easily made from thin platinum- 
foil in the Ibllowing manner: — In the carefully chosen 
gia^s funnel is placed a ptrfecihj accuraMy Jlt(i7ig filter 
made of writing pnper; this is kept in pojiition by 
dropping a little melted sealing-wax between its upper 
edge and the glass; the paper is next saturated with 
oil and filled with liquid plaster of Paris, and before tho 
mixture solidirn?a a small wooden liandle is phiced in 
the cenlrc. Aftrr an hour or so the plaster ccne with 
the adhering paper lilter can be withdrawn by means 
of the handle from the funnel^ to which it accurately 
corresponds. The paper on the outside of tlie cone is 
again covered with iril, and the whole carefully inserted 
into liquid plaster of Paris contained in a small crucible 
4 or 5 centims. in height. After the mixture has so- 
lidified, the cone may be easily withdrawn; the adher- 
ing paper filter is then detached, and any small pieces 
of paper Ptilt remaining removed by gently nibbing 
with the finger. In this manner a solid cone is ob- 
tained accurutcly fitting into a hollow cone, and of 
which the angle of inclination perlectly corresponds 
with that of the glass funnel. 

Fig. I represents the cones. By tlieir help the small 
platinum funnel is made. A piece of platinum (Fig. 2 
shows the natural size) is cut from foil of iuch a thick- 
ness that one square centimetre weighs about 0154 
grm., and from the centre, ff, a vertical incision is made 
by the scissors to the edge, r, ?>, d. The small [>iece of 
foil is next rendered pliuble by being he;\ted tu redue&s, 
and is placed upon the solid cone in such a manner tliat 
its centre, a, touches the apex of the latter; the sides, 
a, hf rf, are then closely pressed upon the plaster, and 
the remaining portion of tlie platinum wrapped as 
equally and as closely as possible around the cone. On 
again heating the foil to redne«s, pressing it once more 
upon the cone, and inserKng the whole into the hollow 
cone and turning it round once or twice under a gentle 
pressure, the proprr shape is completed. •The platinum 
funnel, which should not allow of the tn\nsmi>8ion of 
light through i\9< extreme point, ixcu now possess^a 
such S'ability that it mnv be immediately employed for 
any pui-pose. Tf desired, it may be made still etronjier 
by sokh ring down the overlapping portion in one spot 
otily to the upper edge of the fuil, by mcaos of a grain 
or two of gohl and borax; in general, however, tltis 
prfcauiion is unnecessary. If the shape has in any de- 
gree altered during this latter process, it is simply ne- 
cessary 10 drop the platinum funnel into (he hollow 
cone «»d then to insert the solid cone, when, by one 
or two turas of the latter, the proper form may be im- 
mediately restored. The platitmm funnel is placed in 
the bottom of the glass fuanol, the dry paper filter then 



BnilUh Edition, VoL ZIX., Ho. 4B7, pmgM 160, 161.] 



252 



Ut£ Wmhing 



I CinOlYC^AI, KSM 



introluctd in the ordinary manner, moistened, and 
freed from all a^Jhering air-bubbles by prt-aaure with 
the finger. A filter eo arranged and in perfect contact 
with the gluss, when fdled with a liquirl, will suj»port 
the pressure of an entire attnosphere without the least 
danger of breaking j and I he ititoTEfpace belweeii the 
folds of the plaiinum-foil is perfectly sufficient to allow 
of the passage of a coutinuous gtream of wut« r. 

In order to be able to produce the uddilioual pres- 
sure of an atmosphere, ihe filterecl liquid \b received iu 
a strong' glass fl^sk instead of in beakers.* This fla»k 
is closed by means of a doubly perforated caoutchouc 
cork, through one of the Indies of which (he neck of the 
glass funnel is passed to a depth ot from ^io% centimeires 
(fig. 3); throujrh the other i^s^tteJ a narrow tube open 
at both ends, the lower end of which i-^ brought exacilj/ 
to tiiC hrel nf the lower surface of the cork\ to the other 
H adapted the caoutchouc tube connected with the 
apparatus (fig. 4) destined to produce the requisite dif- 
ference in pre&?Lire ; this apparatus will be describL^d 
immediately. The flasks are placed in a metallic or 
porcelain vessel (fig. 3), in the conical contraction of 
which several strips of clolh are fiistened. This method 
of supporting the fla*ik has the advantape that, in one 
and the same vessel, flasks varying in size from 05 to 
2*5 litres stand equally well, and that, by simply laying 
a clolli over the mouth of the vessel, the consequences 
of an explnBJon (which thrnujj:h inexperience or care- 
lessness is po.*sible) are rendered harndesa. 

It is impossihie to tmpljy any of the air-pumps at 
present in use to create the diflerftice in pressure, since 
tlie filtrate not uufrequently contaitis chlorine, sui[Thur- 
OUB Dcid, hydrtc sulphide, and otiier substiincrs wliich 
would iict injuriously upon the metallic portions of these 
instrutnenls. I therefore employ a waicr air-pump 
construcied on the principle ol' Sprengel's mercury- 
pump, and w hich appears to nie preferable to all other 
iorms of air-pump for chemical purposes, since it effects 
a nrefactioa to witliin 6 or 12 millimetres pressure of 
mercury. 

Fip:. 4 fhowB the arrangement of ihis pump. On 
openinjj the pinchcock, a, water flows from the tube, I, 
into the enlarged glnJ^9 vessel, h, and thence down the 
leaden pipe, c. This pipe has a diameter of about 8 
millims., and extends downwards to a depth of 30 or 
40 feel, and ends in a sewer or 01 her arrangement serv- 
ing to convey the water away. The lower end of the 
tube, rtf, posr!esi:e8 a nurrow opening; it is hermetically 
sealed into the wi<ler tube, &, and reaches nearly to the 
bottom of the latter. A manometer is attached to the 
upper cr*nliuuation of this tube, d, by means of a side 
tube at di j at dt is attached a strong thick caoutchouc 
tube pos'iCi-siqg an internal dia?neter of 5 millims. and 
an exiernal diameter ol 12 milhms. ; tliis leads to the 
flask which is to be rendered vacuous, and is connected 
with it hy means of the short narrowed tube, k. Be- 
tween the air-puujp and the Cask is placed the small 
thick glass vessel, /, in which, when one washes with 
hot water, the steam which may be carried over is con- 
densed. All the caoutchouc joinings are ma4.le witli 
very thick tubing, the interual diameter of which 
amounts 10 about 5 millims., tlie external diameter to 
about 17 millims. Tbe entire arrangement is screwed i 
down upon a board fastened to the wall, in such a 
manner that each separate piece of the apparatus is 
held by a single fastening only, Iq order to prevtnt the 

t * Thesfi fl.i»k* mu4t b« aomrwhat Uileksr th»n tboM ordinarily 
uv^\, Iri i>r<l<*r to iirevem ihe potalbUltf wf Uiclr flvlnf w«jr ondor thn 
»tujotpln>rie pr*«!»urf . 



tubes being strained and broken hy the possil>le warp- 
ing of the board. On releasing the *j>inchcock, a, water 
flows from the conduit, ^, down the tube, c, to a depth 
of more tlmn 30 feet, carrying witlj it the air which it 
sucks through the smaU opening of the tube, d^ in the 
form of a continuous stream of bubbles. No advarttago 
is gained by increasing tbe rapi<lity of the flow, since 
the fnction exerted by the water upon the sides of the 
leaden pipe acts directly as a cctunter pres-ure. and a '^ 
comparatively small increa*.e in the rajiidity of the flow 
is accompanied by a great increase in the amount of 
this friction. Accordingly, at ^ is a second pinchcock, 
by which the stream can be once for all ao rvgulated 
4hatj on completely opening the cock, o, the frictiotL, on 
aoeount of the dimiiiifihcd rate of flow, is rendered ewf- 1 
ficiently small to allow of the maximum degree of rare- 
fiiction. Such an apparatus, when properly regulated 1 
once for nil by means of the cock, g, exhjfusts in a eom-j 
paratively short titne the largest vesse's to witl^in ft 
pressure of mercury equid to the ti*n!«ion of aqueoua 
vapour at the tem[>erature po^essed by the stream.* 



[English Bdltlon, Vot XUL., Ko. 4ien, ^%««ft \«\,\filX. 




* Tbe time rvqnlr«4 to obtiiin ihe tboir« degree of «i;bjitt«t(««o 
uk of from I lu 3 liiffi {^fcpnGlty rrnijws tttun to in nIoatM; 
ita&Dt]tjr of waiter aeeeuary uuoubti to ktoat 40 or 50 Utret^ 



r 



CBzan:4t. Nx-wv, I 



Oil fhs Washing of Precipitates, 



2S3 









cock, a, haying been previously opened and the 
roptjrly fitted moiateneU filter filled with the liquid to 
alt-ered. As usual, the clear Kupernatatit fluid is first 
poured upon the filter ; in a moment or two the liltrate 
through in a continuous stream, often so rapidly 
»at one must hasten to keep op the supply of liquid, 
ice it is advi«able to maintatn the (lUer aj^ full as pos- 
phle. After the precipiiale ha« been entirely irans- 
srred, the fiUrate passes tiiroiij»h, drop by tirop. and 
\e manometer not urifVequently now shows n pressure 
extra atmosphere. The filter may be filled (in 
:t, this is to bo recommended) with the precipitate to 
ithin s niUlirnetre of ils edge, since tiie precipitate, in 
jasequence of tlie high pr|«8Lire to which it is 8ub- 
ried, becomea squeezed into a tliin layrT, broken up 
\y mnuraerable fiiMures. As soon as the liquid Ixaa 
5ed throuffh, and llie first traces of ihia breaking; up 
une ovidtitit, tlie precipitate will be foimd to have 
sen so ffrmly preiwtrd upon the pnptrr, that^ on cau- 
tiously pouring water over it, it remaina completely un- 
disturbed. The washing is effected by carefully pouring 
ater down the side of the funn».'l to* within a oenti- 
letre above the riui of tlie filter : the waehitig-fla^k for 
"^tliis purpose is not applicable? j the water must be poured 
from an open vc'^^i.el. Alitor the filter has in this man- 
ner been replenished four times with water and allowed 
to drain for a few mioutefi, it will be found to bo alreatly 

K) far dried, in consequence oi the high pressure to 
rhich it has been subjecte'd, that without any further 
esiccation it may be withdrawn, together with the 
redpitJite, from the funnel, and imra<diatcly iguit^'dj 
"-ith ihe precautions to be presently given, in the 
crucible. 

If the porosity of a paper fi^lter containing a precipi- 
kte were as unolterable a« that of a punrice-stone filter, 
le experiments above described wo\ild show that the 
Utnes required for filtration, aocordtng to the old method 
the one hand, and the new one on the other, would be 
vereely proportional to the difference in pressure in 
case ; that is, by using tlje purnp under tlie full 
essure of about 740 millims., the time needed to wash 
precipitate, oceupyiog by tlie old process an hour, 
would at the utmost not amount to more than 30 sec- 
onds. In using these puniice filters (about which I 
will speak pre.senily) to driua crystals from adhering 
mother-iiquorjs, or, say, to wash cryatals of chromic acid 
by means of concentrated Rulphurie aciii and fuming 
nitric acid, thelirae occupied in the filtration u scarce- 
ly longer than that needed to pour a liquid alowly from 
ne vessel to another. In filtering by means of paper, 
e precipitate gradually closes up the pores of the fil- 
r, and accordingly such an ex traordiimry acceleration 
thia can no longer be expected. But the following 
ampler will show the saving of time ahd labour the 
eihod effects, even under all unfavouralde conditions. 
For these experimnntti I have purpo'=ely chosen the hy- 
drated chromium sesquioxide, since it Is one of the most 
itficult of precipitates to wash thoroughly, A solution 
chromium chloride wa? prepared by acting with fum- 
' ijdrochloric acid upon potassium dichromate ; and 
eans of a meaauring ve?«el, which allowed the 
OttDt of chromium to be estimated to within ooooi 
n^ fluccessive portiona of the Uquid were withdrawn, 
d the chromium oxide contained in them percipitated 
ith the usual precautioris by ammonia. The volame 
" liquid, the quantity of ammonia employed, the time 
cupied in boiling and in permitting the precipitate to 
ttle- the angle of inclination possessed by the funnel, 
d the size of the filter were the fame in all the exper^ 





iments. AH the precipitrite.s were washed with hot 
water, and, after burning the filter, ignited ov*'r the 
blowpipe for a lew minutes ; in wei-^hing. the plitinurn 
crucible waa tared by one of about equal weight, and 
the position of equilibrium of the beam determined by 
vibrations. 

In washing, by means of decantation, in the ordinary 
manner, the umouuta of chromium sesqtiioxide found 
were aa follows: — 

grmi. 
IL 0'245S, after $ decantations, washed to the 5o.ocoth 
part. 

III. 0-24.52, after 7 decantdtions, wa&hcd to the 200,000th 

p;irt 

IV. 0-2443, ^'^^^ *^ decaotatioai, washed to the 

ioo,ooo,oootb part 

0*2451 mean. 

By the use of the pump: — 

pmu. 
V. 0-2435, kft«r 5 additiona of .vater. 
71. oaj^tA. *• ± " " 



VI. 02434 

Vll, 02432, 

VJIL 02435, 

IX. 02439, 

X. 02439, 



o 2436 mean. 

Hence the prob.ible amount of chromium B^squioxide 
contained in the solution, according to the experimcnta 
with the pump, was 0-2436 grm.; according to the old 
method of decantation it was somewhat higher, namely, 
0*245 ' f?"^'"' 1'^^ exce«s of i -5 milligramme shows that 
the adhesion of the Bohil>Ie maiters to the prccipi'a'e 
and to the filter ia, in consequence of th<- greater pres* 
sure, more easily overcome in the new method than in 
the cuHtomary process ; it follows, therefore, that we can 
obtain a more complete washing by the new method 
than by the old. The (dd prwess of di-cantaiion required 
108 minutes and 1050 c.c. of water to effect a wfishitig 
to the 50,000th pait; the new, on the contrary, only 
12 to 14 miiiutes, aud not more thaii 39 to 41 c.c. of 
wash- water. If a precipitate bo heated in a platiniira 
crucible iratiiodiatHy arter filtration by the older pro- 
cess^ a portion will inevitably be projected out of the 
crut ible. Hitherto, therefore, it has been neceSvsnry to 
dry the filter and preoipit-aie before ignition, -^ow to 
dry a quantity of hydrated cSiromiura «eftquioxide con- 
taining 0-2436 grm, CrsOj in a Mater-bath at 100" C. 
requires at least 5 hours; and, moreover, bringing the 
dried precipitate into the crocible, burning the filter, 
and gradually igniting the miiss is in Ihe hiirhest degree 
tedioua and troublesome. AH thia expenditure of time 
and labour may be saved by employing the new method. 
By its means a precipitate ia as completely dried upon 
the filter in from 1 to 5 minutes aa il it had been ex- 
posed from 5 to 8 hours in a drying-chamber; and it 
CJin immediately, filter and all, be thrown into a plati- 
num or porcelain crucible and ignited without (he flight- 
est fear of \is spurting. By operating in the following 
manner the filter burns quietly without flame or fmoke; 
this phenomenon, .n.lthouph remnrkable, easily admiis of 
an explanation. The portion of filter-priper free from 
preeipitate is tightly wrapped ronnd the remainder of 
the filter in such a manner l tiat tlie precipitate is enveloj>- 
ed in from four to six fblda rtf elean paper. The whole 
is t!i€*n dropped into tlie plafiuum or porcelain crucible 
lying obliquely upon a irangle over ihe lamp, and push- 
ed down against its aides with the finger. The cover Is 



ISaeliMh Edition, VoL XTZ., No. 487, page 162 : No, 488, pagv 173,] 



On tlie 



^WaS^gt 



of Freeipi 




tCntjacAX. N^twf, 



1 



then supported apalnst rlie nicmth'of the crucible in the ; 
ordinary way, aud the ij.'mtiou fommiinceJ by beating 
tlie porfion of the crucible in conUct with the cover. 
Wlien the flame had the proper size and position^ the 
fiber carboniaes quietly without any appearance of fli\ine 
or considerable amount of sraoke. When the carbonisa- 
tion proceeds too slowly, the flame is njoved a little 
towordfl the bottom of tlie crucible. After 8ome time 
the precipitate appears to be furruuuded only by an ex- 
tremely thin envelope of carbon, po3>e-sinnr eiacllv the 
form (of course diminithed iu 5i/,e) of the original Jjller; 
the fliinie is then itiL-reiv^od, and the crucible maintained 
at ft bright red heat until the carbon contained in tliis 
envelope is consurncfi. The combustion proceeds «o 
quietly that the resulting ai«h surrounding the precipitate 
po>sr'sae8, even to the smallest fold, the exact form of 
the original fdter If the ash sho\v& here and there a 
dark colour, it is Biniply necessary to heat the crucible 
over the blowpipe for a few minutes to etl'ect the com- 
plete rem'Aal of the trace of carbon. Thia method of 
burning a filter is extremely convenient and accurate; 
it is only neccs'^ary to give a little attention at first to 
the slow carboiiij^ation of the paper, al\cr which the 
further prcgre^is of the oporatlwu may be left to iL*el£ 

Gelatinous, fiuely divided, granular, nnd crystalline 
precipitates^, Ruch as alumina, caleiuia oxalate, barium 
sulphate, silica, rnft>rnesium ainmouiuni phosphate, &c., 
may with equal facility be treated in thii manner; so 
that even in this particidar the work, in comparison 
riih the method generally adopted, is cunstderably 
lortencd and simplified. 

From the above experiments it appears that the time 
necessary to filter and dry a quantity of chromium 
«e:-quioxide, hitherto requiring about 7 hours, is reduced 
by tiie new method to 13 mitmlei*. This saving of time 
is, moreover, proportionately greater in tlie case of pre- 
cqvtatcs more easily filtered than hydrated chromium 
senquioxide. Particulai ly is this so in separating a finely 
suspended precipitate from a large volume of wat^r. 
Under these circumatancea the clear fluid runs through 
the filter in a continuous stream, so rapidly that it is 
scarcely pos-ible to maintain the supply ; the entire op- 
eratioUj iu fact, requires scarcely more time than that 
necessary to pour a liqu d from one vessel to another. 
Kiltra ion^ theretbre, niHy be effected m quickly thro uj^h 
the smallest as through the largest filter. Moreover, 
the exceedingly small amount of water required to wash 
a precipiiate coniplet-ly renders unneefrssnry the tedious 
evaporations wh-ch, by the older method, are aln>ost 
inevitible Mdien the filtrate is needed for a further sepa- 
ration. Thus the introduction of impurities from the 
ftCtion of the liquid upon the d'sh in the fourae ol evap- 
oration is prevented; and also the loss due to the 
slight solubility of the greater number of precipitates in 
the wa.-h-water is redueed to a miuinmm. Suppo-ing 
we had to analyse nn alkaline chromate in which the 
quantity of chrrtmic acid is equivalent to 0*2436 gmi, 
uhinuiic srsquiuxide, as in the ubove-desitribed experi- 
iiH'nta, then to determine the proportion of alkali we 
nhouUl, by using the older metliod, r'Mpiire t}ie preHnnn- 
ary evaporation of about 1050 c.c, of H'pijd ; by the new 
method the evaporation of 40 c.c. only is necessary. 
Now by employing tlie bes't f >rm of water-bath, i\e. one 
posK's&ing a eoustant water levt 1, such as is used iu my 
l»boratr>ry, it is possible, under favourable circumstances, 
to evaporate in a porcelain ilish 1 C.C. of water iu 27 
fteconds. Consp<piently the evLipomtion of ihe fiUraio 
obtained by the older method wouM occupy about S 
hours, whilst by Lho new 18 minutes only are required. 



The total leng'h of time needed to filler the chromium 
Rfsquioxid*', wash and dry the precipitate, and evaporate 
the filtrate is reduced, therefore, from 14 or 15 hours to 
about 32 minutes. 

The experience I have subseqnentlj gaineti in my 
laboratory, where the method ha.« been in general use 
for the last nine months, fully confirms the above tr' 
It has shown that, on the average, tliree or four ar 
can now be made in the lime formerly d<fmanded oy » 
single one. 

Anoiher and nn inestimable advantoge pprings from 
the peculiar condition of a precipitate filtered liy this 
method. Il not urdVequently hafipen:", even in the 
hands of experienred manipulators, in con.sequence of 
the agitation it is necessary to give to the cont^'nts of 
the filter to ellect their complete washing, that ihe sur- 
face of the filter becomes injured and torn, so that the 
precipitate becomes mixed with filnments of pupci ; 
thift is parsicularly the case in using hot water. t?of»- 
posing tlie preci|titate to consist of mixed hydrates uf 
the sesquioxides (for'cxamplef iron and alumins), it will 
be found, on rctli^olvrag in an acid, that the Blaments; 
like tartaric acid, prevent the complete sepamtion of 
these substances by subsequent precipitation ; thus tlie 
alumina will contain iron, and on jpreeipifjition by means 
of ammoniun> sulphide will be eolouied blade. On the 
other hand, by employing the new method the precipi- 
tate coheres so firmly that the introduction of this source* 
of error isimpos.'^ible, even by using ci>mmon grey filter- 
pap^r. The most gelatinous precipitates, as hydrated 
ft-rric oxide, alumina, Ac, adhere to the filter in a thin 
coherent Inycr, and may be removed, pieci? after piece, 
so compl-tely that the paper remains perfectly clean 
and while. The advanttigc thus gained, where it is 
necessary to transfer mixed precipitates to another ve^ 
Bcl in order to efi'ect their subsequent separation, is 
eviilcnt^ 

The filter-pump, m(yeover, is exceedingly senrice- 
able in separating precq»itates or crystals from syrupy 
mother-liquor?. Thus honey-sugar may be so com- 
pletely separated from the thick viscid liquid in which 
it forms, by a filter of coarse grey paper, that it re- 
midns only slightly coloured, and by a single cryttallf- 
satiun from alcohol may be obtained in small white 
shiniug needles. And since the bulk of the moist pre- 
cipitates, particularly that of the more gelatinous, is ao 
much dindnished under the high pressure, the precipi- 
tate only occupying one-third to one-sixth of rts bulk 
under ordinary circumstances, a filter of one-third to 
one-p-ixt!i of the size usuafly employed may be taken, 
aud thus (he amount of rs!i proportionately lessened. 

As the water air-pump suffers no injury from the 
prcstrnce of corrosive vapours or gases, we can equally 
well employ it to filter liquids containing nitrous acid, 
sulphurous ncid, fundng nitric acid, chlorine, bromine, 
vnhitile chlorides, &c. Iu such cft'-cs I use a pecnliar 
filtering arrangejnent, consisting of a cylindrical gla«8 
vess< 1, the lower e!id of whith is drawn out before the 
blow-pipe to the form shown in fig. 5 ; in this drawn- 
out portion a thin plate, i or 2 m.m. in thickness, of 
artifici;il pumice, such as is used by |)olishers, is packeii 
water-tight by means of asbestos. This apparatus is 
arrangrd for t!ie purpo<;e required exactly as the fun- 
nel in the method of filtration by pressure above de- 
scribed. In order to have a nuuiber of those filters in 
readiness, a pumice-stone cylinder of the requit 
diameter is turned iu a lathe, and then the thin plaH 
sawn off by means of a small hand-saw in the smi 
wooden support shown in fig. (x The upper surftcet 



fSngUih Edition, Vol. &IX., lSo.4%Q,vn««V1^,V1<.'\ 







Ox'uhs of Chromium and Titanium and Pi^'Iroru 



*85 



I 
I 



I 
I 



of the pUteii may afterwards be rendered perfectly even 
by a coftrae lile. 

By the aid of these pumice-stone filters many cbem- 
ic»l product? may be made, the preparation of which 
has hitherto beea nlmost impossible. For the Bake of 
example, I take the preparation of pure dry chromic 
anhydridf J in an hour it i» easily possible to filter, 
wa<h, and dry crysials of this sub-»tanie an inch in 
Irngth. A solution of 2 parts of potas>iuai dichromate 
in 20 parts of water mixed with to pwrts of concen'ra- 
ted sulphuric acid, deposits, after standing abnut 24 
hours, numerous brilliant needles of thromie anhydriiie. 
These may be drained from adliering niothor-liqiior 
upon the pumice fi.iler by means of the jrump, and in 
« few minutes completely washed by a small quantity 
of fuming: niriic acid free from nitrous acid. A cover- 
ing of tolerably stronpr sheet copper proTided with two 
arms, as shown in fig. 5, is then placed round the 
tube J by hanpinj^ lamps upon the arms the tube may 
be readily heated to about 60" or 80 C. ; and by ton- 
nectinj; a chloride -of-ealcium tube with the upp«r end 
of th«' j^'lass vi's^vel, a current of dry air may be drawn 
throujjrh the aftpiratnshy means of the pump, and thua, 
in a roniparaiivfly short time, large and brilliant crya- 
iftis of ehnmiic anhydiide, perfectly dry and free from 
all impurity, may be easily obtainrd. 

A single pump of the aboTe description cost% includ- 
ing tfio leaden [nping, about 8 timlera (24 shillings) ; 
aitd experience has sljown tlmt five or six are amply 
saflicient for a laboratory of filly or sixty sUidonts. 
The Jippar;du8, as may readily be seen, can be ap- 
plied in ilje operation of evaporating tn vacrto. 

I believe that the above-described water air-pump 
will soon become an indiapenaable piece of apparatus in 
cbemit-al Inljoratoriea. It not only serves as the most 
convenient method of produoiiig" the differences in prts- 
8ure required to accelerate the proce^is of filtration, and 
of obtaining the necessary vacuum for evaporation ; it 
is equally adapted for purposes to wMiich neither the 
mercury nor the ordinary piimpa are in any way appli- 
cable. By ita add it is pos.sible to calibrate a thermom- 
eter with the greatest aciuracy, and to fstimate the 
Tapour- tension of such corrosive hodi<'8 os bromine, 
chtomyl dichloride, &e., by the simplest method pos- 
sible, in wliioh the necessary operations require scanely 
more time that an ordinary determination of a boiling- 
point. 

I purpose returning to these applications of the in- 
etrument m a future communication. 



LVFLUENCE OF THE 

OXiDES OF CHROMIUM AND TITAN^IUM OX 
THE COMPOSITION OF PIG-IKOK, 

I BY AUO. A. AND H. DAKA HATES, 

JUMAYKKft VO ttTATE OF HASaACIICHBm. 
WiTHil? the last four years we have been frequently 
employed in chemical investigations of the altered char- 
acters of some pig-irons, which resulted ripparently un- 
der the usual citcutnstances iu the reduction of uniform 
ore. 
In these ca8?'8 the amount of carbon united with the 
iron had been diminished, without the introduction of 
other m.itter, in quantity auflicient to influence a change 
in tiiis connecuon, and generally no variation in tlie 
composition of the ore was known or suspected. We 
had analysed the ores in some of the beds in former 



years and regarded them as well adapb-d to tlie pro- 
duction of pig iron of good quahty ; but in pursuing th© 
rceearch we were convinced that the change in quality 
of iron coy Id be traced to altered composition in the 
ore of part of the beda used for supplying the fur- 
naces. 

The corrccfncss of this view was confirmed by onr 
analyses of many iron ores, in nome of which we 
found tliC oxides of chromium or titanium existing 
where they were n*'t indi< uu-il and connected with 
the ore in beds which have been considered na pure 
iron ure?. 

Both the oxide of chromium and oxide of titJinium 
seem to act in the furnace or the crucible in a way to 
withdraw a porti<^n of the carbon, or prevent that true 
union of carbon wiih a purl ion of the iron, which con- 
stitute}* grey pi^'-iron, without the metals of these oxides 
really allo3"lng wirth the iron and thus indicating the 
cause of change. We have analysed samples of pig- 
iron where the alloys of cliromiuni or titiiniura existed 
in the pigs, and w!>ere the oxides accompauied the 
ores in the be<l5, hut we were not prepared to find 
an mfbience exerted on the quahty of the pig me- 
tal without the refractory metals forming a part of the 
composition. 

The occurrence of oxide of manganese with iron or© 
is common, and titanium compounds are often fuund in 
both magnetic and brown iron ores, as insoluble sub- 
stances, in small proportion."*, and the=e compounds 
combine with and are removed by the fluxes without 
injury to the pig metal. These componnds of titanium 
are the cause of the often superb blue colour of the cin- 
der, prodnced under varrying conditions of glassy or 
ato!iy character, and must be carefully disticffuished 
from those we regard as more detrimental ia tneir in- 
fluence on the metid. 

In a number of analyses of iron ores we had found 
both oxide of cliroinium and oxide of titanium in a 
state rendering them b 'lultle in diluted acids, and in a 
condition Ui escape detection in the ordinary modes of 
analysis. Both magnetic and brown iron ores have 
been found to contain either oxide of chromium or 
oxide of titaniuai in this soluble state. Among the 
Slim pies from contiguous bt-ds, this diversity in compo- 
sitiun made by the presence of t^ome oxide of chromium 
or oxide of titanium exi.'-ted; and while the bulk of a 
bed of ore wa< pure, continuations of the bed or asso- ' 
oiated ore yielded notable weiprht^ of oxide ofchroraium 
or oxide of titiinium in the 'dilTi rent samples. 

The suggestion we would make to the iron-mnj?ler in 
view of these facts, la the possibility of the quality of the 
pig metals in anomnlou'» cases being greatly influenced 
by the Bclmixtme of some ore coulaiiiing the oxides 
of chromirim or titanium with the basia ore of gfiod 
quality. This may lake place by the main bed being 
crossed by veins of mixed ore, or by tlie w^orkinus pass- 
ing into contiguous beds where one kind of ore is used. 
In other cases, where the iron the master can gain a 
great advantage arising from mixhig ores, one of tlie 
kiEids may contain the contaminating oxides and injure 
the iron. 

We subjoin eome retults of analyses, showing the 
proportion of oxide of chromium to the metallic iron 
contained in the ores : — 

I St. ifajrnetic ore — iron, 49 ; oxide of chromium^ 
I 40. 2nd. Ilsematite "Te — ip-i* i--it mtiMo of 
chromium, 160. 3rd. BfOwn]\! 32; 

oxide of cluonduni, 1*90. 41 ^o ; 

oxide of chromium, 1 04. 




[SDglixli Edition, Vol. XIX., Ko. 488, page 174; No. 487, y 



286 Ohffervationg of tlie Sun.-r^^Flume '' of Bessenur Converter, \ 






More tn»ce? hnvc been discovered in uome cjimjs, wbQe 
in gilsLer jnstftncea n. larger proportion of diromium 
" nnf'd an alloy with tbe iron produced from tiiij ore. 
^-Sdtntijic American^ 



SPECTROSCOPIC OBSEItV^TIONS OF THE SUN. 

BY 1. JfORlCAX LOCKTXR.* 

No, IIL 
Ijf ft former paper t the author stated that Dr. Frankland 
and faniuelf biul seardu'd without success for the known 
third line of iiydroj?en in the spt^ctrurn of the chromo- 
tpbere. He has now dif^oven-d that the pnsition of 
the third hpe is at 2796 of KirelihoflTs locale* The 
Mtbor assumes that the dnrkening of tiie limb \a due to 
the general abaorpUoa of the chrotuosphere, and ihere- 
fore it foUowis: — 

1. That the additional seleetive absorption near the 
limb ia extremely prohnhle. 

2. That the hydrogen Fraunhofer lines indicatingr the 
absorption of the outiL-rsIiell of the chromosphere will 
Ttrjr itomewltat in thickness: this he fuund to be the 
case to a curtain extents 

3. That it iA not probable that the prominences will 
•be visible on ihe sun s disc. 

On the 20th of February a spot was oh'^erved in 
which the general nbfiorption wiw so great thut tbe sev- 
eral line* could only be di«tij3guish*-"d with difficulty, 
except in the very brightest region, which ia ascribed 
if) the gTcater length of the absorbing medium in the 
«pot it!*elf in the line of eight when tbe spot is ol>servcd 
near the limit inateud of the centre of the char. 

Mr, Lockyer has sueoeeded in adding magnesium and 
barium to the maienal (sodium) to which he referred 
in prLjKir No, i (pubhahed in 1866). He no longer re- 
gftrda a snot simply as a cavity, bi^ as a |»lace in which 
principally the vapours of sodium, barium, and magne- 
fiium occupy a lower posit'on than they do ordinarily 
in Ihephotosphere. It therefore follows — 

1. Tne huea of sodium, magnesiumi, and barium, 
wlteii observed in a spot, are thicker than their ubuoI 
Fraunhofer lines, 

2. The lines of sodium, magnesium, and barium, when 
obaervod in the chromosphere, are thinner lliau their 
usual Frnurihofer lineA, 

These facta give additional evidence that a spot is the 
scat of a duwnrush — a dowiirush to a region, as we 
now know, where the selective abflorptiou of ihe upper 
strata is different from what it would be, and indeed is 
claowhere at a higher level 

The author thiuks there are two causes for the dark- 
ening of a ppot, viz. : — 

1. The general absorption of the chromosphere 
thicker here thaa elaewhere, as tlie ppot ia a cavity. 

2. The greater selective abaorptiou of the lower so- 
dium, barium, magnesium stratum, as tbe surface of its 
last layer is below the ordiuury leveL 

Mr, Lockyer \n waiting to moke observations with 
the large Stenheil spectroscope to finally test t!ic accu- 
racy of the valuable suggestion of Messrs. De La Rue, 
Stewart^ and Loewy, in their "Kesearche* on Solar 
Physios." that if the photopphere of the suu be the 
"€ condensation ofgaskous matter, the plane may 
to be subject to periodical elevations and de- 
and that at the epoch of miiiitnum mn-spot 
the plane might be uplifted very high in the 

if • f>»p4>r pr««ent*<S to the RoyaJ ftocli-ly, M»rcb 4lh, tS/x^, 
Haw*, vol. lit. p. i5!i(Jn^ Repr.,Juiu^ t%>9,paff* 37S}. 



solar atmosphere, so that there is compflralively little 
cold-absorbing atmosphere above it, and therefore 
great difficulty in forming a spot. 

With a rapidly o.«cillaung sht the author wb« not sat- 
isfied with his resulrs, but on hearing that M r. Huggina 
had succeeded in seeing the form of the ?*>lar protu- 
berances, by using absorbing me<ha and a wide sUt^ he 
was led to try tbe wide slit without the alx-orptjve 
me<lia, and in the following words he det^'Tit- s ih*- re- 
sults: — "The solar and atmospheric *pectni len^ 
and the wide image of the slit alone beisi.L the 
telescope or slit is moved slowly, and the 8tranj?e 
shadow-forms flit past Here one is reminded by the 
fleecy, infinitely delcate cloud-films of an English 
hedge-row with luxuriant elms ; here of a densely in- 
fertwiu'd tropical forest, tbe intimately intcnvovcn 
branches threading in all directions, the prominences 
generally expanding as tliey mount upwards, and thang- 
ing slowly, almost, indeed, imperceptibly. By this 
method the smallest details of the prominences and of 
the chromosphere itself are rendered perfectly vi^ibl* 
and easy of observation." 

In an' addendum dated March 17th, the author states 
that more favourable weather had enabled him to con- 
tinue his researches in reference to his method f«r view- 
ing the prominences, and to view the injection of 
sodium, niagnesium, &c., into the chromosphere. He 
thinks that in time it will be possible to see the promi- 
netjces as they really are seen in an eclifise by con- 
structing a rapidly revolving wheel wiih red, green, 
an<l violet glass of the required absorptions, in which 
the percentages of li^'ht of each colour may be regulated. 
On the I4lh of March, with a tangential sUt, a fine 
dense prominence near the sun's equator on the 
ern Itmb was observed. 



OK rnie 

EXAMINATION OF THE '^FLAilE" OF THE 

BES.SEMER CONVERTER.* 

Br TUOMAB ROWAS. 

Tbf. Bessemer process for tlie manufacture of sted is 
now among the most important uf our metallurgical 
operations. On account cf its comparatively recent in- 
troduction among establislied indui-tries, it affords an 
ample field for scieutitic investigation, and there is no 
feature of tJie process at once fco interesting and im- 
portant as that of the flame which isjsues from the 
** eonverting vessel" 

The succei« of a "blow" undoubtedly depends Oiii 
the accunicy and completeness of many details, but of J 
them all, the most important is to know and catch that 
moment in ilic existence of the flame wlien the carbon 
in the iron has yielded iu last trace to the oxygen of 
the air. 

If a charge is " over-blown "—that is, if it be sub- 
jected to the action of the air for too long a period, or 
if it be *' under-blown " — that is, if the a-imission of 
air is slopped before the proper ehemieal action baa 
been completed, the steel will he found to be defcctivf 
in proportion to its unskilful treatment. 

The flame issuing from the converter is the index of J 
these ehangcs which the molten mass of metal is uuder-j 
going during tlie procesn ; but the exact moment 
decarburisation is often, from a variety of causes, diffi-i] 
cult to determine. 



[EagllMh Editloa, 7oL XIX,, No.4B9,^«e 163; No. 488, pagn 



• M«xA hi the in««llng at th« Cbemtcftl B«<tlon of ttx; Qlaigtiw tVO^j 
tofilUc&t Bocl«iy, MftToh 39, 1869, 



169, 170] 




w 



^Xi^Xm!'^} JExamiiiatioii of tJte ^^ Flame ^^ of the Bessemer C<mverter, 



287 



I 
I 

I 



It h for these rc.isons that the ("xamination of the Oame 
forms the pont of attractioD of tlie process ; and I have 
thought it Tn]'_,^ht not be iminteresting; to the membera 
of this Society to describe to them the general ap[)ear- 
_.aBoe which this flame presents to the eye, and some 

_ »rinients wliich my broLher h:i?« made widi the spec- 
troscope and with coloured plmses, for the purpose of 
more reudily determining I hat critical period or ''change" 
iu the flame which I have spoken of. The sacceas of 
these la'ter experiments haa L-nabled him to ob»ain the 
object for which they were commenced; and he haa 
designed an instrument, wliich I shall desctibe here- 
aiter, by which ihe change in the hanie is more ertsily 
determined. 

isi, Tht General Appearances of iht Flame to ike Ihfe, 

When the vessel is first turned up, a slower of bril- 
liant sparks is ejectei, owing^ to the force of the blast 
reaching first & thin layer of metal as the vessel slowly 
swings round to the vertical position. 

From o to 3 or 4 minutes, — When the full head of 
metal is over the blast, at first, for three or four min- 
utes, there ie scarcely any flame, only a current of very 
hot gases and very numerous apark?. 

Prom 3 or 4 to 5 or 6 minutes. — Oradually a small 
pointed flame appears in the centre of the «():irk?, and 
'lis quickly increases in gize, without gaining much 
llrilliancy lor two or three minutes. 

From 5 or 6 to 9 or 10 mimitf'S. Durin<3j the next 
period of four or five miuutcH the flioie is very un- 
$teft«ly, hoth iti size and in position, and its oscillations 
fixe accompanied by hoUow souiids, as of report* or ex- 
plosions in the intei'ii>r of the converter. 

From 9 or 10 to u or 12 minutes. — Streaki*. or flashes 
of brighter flarne now shoot up throujsrti this compara- 
tively non-iuminous flame, and, within one or two 
minutes, give place to a continuous stream of dense and 
brilliant fire, which niahe-i far up the cMmney and il- 
luminatea t!ie entire building, ofien casting the shadows 
of the cranes, &c., against the windows throu^fli which 
the suu is shining. 

From II or 12 to 15 or 16 minulcs. — This flame 
graduftHy becomes lliinner and more transparent, with- 
out losing any of its brilliancy during the six or seven 
rainuteii of ihe blow which g^enerally remain, until it 
suddenly (preceded, hnwevcr, by a few hollow and pe- 
culiar sounds from the interior of the ve^?el) loses its 
brillianry and much of its size, and drnps down, within 
about half a raiuute, U) about the size it had reached at 
about five minutes of the blow; thia flame, however, 
being more dense and more luminous than the flame at 
that earlier period. 

Any of the stages described may, from a varit'ty of 
cause?, he prolong^ed ; or an insufticiency of bliPt, how- 
ever calhse«l, may lengthen the entire period of the blow 
for several minutes, but the ab^ive is a fair average 
blow with the best English hiicmatite pig-iron. If infe- 
rior irons are used, the flame ai the change ia more or 
less enveloped in a dense white smake, and the change 
is accompanied by violent pulsations, or "coughing;?," 
of the entire flame, which, under the«c circumstances, 
baa o^tixx a yeUowi^i red colour to the eye; all this 
making the cViange often very difficult, if not impossible, 
to detect, Xervousness or biliousness, by variouRly 
affecting the s-i^ht of the observer, may also render 
him uuiible wirb certainty to determine the precise 
moment when he ought to 'Hurn down*'; and there ia 
a marked difference in the facility of observation no- 




ticeable between a blow taking pl^ce in daylight and 
one at night. 

2irid. 7Vi« Appearance of ihe Flame as Examined by mmnt 
of ihe Spectroscope. 

Tfc was important, first, to note if any of tho lines 
belonging to the Bessemer flame were to be f^jund in 
the flame given ofl"from the coke fire u»ed to heat up 
the converter. Several examinations were made ; the 
result of these Wfis that, besides the invariable yellow 
bright line, the red line, and the two bright green lines 
next the yellow, were occasionally to be seen. Owing, 
however, to the want of brilliancy of Ibis flame, the 
spectrum which it gave was very faint, and, at timen, 
almost invisible. 

On first turning' up the vessel, nmd for about four 
minutes thereafter, the spectroscope showed-only a 
continuous band of light, with the colours rather hazy, 
and so mucli blended with one another as to make it 
imposi^ihle to mark ihe junclions of the di&'erent fields. 

In from Piur to bix minutes, flashes of the yellow 
line becarno visible (corresponding to the appearance 
of tongues of a bright flnme, shooting up in tne centre 
of the diill red one issuing Irom the mouth of the con- 
verter) \ and in one or two minutes af^er its first ap- 
pearance, thi'* line became quite sleatly, and did not 
disappeur even at the end of the blow. Simultaneous 
with the steadying of the yellow line, the red, yellow, 
and grecu fiekls became clear and well-defined bands 
of briglit colour. 

In half a ruinufe to a minute later, a bright green 
line appeared near the yellow, following which, in 
scarcely ever more than half a minute, a red Une ap- 
peared, equi- distant from the yellow (of course on the 
opposite side)* Those two generally became steady 
together (having fir^t appeared in inlermittent flashes) 
in about half u minuk; after both were visible. With 
the steadying of these two lines at once, a second green 
line (bright, and about the centre of the green field) 
became visible, wavering a little at first. About a 
quartc*r of a minute served generally to steady it, 
although sometimes it was a minute and a half from th# 
appearance of the first green line till the second green 
line with the red became sleady. 

In one or two minutes, a third green line, nearer the 
blue field, came into view, and in about one minute 
was steatiy. When the red appeared with the first 
green line, the second and third green lines generally 
appeared together ; but wlien the red apj^eared with 
the second green line, the third green was accompanied 
by a blue bri'^dit line* near the green fiehl. In about 
ten muintes after turning up the converter, the flame 
attiiined its maximum pize and intensity of hght, when 
a second and (bird bright line became visible in tho blue 
field. Very often these were oidy intermittent and 
very faint; but with *' hot metal," and a bright flame, 
they were pretty steady and distinct, and were broader 
than those in the yellow, green, and red fields. 

Occasion.illy, for about two or three mmutes before 
the cloj^e of the blow, a hri.t?ht line was seen m the pur- 
ple field, pretty far to the right of ihe spectrum; some- 
times this only flashed brightly, but on a ftiW occasions 
it was clearly seen, though faint 

With a very bright flame, several' dark lines were 
seen, but^ for want of definiteness, it wfts impossible to 
say, whetlier they were not due to the contrai^t afforded 
by the brilliancy of the bright ones beside which they 
appeared. A narrow dark line was seen on each side 
of the red line, and a broad dark band dividing the 



[Encliah Edition, YoL laX., No. 488, paBM 170, 171.] 



288 




the ^^JPlame''^ of live Bt^^amer Converter. 






yello?^ from the gieen; then one between each gr^^pn 
line, and two in the blue field, between the tlireo bhie 
linea. But these were only fteen with an exce?ptionally 
bright flame, and, therefore, are not of much impor- 
tance* 

All the bright line^ visible remained ateady for several 
minutes belbrt? the close of the blow, affording an ex- 
cellent opporLimity for their examination ; hut, at the 
hiat, all (with the exception of tlic yellow) faded in leaa 
Ihan thirty aoconds. The purI^le hne disappeared first 
(whenever it happened to be visible), then the three 
blue lines, in the inverted order of their appearance, 
then the third green, after which tlie second, tlieo the 
red, and last of all the first green, when the blast was 
shut off. 

The green and the red hnes, from their diatiuctne?s, 
afforded tlie best point for a determiualion of the pro- 
cess; and these were so constaiir^ that a sure indication 
could ftlwaya be given by any of them, if it were made 
the index by winch to determine the period of blow- 
ing 

Very often, on adding the charge of ?piegeleisen, a 
Urge and very brilliant flame rushed out of the con- 
TertiT for some minutes, and on examining it, the red, 
yellow, three green, and a vtry brilhant purple line 
were seen, but no blue. 

3ri. Sorm Ex^erimenU with Coloured Qlaues mi the 
Flame, 

I shall now proceed to describ'o some experiments 
made with coloured glasses on the Bessemer flame. I 
may mention that what led to them was my brother 
bo(ng compi'Iled to get very dark spectncles to protect 
his eyes, which were not very strongs from the intL-n- 
fiity of the light of the flame. The first pair made com- 
pletely overcame the brilliancy of tbo Ikme, without 
imparting any colour to it; but, "on ordering a second 
pair, they .showed so much colour as to render them 
useless. On appealing to the workmsm who had made 
them, he found that no note had been kept of the 
kinds of glasses whicli had been used in the first pair; 
^nd, although several attenjpU were made to repeat 
theai^ the serond pair sent was the best he could ac- 
compliiih, and they had appeared colourless to sunlight. 
The thoufjht then occurred, that, as the brilliancy ot the 
flame varies considerably during its existenee, a varia- 
tion in the amount of transmitted light m'ght be found 
to affect, in proportionate degree, the power of some 
coloured glasses to ab?orb other colours in combination 
with them, and that a combination of colours might be 
found to giTe, with a small quantity of transmitted 
light, a distinct colour, which coutd be quite absrtrbed 
w^hen a larger quantity of light was passed tlirough the 
same glasses. 

Another, and perhaps the most important, consider- 
ation which Ifd to the following experiments, was that 
the flame itself has a varying chemical compoertion as 
the silicon, raanganese, carbon, and iron become succes- 
sively attacked, and that the temperature of the flame 
at these various stages must necessarily be altered, 
giving rise, of course, to various colours, or shades of 
colour, in tlie flame. If, therefore, a combination of 
coloured glasses could bo found which would absorb 
the colour due to the flame at a particular temperature, 
it seemed Hear that a change of temperfiture would be- 
come immediately visible, on account of an accession or 
diminution of colour to the flame as tlius observed. It 
is probable, too, that the colour possessed by the 
flame at iti diHercnt stages is due to the various ele- 



ments which are at these periods being volatilisfd, buf 
the spectroscope does not throw much light on tlii^ 
supposition. 

The first combination of coloured glasses which 
have noted are a 

{It was found thut these colour* rouiually de«tf oj 
ed each other. The Bessemer flame, wh 
viewed tlirough them, appeared wliilc aiid will 
out brilliaucy. 
UJtramnriae blue, j This combiDalion gave the same elTeot i 
Durk y«llow. | (ibove. 

With a combination consisting of— 

UHmmBrine blue, 1 
Dark yellow, f The flarne appeared of an emerald colour, 

UUraniariue blue, [but was daj*k and without briUluucy. 
Emerald. ^ J 

In the next exp<Timent«, the dark yellow and on© 
blue were replaced by a light yellow and neutral lint, 

thus : — 

UUrartmriae blue, f The flppearoneo of tlie flame in this cnj= 
Light yellcw, J waj* airiiilar iu colour lo thai atforded bj 
NL-ulra! tint, | the abt>vo combination, but appeared ' 

Kiueruld. Inconsiderable brighluesa. 

In the next experiments, the light yellow and neut 
tint were rephiced by a dark yellow and red^ res- 
tively, thus: — 
Ultramarine blue, TThe flame at first wns dimly seen, nni 
Dftrk yelloWj J without colour; when it rtuehvtl its nitiX^ 
Raby^ 1 imnm brilliaucy, it slill appeared 

Eraerall \ through this conibmalion. 

With tliese five cotnbi nations, the appearance ol 
sun, a-s seen through each of them, was similar in chj 
acter to that of the flame, but more p<nveiful in dep 

In the subsequent expt-riments, tlie combination 
as foilowa : — 

I 'The flame appeared at first of a nib yn 
colour, increasiing ia size and luteusit 
Ultrftmarine blue, as the blow pro^treased, the edges of U> 
Dark vellow. flame acquiring u lighter shnde of 

Neutral tint, | but the colour was loo strong to admt 

L'ltriiuiariue blue, of the changes being easily deterniim 
Sunlight, through this combiualion, wa 
^slightly yellow. 
In the succeeding experiment'*, one of the bit 
glasses was replaced by a Ught yellow, giving a ©01 
bination of — 

fThe flftme oppeared at first of a y« 
ish red txilour ; as the blow progrfs*ed tl 
colour bwame wliiter, with Hashes of re 
der ftame occaaiotially through it. Al ' 
tiatne'a muximum briUi«ncy, the wi 
nssumed a light red colour (uearlv whii 
while at the root and centre of ino fln 
the colour was of n dHrker yellowish n 
When the flame dropped (nt the end 
the blow), it returned Ui a yehowish r 
cjolntir, somewhat Hirnilar iu ap 
to the etlect pHnJuoed al the br 
of the blow, aunlight appeared 
yellow. 
It will be observed that this combination pave nea 
the desired eflVct— viz., a variation of depth of col 
due to the differences of temperature or bnlhancv 
the flame at its dillercnt stapes of proerrt-sjion. T 
yellowish tint, however, always present, showed ad 
feet in this cocibination, to overcome which mrtlier tnal 



Ultra marine blue, 
Dark yellow, 
Neutral tint, 
Light yellow. 



[Saclich Edition, ToL XIX., Ho. 488, pac** ^"^h ^''^O 






Conlnliitiona to Anahjtical Citemiatry, 



2S9 



^ 



were made. Among other devices, the light yellow 
wa* omitted, and the fliiine was observed with — 

fThe Hame npp**i»red bUII red, «nd with 
tritramnrin© blue, | the yellowish lint, Ihoiiph in such flm«II 
Dnrk yellow, A degree as to show that tbedepired result 
Neulml liuL I %vha not J'lir off. tsuultght appeared dim, 

[and slightly yellow. 

Iti the concluding experiment*, tlie neutral tint was 
replrtC'd by a blue glas*, witli the object of ascprl.aiuiug 
whether the yellow colour could he corrected by the 
omission of ihe red or the blue component of the neutral 
tint, thus: — 

Ukramarino blue, \ TliiacombiDalion was perfectly giicceaatul, 
Dark yellow, t tlio lingering trace of yellow beiiig re- 

nitraiuariue blue. ) moved* 

I shall now describe more fully the appearance of the 
flame through IL 

For the first four or five niiniites all is dark; the 
chimney is invisible ; nothing but th«,' mouth of llie con- 
verter c:in be madi! out, which appears Blighily red, 
the sparks coming from it being scarcely visdile. As 
the blow progreF:^es, llie flame, still red in colour, in- 
creases in size ami luminosity^ while theoiitUne of the 
vcRsel becomes visible. In about iwtlve to fifleen 
minuter the llarne begins to lose its colour, bcenrning 
violently agitated, tiaahes of a lighter and bri^4iter 
flame aliooling up OKxasionally. 

In about fitleen miimtesa purple lint becomes visible 
round ibe mouth ol the ve*i&el, the flame gradually ac- 
quiring a white colour towards the edges. 

When the tlime has reached its maximum hrillianry 
it appears bright and nearly white, wiih (he edges pur- 
ple. The red colour thereafter begins to re-a|»pettr at 
the mouth of the vesfi«'land centre of white flame, gra- 
dually extending until tiie whole flame appears of a 
lijrht red c<ilour. 

And with the p^^culiar hollow sound heard in tlie 
vessel always precoditig ttie drop, the centre of tlje 
tiame begins to acquire a deeper eo!our; Lhis tpiiclvly 
liXT«)id:i and deepens. Within a minute or so of the 
drop the whole flame becomes crinifion, and losing its 
brilliancy, and within half a minute, it etiddenly goes 
back to very nearly (he red colour it bid at starting. 

This combination of glasses is now in d;jily use in the 
Atlas Works, its indications being fo marked and im- 
iniaiakablH as to render itt* use safe in the mo^t inex- 
pi^rienced hamls. Thia little instrument or '* Ghrtimo- 
purnmetor," as it is proposed to call it, ia arranged as 
iLtllows : — 

One of the blue gla-^es and the dark yellow one are 
fixed in a rectangular frame, carrying at it* foot a hinge 
to which the thin frame holding the other blue glass is 
ftltichedj and at its top a spring catch lo hold this 
emaller frame when in its shut position, and al?o a pin 
aod su.'t screAv Pjr attaching the whole instrument to the 
hat of the observer so aa lo place it before his eyes. 

The object of having the glasses thiiB divided is to 
give llicility fur the observation of the flame through 
the comhin'iiii>n of three, while during the poiringtwo 
being sufficient, the third one is allowed to bang down, 
when it servos to protect the lips from the great heat 
of the ladle and liquid steel. 

In conclusion, I think it is probable that, by carefully 
noting by means of coloured glasses such as that de- 
Bcdbed, the amount of light (as determitied by th--- shade 
oi colour visible) emitted by flames of known terapeta- 
ture, a scale might be formed which would enable ua 

proximately to measure the temperature not otdy of 



the flame of the Bessemer Converter, but also that of 
many flames which have hitherto been considered be- 
yond reach of our Ordinary methods of measurement. 



CONTRIBTJTIONS TO ANALYTICUL CHEMIS- 
TRY.* 

BV DR. E. FLEISCnin, OF DRESDfl.V. 

Tub Syphon Filter. 

TitE operation of filtering gelatinous precipitotea is well 
known to be one whif h consumes much time e.-peciallj 
when, as \^ fiequenily ihe case, it is desirable that iho 
deposit should be thoroughly washed. Neither will de- 
cantaiion materially hasten the operation, because most 
gelatinous prec pitat* s (especially alumina) settle otdy 
very slowly, and not always clearly, so that the super- 
natant liquid must still be filtered in most cases. Gran- 
ular di'posit.s also retard filtration to a considerable 
extent, as soon ss the fiher*cmployed becomes otdy 
partial ly filled with them. 

Lastly, the washing upon the filter o/a not inconsid- 
erable nunjber of precipitates is always a very uncer- 
tjiin affair, becaupe the washing vvat<.T by no means 
always penetrates the entire mn.ss,bi]t much oftener finds 
out for itself ct rtain channels which afford it an easier 

{jaasage through the filter. All tbese drawbacks may, 
lowever, be remedied by using, instead of the ordmary 
filter, nn instrument which fillers and decants at the 
same time. A similar kind of filter, which I j>hall call 
the syphon filter, becan.te it is founded on the principle 
of the syphon, has often been projio«ed for use in rapid 
filtration ; neverthele^^s, among all these contrivances 
we do not pt assess one of a suitable form for anjdytical 
purposes, aithou;ih many may be used ftr munutactur- 
ing operations, eepecinHy on a proportionately large 
scjile. I, on the contmrv, have taken some trouble to 
render this principle of the syphon pressure apfdicable 
to quantiti\iive ef^timation, and subjoin a deectiption of 
my syphon filler as now manufactured according to my 
own jiilan by the well-known firm of Franz Uugershoff 
in Lijiptic. 

A i.*i a double bent funnel; each bend is i decimetre 
long: the height of the receiver -shaped funnel is littl<j 
more than 2 cmtimetrcs, the width 3 centimetres. 
This syplion is joined at its free end to an india-rubber 
tube united to a straight glass tube, so that the length 
of the entire shank of the syfihon is made to approach 
50 centimetres. The glass tube which is join*.'d to ihe 
india-rubber pipe passes tliroupli a doubly perforated 
india-rubber stopper which' fits into the pipe, c, which 
tapers to a point. Tlie second hole in the stopper con- 
lams the suciion pipe, e, which only just passes through 
an«l is bent at right angles. 

In ord'T to filter, there must fir?t be spread over the 
mouth of Ihe funnel a suitable round piece of muslin 
and upon that a similar piece of filtering paper ; the 
muslin mu?t be alike unaffected by acids or alkalie?. 
Both fiiieriug media must then be held by means of a 
tiyht india-rulber ring in the bell-shaped funnel; the 
filtering medium is sprinkled with disi tiled water and 
placed in the beaker, which serves to receive the sub- 
stance to be fdtet ed. It will be nece&*ary in order that 
as little lluid as possible may be left behind in such fil- 
trutous, and that no unnecessary quantity of water be 
used in washing, that certain dimensions which have 
proved to be ihtj best should be adhered to in this ves- 

* Coinniaalc»t»d bj th« AuUioc, 



[£agUib Edition, VoL XI7., No 488, pagw 172, 160.] 



290 • 



Contrihutions to Analytieal CJiefnisir^j, 






i 



eel ; success will iheri be certnin. It will conveniently 
cont-iin loo c.c.^ and the quantities of liquid which are 
left from guch liltration? and which contain the deposit 
nmoun: to scarcely more than 5 c.c. Kven when b 
coataiiiS no defiosii there does not remain more than 
7 c.c. at most after filtering the clear liquid; but since 
the vessel is filled ea<.h time with at least 100 c.c. of the 
liquid, the residue will amouni to i-2otb of the fluid 
iiaed, so that a dt-poait, after threefold wnehinj^ contains 
only I- 1 50,000th of the substnnce whi< h waa dissemi- 
nated and contained in the original inas*. It will be 
seen by this that in most analyses one wiishing instead 
of three will give a sufficiently pure rrsiduc; ilje wash- 
ing water may also be more completely utilised than by 
cmployinjjj the ordinary funnel filter, because it can btt 
better apitated with the deposit. Lastly, the filtering 
surface always remains pure, becnu?e the liltrntion lakea 
place from bt-neaih to above, and in consequt-nce of this 
and of the consid'Table pros^sure of 50 e.e. of liquid, 
the filtration takes place^ about one-fifth of the time 
requTcd when u^ing the ordinary filter iiisleatl ; since 
there is an average dis< hartje of 20 c.c. of liquid per 
minute. The process of iilterinj^ is as follows : — b must 
be placed upon ihe table at such a lieight h& to be con- 
venient for stirring and filling^ the vessel, f, which re- 
ceives the filtrutc stands lowtr. A a soon as u is filled 
the suction pipe, e, niufct be exhausted, and at the same 
time the opening, o, mnat be closed with the forrfingtr; 
when the liquid has arrived in the india-rubber pipe, p 
is pluced under it and the fdtration dtutiuues as long us 
the filtering medium iscovert-d wifli liquid. When this 
is no longer the case, n is again filled wilh the liquid or 
sub.-stance to be filtered, and the whule well agi- 
tated by n'peutedly raising and lowerjug the fuu- 
A Tieh One fiItr»4ition being 

finished, the funnel is washed, 
together with the paper over b, 
which in ori!er to preserve the 
last drops of the liquid, is hxM. 
up aiid pricked. If it be desired 
10 ignileand weigh the residue, 
it niiJRt be washrd out of n into 
a fiiTiall platinum dieh, whicli is 
then placed over a water bath 
U) evaporate all nj^iisiture, and 
heated eitlier in the dish itself 
or in a por« efain or phitinuni 
crucible. The dL'?jecation in 
the drying room may bf omitted 
and also the burning of the filter, 
as they would take np too much 
time. Should it be necessary 
for a deposit to be again dissolved^ one great conveni- 
ence of this contrivance is, that at the tnd of the fil- 
tration it will be found ready in the bejiker wiih a mini- 
mum quantity of water, th'-reby removitig the inconve- 
nient rinsing out of \\m filter, a part of the process 
which in the case of strongly adhering deposits requires 
lai-ge quantities of water. 

These are the essential advantages of the syphoB fil- 
ter. I always employ it if the fluid to be filtered 
amounts to more than 100 cc, or if a volumiiiuus de- 
posit is to be washed. 

On the Sepabation afd EsTiMATtoN or Copper ix the 
Presence or ornER Metallic Salts. 

In order to ascertain the amount of copper in a liquid 
•which also contain* other metallic salts, it will be found 



advisable to separate tlie copper from the solution i 
such a form as will be best adapted to its furtiier es 
timation. * 

In analytical estimations of copper by weight, use 
may frequently be made, in ihe presence of rulphidea 
easily soluble in weak niuriatic ucid, of the property 
possessed by chloridt^ of copper of being precipiiated 
in a warm acid solution by nyposulphite of soda. A 
draw bark of this mtthoil is, however, that it does nut 
allow any direct weighing of the dried precipitali?, on 
account of the sulpliur wliich is separated at the 
tjurne time with the copper suljdiide. Some cliemiflls 
have recommended iodide of pota-sirim, others, es- 
pecially Rivot, sulphocyanide of potassium, for the 
separation of copper in acid solutions; neither of these 
an*, however, to be especially recommended for ana- 
lytical estimation by weight, becauje ihey do not allow 
of precision bein^^ attained by (hreet weighir^g. Od 
the contrary, both these haloid salts of Cftpper ftre 
highly suitable for its seoaration fiorn other niefallio 
salts and for the analytical deti-'miination of copper by 
measure, becai/se almost all iodides and fidphocyanides 
collectively are easily sohible in muriatic acid, while, 
on the other hand, iodide or sulphocyanide of copper 
is insoluble, so that it is not possible to dbcovt-r m the 
filtraie, afler precipitation, any trace of copper by the 
aid of ferrocyanide of potassiuin. Of course much 
depends, especially for the complete pi eci[»i tuition of^ 
the iodide of copper, upon the mearse of reduction 
ployed. Salts of sulphurous acid and even protochlo-1 
ride of iron are inappropriate, because iodide of copper 
is dolubte in an excess of sutphurous acid, and still 
more easily so in sesquichloridc of iron ; but if a rflHJ 
ducing agent be emfiloyed in precipitating the iodid< 
of copper, CBpal;4e, before the addition of iodide of po- 
tassium, of reducing cupric salts to suhsalt-s, the precipi- 
tation of the iodide will be thoroughly complete, Tha 
most convenietit reducing agent of this kind, and that 
best adapted for the purpose, is chloride of tin. If a 
solution of chloride of copper or blue vitriol be mixed 
ivith an excess of chloride of tin, the copper will be 
transformed into subi'hloride or subsulphate. On the 
addition of iodide of pntassitim, the copper will be so 
Completely precipittted that no trace will bo (liscover- 
able in tlie filtrate. As this iodide of coit{>er is, then, 
one of the most suitable forms in \%hich to analytit'allyj 
estimate copfer by measure, I will proceed to descril 
the method mote closely. Wi«h the Bi<l of sulphate 
of peroxide of iron, which it trunsfoima into a 
protoxidi*, according to the formula — 

CuJ + 3(FeaO,,3So,) = 2CuOSO, + 4FeOSO.+^ 

after separating the eimultaneously-deposiled iodine^ 
the amount of copper may be easily calculated froi 
that of the protoxide of iron formed, which is foun< 
by permanganate of potash. In order to obtain Ihi 
cojipcr as a chloride in a state of solution, it is neccf 
sary either to dissolve the oxide in nuiriatic acid, 
to transform tljc sulphate into chloride by the additiox 
of chloride of potassium or chloride of sodium. Th< 
[ircsence of suhihate of potiish will be found in no 
detrimental. Nitrates may Hfe treaied in the sara< 
way, or, if too nmch (vqq add he present^ it may 
dicomposed by dig! sting wilh excess of protochloridej 
of iron. Af:er the chloride of iron has been formi 
by one of these two methods, there must be added 
proportionately large quantity of sal-ammoniac, sa 
about ]oo c.c. fluid, 8 — 10 grammes solid, Sidt Wit 
this must be mixed distilled chloride of tin, or the 



^nglith £ditiOB. Vol. XIX., Vo, «BQ, pm«« ICO', ISCk. 491, ^a.%« 206.1 



i^iHM, 1360. f 



Kew Element ivlth Zirconiunu — PUchstone»^ Island of Arram. 291 



I 



stronger solution of chloride of tin and sal-ammoniac, 
in such ft proportion as to transform the wholo of the 
copper intt* aubchlorido; if iron be also held in solution 
it will naturally be reduced to protoxide. It is obvi- 
ous that a solution cin contain no eubcbloride of cop- 
per in the preatMiLC* of ?eaqui<'hloride of iron, but thnt 
m the presence of cldoride of cnppcr it n)Qy eotitain 
protochloride of in,^. If tlio rciluction is suflioient, a 
paper dipjM-d in strong: ioilidL' of puLtssiiun will not 
turn blue. Should it now be wislied to precipitite the 
copper ii5 iodide, an iodide of potassium solution must 
be added in KutUoient quantity, and the coW fluid al- 
lowed to Buttle well.* In the presence of much aal- 
ammoniiic tUia takes place very quickly, while, at the 
same time, the temlency of the finely divided iodide 
lo go throuji^h the pores of I lie filter is prevented. 
The iodid"' (jf copper, wliich is filtered off, must, now be 
waahei with a soiuiion of sal-umraoniac until a solu- 
tion of niinito of .silver in cau-tic ammonia will no 
longer render turbid the liquid wbich nins throu^di, 
and until the latfer wdl not piec pitnte Pmssiuii blue 
from u mixtiiro of diluted se^quichlriride of icon with 
Iwo cirops of prusslatc of potash. The ludide of cop- 
per wLioh waa washed is now placed in a s lutiou of 
nitric acid, cIilo:ine, and free sulphate of peroxide of 
iron, wliyjli more than suffices to transform all the 
copper into sub-salt; the free iodine is then driven off 
by heat tuitil iodide of potassium and starcb paper is 
not turned blue by the furaea, and dilutetl wiih eold 
tvater. The amounr. of the original protoxiile of iron 
is now estimated with matig^atmte of poLish, and thou 
the amount of copper is cal-ulated according to ilic 
above-mentioned formula, It will be peiceived that it 
is possible to estimate the Iii)eiateil iodine by employ- 
ing cloised vessels, from which it is diatilhd into a bo- 
luUon of iodide of pota-isium, nevertheless I consider 
this proce-^ as au(>erfl,joua, since the estimation of ii on 
belongs prop:'rly lo the nio-^t exact analytical methods. 

Inasriimili as loilide of copper iii an appropriate com- 
pound for the c-ttimatiun of copper, so it is alio espe- 
cially adapted todisciiverand se|jarato combined iodine 
in tbe presence of chlorine aud bromine; and it fully 
replaces the expensive employni nt of palladium, pro- 
vided the stated preeaution.i are adhered to, and so 
much the more as it permits a direct estimation of 
iodine. An equally convenient method of eatimatia;? 
and si'parating copper is presented by preci[*itation by 
enlphocyanidc uf potass! u m, In the absence of sesqui- 
oxide of iron, copper can be as eaady ?eparBtt*d from iifi 
soluli<»n by sulphocyanide of pytasalum, when aulphiLe 
of soda is used as a reducinj^ agent, as when chloride 
of tin is employed. The addition of sal-ammoniac i* 
not indi'^pen.'^able, but it effects a better fih ration and 
prevents the separation of oxide of tin. 

The 8ulphopyanide of copper which is deposited from 
the muriatic acid solution is washed until ibe waahings 
are not rendered turbid by alkali ; the depos^it is then 
digested for some minutes with a solution of cauBlie 
sodo or potash ; the red suboxide of copper now r>rmed 
is allowed to settle a little and quickly filtered off. It 
is then wa-^hed with hot water until it no longer com- 
municates a red tinge to acidulated aesquicbhride of 
iron ; the PuboxMe is then dissolved in a solution of 
aulpbate of peroxide of iron, and estimnted aecording 
to the known process. The estimation of copper as a 
fiulphocyanide will be perceived to be rather more de- 
tailed than tbat of the iodide; however, by this method 



one may avoid the removal of the iodine by large quan- 
tities of water, which always takes up time. More- 
over, a-s I have myself proved, aulphocyanide of copper 
serves as a means of estimation for hydrosulphocyanic 
acid even in the prcBence of cyanogen. I have ob- 
served in such cases that the transformation of the 
cyanogen into ferrocyanido of potass^ium (which ia ef- 
fected by digesting the alkaUne solution with oxidis;ed 
green vitriol) and the subsequent separation of the fer- 
rocyanide of potassiimi from the acidulated solution, 
prr/duee a \i*vy useful separation of the cvanngen from 
the sulphocyanogen, especially if a little cliloi ide of tin 
be previously added, so that all the iron may be held 
in the state of protoxide. It has already been re- 
marked tbat copper can be separated in the [tresence of 
salts of other metals by cither iodide or .sulphocyanide 
of potassium. Load, silver, and mercury alone arc 
troublesome; however, silver may be f^enarated by 
mtiriatic acid, and lead is precipitated wiih sufficient 
completeness by the addition of sulphuric acid. By 
means of chloride of tin, mercury is abw deposited u» 
IlgaCl, provided the solution be cold, so that the sepa- 
ration of copper from these three metals is tolerably 
simple. In the case of native sulphides I prefer, instead 
of ihe lediouB and troublesome decompo*«ition by a^uu 
r/'ijj'iVi,' fu-ing them with four parts of dry soila, three 
part^ chlorate of potash, and two of common salt; this 
will effect, in a few minuti'S, a quiet and ilecidod oxi- 
dation of the pyrites. The fused ma^s is directly dis- 
solved in n\uriatic aeid, and tlie copper separated from 
the filtered soluiion in tlie form of iodide or sulphocya- 
nide, according to the method above des^cribed. 



ANOTHER NEW ELEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH 
ZIRCONIUM. 

From a letter receivoil from Mr. H. C. Sorby, dated 
April 13'h, we learn that he has discovered spectrum 
evidence t^) prove that^ independent ofjargonla, zircon.s 
from different localiiii-s contain two distinct earths, oc- 
curring in very variable proportion, so that some nppeur 
to contain liftle or none of one, and others to be chiefly 
composed of itw 



• H<?TiR the Bvphon nit*'r irfll 
* dpItAto bo Qi»l (bo tiulj^ulilcatit, 



foaad Tcry cuDTeiilecit If Ule pre- 



PITCnSTONES OF THE ISLAND OF ARRAN, 

nr J. WALLACE TOtr.VG. 

Thb piteh*tone dykes and veins in Arran are of great 
interest to the geologist, the mineral being compara- 
tively rare in Britain. 

Pi'telistone oppoiirs of a dark blackish green colour, 
almost like a piece of bottle glass, sometimes with small 
t^pecks, and, occasionally, large crystals of felspar dis- 
seminated in the base, giving it a more or less por- 
phvridc texture. 

When small chips, or properly prepared seetions are 
exaniinedi. microscopically, it is seen to consist of a 
colourless glassy ba<e— probably hydrated fekpar, and 
having, avcordmg to Mr. Sorby, no action on pohirised 
light Scattered throughout are great numbers ofdark 
green prismatic crystals, grossing in all directions, and 
oflen in stellate groups. On ap|ilying heat to a thin 
splinter, water is expelled, and it becomes opaque, the 
opn.city being due to the minute vesicles produced by 
the expul<ion of the water. 

B.B. pitclistoue becomes white, and fuses with diffi- 



[BnjUtii Edition, Vol. XIX., No. 451, page* 206, 307 j No. i»9, pag* IBl,] 



292 ^"^tfiv AniU'ive Dyes. — Constituents of the Hreitenhavh Meteor ite. \ 



CUBUtClL . 



ISrir*, 



culty to II very vesicul&r gtaaa. Fracture, conchoidal, 
splintery. 

The finely elutriated mineral is acted on to n alight 
extent by digestion with HCl; with HSjO* the action 
iii a little (greater. 

Pitchstone, when weatberin;^ and decomposing^ be- 
comi»s opaqiitj and greyish white, and 13 not difficult to 
piilvoristv In this state it isacied on very considerably 
with HCl; the SiOn sepnrating partly in a gelatinoua 
form. A specimen of weathered pitchstone from the 
Corrugills shore, dried at loo' C, lost 11 '69 percent uf 
water on ignition. 

The following table shows the compositions of four 
ditferent specimens : 

L II. 

SilWo acid 72-55 73-00 

Alumina iS'oS i2'27 

Ferrous oxide. i"50 1*27 

Lime.... 050 0*50 

Potash 432 392 

Soda (by diffbrence) 3 64 3*92 

Water 5-41 512 



C,«H.."] 


CjflHu 


(-'.Hfr «. 


C,(H,Br) 


C.H. ^* 


QHJSr) 


c,hJ 


C,(H4Br) 



ITL 

7»*94 

I2;3r 

oSo 
4-27 
400 
5 '37 



l\. 


7TZ7 


1160 


1-69 


o*9S 


417 


i^ 



loo'oo loo'oo 10000 lOOOO 

No. I, From the large vein on tlie Corrugills shore. 
Tliis forms a broad, nlniosL horizontal band in front of 
the siindst<irio cliffa. A few gmab felspar crytstals soat- 
lered throughout the smooth, blackish green mitjernl. 
8p. gr. 2336. 

No, 2. From the great vein, about 30 feet broad, 
which crosses the old Lamlash Road at right aii^'h'S. 
More porpliyritic in character than any of the otliers. 
Sp. gr. 2-327. 

Noa. 3 and 4. From Moneadh-Mbor Glen. The two 
pttcliptone dykes arc welt expoat'd in the bed and banks 
of the stream. No. 3. Blackish groen ; smoolh. Sp. gr. 
2343. No. 4. Greyish green ; texture Bomewba I coarse. 
Appear^ as if in a slate of incipient decomposition. Sp. 

er- 2-323. 

Fioni ttie microscopical examination of a great many 
difl*erent varieties, it would aj»pear that the more por- 
phyriiic kinds show tht' gri-aU-st number of green pris- 
matic crystals. In the speuimetis Nos. i and 3, they are 
not !*o numerous ; but higlker miorosijopic powers show 
immense quantities of v»ry smalL ncedli'-sliapedcrys'nls 
di!<8einirjated throughout, and frequently surrounding 
the larger crystals like a frinEre, appearing to have s+d- 
parated out and grouped themshilves in this manner, 
the base in the neighbourhood being comparatively 
free from them. The larger crystals Lmve appanntl}' 
been first formed, and in some ca^es, have acted as a 
Bort of nucleus for the amaller ones. 



produced from a salt of rosaniline and bromaniline* 
This blue possesses both the colour and most of the pro- 
perties of ordinnry triphenyl-rosaniline, althoTigh it< 
must contain broraophcoyl in place of phenyl, thtis:— ^ 



N. 



Tri'phitiyl-roBaDiline. TrllroDioplicnylrotanillne. 

This subst^mce appears to differ from the ordioary 
blue only in being less soluble in alcohol. 

An experiment was then made in reference 10 th« 
peculiar pro{)erty mauvcine possesses of b<?coming co- 
lourlesa, like indigo, with reducing ngents, and then a»- 
aumtng iU ordinary colour again when exposed to the 
oxidising influence of the air, a property ahowing this 
colouring matter to belong to a different class ot com- 
pounds to rosatiiline. 

The next subject was in relation to a colouring matter 
which had been obtained several year* since by Mr. 
Perkin, but only in smaH quantities, in the preparation 
of aniline purple with bichromate of potassium and a 
salt of aniline. Thi^ substance produces, upon silk or 
cotton, shades similar to ihose obtaiued withsafflower, 
and owiTig to a somewhat improved process for«it3 pro- 
duction endeavours nre now being made to intrxjduce 
it into the arts, ootpecially as it posses^ea advantages 
over «aftlower. It i.s, however, still difticult to manu- 
facture ; it is called aniline pink, and sometimes 
safrauine. 

This substance i.« at present under examination ; it 
does not appear to be at all related to rosaniline, but 
to possess proper! ies similar to those of mauvtinc, its it 
gives the same rea'.'tions with acid^J, and with reducing 
agents becomes colourless, but, when exposed to the 
air, rapidly assnmes its original tint, exactly in the 
same manner as the mauve. 

Like most of the cual tar colours, it is an organic 
base. It forms very soluble salt*?, most of which are 
cry.«?talline, and possess a green met-dlic lustre. 

One of the most remarkable of its propertie* is the 
peculiar orange-coloured flu ^resf^ence of the alcoholic 
solution of iis salts. This was illustrated by means of 
the magnesium lamp. 

Mr. Perkin has not yet decided upon the formuU of 
this colouring matter, but is at present engaged with 
the subject. It appears to contain much Teas c^ri>on 
than raauveine. 



ON SOilE NEW ANILINE DYES. 

I»T W. It. PKHKIN, F.tia, SEC. C.S. 

At a recent meeting of the Chemical Section of the 
Fhilosophicnl SocieJy of Ofasgow, Mr. Perkin made 
8ome observations upon artificial colouring matters, 
which he illustrated experimental. 

The Grst remarks were upon the action of chloride of 
lime on aniline, the forjusdion of Runge's blue, and ita 
conversion into uiauveine, being shown. The particu- 
lars of these results have already appeared in the 
CuEMiCAL Nbws. 

An instance of how litfle the replacement of hydro- 
gen by bromine in a colouring matter will at tim&> iu- 
fiucnce its colour and properties, was shown and re- 
marked upon by the formation of a blue the author had 



PnELIMIXAlfY NOTK K 

ON THE MINERAL CONSTITUENTS 

or THE 

BREITENBACH METEORITE.* 

BY PROFESSOR N. SrORlf MASKELYIfE, M.A. 

Tms meteorite, which belongs to the rnre class inter- 
mediate between meteoric irons or siderile?, and me- 
teoric etoncs or aerolites, was found in Breitenbach in 
Bohpmia. 

It is a spongy metallic mas?, very similar to the sidc- 
rolite of Ritt<_^r.agriin in Saxony, the ludlows in the 
iron being filled by a mixture of crystalline minerals. 
These minerals seem to consist almost entirely of two; 
and the present notice deals with these two minerals. 

* Alirtract of • pap«r read before ili« Bojritl SocIetXi April 6U1, t86^ 



^aglUb Edition, Vol. XIZ., Uto. 4fi9, page* 181, 182.] 



I. Ono of them is of a pale green colour, crystallising 
So U»e prismatic system, and presenting &t once the 
formul.i of an augilic mineral and a crysi&lline fonn 
nearly apprvjAching that of olivine. 

The analysis of this green mineral gave, fiom 0*4127 



^ g"P-,— 



Silica 0-2315 

Magnesia...,..,.. 0'i:;47 
Ferrous orido, .... 0-0560 



per «tnt. 
56101 
30-215 

99899 



4i22 

reffliltB which correspond rery nearly with an Ensta- 
tite of the formula (Mg]Fei)SiO.. The specific grayity 

i« 3-23 

2, The other mineral is one of very great interest 
It ia, in short, silicii crystalliaed as tridymite. In bulk 
it forms about a third part of the mixed crystalline masfl. 

The crystals are very imperfect ; but measurements 
accord with those of an hexiigonal crystal 

.1 section made for examination in the microscope 
showed two small qrystala in whit-h the axis happened 
to be normal to the section. Light traverses these 
crystals with equal brilliancy during the rotation of the 
crjretal between crosses! Xicol prisma That this was 
due to gyratory polarieationj and of a right-handed 
kind, was shown m the following manner : — 

A comparative experiment was made with two sec- 
tions of quartz of opposite qualities, and of the requi- 
«le thickneps, to give the *' sensitive tint" with 
crossed Nicols ; and below these weie placed two Hiin 
sections of right -and-lellt gyrating quaitz, giving an 
orange tint. The two minute microscopic aeclions 
gave, on comparison of tbe colours in the centre of the 
field, in each case, unmistakable evidence that the gy- 
ration was similar to that of ** right-handed'' quartz. 

There can be no doubt from tliese results that this 
minoriu is sili<3a in the form of its opaloid crystal, to 
which Von Rath has given the name of tndymite. 

The analysis of the mineral gave, by distillation of the 
eihcH as silicic difiuoride, und subi^equent deter ininalion 
a*s potassic fluosihcate, 9743 percent of silica; the re- 
mainder being oxide of iruu and lime. Thus 0*3114 
grm. gave — 

per ccnl. 

Silica 0-3034 97430 

Ferric oxide ©"0035 1 * 1 24 

Lime o-ooiS o'578 




0-3087 99*132 

A second aaalysis gave 99*21 per cent silica, 0*79 of 
residue. 

Its specific gravity, as determined from a very small 
amount of the mineral picked under the raicroaecipe, 
was 2*i8; a second determination made on a largt-r 
amount gave the value 2"245. That of tndymite is 
2"295 to 2*3. This may be taken as evidence that the 
mineral h not quartz, the specific gravity of which is 
2*65, Von Rath'a experimenta were made on a rather 
less pure form of tridyojite. 



ON THE DISTILLATION OF DENSE FITDRO- 
CAEBONS AT HIGH TEMPERATURES, 

nOONtOALLT TKRllED " ORACKtffO.^' 
BT 8. F. PECKHAM. 

Ill the American reprint of ihe CriEMiOAL News for 
June of this year {Am. Re^r,, June^ 1S68, page 257) 
Voi- IV. No. 6.— June, 1869. 19 



an ariicle appeArs "On Naphtha uid Dluminattng Oil 
from Heavy CaUforiiia Tar,*' bv Prof. B. Silliman, 
copied from the 5i» Frai^iMCo thilUUn. In the Sep- 
tember numb<*r of the ssame Journal, an article at^pears 
"On the Diiitillatiou uf Hydrocarbons," bv Ji^^eph 
Hirschf Ph.D., iu which the resulifi obiaine*} by Proi' 
S. are saUected to criticL?m, and certam sTatemeuts 
made in reference to the subject of a most extraordinary 
character. , 

At the same time that Mr. Coming was engaged 
upon the experiments, the results of wliich form the 
subject of Prof. Silliman's paper, 1 was eugatreO upon 
experiment* of a similar character fi>r the Geological 
Survey of Cahforniu, the resultsu of which have not j?et 
been published,* These results differed somewhat fi-om . 
those obtained by Prof. S., as also tl>e method by which 
they were obtainoil. I shall, therefore, give a brief 
summary, both of metJiod and results, and ionv|.mre the 
conclusions to be derived from ttieni "^iXXi the state- 
ments made by Dr. Hirsch. 

Those who first attempted the maimfactnre of com- 
mercial oils from crude Caiiibrnia material?:, when oper- 
ating with the upright still in common use for the niHun- 
factarc of Pennsylvania oils, encountered an appart^iily 
insurmounUible obstacle, viz., a large proportiiUi of tlio 
distillate was neither light nor heavy, neither burning 
oil nor lubricating oil, but an oil intermediate in density 
between the lwo» and therefore not merchantable. The 
difficulty was so far overcome by eucJosiug the stilU iu 
brickwork, heating titem entirely by radiant heat, and 
distilling very slowlv, that the amount of heavy lubri- 
cating oil was larij'eU' increased, and the *' middlings" 
correspondingly diminished. The yield of ilhnninating 
oil, however, was very slightly increnyed. and it was t<iT 
Llio purpose of securing a larger yield of that matctial, 
that my experiments were undertaken. I had at first 
inteniled to subject them to Mr. Down§r's process of 
slow distillation m a higli, uprij^ht etill, the top of wiiich 
was exposed to radiation. The small tinantity of crude 
material at my command (5 pallon.-^ of each variety) 
rendered this operation exceedingly difficult to conduct 
successfully, and it was with extreme saiisfaciion tliat 
I saw at the lime, iti the October tiumher of the Ciieji- 
ICAL News for t866 (Eng. AU), an announcement that 
Mr. Young of Glasgow had obtained a patent for the 
manufacture yi illuuiinating oih from heavy paraBino 
oil'?, by di.sti]lation under pressure. It w as noeestf-ary 
tliat I should operate on a small quantity at a time, and 
also, that I should tubjuct the four or five dillerent 
samples which I Lad to the same treatment, in order 
that I might conjpare the result**, and judgo of their 
relative value. For that purpo,-e I eontriveil the ap- 
paratus de.-scribed in the i>epLeiT»ber number of this 
Journal for 1867, which, so far a« 1 know, has but one 
fault, vi»., the chamher of the valve is too unudt, ar\d 
should be enlarged sufficiently t*> enable the pressure 
to be regulated by weights instead of by a sprmg. 

With a prcsHure of between 30 and 40 pounds per 
square inch (the exact amount was not ascertained) the 
following results were obtained; — 

Percentage Raulta of DUtiUation under Presture. 

I ir. HI. IV. 

Volatile JmimHty. conitotlnfl'of *ir «n«l woUr. — — — t^s 
tH prriaurc dliUllfttino of cruilo materlKl . , . . , 91*— 87*66 89'S6 r»'' 
Coke and k»0 at do 9-— ty^ «7'i4 H"5 



• Thv Tohime of RctMrl* of ' ' 
eontamlni; thew rttdlts. U nun. 
ht (l«Uyfd bjr Uil* faliluro of Uu. 
t^ ut)et$9ary apprupri»U(Mi. 



[Engtlsh Edition, Vol. ZIZ^ No. i80, f«<n 182, iSa] ' 



294 




Diitillution of Dense Ilydrocarvom at High Teniperatitres. \ '^jHH^^Sir^ 




1 



I. 
4»'— 

49 — 
44' IS 

3»85 

o'9S 
3090 
5135 

30-90 
a*6i 
18*34 
1500 



It 

56-73 
3094 

6-96 
6768 

rSfl 
6o"7o 

o'6a 
30'a6 
Co' 70 

16^54 
ao'oo 



4333 55 J 

58*09 49'8 

9 5a iS"4 

49S5 39- r 

»'49 09 

48-36 s'Sj 

afi'S? 374 

0-85 I'l 

27*72 3^'i 

4B-36 aS-a 

»7'r» 3fi'3 

a-34 a-oj 

ai 58 jjs 

3'oo a'o 



itt frnoll^nftttnn <yr sp. fjr, 43"' B.Korgto, ..... 
Lc. • ' i'l r.r re-r1bllUnUou ..... 

Wti prtisBure fHntlltAtion.. 

an.l .. gr. 43" B.=oSio 

iv.iai cjii'i"' ;i otriiii.iiing niL 

Jmk^ In tnalmcnl of do. j-tcothit .... 

Tt»tftl yield ftf r^"flru'«l oil 

TiitiiJ cri 1 u' «iU.., 

L<)«h lot I. 3' Ir)Olh» ,,...,..,,. 

Total risi: ri(j oil 

Yield uf reiinea i^iiinaiuilag oIU »p, gr. 43'= B. 
Yitfid *>f re&ood Jubrictvling oil, sp. gr. aj^— 

as" B .. 

J^%» In lroalim*nt....... , 

Cokv A»d 1oik& In dULUl&Uon 

Yleltluf illuuilnathi^ vl\ hy ordl nary Process.. 

No. I was an oil procured from one of the tunnek 
> of the Hay ward Petroleum Company, of a specific grav- 
ity of 09023 yielding by (ibfillation in a comiiion still 
about 15 per cent of ligfht oil, of a spci-ific gravity of 
o-8io, with aboHt 40 to 50 percent of " middlingg " 
and 20 per cant of light lubricatinp oil. 

No. 2 came from the celehraied Pico Springs, yield- 
ing the lightest oil of any njitural outcrop in South- 
ern California. IL'^ specific gravity wrig o'8932, and 
it yielded to treatment by the ordinary method, 
only about 20 per cunt of illuminating oil of the proper 
denisity. 

No, 3 was from ihe Canarla Lng-a. of specific gravity 
of 0*9184, and yielding by the ordinary process only 3 
per cent of illuminrvlinp oil 

No. 4 was a pample of Mullha from the same Spring 
as that operated upon by ProC. Sillirnan. Its specific 
gravity was 0*978, jind it yielded about 2'5 per cent of 
illurninatinp oil. 

This tflblf! exhibits the results of actual experiment 
not of theory ; and while they differ from those ob- 
tained by Prof 8illitnan, the diflcr^nco is in dcfjree 
and not in kind, and 13 without doubt due to tbe 
superiority «if the apparatus used by myself, and to 
H higher degree of pressure empltyed. Botli serii's 
of experiments confirm eacli other, and alike prove 
that dcniMJ petroleums and a thick heavy tar — as thick 
aa ordinary molasses — which yield practically little or 
no illuraiutiting oil by ordinary treatment, by distil- 
lation under prea-ure are subjected to what Ls 
technically termi-d " cracking " an«l made to yield from 
2S to 60 per cent of oil fit for burning, and rendered 
thereby nearly as valuable as the crud^ oils of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Dr. Hirsch criticises these experiments as not being 
executed under eircumatanco?! ** parallel to the distilla- 
tion on a large .scale." He then htate», that, during 
the distillation of hydrocarbons on the larpe pcale^ 
" the process of * crackinvr ' always takes place in 
some degree," a^ *' all hydnK-arbons of hi;;h boiling 
points contained in suoh mixtures are, during distil- 
lation, exposetl Id varying degrees of temperature | 
below thctr own boiliufr point, as long as those hydro- 1 
carbons of lesser gravity untl lower boiling point have ' 
not been removed by distillaritm." He further slater, ^ 
that ** it is this exposure to a lower degree of heat than 
correspond:! to the distilling point of an oil of de- 
finite gravity, which compri.ses the operation of 
'cracking.'" Again, he states, that during rIow 
distillation in the enonnoua stilh now being intro- 
duced, "cracking" takes place without any *' special 
^cflorta " to produce .such a result, ** while only a 
small portion distils o%'cr &s paraflfiiie oil, that being due 
to ovcrheatiDg.'* He next 6tate<5, tJiat by rapid dis- 
tillation of a small quantity, the different hydro- 
carbons which jnake up the petroleum come over 



unchanged, and that the difference between tbi.s Ia«*( 
named diai illation and the former, is the san»e as tli< 
one between distdhng coal lor the production of ilJtt^ 
iniiiating gas, and that for producing coal oil; thefomu 
producing a dense tar, being carried on in amall loi 
retorts, and the latter in revolving retorts of larf 
capjicity. '* In these the oily vapours are exposed to a 
ccKiler temperature than their own with every revolution 
of tlie retort, and ore in this manner broken up iul 
oils of hgbter gravity." 

He then gives a number of rules, the result of bia o^ 
experience. 

"1st * ♦ ♦ the more the temperature of the actus 
boiling point of oil of definite gravity is obove the] 
temperature to which the same oil is raised, the great* 
is the quantity of light oil obtained. 

'• 2nd. The gravity of di?-tillate resulting fi-oni 
duction of temperature will be directly propor-j 
tionale to said reduciion. * * * In distillation, ih< 
temperature, therefore, should always be reduced toth« 
boiling point ol^ the oil of the specific gravity desired.] 

" 3rd. The difl'erence between the temperatur* 
of the two boihtig points, viz. of the oil being suX 
jected to distilhiti.m and of the derived distillate, 
in direct proportion to the height of the still employ* 
or to the facility for cooling iho upper portions 
the still. 

'^* 4th. The intensity of the process of * cracking* is 
proportionate to lb© suddenness with wliich the od 
vaiiourst are contJen^ed before leaving the still. 

'' 5th. The diireiL-nce in gravity between that of 
the oil distilled and the desirwd distillate is in direct 1 
proportion to the quantity of water produced in lh< 
process. 

" These laws are the a.-ime wiih hydrocarbons^ 
distilled under the ordinary atmospheric pressure, uS, 
with those distilled in a vacuum, or under iacreasedi 
preasure." 

It is very rarely that as many errors are included^ 
within as Uttle space, and the entire discussion ex- 1 
hibits in a remarkable degree to what totally errone- 
ous concluKiotia the results of close observation and. 
experience may lead when explained upon a false 
hypothesis. 

The operation of "cracking," as conducted by Mr,. 
Downer, consists in a elow disi illation of oils of high" 
specific gravity, and high boiling point, in a still' 
furni.shed with a high florae, thtj outer surface of' 
which is freely exposed to radiation. As distillation 
proceeds, those oils which are condensed at the tem- 
perature at which the dome h mjiintairied, instead of 
passing into the worm and tlience into the receiver, 
collect in drops upon the surface of the dome, and fail| 
back upon tiie surHvce of the oil beneath, which hia 
meantime become heated above their boiling point'. 
Mr, Young distils the oils under pressure, tiiereby 
vapourisinj^' them at a temperature above their normal' 
boiling points. 

It is therefore obvious that the primary and esBentiBl 
condition of "cracking'* is simply to subject the oila 
U'y a temperature above their boiling points, or in other 
words, to super-heat tijeir va[»our§. It will be found 
that, for oils of the same density, the higher the tem- 
perature to which they are raised, or at wluch they are 
drstilled, the lighter will be the product; and that to 
produce an oil of given density, the ht^avier oil muat 
be raised to a certain fixed temperature, the in- 
tensity of lieat depending on the lightJtie.«.s of the oil' 
required. 



[EagUili EditKm, Vol, SIX., No. 4(«9, page 183.] 




""S^im'^ \ DistiUaiion of Dense Ilydrocarhons at Ili^k Temjperalures. 



295 



¥ 



Kow it is evJdeDt that Prof. Silliman could not sub- 
ject five c*r ton gallons of Maltha to ex|H'riiiierit fUrictly 
analogoiis to Mr, Downer's process, the two elements 
of time and large eiipRL-ity of a[*paratu3 being prttc- 
ticaJly unutiaiciablc wh<?n nianipulsiiinj; so small a 
quantity, lie could, however, fi^llow Mr. Young's process 
strictly, using from lo to 15 pounds pressure per tujiiare 
inch. My own residta were obtained by usin*^' fiora 30 
to 40 pjun<is pressure per square inch, and operating 
upon only i,SC>o e.c. at a lime. 

Dr. Hirech is correct in stating that during the dis- 
tillation on the large scale, this proci S8 always oblaiiriB 
actiou in some ile<jree, but M'j rrai»oning is utterly at 
fault. 2o, too, m his explanation of the fat-t^ that 
'* CTAtjking "' takes pljiCrj in large ttHK without any 
special elTort 10 SL'cure euch a result. The real expla- 
nalioQ bes in the fact> that the upper portion of stilla in 
ordinary use is generally exposed to atmospheria cur- 
rents and fttdiation. With euch an arrangement it is 
impossible, upon Mr. Duwner*a plan, to prevent more 
or leFs condensation upon the domr, and cons^equent 
'* cracking," especially toward the end of the operation, 
in stills of the enorn)Ous capacity of 40,000 galloiia, 
where all the conditions essential to his process are pre- 
sent. It was in stills Bct in this manner that the heavy 
California oils were first disfilled, and in whicli they 
were '^^ cracked " to an oijof tnedium density ; but wlien 
the sides and domes of the stills were surrouu'led with 
brickwork, the vapours were no longer condensed, 
and they pasSfd unchanged mto the receiver. 

Dr. Hirsch is agAiu in error in eupposing that paraf- 
fins oila are produced by a high temperature. I am 
told that Mr. Downer haa made illuminating oils, by 
** cracking" solid paratBiir; wax by means tif his process. 
The parafiine lubricating oils at" c immerce are now 
mofit euocesgrully produced from coala, by distilling 
the matt-rial in large kilna, in which combustion Lakes 
place at the upper surface, and the draft is conducted 
downward, insuring the expulBion of tlie volatile pro- 
ducts at the very lowest temperature possible. 

He ia yef again in error in Uie analogy which he 
assumes to exist between rapid and slow distillation of 
petroleum and the disnllation of cuala in gniatl retorra 
10 produce illuminating gaft, and in revolving retorts to 
produce oil. Rapid distdlation " cra<:ks " the oil, be- 
cause it necessitates iacreased temperature to force the 
vapours from the still. Such has been my experience 
repeatedly on both the large and small scale. Slow 
distillation yields ttte hydrocarbons unchanged, provided 
the vapours have ready egreaa from the still, becaiiBc 
distillation is then carried on at the lowest temperature 
attainable. Small retorts are uaed for the manufacture 
of gaa, in order that the coal may the sooner be raised 
to the red-heat, and the greatest poi?ible " cracking " 
eflfect be experienced, wUIe revolving retorts are used 
for the m;inul'acture of oil, not that the charge may be 
repeatedly cooled, but in order that it may beuulfurmly 
heated, avoiding the necessity of overhtating the por- 
tion next the fire, in order that the upper portion may 
be heated sufficiently. 

His lirst and second nilea, when reduced to plain 
English, a'^sert that '* cracking" may be produced by 
refrigeration. Following their lead, in cyder to produce 
from par^dline wax the liglitest member of the naphtha 
series isolated by Prof. Warren, and b(iiling at o*^ C, 
the p.iraifiue should be immersed in racUin^ ice. Ac- 
cording to these rules, the best method ot producing 
illuminating gas from crude petroleum would lie to 
subject the oila to the action of a refrigerating mixture 



of solid carbonic aciil and ether, instead of allowing 
them to drip upon red-hot coke. 

Hia third rule is correct, a.3 the lower the temper- 
ature i%\ which the tup of the still is maintaiued the 
lower will be tlic boiling point of the liquid rcfulting 
from the condensation of (he vapours that escapf. 

ills fourth rule is too obscure in its signification to 
admit of criiicism. 

His fifth rule is of the most extraordinary char- 
acter. Chemiiitry is not yet ready for the announce- 
ment of the transmutation of one eleuient into another, 
and such transsmuUition must certainly take place if 
water c\in be produced by distillation of v<jl.itile hydro- 
cttrhofts, with exclusion uf oxygen. So, too, is it alinost 
equally difficult to iniaglno how any general laws can 
be *' the same " for two processes bo diametrically op* 
pof'cd as distillation in a vacuum and under pressure. 

I deisirsi in this connection to note a few ?uggesUon3 
which have occurred to me in reference to thii suhject. 
In the hist edition of Pn^f. Dana's Mineralogy (1868), 
he has cla.'iaified the rcsijlta obtained by P;of-!. Warren 
and Storer, and arranged the hvdrocarlx)Us isolated by 
them in three groups, viz.. the Naphtha and Bet-a- 
rjaphtho series, and the rittolcum group. The first two 
arc isomeric, the Ia:st contains more cat bon in i>ropor- 
tion to itis hydrogen.- The members of the Pittoleum 
group at present isolated are doubtless the lower mem- 
bers of a large group, the highor members of which have 
very high hoihng points; or perhaps still there is an- 
other group containing a still larger proportion of car- 
bon. Aa the diflTerent mtmbera of these groups de- 
crease in density, the proportion of hydrogen iuoreasea, 
and as they increwse in density the proportiou of carbon 
increases. The process of' cruckhig " Pennsylvania oils, 
tliereTure, is simply subtraction of carbon : and it appears 
from the re^^ult^* of experiment and analysi-s, that each 
additional aiora of carbon is held by a feebler affinity' 
than the last, consequently tlie stability of the ractnbcji 
increases ad the proportion of carbon decreases. The 
lower the member is in the scries, the stronger is the 
affinity of the hydro^'cn fi>r the carbon, and cooae- 
quently, the higher is the teraf>erature required fur tlu 
production of the;,member next below it. Thus it is 
that overheating d\.'nse paraffine oils produces medium 
or Ulumimiting oils ; overheating illuminating oils pro- 
duces still lower and more volatile liquids; at a still 
higher temperature tlie producti^ become gaseous, and 
at an exceasively high temperature, Ight rather than 
heavy carburelted liyrlrogen g:is ia produced, 

In the absence of actual demonstration by fraction- 
ation, I am led to believe from the btdiaviour of Cali- 
fornia petroleums, that they do not contain eitl.er the 
Naphtha or Beta-naphtlia series in apprecialile quantity ; 
nor do they conUim the mendjtrs of the Pittoleum 
group yet isolated in large proportion, but are doubt- 
less made up of the higher members of that group, or a 
still more highly Ciirbonised and unstable group not 
yet described, with which is mingled one or more nitro- 
hydrocarbous vet more easily decouiposcd. Be this 
fact or fancy, the appe.irance and physical proportioa of 
the refined pre-sure distillate from these oils, lead to 
the opinion that it is made up ofnhe Bame m(.mber3 of 
which refined Pentisylvania petroh^uui is composed. 
Thts lightest oils existing in crude- California petroleum 
change in a f. w weeks, after trrat-menl, tj a dirty yel- 
low colour, even when tightly corked and exposed only 
to the light. A bottle of refined pressure distillate in 
my possession has now been prepared nearly two 
years, yet its colour has scarcely changed perc*/pt,bly» 




[Eagtish Edition, 7oL XIZ., No. 489, pages 183, 1B4.] 



29^ 



071 ilhe Estimation of Copper in Ores* 




By Prof. Warren'a process of fractionation only a 
triuie was eliminated from any of ray samples of crude 
ClUifortiitt oil under 1 50*^ C.» yet in one inatance, when 
my valvo accidentally stuck so that the pre<iaure woa 
very conaiderably increased above 40 pounds, the 
Tapoura when they escaped p:is*f'd through the worm 
uncondeascd at 8' C, and melted the lead pipe at its 
point of connection with the retort; proving that, na in 
the case of the lieavy parnftine oiU, decrease in the 
density of tiie distillate foilows any considerable increase 
in tlie temperature of dlBLillatioii. 

I hope at some future day to be able to fractionate 
both the crude California petroleum?, and the products 
of their dititilliitioE umler pre.-Bare, and thus obtain some 
additional facts in reference to this interesting question. 
— American Journal of Sdence, January ^ 1869. 



ON THE ESTIMATION OF COPPER IN ORES, 

BY CERTAIN XSTHODS FOR WniCTI A PBKMIUM SAS B£SN 
AWARDED.* 

In that portion of central Germany known as the 
Mansfeld District, there ia found a Tein containing me- 
tallic ore, which is worked for copper and Bilver. Since, 
generally speaking, this ore is extremely variable in 
value, and since it becomes more and more a matt-er of 
immenBC importance to be able to judge without lo^s of 
time of the quantity of metal contained in the ore 
brought up from varioua portions of the mines, the 
want of pood means for ascertaining this speedily was 
more and more felt. It need hardly be said that there 
exist a great many molhods for the quanti I alive estima- 
tion of copper in its various combmations; but it u 
equally true that only very few of these are fit for 
techiiicftl application ; it being moreover especially de- 
Birable that persona not proft^esional a£«ayers or chem- 
isiB, but miners t of ordinary intelligence, should be 
enabled to make the required assaya. Jn the laboratory 
of the mine owners at Ei&leben there hrts been in use 
for the poorer copper ores a method of as.4aying intro- 
duced by the late H. Rose, while the raw products of 
the funioces were assayed according to a Swedish 
method. The olyection against both these method?, 
which were executed by fitly educated men, was, that 
for a large number of assays, such as ajre daily required 
to be finished there, it topk too much time, too much 
room, and too many hands and apparatus, Roae'a 
method just alluded to la the following : the finely pow- 
dered ore is acted on by aqua regia, to which some puI- 
phuric acid is added ; next, evaporation to dryness, dis- 
solving in acidulated water, reparation of the copper by 
means of sulphuretted hydrog-en, and weighing the 
sulphide of copper after having been ignited and cooled 
in a current of hydrogen gas. Although the method 
here described is a good one, it implies for correctness 
ihe condition that no metals precipitable by euljihu- 
retted hydrogen, and non-vo!au!o when ignited in a cur- 
rent of h^'drogen, be present. As regnrds the Mans- 
feld ores, the absence of snch metab has been over and 
over again proved; but for all this, it appears that now 
and then small quantities of molybdenum have affected 
the correctness of the retulis. The Swedish method, 
however excellent its reanlts, is ver^ cumbrous, and 
embraces too many different operations to admit of 



• TVonfllAted ftom the orlglnml Gennan from tht ZUUchr^ fir 
Anatytitehf i'hemie J'cm /V/*<rntu«, i5V>g, Nn. t. 

t Miners In normanj ara all men who mn*t hftT* OT»Joye<) a good 
*(1aca^lon. vn] »ll «r« under tht orderi uid eoalrol of Mtentiilo and 
practical locn t« Ihetr au[>er]or officers. 



I 

it 1)6 

mn«^^ 

red^ 
red^^l 

that V 



being very readily and thoroughly mastered by many 
operators. 

The difficulty as regards the Swedish method is lh« 
precipitation of the metallic copper : tlte solution froH 
which it tnkcs place, by means of metallic iron, shoul 
neither he too hot nor too culd; a too large excess 
acid also is objectionuble. It requires, moreover, 
special tact to see when aU the c<.»pper has been i>recipi- 
taU-'d, since the iron must then be removed from the 
solution at once, and the acid solution decanted from 
the coi>per ; in one word, with the g|*eate3t possible 
it wns not very easy to work the iwo methods j 
br-efly alluded U\ with operators who were not specially' 
educated fir such work. 

Under these circumstances, the directors of the Mans- 
feld copper mines issued^ in May, 1867, the following 
advertisement in four suienliGc German papers: — ^" A 
premium of 300 thalers (j^4S) will be uTanied to the 
party who dibcovers a method of assayiyg the Mans- 
feld copper ores, provided the following conditions are 
complied with : — (a) the assay, and aU the operation! 
belonging thereto, must not take longer time than from 
five to A:s. hours ; {b) one man must be enabled to exe- 
cute daily eighteen assays, without too great a strain 
upon his faculties ; (c) the limits of accuracy must he 
strirtiy kept within th# following amounts : — for min- 
ends containing i pound of copper to the hund 
weight, to per cent; lor 2 pound.s to the hundred 
weight, 6 ; fur 3 pounds, 5 j for 4 pound'^, 5 ; and abova 
that figure, 4 fHjr cent." It was moreover stated that 
the method to be given might be a combination of sev- 
eral methods already knownu 

Sixteen auswera hnvebeen received by the directors. 
Six of the proposed methods were based on the volu- 
metrical estimaliiin of copper by means of cyanide 
potassium or sulpliide of sodium. One pro] 
method was based upon the estimation of iodine p 
viousty set free, by means of hyposulphite of »oda 
one titration with solution of iodine; one titration^ 
with permanganate of potassa; one titration with 
xanthogenate of potassa j one determination of copper 
as oxide ; two e.'?timationa of copper as sulphide, com- 
bined with ignition in current of hydrogen gas ; two 
so-called process of dry assay ; one a process by 
trolysifl. 

In order to select from this material, and report uj^ 
the best and most suitable plan, a committee of t£: 
gentlemen was appointed ; two of them practical assay< 
era and copper-.smeltees, the third the well-knowa Dr. 
Boettger. This committee decided — 

(a). That any process which included many opera- 
tions, flnd consequently took up too much time, should 
be excluded, 

(6). No process to be admissible which involved Un 
use of varying quantities of ore, since it is impo.^ibli 
to judge by the sight about the quality of the ^foiu*^ 
feld ore. 

(c). Any process ia also inadmissible wherein, for ih9 
burning off of the bitiiminoLis organic matter of the o 
more expensive substances, as, for instance, chlorate 
potassa, are recommended. 

(d). Any process h likewise inadmisaible whereby 
the reactions, take place with great violence, and may 
thus induce explosions, 

(e). Such raotbods are inadmissible, alw, wherein, for 
quantities of 5 grammes and more, is recommended the 
treatment with acids, and evaporation to dryness aflep 
addition of sulphuric acid. 

(/). On Bamtary grounds, and in reference to the 




liMagUih fidition, VoL XIX., No. 489, p*K«« 184, 185.J 



r 



CaiMteAL News, i 



0)1 ths JEstmiatloii of Copper in Ores, 



297 



I 



I 



large number of operations and aa&ays daily required, 
such processes are also inatlmis^ible wlierein hj^osul- 
pliiU.^ of soda is applied 30 that snlplmrous acid is givoa 
off; while processed wherein lar^'^e balkfi of aulphu- 
rettt-'d hydrog^eti are used are equally discarded. 

{jg), Mithods whereby copper ia separ.ilod from the 
earths, oxides of iron, aad other metalhc oxides, cither 
by ammonia alone or in adiition thereto of carbonate 
of ammonia, tarraric acid, «fcc., are also discarJed; be- 
cause the precipitated oxi<i© of iron or alumina never 
fails t«> carry dowrn some copper also; and, also, because 
oxides like tliose of zinc, iiiekelj and cobalt, by remftin- 
ing in solution, aflect the accuracy of the estimation of 
copper. 

\h). Such estimations of copper are also discarded 
vh#robj it 13 collected in a apongy state, or as sulphide 
upon prcTJously dried and weighed filters. 

(»). The dry assay is aW di'seardel, aa^ even if it 
were po>3ible to obtain therewith correct results, it 
would entail in tho consurnplion of fuel, breaking up of 
apparatus, cruciblea, (to., and the use of Tarioui fluxes, 
ft too great expenditure. 

{k). Such professes are also discarded as require in 
the operator too much knowledge and scientific training, 

(0- '"^uch as require the aid of assistants are also dss- 
caMe<l 

It is clear that many parties who had entered into 
the competiiion on thig subject could not, owing to the 
severe conflltfons, remain in the field. The umpires in- 
etituted a large number of asaaja with divers samples 
of ores, which had been prcvioualj analysed, and the 
coiiipo5itii>n o^ which had been determined with ri;^'or- 
ou5 accuracy, but had not been communicated to ihera. 
Their reaearchcs proved that, as regurda the oietliods of 
▼olumetric estimation, onlj such deaerve any confidence 
when the copper has been fir>«t pres'ioualy Bcjiarated in 
a metallic state, is next re-diasolved, and that then only 
the titration method with cyanide of potassium is a fit 
and serviceable one. 

After a long a 'ries of experiments, the umpires de- 
cided in favour of Dr. Steinbeck's metho 1 in the fir^t 
place, but w*.re at the same time bo satisllied about M. 
C. Liiokow*!? plan, that to that gentleman, who holds 
the position of chief chemist to tlie Cnlo[jne-Miiiden 
Railway Company at Deutz, a premium luis also been 
mward'd. It may be briefly said hL«re, that his method 
fa b&'^d upon ilie estimation of copper by electrolysis. 

Dr. Steinbeck's method, which eniirely andwers to 
the conditions published by the directors of the mines, 
embraces three distinct operations, viz. :^ — i. The ex- 
lirarrtion of the copper from the ore; 2. The separation ; 
3. The quantilaiive estimation of that metal, 

I. Tha Extraction 0/ the Copf>€r from the Ore, 
A proof centner, equal to 5 grammes of pulverised 
ore, is put into a flask, and there is poured orer it a 
quantity <if from 40 U:> 50 c.c. of crude hydrochloric 
•cid, of a Kpeeific gravity of i"i6, whereby all carbo- 
nates are converted into chlorides, vvhile carbonic acid 
is exf>etle<l. After awhile, there is aided to the fl'iidin 
the flask 6 c.c. of a normal nitric acid, prepared by mix- 
ing equal bulks of watvr and pure nitric acid of r2 ap. 
gr. As regards certain ores, however, speniallj met 
with in the district of Mansfeld, some, having a very 
high percentage of sulphur and bitumen, have to be 
roasted previous to being subjected lo this process; and 
others, again, require only 1 c.c. of nitric acid instead of 
6. The flask containing the assay is digestf-d on a 
well-arranged sand-bath for half an hour, and the con- 




] tents only boiled for about fifteen minutcfi, after which 
the whole of the copper occurring in the ore, and all 
other metals are in solution as chlxrideg. The blackish 
residue, consisting of sand and schist, hag been proved 
by numerous experiments to be either entirely free 
from copper, or at the most only o*oi to 0-03 per cent 
has been lefk undissolved. 

The extraction of the copper from the ore, according 
to this method, is complete even in the case of the best 
qu.ility of ore, which contains about 14 per cent of 
metal; while, at the same time, the very cjifiontial con- 
dition for the proper and complete separation of the 
metal, vix., the entire absence of nitric acid, or any of 
the lower degrees of oxidation of nitrogen, is fully com- 
ptied with. 

n. Sf^firation of the Copper. 

The solution of metallic and earthy chlorides, and 
some free hydrochloric acid, obtained unjust dfRribud, 
is separated by filtration from the insoluble residue, and 
the tluid run into a oovered beakf-r glass of al)oiit 400 
c,c. capacity : in this beaker has been previously phy^rd 
a rod of metallic zinc weighing about 50 gramuK.'.-', and 
fastened to a ]uece of stout platinum foil. The zinc to 
be used for thie purpose sliould be as much as poasjblo 
free from lead, and at any rate not ijontain more Uian 
from O'l to o'3 [ler cent of the latter raetaL Tlie pre- 
cipitation of the copper in the metallic state sets in al- 
ready tluring the filtration of the warm and ctmcea- 
truted fluid, and is, owiitg ea[>ecia!Ily ako to the complete 
absence of nitric aiiid, completely finished in frooi half 
to three-quarters of an hour after the beginning of the 
filtration. If the fluid be tested with sulphuretted hy- 
drogen, no trace even of copper will be detected; the 
spcuigy metal partly coven the platinum foil, partly 
floats about in the li(]uid, and, in ca-ee either the ore 
itself or the zinc applied in the experiment contiyned 
lead, small quantities of that metid will atjcompany tho 
precipitated copper. After the excess of zinc (for an 
excess must be always employed) has been removed, 
the tp<ingy metal is repeatedly and carefully washed by 
decantation with fresli w-iter, which need not be dis- 
tilled, and care taken to collect together every particle 
of the spongy raa^s. 

III. Quantitative Estimation of the PredpiiiU^d Copper, 
To the spongy metallic mnsa in the beaker-glaFS, 
wherein the platinum foU is left, since some of the 
metal adherc-s to it, 8 cc. of the normal nitric acid are 
added, and the copper thus dissolved by the aid nho of 
moderate heat., in the firm of nitrate of copper, which, 
in the event of any small quantity of lead being pres- 
ent, will of course be canlaminated wiih nitrate of lead. 
When copper ores are dealt with, which contain 
above 6 per cent of cop[ier, which may be somewhat 
JQiiged from the rather l.irger bulk of the spongy m&sa 
of precipitated metal, 16 cc. of nitric acid, instead of 8, 
are apphed for d.ssolving the spongy metallic mass. The 
' soliitiO'i thus obtained id left to cool, and next mixed, 
immediately before titration, with cyanide of pota.^sium, 
with 40 c.c. of normal solution of hquid ammonia, pre- 
pared by diluting i volume of liqmd anmionta, sp. gr. 
0*93, with 2 volumes of di^tHh ,1 w.i,-r 

In tho ca,>e of auch on 
copper, and whm a dou' 
acid has c I; 

oer in n'Tr 



thc^e «>cp;uaU 



[SsfUsli Edition, 7oL ZIX., No. 4S9, paf M 1B5, 1«6 ; 



298 



Oil die EaUmaiioji of Cojjtper in Gre», 






niii Eolution just alluded to, and the copper therein 
Tolumetrirally determined. The deep blue-coloured 
solution of oxide ol" copper iu amtrioma only contains 
fbeeidea nitrate of ammonia, any lead which might have 
been di8?olved having b^en precipitated as hydrated 
oxide of lead, which does not interfere with Ihe titra- 
tion with cyanide of potai*3ium. The solution of the 
last-named salt L? so arraneed, that 1 c.c. thereof ex- 
actly indicates 0*005 grm. of copprr. Since, for every 
assay, 5 j:,'rm8L of ore have been t«ken, I c.c. of tJie 
titration fluid is, according to the following proportion : — 

5 : o'oos : : 100 : x — o*i, 
equal to 0*1 per cent of copper; it hence follows that, 
by multiplying ihe number of the c.c. of cyanide of potaa- 
sium solution used to make tlie blue colour of the cop- 
per solution disappear, by or, itumed'ately indicates 
the perceniAge of copper contained in the ore. 

Aa may be imagined, at the laboratory of the mine- 
owners at Eisleben, such a hirge number of assays are 
daily executed that, in this case, ther« can be no reason 
to fear a deterioration of the cyanide soluuon. of which 
large quantities are used and often fresh made; but, for 
security's sake, the solutions are purf'0:?ely tested for 
control at least once every week. Acci'rdin^ to the 
described plan, six assays can bo made within 4 hour*; 
and during a workiny[ day of from 7^ to 8 hours, tweniy 
assays have been often made quite satisfactorily by the 
umpires, as well as the workmen at Eisleben. 
SoTM tSpedal Obseri'ations on the Volumetrtml Entimfi- 

tion 0/ Clipper hy mtum of Cyanide of Potastium, 

bear lilt/ upon the Mint hod just deseribtd. 

Dr. Sfetnb.'ck considered it neccssair to test Ins 
method specially, in order to see what influence is ex- 
ercised thereupon by (i) nitrate of Rmmontft» (2) caustic 
ammonia, (3) presence of oxide of lead. The copper 
used" to p-rform the experiments for tld^ purpose was 
pure mei^d, obtained by giilvanopla^Jtic nctiun, and was 
Ignited to destroy any orgatiic maiter which might 
accidenl^illy ailhere to it, and, next, cleaned by placing 
it in dilute nitric acid. Five grammes of this metal 
were placed in a htre flask, and dissolved in 266'6 c.c. 
of normal niiric acid, the flask and contents gently 
heated, and^ after cooling, the contents diluted with 
water, and tfius brought to a bulk of 1000 c.c. exacliy. 
Thirty c.c. of this s-ihition were always applied to test 
and titrate one and the same solution of cyanicJe of 
potassium under all circumstances. When 5 grammes 
of ore, containing on an average 3 per cent of copper, 
are tuken f««r a^i),^^ that quantity of copper 13 exactly 
equal to 0*150 gramme of tho chemically pure copper. 
Tlie quantity of normal nitric acid taken to disso te 5 
grammes of pure copper (266*6 cc.), was purposely so 
taken, as to corresjjond with the quantity of 8 c.c. of 
normal nitric acid, which is applied in the assay of the 
copper obtaine ! from the ore, &xn\ this quantity of 
ifcciil is exactly met with in 30 c.c. of the solution of 
pure coppfT. 

As regards No. i and No. 2 (see above), the influence 
of double qiiantides of nitrate of ammonia ftn*l free 
caustic ammonia fthe quantity of copper remaining the 
same), and the action of dilute solution of cyanide of 
patassinra thereupon, will become elucidated by the fol- 
lowing facts : — 

{a). Thirty c.c. of the normal solution of copper, con- 
taining exactly 0-150 gramme of copper, were rendered 
alkaline with 10 c.c. of normal ammonia, and are found 
to reqn.rc, for entire decolouration, 298 c.c. of cyanide 
of potassium solution} a second experiment, again 



with 30 c.c. of normal copper solution, and otherwise 
under identically the same conditions, required 299 c,c. 
of cyanide solution. The average of the two experi- 
ment's is 29*85 c.c. 

(6). When 10 30 c.c. of the normal copper solution 
first 8 c.c. of normal nitric acid are added, and then 20 
c.c. of normal ammonia solution, instead of only 8, 
whereby the quaniity of free ammonia and of nitrate 
of ammonia is made double what it was in the caac of 
the experiments spoken of under a, there is required of 
the very same cyanide solution 30-3 c.c. to produce de- 
colouralion. A repetition of the experiment, exactly 
under the same conditions, gave 30*4 c.c. of the cyanide 
solution employed ; the average of lK)th expetimenls i?, 
therefore, 30*35 c.c. 

The difference between 30*35 and 29*85 is equal, to 
0*5 cc, and that figure is therefore the coefficient of 
the influence of double quantities; and supposing this 
to happen with the ores in question, it would only be 
equivalent to 005 per cent of metallic copper. It is 
hence clear that slight aberrations of from o*l to 0*5 
c.c. in the measuring out of 8 c.c. of normal nitric acid, 
used to dissolve the spongy copper, and of 10 c.c. of 
normal ammonia, in order to render that nitric aciti 
copper sohitiun a'kaline, is of 00 consequence whatever 
for the technical results to be deducted from the assay; 
it should b«>, moreover, borne in mind that the quanii- 
ties of free aminojiia and of nitrate of ammcmia, in the 
actual as*ay of ores, for which always a quantity of 5 
grammes of ore is taken, varies according Jo the rich- 
ness or poverty of the ores in copper ; and the quota^ 
tion of the following rcEults of experiments prove that 
the influence of these substances is only very slightly 
felt aflTcciing the accuracy of the results: — 

Eight c.c. of the normal nitric acid have been found 
to cuntain, by means of a series of experiments, 1*353 
grammes of anhydrous nitric acid; and this quantity 
of acid is exactly neutralized by 7*7 c.c. of normal am- 
monia solution, which contains 065 1 5 gramme of oxide 
of ammonium; and 10 c.c, of the said normal solution 
contain 0846 gramme of oxide of ammoninm. 

One gramme of metallic copper require?, for complete 
oxidation, 0*2523 gramme of oxygen, and this quantity 
of oxygen ia given off by 05676 gramme of anhydrous 
nitric acid ; while, at the same time, binoxide of nifTO- 
gen is disengnged. From these data can be calculated 
(I) the quantity of nitric acid which becomes decom- 
posed when variable quantities of metallic cop{>er are 
dissolved therein, (2) what quantity of nitric acid is left 
lo form neutral nitrate of ammonia, and {3) what quan- 
tity of free ammonia will be left after a portion of that 
wlkali has been combined with, and therefore neutralised 
by, oxide of copper, and any remaining free nitric acid. 
The following figures exhibit these variations : — 



FromOre*. 



From 1*353 firnw- vttma.- 

b;drous nttrlc add, 

eqaml to 8 ct.. or norm&l 

nitric ftcid. 



Coatalnlflf 
eoppcr. 



Per wnt, 
I 



When 5 in^ii«. Bceome bem*ln, «o 
wen lakeo decompoM'd u t'l be 



FnnTj 0*846 pnn. 
of N fli n, M nirl 

wUh In 10 *>-c tit 

Durutal BuJuUon uf 

Mil. rvintin 



4 



rorMMf, 
were 

of ci*pper. 

Orm». 
0050 
o 100 
o 150 

300 
0*250 
O'JOO 



by tlifl 

dinolutVon 

of the 

copper. 

Grnw. 
o'ojS 
0*056 
00S5 
oiij 

0142 

01 70 






ntusto «if 
Bjsmaul*. 

Grtoi. 

1*290 
1-268 
I 240 
12II 



of copper, 
Onna. 

O-20J4 

0222 

0249 

0*263 
0276 



[EnelL-h Edition, Vol. XIX^ No. 491, pofra 207, 908.] 




CraMicxAi. Nmra. I 

Jtm4^ im, r 



On ifie Fontiatlori and Plienot/iefut of Clouds. 



:99 



I 

I 

I 



I 



It will be readily seen that the quantitative aberra- 

liOGS betwet'n ort-a containing I per cent or 6 per cent 

' luetul, vHry Tery liitle from the normal quantities 

"^biied by 01 63 containing 3 per cent of metal The 
on ifi as 1 : 2; and, for technical purposes, this haa 
been proved not to he a disturbing qnatitiiy. 

When, however, larmier quantities of anmioMiacal salts 
are present in iJie flind to be nspayed for copper, by 
means of a titrated soltitton of cyanide of potassium, 
ftod especially when carbonate, sulphate, and, worse 
»fill, hydrocUlorate, of ammonia are ?imultaneouslj 
present, tliese salts exert a very iJieturbing influence, 
afi fully discusged in PrL'seiiius's " Handbuok of Analyti- 
cal Chemistry," to which the reader is thurclory re- 
ferred. The preisence of oxide of lead in tlie coppvr 
eoluUon to be ai>sayed ha^ the effect of producing, on 
thp atjdilion of ammonia,. lo c.c, of ncirriinl nmmoiiia,, a 
milkifjCf-s along W)th the blue tint; but the presence of 
this oxide di>ea not at all interfere with Uie ePtimrttion 

the copper by means of the cyanide, provide I the 
be not in great excess; and a slight milkincsa of 
solution even promotes the vLsibility of tlie ap- 
proaching end of (he operation. 

Dr. iSteinbeck has, however, purposely made some 
experiments to test this point, and his results are as 
follows; — He fir-t prepared a solution of metallic lead 
in as httle nitric acid a-; possible; and next diluted that 
eolation, so that i o.c. thereof contiined 00075 gramuie 
of lead 5 with that solution the following experiments 
were made: — 

(a). Thirty c,c, of normal copper solmion, containing 
0*150 gramme of copper, and 10 cc. of normal ammo- 
nia sfdutioD, required. Pr»r complete decolou ration, 29'9 
cc of solution of cyanide of potassium, 

(b). Thirty c.c. of the same solution as a, and ia ad- 
dition thereto 2 cc. of solution of load, containing 0*015 
gramme of lead, equal to to per cent upon the quantity 
of copper, required of cyanide solution 30*0 cc. 

(c). Thirty cc, as above under a, and addition there- 
to of 4 aa of solution of lead, containing 0030 gramme 
of lead, equal to 2d per cent upon the quantity of cop- 
per, required of cyanide solution 29*9 c.c. 

{(d)> Thirty c.c., again as above under a, and addition 
thereto of 10 c.c. of solution of lead, conlaioing o 075 
gramme of lead, equal to 50 per cent upon the quantity 
of copper, required ol" cyanide Bohilion 3.0*0 c.c. 

(e). ThirU c.c. of copper solution again, and addition 
thereto of 20 c.c. of solution of leatl, containing 0*15 
^ranimc of lead, equal to too per cent upon the quan- 
tity of copper, required of cyanide solution 30* i cc. 

Since neither 50 nor roo per cent of addition of lead 
exerts any perceptible influence upon tlie esiimation of 
copper from its ores, or otherwise, by means of cysrdde 
of potassium, a small quantity of a<;'cidentally occurring 
lead will not affect the results, and this the less so, as, 
generally, no ores of both metals occur together, where- 
in both are met in enfficient quantity to make it worth 
wliile working the ore for both metals at the same 
time. 

Since it is well known that the presence of ztnc very 
perceptibly influences the action of a solution of cyan- 
ide of potassium, when applied to the volumetrical esli- 
mation of eoppir, Dr. Steinbeck considered it necessary 
to institute some exptrtraents, in ordtT preci.«ely t^> a«- 
csertain, with what quantity of zinc present along wifh 
copper, this influence commences to become perceptible. 
The solution of zinc applied was made by^ disst living the 
metal in tlie smalle.st ofissible quantity of nitric acid; 
&Dd I cc. of that solution contained o'ool graramo of 



zinc. The results of the experiments recorded in the 
following tabulated form were made with thii? solution 
of Kinc : — 

Copper Solution, j^^"™^ mo 8.Jatlon. np«o cyaptd-. 
C<»pp*r , . . . Zinc 



10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 



In grms. 



1*5 0-0015 

30 0*0030 

45 0-0045 

60 00060 

7*5 00075 

105 00105 

io'5 0-0105 

150 00150 



— 3000 

1 30'co 

2 3010 

3 3°oo 

4 30*00 

5 30*05 
7 30-60 
7 3060 

10 30-90 



In Kfui*. 

30 O* I 50 

30 0*150 

30 0150 

30 0-150 

30 0150 

30 0150 

30 o 1 50 

30 0*150 
30 0150 

30 0150 10 22*5 0*0225 15 31*20 

Tlie presence of Kinc docs not ioterfere with the visi- 
bility of the end of the re.wtitm, viz., the deeolouralioa 
of the copper solution. The re^^ults of the experiments 
herewith quoted prove that a sma!l quantity of zinc, 
h 8-1 than (ive p>er cent of the quantity of copper j>re- 
sent, or 0*0075 grannne by weight of stine, does not at 
alt atfei-t the action ol the solution of cyanide of potas- 
sium; but when tlie quantity of zinc increas«.^s, a very 
perceptdilo eflect is seen upon the solution ot cyanide; 
it is therefore necessary to bestow due care while waslj- 
ing the spongy copper, after it haa been precipitated 
by means of ainc Irnui its solution (see above, un- 
dtT IL). 

Since it h«s been ascertained tliat the action of solu- 
tion of cyanide of potassium in reseajcljcs of this kind 
js also afferted by an increased ttmjveraiure of the solu- 
tion of copper which is to be titrated (herewith, it is 
strictly nucessary never to operate with warm solu- 
tions of ammoniacal copper, but tu suffer the sanie to 
cool down to the ordinary temperature of the air of the 
laborat'M'y. 

While 30 c.c. of copper solution, conlaining 0*15 
gramme of copper, and loc.c. of normal ammonia solu- 
tion, required, at the ordinary temperature, 300 c.c. of 
cyanide solution; the same quantities required, at be- 
tween 40" to 45" C, 288 c.c. of solutioQ of cyanide; , 
and at 45 C, 28 9 c.c. of the same solution, thus prov- 
ing the injurious effect of warm solutions. 

(To b« ctintlmied.) 



OS THE 

FORMATION AKD PHENOMENA OF CLOUDS.* 

BT J, TY.VDALI^ LL.D., r.R.S. 

It is well known that when a receiver filled with 
ordinary unrlried air is exhausted, a cloudiness, due to 
the precipitation of aqueous vapour dillbsed in the air, 
is produced by the first few strokes of the pump. It 
is, a? might be expected, possible to produce clouds in 
this wa3' with the vapours of other liquids tlum water. 
In the course of some experiments on the chemical 
action of light, I had frequent occasion to observe the 
precipitation ot such clouds in the experimental tubes 
employed. Tlie clouds were gen* rated in two way?. 
One mo'le consisted in opening the passage between 
tlie Ellrd experimental tub*.* and the air-pump, iiad then 

i simply dilating the air by working the pump. In the 
other the experimental tube was connected with a 

I vessel of suitable size, while the passage between the 

! * AtMlmet of • paper commuuicattd to tlie BojaJ SoeietXi Janunrjr 
: a5th, tS6^ 




[EBf liati Edition, ToL XIX., No. 491, p«CM 208, 309 ; No. 489, ^g« IK.] 



300 



jFonnula of Alizarine. — Coumariii iSf Courtiaric Acid. 



5 Cbdhcai. ICmrs^ 



Testae) and tube could be closed by a stopcock- The 
vessel was first exhausted. Turning on the cock tlie 
air rushed from tli« experimentjvl tube into the vessel, 
the precipitation of a doud witliin the tube being a 
conftequerice of the transfer. 

The clouds thus precipitated differed from each other 
in huninous enerirj. which is, of course, to be referred 
to tho different renective ener*ries of the particles of 
the cloudp, which were produced by substances of very 
diff«^rent refractive indices. 

Different cloud?, moreover, poA^ess very dlflVrent 
degrees of sLability. Sontie melt away rapidly, while 
others linger for minutes in ihe experimental tube, rest- 
ing upon its bottom as they dissolve like a heap of 
anow. 

The clouds exhibit a difference in texture. A certain 
expansion is necessary to bring down tlie cloud. The 
moment before precipitation, the ma=8 of cooling air 
and vapour may be refrnrdfd aa divided into a number 
of poly lied r a, t!ie particles along ihe bounding surfaces 
of which move in opposite directions wht-n precipita- 
tion actually seta in. 

Every cloud-particle has consumed a polyhedron of 
vapour in itxS formation ; and it is manifesit that the sia:e 
of the particle must depend, not only on the size of the 
vapour polyhedron, but also on tlie relation of the 
density of the vapour to that of its liquid. If the 
rapour were light nnd the liquid heavy, other things 
bemg equal, the cloud-partiole would be smaller tlian 
if the vapour were heavy and the liquid light. 

The case of toluol may be taken as representative of 
a great number of others. The specific- gravity of this 
liquid is 0*85; water being I'O, the specific gravity of 
it^ vapour is 3"26, that of aqucou"? vapour being 0'6. 
Now, as the size of the cloud-partiole ia du-ectly pro- 
portional to the Bpecific gravity of the vapour, and in- 
versely proportional to the specific gravity of the liquid, 
an easy calcqlation proves that, assuming the size of the 
TjqKMir polyhedra in both cnsca to be the same, the size 
of tlie particle t>f tohiol cloud must be more than six 
times that of tlie particle of aqueous cloud. Aqueous 
vapour is without [larallcl in the^e particulars — it is not 
oidy the lightest of all vafwurs, but also the lightest of 
nil ga-^e^, except hydrogen and ammonia. To thi"* cir- 
cumstance the soft and tender beauty of the clouds of 
an atmosphere is mainly to be ascribed. 

The sphericity of the cloud-particles may be inferred 
from their deportment under the luminous beams. The 
light which they shed when spherical is continuous, but 
clouds may also be precijuitated in solid tlakes, and then 
the inces-^ant sparkling of the cloud shows that its par- 
tifles are plates, and uot spheres. Some portioiiS of 
the same cloud may be composed of spherical pat ticleSj 
Others of flakes, the difference being at once manifested 
through the cahnn* as of one portion of the cloud and 
the uneasiness of the other. 



CHEMICAL FORMULA OF ALIZARINE. 

BT EDWARD SCUUSCK, PH.D., F.ttS., *0. 

Tre discovery of a mode of preparing alizarine artifi- 
cially Jatcly made by MM. Graobe and Liebermann, and 
brought before the notice of the Society at i<fi last, 
mcctinj: by Professor Roscoc, is not only of the highest 
importance from a pracf ical point of view, but is also 
of great interest as being the first recorded instance of 
the artificial formation of a n^itural colouring matter. 



L 

.6915 

. 404 
.26-Si 



The formula to which I wap led in my examination of] 
the colouring matters of madder, viz., C4*IIi,0h ap- 
proaches very closely, &;< Professor Roscoe observed, to 
the one now adopted l>y Graebe and Liebermann, CkH* < 
O*. My fornmla was not founded on theoretical views 
but simply expressed the composition to which my du- 
merous analyses of alizarine and its compounds con- 
ducted, I have until now seen no reneon whatever to 
adopt any other, notwithstanding that Strecker's for- 
mula, CioH*Os, hfl^-"! been preferred by most cbeniista, and 
was even pronounced by Laurent to br ihe only one pos- 
sible» That my analyses do not in the h*ai»t correspond 
with the latter fornujla, but a<e n<>t incousistent with 
that of Graebe and Liebermann, will be seen by a iflance 
at the following nnmeiical results of some analyeeaof] 
alizarine from various sources: — 

11. Ill, IV, T. Mema. 

<59'37 6959 69-66 6973 6950 

407 426 400 371 4'o> 

2656 26' 1 5 2634 26-56 26*49 

Of these analyst's, I. was made with maleri*! obtAJned 
directly from maddtr, II. and III. with gpecimens de- 
rived from r«]bian by decomposition with acid and 
with ferment, IV. with alizarine fmm nibianic acid (ita. 
^ducoside), and V. with sublimed alizarine. The tbreei 
formula, C,^H,0*, ChH,oO*, and C,»H,Oi, require the 
following percentages of C, 11, and O. 

CmH.O.. C.H.oO.. C,ftH.O,. 

C 7000 69'42 68*96 

H. 3 33 413 345 

2667 2645 2759 

It will be seen that my results are not reconcilable 
with the last foniuda, whereas in some cases, especially 
in that of sublimed alizuriiie, the composition found 
agrees tolerably well with the new formula, CmH.O^, 
The great excess of hydrogen lound even in the case of j 
well-crystallised and apparently quite pure alizarine re- 
mains to be explaineiJ, and though uuwilhng to throw 
any doubt on the coujplete ideniity of the natural and 
artificial product, I coufe-s I look forward with greit 
interest to the full confirmation of this remarkable di^ 
covery. 

ON THE CONSTITITTION OF COUMARIN AND 
COUMAKIC ACID. 

BT PROF. RUIHJLPH FITTIO. I 

At the meeting of tlie Chemical Society, held April ist, 
Mr. Perkin stated that my views on tlie constitution of 
coumarin couid not be corrw-t, inasmuch as coumarin 
has not the properties of an anhydride. I cannot con- 
sider the objections either of Mr. Perkin or of Pro£ 
Williamson as conclusive. Coumarin certainly con-, 
ducts its^'lf in an entirely diflTerent manner from hictJd9| 
and other anhytlfidea of the fatty series; but it does 
net belong to this series; on tlie contrary^ it is aderiva-J 
tivc of lieiaol. The fonnula proposed by me (CncstiCALJ 
News, vol. xix., page 73, Ath.Repr,^ -^pnV, i869,|)a^«j 
180), 

o-c=a 

C,H4-CH=CH— CO.O = C,H4 < | 

H— C=C— H 

shows that one of the oxygen atoms unites the third] 
atom of carbon of the chain CH=CH — CO with th«j 
benzol n-aiilue. CaH*, A chain of this sort, just as ttU 
aromatic compounds, must be much more atable 
al miliar bodies of the fatty group. But the propertit 



I 



pBuglxAh EdiUoa, Vol ZIX., Nq. 489, pas* 1B6 ; No. 400, p^a I91L] 



CifwncAx NfWi, I 



^"e, 16W. 



Vegetalh EhctromnotovB. 



301 



po,*itioo. 



" '' -brides olao are not the same^ the one 

than the other. , Acetic anh/dritle 

u- . ..,,i,,ost?d by water and alcohol, succinic 

U ijot iittackcd by cold wutcr, and lactide 

■r\'>itallisLd lro«t hot alcohol witbout decom- 
\Ve are fuiihermiiro acquainted with an 



aroDjatic body otsimilur coastitution, salicilide, 



C,H«0,^C.H.< I 

0=0 



.j.r-.ino.l 



■toepe 
^Bbm 



by Gerbardt from saHcylate of sodium and 
ic of pbosphorui*, wbich shows, although not 
1 - ...... still a stability very similar to that of cou- 

marin. Boiling with water and carbonate of sodiuni 
produces no efiVct upon it. Atiimonia acts upon it even 
at the boiling temperature extremely slowly. Heating? 
with caustic potassa converts it into salicylic acid. 
Coumarin con-lucts itself in the same way. It is con- 
verted into eoumnric acid even at 40 — 60' C, through 
III* influence of dilute alkalies, ua has been proved by 
Zwen^T. Pcrkin saya, *'it was not an eapy matter to 
produce coumaric acid from coumarin," This arises 
apparently from the fact that he a<ed too concentrated 
Bflutions ol pota-fia, which makes cournann more stable, 
as Zwenjifer has already observed {Ann. Chcm. Pharm., 
Suf.nl., 5, 122). 

The fact that coumarin occurs in plants in presence 

of water — in most cases together with counjaric acid 

(Zwenger) — can ?o much the Icsh be regarded as proof, 

as other anhydrides occur in nature. Many resins are, 

' is known^ snvh anhydrides of acids, 

Concernirjnp the noi^ative results of Mr. Perkin in the 

petition ofBertagnini's experiment on tlie artificial 

mtiou of cinnamic acid from the oil of bitter al- 

monda and chloride of acetyl, I wiU merily mention 

that Kraut (Ann, Chem. Pharm,, 147, 1 1 1) has also tq- 

tefl this experiment, and has found that the acid ob- 

ined in t!ns way is in every rcejfcct identicaJ with 

namic acid. I will also add, that a sliort time ago, 

e of my pupils, Mr. Biober, by means of the same 

iction, from oil of bitter almonds and chloride of 

tyryle, at 130° C, prepared fOi atnd, ChHmOj=C. 

«.0«H4.C0H0 (phenyl-ongehca-acid), which ishomo- 

oua with cinnamic" a<*id, and very similar to it. It 

elts at 81°, is difficultly soluble in water, and gives a 

nnm and calcium salt, which are also somewhat dilB 

"tly soluble in cold water* 

OdUtngvD. AprO i6tli, 1869, 



VEQKTABI^ ELECTROMOTORa 

BY EDWIN SMITH, M.A. 

Well known that a voltaic, combinntion may be 
made of two liquids and a metal, if one of the three acts 
chemically upon one, ant^ only one, of the other two; 
thus — we may employ copper, nitrate of copper, and 
dilute nitric acid; or platiimuj, pt*t;ifih, and nitric acid. 
Connect a platinum crucible with one terminal of a 
galvanometer, pour in a little .solution of caustic pot- 
aak, place in this the bowl of a tobacco-pi pu having the 
hole stopped up with wax, pour into the bowl a Httlo 
niti-ic acid, dip m the acid a sniidl slip of platinum foil, 
and connect thi^i with the other terminal of ihc gal- 
vanometer; a powerful deflection of the needle indi- 
cates the presence of au electric current, and shows ita 
" Erection to be from the alkaU to the acid, the platinum 
jrving merely as a condui;tor. It occurred to me, 
when parforming this experiment^ that an electro-mo- 



tive combination might just as well be made of two 
vegetablt; substances, with platinum for conductor, pro- 
vided only they were of a nature to act chemically 
upon one anotlicr — an alkaloid and an organic acid, for 
instance. It also seemed to me not unlikely that, 
wherever two flavours are liabilually conjoined in our 
cookery and eating, the reason why ihey mutually im- 
prove each other is because a certain amount of electrio 
action is set up between the substances employed to 
produce them. The rationale of the right blending of 
flavours might be found partly, no doubt, ia chemiatry, 
but partly, also, in galvanism. 

Pursuing this idea, 1 tried pairs of eatables whidi gen- 
erally go together, such as pepper and &dt, coflee and 
sugar, almonds and raisins, and the like, and found that 
a voltaic current more or less strong waa excited in 
i}Vf*ry instance which I tested. Bitters and sweets, 
pungenh? ami saltft, or bilters ai^d acids, generally ap- 
pear to furnish true voltaic couples, doubtless in conse- 
quence of the mutual action of some alkaloid salt and 
an acid or its equivalent. As others may hk» to repeat 
or extend the experiments, I will describe shortly my 
mode of procedure : — ^Cut two pieces of platinum foil 
about 5 in. by 2^ hi., and a numU'r of pieces of filter- 
paper a trifle larger. Well-waslied linen is sometimea 
more convenient than filter-paper. Have a small wood- 
en board near the mercury cups of the galvanometer, 
and let a short copper or platinum wire, dipping into 
one of the cups, rest on the board. The substances to 
be tried must be brought to a state of solution, the 
stronger tlie better, by mfusion, decoction, or otherwise. 
Suppose coffee and sugar are to be operated upon; 
solutions of both having been prepared, dip into each 
a slip of filter- paper ; place one slip on one of the piecea 
of phitinum foil, and the otlier on the second piece. 
Next lay the flrst slip and its foil on tlie board^ 
witli the metal touching the copper wire before men- 
tioned. Lay the second sUp with its platinum op- 
wards, BO that the coflee and sugar come into even con- 
tact with slight pressure, and immediately connect tlua 
upper shp, through a bit of copper wi;e, insulated Srova 
the touch, with the other ttrminal of the galvanometer. 
Deflection occurs in-rttantaneously, and may be increased 
to a considerable vibration by breaking and making cir- 
cuit at the right swing of the needle. After a few dis- 
tinct vibrations, it is well to turn Over the whole pile 
of ^lips jn»t as they are, and connect opposite enda 
with the galvanometer, so as to reverse the current. 
This is desirable for the sake of confirming your pre- 
vious observation, and of correcting any slight disluib- 
ing cause arising from the wire and mercury connect- 
on*, temperature of the hand, and so forth. It will 
be found that coflee and sugar have the same electrical 
relation to each other as zinc and platinum. Cofl'ee, in 
fact, ia the positive, sugar the negative element. I sub- 
join a table of the results of numerous experiments, 
conducted in the manner above depcrfbed. 

ELKCTBO-POfcriTT*. SLICTIIO-?rE«ATTTI. 

Coffee Sugar (loaf). 

Tea{bl8ck).. '• 

Cocoa " 

Nutmeg " 

Cloves " 

ClnDamon , . . . . " 

Mace •• 

VaniUa " 

Almonds *• 

Rhubarb (tlnctiire). . . , " 

StarcL. 

Starch oanun* 



[SasUth Edttioa, Vol. T3JL, Wo, 490, pagM 19 




HF* 



502 Oil ifie Derivatives of Proparie, ILjdride of Propyl \ 






Gum cattitne) Sugar j^loaf). 

Cune sugar careinel *' 

MiJk sugar " 

Gum " 

Almondii . , RsUilnfl. 

Horseradiab Beetroot. 

Onion " 

Horwradiah Table salt. 

MiistardL 

Peppor (white) " 

Musiard , .Taruirio Acid. 

Ginger... " " 

Cayenne peppor •* " 

Pepper (wliile) *' 

'Jett (black) 

Tobacco " *' 

QijiMine (Howard's) : " " 

Gentiau root , " " 

Lemon juice . . ^ " " 

Horeiiound ** " 

J^veoder water " " 

QuHSsia " •< 

Peppenniot . . . . . " '• 

Eaw potato,.. .Lemon juioo. 

Hind of lemon , ^ 

PeruvJHn hark " 

Cftrnphor (tincture). , , '* 

Lnu<J!iruim ** 

ArnIcA (tincture) Dilute Sulpburic Acid. 

reruviuii Imik " " 

Quinine (Howard's) " '* 

Judine (tmcturt*) Turpeutiae. 

Caustic potash , " 

Starcli '• 

Starch , Iodine (tincture). 

Caustic potash Neat'a-foot oil. 

It ifl somewhat difficult to oHminate from these ex- 
jerittifnt* all error wising from dilTerence of tempera- 
■tttire, if the galvanometer is tolerably aciiHitive, Care 
must be taken to bring ihe pair of solutions operated 
upon to tiae same temfierature before teetin^r tliem ; 
otherwise a therino-etentric current from the hotter to 
the colder liquid may ail'ect the needle, and mask the 
true electrical relation between the two, so far as it de- 
pendis upon their chemical nature. 



ON THE DERIVATIVES OF PROPANE 
(HYDRIDE OF PROPYL).* 

BT C. ScnoSLEMAIilB. 

At the tinao when I conimenced this investigation, the 
existence of normal propyl alcohol was very doubtful 
According to Chane^l^f this body ib fouud in tiie fowel 
oil frum the marc of grappa, but Mt-ndelegefl^ tried in 
vain to isolate it from a sample of this oil which he ha«l 
obtained from Chancel himself. Several attempts to 
prepare the normal akohol by synthesis failed. Thus 
Liuuetnann and Sien^chJ tried to obtain it by convert- 
ing acetonitr-y into propylamine, by means of hydro- 
gen in the nascent atule, and decomposing^ the hydro- 
chlorate of this base with silver nitrite, but the afcohol 
thue formed was found to be the secondary one. The 
EAtne compound waa obtained by Butlerow and Oaso- 
kin,$ by acting upon ethylene iodohydriuc, 



Royal flodpttr, April ftlh, 1869. 
vol. rxivMl, p, 410. 



• FoMlt.rf'.ra tl 

t Ctw>, 

t t*it '^mU, 1M68, p. 35. 

I Ann,! rfi^irm., Tol. cxIlT., p. 337 

f AnnaUH. CUttn, rharrn^ wl cjJt., p^ 157. 



with zinc methyl, in order to replace iodiiie by raetliy 
Now as in both cases, according to theory, the norm 
or primary alcohol ought to kave been formed, 
we have no explanation why instead of thia com 
the secondary alcohol was obtained, Batlerow an 
sokin beheve that thitj normal propyl alcohol cannot 
isr. Not agreeing vvitli this view, I waa led to 
veatigation of this subject, the results of which I ha 
the honour to lay before the Society. 

My reasoning waa as follows: — It appear^ as t 
most prrtbable theory, and which h n> «w accept^.d 
most chemista, that the four combining powers of 
carbon atom have the same value. If so, only 
hydrocarbon having the composition CiH» can ex 
This propane must be formed by replacing in the secon 
nry propyl iodide, »he iodine by hydrogen, and subjec 
Jrig tht" hydrocarbon thus obtained to the action 
chlorine, by which primary propyl chloride must 
formed in accordance with the behaviour of other b 
drocai'bons of the same scries. 

I fiooD found that my theory was correct; and in 
short note, which I published in Zeit^rhrift ./«Sr Chet 
(1868, p. 49), I stated that I had obtained the non 
nropyl alcohol by this method. At the same tim 
Fit tig proved that it mus cont-'uned In fijLsyl-oils,* an 
lately, Lirmemftn prepared it synthetically from elhy 
compounds by convening acetonitrile (ethyl ryanidi 
into propionic anhyilride. and acting upon this bod 
with nnscent hydrogen.! 

The projiane which I used in my researches waa ob- 
tained by acting upon isopropyl iodide with zinc t 
ings and diluted hydrochloric acid. A cimtinuous 
lution of gas takes place if the flask containit^g ih© mix 
turc is kept cold. If it is not cooled down a violent 
reaction goon seta in. The gas always contains va- 
pour of the iodide^ even if it has been evolved \'ery 
sluwly. In order to purify it as much aa possible, it 
was washed with Nordhausen sulphuric acid, %viih a 
mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids, and with cau&tie 
soda solution. * 

As a gag-holder I used a tubulated bell-jar, which 
was fiUfpended in a larger inverted one, filled with a 
concentrated solution of common salt. When a suffi- 
cient quantity of gas had collected, chlorine was passed 
into it, ca-e being taken not to have it in excea*. la 
^iEPused daylight substitution products were formed, 
which collected as an oily byer on the salt solution. 
Alternately more propane and chlorine were |i;v--t i 
into the apparatus, until it waa nearly filled with ih<i 
excess of propane and vapours of the most volatile sub- 
stitution products. The litter were condensed by pa.*s- 
inp the gas into a receiver surrounded by a freezing 
mixture. To collect the liquid chlorides which were 
contained in the gas-hi-lder, ^;e tubulus of tlie bell-^'ar 
waacloatjd with cork, whickwas provided with a wide 
short gloiis tube, open at both ends, and so much salt 
sotuucn put into the gas-holder that the chloride* ca- 
tered this tubOj from which they could easily be re- 
moved with a pipette. By repeating this process sev- 
eral times, a qumnlity of chlorine compounda, sufficient 
for further investigation, was obtained, Ti.is was 
wa--*hed with water, dried over caustic potash, and dis- 
tilled. The hquid commenced to boil at 42® C, the 
boiling point rising towards the end above 200' C. By 



i ob-^j 

um^H 

evo^H 



• Z4<UchriftJ. Chtmf*, 1868, p. 44. 
t Ann9i«n Ck*n%. Pkarm., vol oxtrUL, 



P'*5«- 



[Bofflish Edition, 7oL ZIZ., No. 490, pas«a 194, 195.] 



CtomcAt IVwp, 



} On tlie Derivatives of Propane^ Hydride of Propyl. 



30J 




fractional distillation, a comparatively gmall qiiantilj of 
liquid was obtained, which boiled at 42** — 46", and 
conaisted ■•f the primary propyl chloride, C»HtCL 

0*0975 of this chloride gave o'l 730 silver chloride, and 
0005 silver, corresponding^ to 0*044 chlorine. 

Cideulut^d for CjHtCI Found. 

4 5' J per cent CI. 455 por cent CL 

In order toprore that this body was really the nor- 
mal cbloride, it had to be converted into the alcohol 
Fur this purpose 1 used that portion of the cMoridfS 
after repeated distillation, boiled beluw 80° C. 
heated in sealed tubes with potaasium acetate 
ial acetic acid fur several hoorfi to 200" C, Bcd 
converted into the acetate, ti light colourless liqind, 
ssing the characteristic odour of tfee acetic ethers, 
not endeavour to obtain this etlier in the pure 
le, as this could have been only effected wirh great 
of material, but converted it at once into the alco- 
by heating" it with a diluted eolntion of potaah, in 
fed tnbea, up to 120' C After cooling, the contents 
the tubes were distilled and recti lied. A portion of 
was oxidised with a cold dilute solution of chromic 
acid. No gas was evolved, but a strong smcH of alde- 
byd was p^erceived, which disappeared on adding more 
chromic acid. On disLilling to d-jncss, an acid hquid 
was obtiiined, which wag neutralised with sodium car- 
bonate. The aohition was evaporated to dryness, and 
the residue flistilled with a quantity of Milphuric acid, 
sufEcient to liberate about one-fourth of the acid. The 
residue in the retort was again distilled with the same 
quantity of nulplmric acid, and, by repeating this pro- 
ce8«, the acid was obtained in four fractions. Each of 
these was converted into the silver salt by boiling with 
silver carbonate. The silver salt? crystallised from the 
hot eatunited solution in small sliininfr needles^ which 
were grouped in stars and feathers. These were dried, 

I si over sulphuric acid^ aflterwarda in the steam-bath, 
d the silver determined by ignition, 
iwr cent 
FraclioD{i) 0*2350 gave 0-1404 silver— 5974 
" (2) 0-2420 " 0*1450 " =59'9i 
" (3) 0-1676 " 0-1 002 ** =5975 
" (4) 02124 " 0-1264 " =5951 
B^ Mean 5973 
^silver propionate contains S9'^7 

I also prepared the lead-salt, wMch exhibited the 
properties of lead-propionatc ; it did not crystallise, 
but dried vip to m\ nmorphous gum-hke mass. As by 
oxidation no other acid besides propionic was found, it 
follows that the alcoholic liquid could only coDtain nor- 
mal propyl alcohol. I tried to isolate this body from 
the remaining liquidj by adding potassium carbonate 
until it separated ioto two layers?. The upper one was 
taken off and dried, first over fused potassium carbon- 
ate, and afterwards over anhydrous baryta. This liquid, 
however, proved to be a mixture; it began to boil at 
80" C, and the boiling point rose slowly to 96° C, By 
fractionating, it could be separated into two portions— 
a smaller one boiling between Sd* and ^s"*^ sud a larger 
one boiling above 90°, The portion boiling between 
2" and 96" gave, by combusiioii, numbers agreeing 
ith the composition of propyl alcohoL 
_ 0*2238 substance gave o'409S carbon dioxide, and 
0*2675 water. 

Cklenl kted. Fou nd. 

Ct 36 6000 59-81 

H 3 1J33 1328 

O » 16 31' ' 



or 




U'33 
36-67 



60 10000 



[&> 



I have not yet studied the properties of this alcohol, 
as I hope to obtain it soon in larger quantities. 

The liquid boiling between 80** and 85* nppcjirs to b© 
an acetal; it is not acted upon by sodium, and tliere- 
fore can easily be obtained free from alcnhol, by distil- 
ling it over this metal. The small quantity was just 
sufficient fur two analyses, the results of which give 
CsHjsOa as the probable formula, , 

(i) 02500 gave 02725 water, and 0*5280 carbon 
dioxide. 

(2) 02755 gave 0*2950 water; the determination of 
carbon was lost. 

CftloBlAted. found. 

1. IL 

C| , 60 57*96 5760 — 

H,,.... 12 11*53 12-11 11*93 

0, 32 30-78 ~ " 

104 10000 

How this body has been formed I cannot explain. 

As I have already mentioned, chloride of propyl 
forms only a sniuU frtiction of the products obU-dned by 
subjecting propane to the action of chkjrine, the chief 
product of the reaction being a liquid which boils at 
94' to 98' C, and has the formula C,HbCI,. 

0*1 600 gave 0*3970 silver chloride, and o 005 silver. 

Calcnlated for CstlflCIv Found. 

62-8 per ctrnt Ui 62*4 per cent. 

This body is propylene dichloride; for ita boiling 
point not onlpr coincides with that of this compound, 
hut also all its reactions are the same. Heated with 
pota-^sium acetate, and acetic acid in closed tubes, it is 
readily decomposed, a high boiling acetate being formed, 
which, on heating with concentra(ed potash solution 
and distilling, yields a liquid, the last portion of which 
boils between iSo" and 190" C, and possesses the sweet 
taste of propyl glycol I did not isLdate the glycol in 
the pure stjite, but proposed to establish its btructure 
by oxidation. 

A diluted cold solution of chromic acid acts violently 
on it, carbon dioxide being evolved in abundance, and 
a strong odor of aldehyd Iieing recognised, which, on 
further addition of the oxidising liquid, was changed 
into thai of acetic acid. By distillation, an acid liquid 
was obtained, which, on boiling with silver carbonate, 
yielded a silver palt, which crystallised in the ^well- 
known neetUes of silver acetate. 

0-3013 of this salt left on ignition 0*1935 silver. 

eilrer Ai>«tftt« «onUtlU Foond. 

6467 per cent Ag. 64-22 per cent 

The oxidation products (caj-bon dioxide and acetic 
acid) prove sufficiently that the structure of the glycol 
is expressed by ihe formula CH,— CH(OH)— CH,(OH), 
which is that of the known propyl glycol. 

The foregoing researches establish a general reaction 
for converting secondary compounds of the alcohols into 
those of primary radicals. This is effected by replacing 
tht> iodine io secondary iodides by hydrogen, and sub- 
jecting the hydrocarbons thus obtained to the action of 
chlorine, by which the primary chlorides are formed. 

Of greater interest, perhaps, as [los-aessing an impor- 
tant bearing on the theory of Bubstitution, is the fact 
that the second substitution product of propane con- 
siaLs of propylene dichloride having the structure 

CH,— CHCl— CHaCL 

This was the less to be expected, as ethane, CaH. the 
hydrocarbon next lower in the aeriee, yields, by act- 
ing on it with chlorine as second product^ etnyudeiM 

k 190.] 




Contrihutiona to ilte Histm-y of Eixyilodve Agents. 






dicUorlde, CH,— CHQ*. WHikt, therefore, in pro- 
pane firaf one hydrogen atom in the methyl graup is 
replaced by chlorine, and allerwards onw which is com- 
bined wiih the adjoining catbon atom, in ethane the 
aubatitution takes place at cue and the same carbon 
atom. The actioc of chlorine upon propnne i.s certainly 
in contradiction to all theories of substitulioa which 
have beetpexpounded. 

In a second communication I propose to describe 
the higher chlorinated sabfltitution products of propane. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF 
EXPLOSIVE AGENTS * 

BT r. A. ABEL, F.R.S , FOR. SEC. C. 9. 

Thi degree of rapidity with which an explosive sub- 
stance undergoes melamorphoais, as also the nature 
ami result* of aiitih ihange, are, in the greater number 
of inatances, auscepliblo ofaL-veral motliticutions by va- 
riation of the circurustancea under which the conditioug 
esstntial to chemical change are fulfilled. 
• Eifoellent iUiiatrations of the modes by which such 
modifications may be brought about are furnished by 
gun-cotton, which may be made to burn very slowly, I 
almost without flame, to inflame with great mpidity 
but without development of great explosive force, or to 
exercise a violent destruclive action^ according as the 
mode of applying heat, the circum=tance8 attending 
Bueh application of heat, and the mechanical condition 
of the explosive agent, are modificdt The character 
of exploalou and the mechanical force developed, within 
given periods^ by the metamorphosis of explosive mix- 
turea, such as gunpowder, is similarly subject to modi- 
0cat4ons; and ereo the most violent explosive com- 
pounds known (the mercuric and silver fulminates, and 
the chloride and iodide of nitrogen) behave in very dif- 
ferent ways uoder the operation of heat or other dis- 
turbing influences, according to the circumstances 
which attend the metamorphosis of the exploitive agent 
(<?. f., the position of the source of heat with reference 
to the mas« of the subatimce to be exploded^ or the 
extent of initial resistance opposed to the escape of the 
products of explosion). 

Some new and airiking illustrations have been ob- 
tained of the susceptibility to modification in explosive 
action possessed by these subsiancos. 

The product of the action of nitric atid upon glycer- 
ine, known ns nitroglycerine or glonoine, which bears 
some reseiriblimce to chloride of nitrogen in its power 
of 8addi*n explosion, requires the fulfilment of special 
conditions for the development of its explosive force. 
Its exploBJon by the simpfe application of heat can only 
be accompli :?hed if the source of heat be applied, for a 
protracteil period, in such a way that chemical decom- 
position is established in some portion of the mass, and 
is favoured by the continued application of htat to that 
part. Under the=e circumstancrs, the chemical change 
proceeds with very rapidly accelerating violence, and 
the sadden transformai ion into pjaseous products of the 
heate-d portion eventually result?, a transformation 
wliich li instantly coraniunic4ited throughout the raasa 
of nitroglycerine, so that confinement of the substance 
is not necessary to develop its fiill explosive force. 
This result can be obtained more exj>ediliou8ly and with 
greater certainty by exposing the substance to thecon- 
Gussive action of a detonation produced by the ignition 

■ Abctrset of ft paper rud b«for(> the Kojal Sodttj^ April 15. 1869. 
t Pnt^ttdingt of the Royal SocUty^ ToL xllL^pp. x>s cf Mg. 



of a small quantity of Eliminating powder, closely coi 
fined and phccd m contact with, or proximity to, **" 
nitroglycerine. 

The development of the violent explosive action 
nitroglycerine, freely exposed to air, through I 
agency of a detonation, was regarded until reevnlly a» 
peculiarity of that substance ; it is now deroonjttrat^' 
that gun-cotton and other explofdve compounds and 
mixtures do not necessarily require confinement forth^ 
full development of their explosive force, bot that ' "" 
result is attainable (and very readily in some inst.^nc« 
especially in the case of gun-cotton) by means si 
to those applied in the case of nitroglycerine. 

The manner in which a detonation operates \n 
termining the violent explosion of gun-cotion, nit 
glycerine, &c., has been made the subject of careful; 
vestigation. It is demonstrated experimentally ihi 
the result cannot be ascribed to the direct operation < 
the heat developed by tlie chemical changes <»f il 
charge of detonating material UKed as the ex|>lodinj 
I apeot^ An experimental comparison of the niLchai 

cal force exerted by di Lie rent explosive compounds, aa^ 
I by the same compound employed in difiVrent war^ 
j has shown that the remarkable power possessed by t 
I explosion of small quantities of certain bodies (t 
mercuric- and silver- fulminates) to accomplish the d< 
tonation of gun-coiton, while comparatively very large 
quantities of other highly explosive agents are incaj.a- 
ble of fjroducing that result, is generally accounted fiT" 
Batisfactorily by the difTerence in the amount of for' 
suddenly brought to bear in the different instant 
upon some portion of the mass operat^ed upon, 
generally, therefore, the degree of facility with 
the detonation of a substance will devclope 
change in a neighbouring explosive substance, 
regariled as proportionate to the amount of force 
velopetl within ihe shortest period of time by that 
tonation, the latter being, in fact, analogous in its oper- 
ation to that of a blow from a hammer, or of tlie ixa- 
pact of a projectile. 

Several rem.irkable results of an exceptional char* 
acter have been obtained, which indicate tlial the de- 
velopment of explosive force under the circuuislj.nccs 
referred to is not always tumple, ascribable to tli. 
den operation of meclianical force. These were < ^ 
ciaUy observed in the course of a comparison ol ihe 
conditions essential to the detonation of gun-i otton 
and of nitroglycerine by means or particular exphisive 
agents (chloride of nitrogen, &c.), as well as in an ex- 
amination into the eflects produced upon each oUierby 
the detonation of tlioi^e two substances. 

The explanation offered of thet^ exceptional rcsultt 
13 to the effect that the vibrations attendant upon a 
particular explosion, if synchronous with til ' h 

wuuhl result from the explosion of a neighb 
stance in a sUilc of hi^h chemical tension, wUi ls .ucic 
tendency to develope those vibrations, either determine 
tlie explosion of that substance, or at any rate greatly 
aid the disturbing effect of mechanical force suddealf 
applied, while, in the instance of another explosion, 
which develitpe? vibrat-ory impulses of differen' charac- 
ter, the mechanical forte applied through its agency haa 
to operate with little or no aid ; greater force, or a mora 
powerful detonation, being therefore required in the 
laUer instance to accomphsh the same result. 

Instances of the apparently simultaneous explosion 
of numerous distinct und even somewhat m n- 

rated masses of explosive substances (such i- v 

neous explosions in several distinct buildings at povvdct* 




[BafUaa Bditlon, YoL StX^ No^ 490, pa^M 196, 197.] 






Narcottiu\ — Method of Manvfaciuring and Refining Sugar. 305 



mills) di> not uiifrequetitly occur, in winch the genera- 
tion of a Oisniptive impulse by tbo firat or initiative 
explosion, which iscotnmunicatcd with extreme rapidiiy 
to cootiguoua m&S'tfS of the same nature, appears much 
more likelj to be the operating causf, than that such 
amiiltan -'OILS explosions should bebr.>ug!it^bout by the 
" rect operation of htat and ineGhanical force, 

practical examination has been instituted into the 

laence which the explosion of gun-cotton^ throu-^h 

ftg.ncyofa detonation, exerci-ses upon the nature 

'its mct:imorphosis, upon the character and effecta of 

explosion, and upon the nasa to which guE-cotton is 

"ptible of application. 



R£dEAR0[lE3 ENTO THE 



[ICAL CONSTITUTION OF 
AND OF IT3 PRODUCTS OP 
TION.* 



NARCOTINE, 



ON A NEW METHOD OF MANUFACTURINa 
AND REFINING SUGAR. 

BT M. F. MAUGCTBRITTK. 

It is well known that the present method of raanufac- 
turiiJg 8Ug:ir, notwithstanding tlie improvements which 
it has received of late years, doea not nearly allow of 
the exl faction of the whole of the sugar contained in 
the beetroot, and that the residue contains about 50 
per cent of its weight of the substance to be obtained* 
The combinationfl of baryta and litue with sugar, ob- 
served by M. Poligot, and the discovery of osmose and 
dynUsis by Messrs. Graham and Dutrochet, have given 
rise to many attempts to extract from molasses the 
sugar which it contains in a non-cry^Jtallisable form. 
Some of the elenients contained in mobsses are ftiready 
known ; by oxamining the products of its incineration, 



m 

nim 



reui 



BT PROF. A. MATTmESSEJf AND 0. R. A. WRIGHT, B.SC. 

AROOTINK submitted to the action of waler, boiling 
er in open vessels, or at t«inper;itures above loo' U. 
m sealed tubes, splits up into meconin and co tax- 
nine, — 

C,,tl,»NO,=C,oH,„0* + CuH.,NO,. 

Narootine heated per se to aboat 208 splits up in the 
same minner^ but the cotarninc is at that high tempera- 
ttire immediately decomposed. On heating bydro- 
chloratc of narootine with ferric chloride, th» laiter is 
reduced, and the narcotine converted into opianic acid 
cotarnine, — 

C«II„NO,-fO=C,.HMO* + Cj,ir„NO,. 
en narcotine is heated with excess of hydrochloric 
-■id for a ?;hort time (about two honrH), chloride of 
»vl \i formed, and one atom of H aubstiiuted for 
% in the narcotine. If healed for some days two 
of H are 8uhstitut-(?d for two of CH,, When 
with fuming hydriodic acid, iodide of methyl is 
d in such quantities as to prove tbatr tliree at<;im8 
are subsfitut<'<l for three of CH|. CotAinirie has 
its fnrmiiU CiaHijNOs, and ia capable of crystailis- 
with Imlf a moleculo, aud with a whole molecule of 
ater of crystalli&it on. Cotarnine heated with dilute 
trie acids yields cotamic acid and methylaraine, — 
0,an,,NO, + 2H,0=C,,K,.iO& + CII^. 
When cotarnine is heated with siron^ hydrochloric 
id, chloride of methyl is formed, and hydrochlorat^ of 
tarnamic acid. 

Opianic acid, under the infliience of nascent hydro- 
n. is reduced t^ mcconin ; the samie acid, heated with 
chtoinat^ of potash and di]lut<-' sulphuric acid, beconnes 
idis.'d to hemipinic a^jid- Opianic acid, heated with 
ustJc potash, splits up into meconin and hemipinic 
id. This ltttt*;r acid is capable of crystalliaing with 
iffercnt amounts of water of crystaHisalion, crysUils 
th bilf a molecule, with a whole molecule, and with 
o molecules of water having been obtained!. All the 
actions of narcotine and it? products of decomposi- 
;on ma}' be satisfactorily accounted for by the follow - 
g rational formula :— 



DECOMPOSI- the exact nature ot the bases has been determined, and 
the existence of potash, hme, and aoda, well establish- 
ed J but with regard to acid?, colouring and extractive 
iiiattcrs, Uttle is known. The two most common me- 
thods of obtaining the organic acids are ns fidlows;^ 
Fu'st, to pri:cipitate the organic saJtrj by neutral or tri- 
baaic acetate of lead, and then to decompose the salts 
of lead with ssilphuretted hydrogen to lilKrratc tlie acid. 
Secondly, to treat tlie salts of potash with a mixture of 
alcohol and sulphuric acid, which forms sulphate of pot- 
asH, and dissolve.-? the diaplaced organic acid. The 
latter method, which was the one employed by us, has 
btjen pointed out by Messrs. Liubig, GmeUn, and Zeise,* 
for the preparation of various acids. It is simple, al- 
ways efficacious, and allows of the production of the • 
substance to be obtained without alteration, which is 
not always the case in the dtcomposition of jjrganic 
sails of lead by sulphuretted hydrogen. We therefore 
treated some molasses with a mixture of excess of alco- 
hol with sulphuric atid. After suf^cient stirriug, tlie 
molasses yielded on the one hand a considerable preci- 






(CH,),H |0, 



r • Atwtnici uf a p&per nnt to tbe Bojrfel Boel«t7, Feb. tSth, 1869 

^■^ [EnglUh Ediiion, 7oL XIX., No. 490, pagM 197, 19S.] 



pitate, and on the other a highly coloured Ei^uid. 
There were discovered— 



In the PreeipUa^ 

Sugar 

MetapectiDC 
Parapectine 
Apoglucic aoid 
Sulphutei of potash, 
soda, and limui| 



In the Solufian. 
Metapectic acid 
Para peel ic " 
Lactic •* 

Malic " 

Kunit bitter priuoipl© 
Maonite 
Sundry colouring matters 

It maybe seen that the alcoholic licpiJd, while retaining 
certain elements of the inola-ses, precipitates several 
prodiictsi which remain mix<-d with the sugar and ren- 
der it impure; whence it follows that this method of 
analysis cm not be indnatriaUy employed tor extracting 
antl purity ing sugar. Nevertheles-t, a mixture of alco- 
hol and different ncids has more than once been pro- 
posed for the treatment of saccharine matter, and a 
sy:*iem founded on the employment and reactions of 
the substances ju?4t mentioned has long since been tried, 
and unsucccssfuHy, for bleaching and punfying crude 
augare4 Our previous remark.s will sufficiently explain 
why such a method could not succeed. Our mode of 
conducting tlie process is altogether different. Instead 
of precipitating the sugar by an excess of concentrated 
alcohol, it was suspended in solution by the use of alco- 



t ■ 

fUSti, 
of llu 



Iiinan und Mrtidtb, who aftvo been for forne time pTtr* 
in tnj l«bor»torx. will b^ch, X hope, publliti tJio rciDll 

r»alel, .S37. 



1838. 



3o6 Janjoiimm and Ceylon Jarfjon, — Binocular Spectrum Microscope, 



liol relatively diluted (S 5). Thus it was possible to 
filtt^r llie liquor and remove ilie snIpLates, and rn(>i*t of 
the insoluble substancea. A second v«i]iime oF alcohol 
»t 95' was then Added to concentrate the medium and 
determine the crystilliaation of the sun^ar. Under these 
conditions the m«an btrenffth of the alcohol is guch that 
the sugar ought to crystalUse irn media Lely ; howerer, 
it only settles very slowly. This temporary inertia of 
the Sfjgur pjvea time enouj^di to eliminate in a complete 
and definite manner all foreij^m s«b.-*tances, no that the 
sugar is finally obtained extremely pure. The alcoholic 
liquid, whk'h thus contains more sugar than it can nor- 
m.Uly dissolve, assumes the condition of supersatura- 
tion. 

This is a well-known phenomenon, 'esprcially since the 
labours of M. Gernez, and constantly ucuurs in saline and 
saccharine solutions. The condition of supersaturaiion 
being ouce tstablij^hod, it is tlicn eas*y to effect a rapid 
crystallisation of the sugar by the addition of that sub- 
stance itself in eitlier cry.^tal-i or powder. Tii fact, the 
addition of pulverised sugar to the alcoholicliquidinduces, 
in a very short time, the total precipitation of all the sugar 
it contains, in the same way as the presence of crystal-^ i:i 
syrups from manufstcturica and refineries, developcs 
crysTallisation; though in a much slower manner. 

The aleoholimetric degree of the solution rise«, the 
volume of added sugar increa.«?t's, and in less than five 
bours the crystallisation is complete, whilst, in the absence 
of foreign crystals, it would not have terminated in eight 
days, or even longer. The mode of operarion is as 
followB:— *Mix, by agitition, 1 kilogramme of molasses, 
marking 47*^ Baumd in the cold, with r litre ofuk-ohol at 
85**, acidulated with 5 per cent of raoiiohydnited sul- 
phuric acid. The liquid thus obtained is filtered, and 
receives the.iddition of 1 htre of alcohol at 95 degieea; it 
will then furnish, upon contact with 500 grammes of 
powderedsug;ir,anexce3a of 350 graminesof pure sugar,* 
8*7 35 p<-'r <^*-'"t of the weight of the molaSteca, or 70 per 
cent of the sugar wliich it contains {50 per cent). The 
compo-iition ot the product, afier being bleached with its 
own volume of alcohol at 95 degreea^ and thcti dried, is as 
follows : — 



without the dissolvings, bakings, and loss, inherent 
the ordinary process. 

3. An almost entire supprea^,ian of bon'?-black m 
maau factories and refineries. — Comptcs iierujus. 



CnancAL Ni^i^^ 
)sa, inhereat^l 

hrtn ii-Kl A/'lr im I 



>Nnj|M 



Crj'fttallisable sugar . , 99*50 

Ash 0*05 

Glucose , iunppreciable traces. 

Such is the operation, whose industrial pro.Tess «nd 
success are based on a purely scientific observation, which 
is here applied in a very interesting manner. About 
10,000 kilogrammesof eaccharine matter (molasses, third 
of ttie manulactory, l»8t of the refineries) were treated in 
this n^jLuner, and gave considerable augmentations upon 
Ihenorm.'il yield, these being of course always in propor- 
tion to the actual quantity of molasSwS containing the 
product trealec'. 

For the practical trial of this process recourse was had 
to tlic kindness of one of our iriends, M. do Sourdeval, 
who waa ^ood enough to phioe at our disposal his works 
at L.'iverdmes, and to aid us with his advice. 

Finally H, this proces"? is applicable to all saccharine 
matters without exception, and presents the following 
advantages : — • 

1. Ilie extraction of from 35 to 38 kilogrammes of 
sugar from 100 kilogrammes ot raolas-eSj that is, an in- 
crease upon the total yield of from 34 to 26 per 100. 

2, The sugar is obtained directly and immediately, 

* Uy adding tn the atcoboltc Itqutd 0*006 of dilorld* rif cidelaro or 
tMuiom. U) prwcipttato the Jut traeM of tfa« iulphnt«« whicU renikia 
(Buolteil, lb« Mfptr will b« randervd Area from siUiihaics and cbloridea. 



FURTHER RESEARCHES OK JARGO] 
AND THE CEYLON JARGON. 

BY n. C. SORBV, r.R.?., Ac. 

Ik my last note I told you that I )jad found in eirooni 
what appeared to be another elementary substance. I 
have, since then, made many experiments, and find that 
the facta are really far more interesting than if ihey 
were Ibe effect of a new element. Judging from ana- 
logy with nil other known subftances, no other concla- 
si.iri could have been formed; but I now find that 
jargonia exiaU in two distinct cotiditiona, which bare 
different specific gravities and opticjil properties. The 
llamed barax beads give two entirely dilTeient k; 
according to the temperature to whieli the et 
crystals have been v'X[>osed ; and there is an anal 
difference in the silicates. On taking a pale grec 
g'>n, which, naturfiUy, showed a mere faint tracr * 
absorption bands, and keeping it at a brigiU red ,' / 
for some time, the speciflc gravity gradually inc-^ 
from 4'2o to 452^ and the spectrum then showed 
narrow black absorption bauds in as great perfects ^ ^- 
my beat spectmen. Thin fact is, of course, very inte- 
resting; since we can now artificially alter jargons so 
as to show the bands in the same splendid manner u 
a few do naturally, and shall thus be able to ol 
them without much difficuliy, to use as a mrnet excel 
natural standard scale, to measure the position of 
absorption bands in other spectra. " 

BroomOeld, SheflBv-ld, April 14ML 1869, 



ON A NEW ARR.\JTGEMENT OF BINOCUlJ 
SPECTRUM MICROSCOPE.* 

BT WILLIAM CROOK ES, r.R.8., *0. • 

This instrument has been devised to obviate the di« 
vantages of the ordinary spe<:trum microscoi>e. 
principiil features of the new apparatus are the siil 
stage and the box of prisms. The former carries a she 
ing plate to hold the slit an<l apertures, a spring 5t< 
and screws ibr adjusting them, and a reversed objt 
erlass. Tbe slit and this object glass are a»x»ut t^ 
inches apart, and if reflected light is passed along the 
axis tf the instrument, the object glass forms a very 
small imago of the slit in front of it. A milled head 
moves the whoJe sub-stage, and screws bring tlie image 
of the slit to any part of the field. Beneath tJie sbt i 
ail arrangement for holding an object of irregular s«i 
face or dense substance. The stage has a« '. 

movemeut, so as to permit the object to i I 

enable tlic image of the slit to pass through ii u 
direction. 

The direct vision prisms consist of three flint and ti 
crown, fitted in a box screwed into the 'ud of 
microscope. By means of a pin they are thrown in of^ 
out of action. The object gUss sciewj on in front of 
tbe prism box. 

By taking the illumination from the sky or a wHl 
cloud, Fraiinhofer's fines are visible, and by direct sqc 
light they are seen in great perfection; the di^per^iiot 
is sufficient to cause the spectrum to cover tive whol©l 



• Altstraet of a paper aeiit to the Koyal Soci«lj. April 3^ gwbg. 



(English Edition, 7oL XEL, "Ho. 490, v^^e I98 ^ Wo, 491,f|}4g« 205.] 




""^."^sSr"" } I^henomena of Ojxils. — Discovery of Hie WeigJd of the Air. 



307 



field, A,ud tlie achromAtism of the lenses beinpr nearly 
perfect, die lines from u to g are practically in the same 
focu& 

A double image prtsm near the slit enables two 
spectra lo be aeen, oppositely polarised, and the varia- 
tions in the absorption lines i\re at- once visible. A 
Nicol's prism as polarisor, and another as analyser, can 
be connected, and these enable the brilliant colours 
shown by !^ome crj^staUiue bodies when seen by polar- 
ised light, to be einniiried. 

If a substance is dark coloured, or the illumination not 
brilliant, the whole of the light sliould be pns'^ed up the 
tnbe lo one eye ; but when the light ie good, ihu ap- 
pejiranco of the spectrum, and the power of grasping 
laint lines, are greatly improved by dividing the light 
with a Wenh:viu prism, and using both eyes; whilst the 
stercosjcopic effect thereby comiuuuicutcd lo some ab- 
sorption and interference spectra, throws a new liglit 
oa the phenomena. 

By using a ^^jirit lamp instead of the illuminating 
lamp, the inatrument answers admirably for exnmining 
10 spectra. The characteristic yellow, crimson, or 
m linos are seen beautifally sharp, on introducing 
ium, lithium, or thallium into tlie tianie. 



absorption band in the spectrum, and not at a solid 
body possessing dimensions, and id actual motion. 

No. 9 shows a very sharp and block ban J, stretching 
diagonally across the gr.'en, touching the blue at the 
top, and Tbc yellow at tiio bottom. 

No. 12 gives a narrow, strnic^ht. and sharply cut line 
in the green • this miijht easily be mistaken for an ab- 
Borptiou band caused by an unknown chemical element, ! 

Other opals show an absorption band travelling along 

the spectrum, almost from one end to the other, as the 

opal is moved sideway,^. All these black bands can bo 

I reversied, und changed into luminous banday by exam- 

iuiug the opal with retlecLed light. 



ON SOME OPTIC.IL PHENOMENA OF OPALS.* 

BY WILLlJiM CROOKES, F.R.S , &0. 

Br meAns of the above-described spectrum inicroscopo 
some carious optical phenomena of opala have bceu 
obaerveii. 

If an opal which emits a fine broad crimson Kght la 
held in front of the slit of a spectroscope, or spectrum 
microscope, at the proper angle, the light is generally 
«ten to be purely liomogeneous, and all that is visible 
is a brillittnt hmnnoud linOjYaryiog somewhat in widtit, 
and more or less irregular in outlme, but very nlmrp, rmd 
shining brightly on a perfectly black ground. \[ the 
source uf light is now moved so ns to shine into the 
Sfiectrum ap|i!iratU9 through the opal, the above appear- 
ance \» revtrsetl, and we have a hmiiiu>us spectrum wi(h 
» jet-bla*:k absorption band in the red, identical in po- 
litioD, form of outline, and sharpness, with the lumin- 
ous line previously obi^erved. 

Prom the*o ami of her experiments it hns beeti found 
that tho?e parts of the opal which emit red, yellow, 
green, or blue light are opuque to li^ht of the same re- 
frangibility which they emiL This is, doubtless, a gen- 
eral law. loltowing, of necessitjj the mode of produc- 
tion of the flushes of colour. 

From the descriptions of the absorption phenomena 
of a series of opula, the following are selected as the 
xnoal striking: — 

No. I shoWa a single black band in the red. When 
properly in focus this has a spiral structure. Examined 
witn both eyes it appiars in deci'led relief, antl the ar- 
rangement of light and shade is such as to produce a 
rfsemblancc to a twisted column. 

No. 3 give? an irregular line in the orange. Viewed 
binocularly, this exhibits the spiral structure in a marked 
roanuer, the different depths and distances standing well 
out; upon turning the milked head of the stage aJjust- 
ment, ho as to carry the op:d slowly from left to right, 
the line is seen to revolve and roll over, altering its 
Bbape and its position in the spectrum. It is not easy 
to retain tite conviction that one is looking merely at an 

* AtMtroet o(f a ptpcr Mbt to tlio Bojtl Soclotj, April zjtd, 1869. 




NOTE OJf 

THE DISCOVEKY OF THE WEIGHT OF THE AIR. 

HT 0. T. ROt>WELI^ f.C.A. 

In the last number of this journal, M^ I'Abb^ Ilaray has 
replied at some length, and witli much iugenuity, to 
certain statements, by which I endeavoured to prove 
that Aristoile did! not discover the weiglit of air by di- 
rect weigliing; and I am bound to conleSij that his fur- 
ther discussion of the subject has not cimsed me to alt^ir 
my opinioOj the grounds for retaining which will be 
best indicated by considering tlie nature of the objec- 
tions. It is with regret that I differ from M. Hamy, 
for he has preserved throughout a courteous spirit too 
rarely to be met with in controversies, and I will hero 
beg him to discover no discourtesy in the following re- 
marks, which are not made in a contentious spirit, or 
in forgetfulness of his much learning. 

M. Haray commences his animadversions by giving 
the Greek, Latin, French, and English texts of the dis- 
puted *pa>'sage, in order to show that the word usually 
render-*d Madder should be in reality Uaiher hag or buU 
th ; this I am quite willing to cede: 00x6$ (perfectly 
rendered in the Latin translation by utreifij and in th© 
French translation by outre) rightly signifies a wine- 
skin or leather bottle, literally the skin of an animal ; 
such skins were not alone used for containing liquids, 
but were sometimes iullated with iiir and employed by 
swimmers and by fishermen : in the British Mnsc urn 
there is a representation, on one of the eculpiured 
blof'ks of Anrient A'syria, of a fisherman 8upporte<l'iu 
mid stream bjr an inflated skin. Seeing that the word 
is daxiii, it is strange that it should so invariably, botli 
by ancient and modern comuKntators, be run'iered 
hladdfr^ and that Ptolemy the mathematician, and Sim- 
pliciu?, should have refjieated the experiment witli a 
bladdtT ; it is to be borne in mind, however, tliat the 
lattiT would always be easier to procure and morecon- 
veident for the experitnent than a wine-skin, both on 
account of its greaier fiaccidityj and becuu'^e it could be 
more easily closed air-tight: Mr. G-, H, Lewes, an ex- 
act and profound scholar, writes as fnlluws, in a dis- 
cti'^sion of the treatise JTIfpt o^vof, in, I suppose, tho 
most exhnuative modern work on the sctentiiic knowl- 
edge of Aristotle * : — *' In other words, everything ex- 
cept tire in ila own place, has weight. That even air 
has weight is proved by the fact that a bladder filled 
with air is heavier than the same bladder empty." 

The main point of M. Hiimy'a former communicti- 
tion wa^i to show that Aristotle employed, *' not an tx- 
terjiatble hhiddcr^ but an aimost ijiexfmnibh leatfiern jiVjr, 
mictessively fuU arid empiff of air.*' . He now says — 

• '* ArlHoUw : ^ChapUir ironi th« Ulstory of Solaiioi*, tucludlng Aq&I- 
pes Of Ari»t»tl«'» SiStciiilflc Writings," chaj*. 7, p. 142. 



[EngU«h Edlhon, Vol. XIZ., No. 491, pagM 2f 5, 209.] 



3o8 




&}i th£ DUcovery of the Wtiylit of tlie Air. 



{Cbzhicav 



" Everybo'ty fidmitg ihfit a kntfu-rn hotJJe, wkfiher formed | 
with a tkin or comisHng of a hltdd/r^ constiiuia an open 
^terisible ve.*sel^ cnpahle, howrver, of bring bent nr jini- 
tenefi. Jituhtan^e to exittnsion doti not, in /cid, imply 
abjuflute rigidity^ and a body can eeaae to be eoUended 
without becoming tHJf, H c/tn nlso be said that a Uaihern 
hottU is very slighify erttn^ibie, urithoiit iia meaning rigid. 
We cymprchf-tul tUfTi, tJiat n hathrrn bottle can receive 
ccmprcaAfd air.' Now I aay tUk i« an argument in a 
circle, if ever fiiere wae one; itkaFophistry essentjally 
metlMevftl ; a modus of reasoning which reminds me 
■omewijAt of the tirgument of the brazen seal concern- 
ingmatter and form, in the Introductio ad Theologiam 
ofPeter Abelard ; in character it appi^rtains more to the 
theologian than to ihe man of science j itnavoxirs of the 
Sorbonne raiher than of the Lyc6e Napoleon. " And 
though/* sayg Master Peter, conceminj^ tlie brazen seal. 
" they are essentially the same thing', yet the brazen seal 
ifl made of the brass, not the brass of the brazen seal, 
and the brass is the matter of the brazen seal, not the 
seal of the brass," and so on intf-rminably with exces- 
sive ingenuity and subtlety. No wonder Abelard was 
the mo.^t brilliant disputant and dialectician of bis a^ro ; 
who cotdd answer such an argument off-hand in a pub- 
lic debaie, and who could answer off-hand the argu- 
ment given above about resistance to extension, and 
the marvf'Uous corollary 7 This muBt surely be an ex- 
ample of one of the "useless and illegitimate" moods 
of the syllogism of which Aristotle wntt's. Again, if 
" almost ineiten?ible," how can the leathern bottle he 
said to be "open and extensible?" The fact is, M. 
Hamy has shifted bia ground, and the former argu- 
ments rise up and destroy the latter, as the armed men 
which sprang from the teeth of the dragon slew each 
other when Jason threw a stone into their midst. I 
certainty cannot admit that rrF^i^^^dOf (Wxof* means 
either **ttn almost inextensible leaihern jar, or a lejilh- 
ern bottle which, without being rigid, is very slightly 
exlensible." Unfvjijfitvof fi^^au) clearly signifies blown 
ant, or injlnttd^ and there is no idea of partial inex- 
tensibility in the whole phrase, neither would Aris- 
totle have spoken of a leaihern bottle full of air (that i&, 
already inflated), as xtvo^ and of the same bottle as 
i«f^bfi7,ufi«$ when air was compressed into it This is 
a mere perversion of terms. Whether the receptacle 
^toployed were a bladder or a leathern bottle, it was 
ca[>al»le of existing in a state of colI;lJ^se (xn-of) and 
in a slate of intlalion {lit^varfHrvcn), and tlie basis of the 
experiment described was the causinjr the receptacle to 
pa>s from the former to the latter stat'^, in all proba- 
bility as fcfimplicius asserts, by Ibrcing air into it from 
the lungs. 

In M. H amy's furmer communication (p. 1 19 of this 
Tolumc (Am. Rrpr ^ i/oy, 1 869, page 263) he say?, *' For 
myself, I believe that the great jdiilosopher, by means 
of a blowpipe, confined in his leathern jar more air than 
it would contain at the normal prcs-ure." He now 
eniirely deserts thi^ jpsltion, and calls up a l)ev9 ex 
machina tx» account for the filling of the vessel. "Mr, 
Kodwell," he says, " reasons, in the persuasion which 
be seems to entertain, that Aristotle would have been 
obliged to swt'll the bliiddcr with his own breatti." I 
** reasoned in tliis per?uaaion '* both because M. Hamy, 
whoHC argument I was answering, so reasoneiJ, and 
further, bf^'ause one of the mo^t profound an4 exact of 
the older conimentators of Aristotle likewi^^e gives it aa 
his persuafiion. Then comes the DniA rx m^xehinn. 
** But this supposition is unfoun<led. Long before the 
philoioptier's time, if Homer is to be believed, the 0reek 



qu] 



Ibi 



smiths were acquainted with the iise of bellowa." 
may add that long before the time of Homer, the Egy 
tj.'ina were acquainted with bellows; and it is belief 
that they introduced a valve at least «« early is 
time of Mosee ♦ ; and further, as I hav- ' re 

deavoured to 8bow,t that bellows were j ve: 

ed by the makers of lbes«- leathern bottle? 01 wiiich 
are speaking. Then ae to the question of the balan 
if we admit, with M. Hamy, that the ancient G 
poMessed balances capable of weighing minute 
ties of gold (of which I believe we have no 
would be impossible that a wine skin capable of 
filleen litres (the size which he assumes), 
weighed by such a balance, neither could compressed 
air be retained in a vessel of this nature. 

Next as to those who repeated the experiment a 
failed, M..namy saySj " PUjlemy and Siniplicius deni 
Aristotle's as^^ertion beoiuse they did not admit 
theoretical explanaiion of the philosopher ;" on the c 
trary, they were well versed in the writings of A 
totle, and they repeated the experiment with ev 
hope of succ*>ss. The fact that Averroes (or 
RoschJ, as M. Renan J prefers to call him) 
that he succeeded." I think of but little value, and 
the following reasons : — When the Sultan Yakoub-J 
sonf requested Ibn-Rosohd to compose a commeut-riry 
the works of Aristotle, he was probably unaware that 
did not understand Gret^k; the fact being that 
Roschd studied Aristotle through Arabic or Syr 
translation*, which, in their turn, were made from 
Latin translation ;| and yet this man was called '* L* 
dArijttote^" and it was mainly through him, assisted 
the University of Cordova, that the Peripatetic dogmas 
were dk«>e ruinated, and that the stupendous mass of 
false phdo'ophy and perverted Aristoteliani^m, cJilled 
Scholusticism. arose to fetter the intellect of Kuropet. 
Surely Siraphcius and Pio^emy ought to be heard b^ 
fore a man who received his knowdedge of Aristol 
not even at second-hand. At this time, Heloise 
one of the very few Greek scholars in Europe. Wii 
all respect for the University of Cordova, then the m 
famous and learned university in Europe, I do not Uii 
that the criticfd knowledge of Greek possessed by it 
a whole would have satisfled a Regius Professor of our 
day. 

M. Hamy speaks of Aristotle as '* the most exal 
genius tlmt human reason, left to its own powers. 
produced." While admitting that he was rvne of t 
mo^t exalted gcnirses which the world has prcwluced, 
cannot say that his intellect was " lelt to its o 
powers."* He was BullicienUy weidthy to procure 
good library at a time when books were extravagaii 
expensive, and to these he app'ii d himself so well 
he rectivcd the name of " tht' Reader." He was sev 
years at the court of Macedon, and Alexander 
Great, first his pupil, remained his friend, and did all 

* " Mtziner« and Customi of the ADdent Kg3rptiAit»,** bf 51r O. \f1l- 
klnson. 

tiHKMirAL N1W8 fitr SopteiDb«r, 1863 (Snff. Stf). 

X J*'"© his admirable "* A vtrtfJts rt Arerroittut ; " alto Fl^jruler'i " r<«* 
de» Siirattt* flu Miryen Ayt,"' Thur^ ia a laryu c<jtli'etion uf MSS. ftt* 
trittule^t lo Ibn-Kwrhd Id ihe Itbrary of Ki Kacorlal. Averro^ la & 
Spari1»h form of the Arabic Ibti-Hi-Mchd ; it waa somHtmcf »p«lt A^Tr- 
rli(>^»t>r Adveroj's; ^s* full AraMc name vcta Atraulwalld-MutiatnuiiHU 
lliti-Ah[ni>4l-lbn-M4>haiiiiiifi]*Ib'n-I[(i6cbcL He waa l>oin in CorUova, 
In it26; died 1198. 

S Mr. Lewea has stated the coao forciblj In the rollowinp 9enteii«« :^ — 
•' The h«»rl>aroTia janion nttldi the Eurupeiui :$ohoota bad To m2u>Ur. 
when Ihey cjtcned Lal^ln vpmlona of Avt«rroi»j», may he i'-' 
tt Is knofm iJiJit theMs were Lttitn trnoelatlotiB froiii a IJ. 
*ft art Arabic cotumetitary on an Antblc trantlntlon of n .- 
of a Greek text : " that )t the orlglDal text of Ariatotlc— //ufi'ry. 
J'MUmaphjf^ Tol. U*, p. 60. 




(EagUsb Edition, 7o\. "XIZ^ IIq. 491^ ^a^vs 209, 210.] 







Chemical Society. 



309 



mt was possible to further Ijia liierury labours; but, 
Kivt? nil, for no leiw tlian S'vcnieen years Anstotie en- 
>ycd ihc iustructioti arnl rhe friendship of PJuto, tlie 
ruatest and divinest of Greeks, " tlic fitifinf of human 
ile'lco^ exercising boundless dotnini n over the finest 
~ Immun lirjguagc^.'* No ; if ever there was n nmn 
rho poi?3cs3'*d evtry pos^blc intellt^ctual udvimtago 
'liich ins Jige c*^>uld tiii tnsb, (but man was Aristotl^. 
Having now considered M. Haniy's argu^nent^t, little 
i.iins to be sfdd. The senlf-noe which bii8 furuislied 
iih thi-i. discu-'sion is sulVioiently brief : — 'E* r^ avrov 

jjfwpqi Httvta, 3ap<i; fjjjrt rOJ^v ;nj^o(^ xtu o d»jp. Z>j,tt»io>. 

iTt *?.xfi Tfk^iQv u Hf'Pvnr^^fvo^ dixof Toi' x*voi). Loi-king 

\i it eilher in its most literal or nio-sl panipbras' ic form, 

Analysing itj con'ronsing it with collateral evidence, 

urronnling i -vvith BOplii-tne:*^ applying to it the snb- 

lest forms of argumentation, lyel ste not that we can 

leduce from it ihe fact that Ariss^tle i^liscovcrcd the 

reight of air. Whether he nsed his own Inngt* or a 

of belows to inflate his reeeptade, inntteis little; 

'hether tliat receptacle were a bladder or a leather 

4ttle niatferfl V'^a, Imt it must needs be shown ihat the 

itacle coLild contain wiihln it compresseil air in 

ifficient quantity to show a diGTeienQc of weight when 

wos weighed in air; that it could be closed securely 

rbile contairdstg compressed air; and ikat no leakage 

>uld ensue; finally, th^t (here \vere baianeea capabk 

' weigliiujj such bulky things, and at the same time of 

idicaling the flight tli'STerence of weight posi^ible under 

le circumstances. Till this can be denioustrated we 

iust SI ill admit thatGiU'eo made the first accurate and 

mcluaive oxperimcnt-i to d^nnonstrate by direct weigh- 

Sug tliat the afr has weight. It is surpri>ing to hud 

.risio'le de3i;^nated a pood experimentalist; he wns 

indeed on ardent iriquin^r nnil a careful observer, bnt he 

jeldoni att»?riiptfd fo examine materiid fact^ by asuitab'e 

liethodicid in;?trument; he larked even the ruilimeiits 

>f ftn expeiimtjntal meihod; he was insufficiently cti- 

•ca! in re;j:iird to |<!iy.sical mutter*. Uut he was po in- 

Lnitely great in many respects that, it' he had been a 

l-prent expcrimeutaliflt, the W'tM wiiuld not liaTe tegnrd- 

[ed him ».s a greater m-»n. Disi ovcricR are rjrely born 

out of due time ; when the w/»rld is ready for them and 

the modus of iti> thonglit capable of as,^imilatiiig them, 

then ihey apjtear ; if they jippear out of due course, 

■id fall upon an uncongenial «ge they lUc out and are 

> i. Fticig — whetht-r they be social, political^ nuta- 

>hyi»ic;d, or rhysical — belotig to ages of duvelopment, 

[characterjBfa by the conditions of people.'^;, ofcivilizat'on, 

' mental calibre, und of intellectual activity ; and the 

Intelle tual activity of an ape breaking as a wave upon 

M.e shoresof humanity, leav4 a a residue wliich gradually 

kccumu'fltes, and fbrms u resting place upon which more 

advanced j)haii<js of thought repose. 



BKPORTa OF SOCIETIES. 

CHEMirAL SOCIETT. 

Jliurxday, March iStt, 1P69. 

(Conttaard ft-om Am. Itvpr., Mny, 1S48, page 955.) 

Wabres UK I.A RuK, F.U.S.. Prtsidcnt, m Die Chair. 

Mn, E. T. Thafhan read an abstract of a paper bj* himpclf 

and Mr, Miles M. 4SrTnth " On the Butylic Ccrmpoiinds derited 

n Jlffihol fjij F'nnentatlon.'* Tlie aiaUora h«d opernied 

'dii about 17 g'tlloBH of London Fusel oih After ftubjrcririp it- 

ptr» 11 seriesj of frnciionnl distillaiioa?, they oluniried ab(>ut live 

litres of n body boilitig within some 3 joiha of a degree; thi* 

Vol. IV. No. 6,— June, 1S69. 20 



body consisted of buljllc alcohol, contanimoted with sma 1 
qiiniitiliea of iflo-butylic alcohol. The diailUing vessel con- 
sisle^l of a tin cun of two gallons, capncily ; ita neck was 
closed by a cork, through wliicli p^^8aed a wide glasa lube, 
bent twice at an ohiui-e angle, Krorn this butylic alcohol, 
the authors prepared the iodide, bromide, niirute. acetate, and 
nitrite of butyJ, from wliich the iso-buiyl coiiipouudg are ee- 
paraied by fraclioukl distil lotion, 

/odi'le 0/ Btityl is a clear, colourless, mobile liquid, boiliug 
cou.stanlly at 121 \ Its specific gravity ia— at q\ 1-6301 ; at 
16°, i-6oj2; at 50", 154S16. Ten thousand vuluiuoi* ut o' 
become, at 16% 10,168; and at 50', 10,5-9. J 'intend of 
heating: the crude huly lie alcohol witli iodine nud phosphorus, 
the autliora prepare it by boiling the crude aleolml with four 
times lis vobiraa of bydriodic acid of apecilie gravity al>out 
rS. The iodide witicb spparales froni the acid is run into a 
flitsk eontniniug carbonate of soda and woter. The mixture 
is distilled, nnd the ct>lourles8 iodide s«?pnrHted iinq dried with 
chloride of calcium and fractioaally distilled Jt possesses in 
D hijrb degree tlie property of splitting up into hjdriudie acid 
and oloflue. 

Broutide of Butyl m best obtained by eaturating the alco- 
hol with gaseoua hydrobromic acid. The saturated solution 
m mixed with its own vrhime of aqueou.s hydrobroroic acid 
(.■^p. pr. r6); it is then gradually healed in closed vossels to 
tlie boiling point. When the oily layer ceases to increase, 
the bromide is separated from the acid and distilled with a 
dilute solution of carbonate of aodw ; the oily liquid is then 
separated from the water, dried over cltloride of crdeium, a*jd 
fraclionnlly distilled. Its Kpecilic gravity is 12702 at 16"*. 

Kitrafe 0/ BuJyl boila at 123". lifl speciiic jfravily ia 
1020 at 16 \ and it cloaely re«e tables nitrate of amy 1. To 
prepare it, 100 c.c. of a mixture consisting of two volutnei; of 
suJphuric acid and one of iiitrjo at-id (sp. gr. 1*4) are placed 
in a lieaker standing' in cold wtiter and ice. About 30c,c. of 
the alcohol are slowly conveyed by nieuus of a tulie beneath 
the mirraco of iho Hcida, which must bo constantly etirred : 
the Tiilrale which riw^a to Lhe tfurhice is deeanttd into n reiort 
and difttilled; it ia then Pcpiiruled from the woter and diied 
with chloride of ciilciura, aiid if the alcohol was not pure il 
mUHf be fraelionHlly distilled. 

jVi/n'te of Bvdji h a yellow mobile liquid, boiling at about 
67*. It h obtained by slowly prtpsing ultnius ucid into butylic 
alctihol, whiuli is kept cool wiih water. When 5»atu rated, Ibo 
nitrite ^9 wn?ibed with wntcr, with dilute cnuHtic potitt^h, and 
nicain with water ; it iA then dried over chloride of calciunt 
ond frnctionnlly disiilliKi. Its Fpccitic gravity ia ut o*, 
o'S9445; at 16', 08771; and at 50', 0-82563; therefore 
10,000 volunu's at o\ become 10, iy8 at 16'', and 10,833 at 
50". One hundred parts of butylic alcohol may be made to 
yield from 105 to i jo of the nitrite. 

Acctok of Butyl is prepared by mixinp crude bntylio 
alcohol with glacial acetic acid, saturating with [111, wjirmitig 
in the water bath, and washing with cold wntcr. lhe wosh- 
iiigfl are distilled, the dinillnle treated with enrhonate of 
^►otash, the oily layer sepanited and irenl-ed ngtiin with jflucini 
neeilc Biid hydrocldoric ncids, and then w,a?Jied. The a<.-eta(c 
is now carefully dried ; firnt by (Agitation with curtKinale of 
potafh, ttnd then by hmg stnnding over a new portion of the 
freshly ignited cflrhotiftte; it ie then frjicliorisilly distilUd. 
Acetate of butyl boi's at 1 17*5; its specific gravity if! 0890^)6 
nt o", 0S747 at 16", and 0-83143 at 50^ Tm tluHisand 
volume.«» at o'' become lo, 1S6 ai 16", and 10.716 ai 50". 

B'fttjlic At'ohoL— The authors obtaiutd Ihip rao.-^t. re.idily 

bv pouring the ptjre acetate uj^nn about bnif i(3 w*'ij;ht of 

CRURlic soda. After awliile, the mixture boils viohntly, when 

il i.s cooled by innmersing the vessel in e<jld wntir; water is 

now added, nnd the whole distilled. The distilb.te oonsiH* 

of btilylie fllcobol, acetate of butyl, and Wiiter ; il ia now 

I unturated with carbonate of polnsb, the oily porlioti decanted, 

' nnd agnin treated with cauisttc J*oda. The mixture i»^ row 

j trented with water nnd ngiuin distilled, the dif?tillide irt«ted 

fis bcfnTe witb carbom.te cf potnsh. iht-n thorouglily ducd by 

boiling witb aud allowing it to cool over carboiuiit> of potash. 



[English Editiem, 7o!. SIX., No. 491, pagM 210, 211 ; Bo. 487, pagoa 163, 1C4.] 



3VO 



Cltemieal Society. 




must then fttand over a large qnaritity of caustic lime for 

Hne weeks, or be digested wiih it for twelve or fourteen 

Mirsi, at a temperature between 65' and 75". On distilling 

it off the lime, It ia perfectly dry; it boits lit 108^ at the 

norraul pressure, going quite to dryness below 109*. It was 

lound that it could not be dried with ;<i(x]tum. 

Mrrcnrti Bntyl ia easily prepftred by the g^eoeral method 
givwn by Frank land atid Dnppa for the preparation of the 
mercury compounds of the alcohol radicals. Five graramea 
of sodium are dissolved in 2,000 prrannneH of mercury, and 
agitated with nn equivalent quantity of iodide of butyl, to 
which T-loth of ita weight of acetic ether has been added. 
The mixture ia well shaken ^ great heat is given out during 
the reaction. When the bottle is nearly cold, the remaining 
mercury is poured out in a clean atiite, and again treated 
with iodide of butyl and acetic ether. Thia process is con- 
tinued till a sufficient qunutlty of crTido merctiry butyl i« ob- 
tained : it is then «utjected to distillation. The dialillate 
consists of two Inyera, the lower of which ia mercur)^ butyl, 
contanKnatf?d with iodide of butyl and noetic ether; these 
are separated by driving a current of Bteam throngh it, until 
Qo i(x]ine can be detected. TIjo water is then aei^oraied, and 
tho coirtpouud dried with chloride of calcium. So prepared, 
mercury butyl is a colourless, transparent liquid of specific 
gravity 17192 at j6*. It cannot b« distilled by itself ; but 
it will stand a temperature of 130° without much decom- 
position. 

The authors fltaie that llie butyl spnlcen of throughout the 
paper, la iao-propyl-melhyl \ and the alcohol in Kolbe^a 
nomenclflture. isopropyl carbinol; and that tlmalonholyitildft 
on oxidation isn-butylic acid. The authors buse tlwir fiS5»eriioii 
tbat they ar« dealing with butyl ccimpounds on a combustion 
of the alcohol. Burnt with cliromato of lend. 0'3507 gramme 
of the alcohol yielded o S34S gramme of earboiEie acil, and 
0"440 gmmmo of water, the following percentages of carbon 
iind hydrogen are calculated : — 

Theory. * 

C* .... 6492 64*87 

H,« ..., 1394 .... 13-51 

O .... .... 2 1 62 

A Cf>mbu8tioTi of the iodide obtained fi"ora th« alcohol wag 
t\m made. Burnt with ohromote of lead and copper turnings, 
0844 gnimme of the iodide yielded O'So? gramiueof carbonio 
acid, and 03775 of water. Three i<"Miine determinaliona were 
made on three different Rnmplea of the iodido prepared at 
different limes: 1257 grammes yielded 1*6016 of icKlide of 
silver; 06904 gramtne yielded 08S39; and 08S30 of iod<de 
yielded ri253 of silver. The following are the percentages 
calculated :— 

Thporf. 

C| ........ 2608 26-09 

H 4'97 4*89 

I 6iS97 (mean) 6902 



The iodide was also titrated in the maimer de.<*oribod by 
Professor Wuuklyn, the digestion being carried on in sealed 
lubes. 

Tlie atomic weights of propyl, butyl, and amyl being 
CiH, = 43, C4lli, = 57, C6H,i = 7i, the nuthora cu-tclude thfit 
a deterniiuatioti of the atomic weight at once points out with 
wbicb radiciil tboy are dealing. 

The atoruie weights, as deduced from the iodine deter- 
minations, are — (I.) 5743; tU) S^'SS ; (HI.) 57*4. The 
atomic weights deduced iroin tlie titrations aro — A.) 56*05 ; 
(IL» 5676. 

The PtiKsroENT said tbat Kr. Chopmsn had evidently or- 
riTcd at some very interesting results, and there were many 
gentlemen present who were familiar with the investigations 
made in the same lino by Wiirtz and Butlerow. It was very 
essential to diatiuguish between the primary. Becondnry, and 
tertiary alcoliols, and a discusaion of the various points 
brought forward might eliminate same of the disorepancies 
Which appeared to exist in the physical properties of the aub- 



stances described by Mr. Chapman and \A% — ' 
There was evidently some diflference as to boili: 
spc'cilie gravities, and they were not quite eui ^ 
speaking absolutely of the .«mmB substancea. 

Dr. Obi.iNO corroborated the l*reaid»;ut's remarlcs as to ' 
importance of f«^niiing a clu*iaificatJon of alcohols, and 
obtain reactionai, by which the cIhrs to whicb an wlrobol 
longed might he readily idcntilietl. He m1h^t 
some of the detinitions wcajiionail}' given of • 
other bodies in text-books. The definition sIjou. . .t 
13 a body which l)ehHves in a pMrticular nranner, liom wl 
ita cpmpf>8ilion is afterwards inferred. An aler-bol wh( 
when oxidised, yields an acid belonging to the ordirtary lattj 
gf riea, ia clnssfd aa a primory alc^ihol on that ground: ?»ti«! 
that ia a reaction, or a kind of fact, upon whiclj a d- t 
may be direct!}' based. With regard to classifloi' 
preferred to represent the alcohol on the hydroc.irl-nii i.-Jin 
which it was derived as amlaining the one residue CH, and 
asfifjciated with that tho residue CII, taken throe tmies, 
Cll(CIJj)3, The rt-sidue CHa undergoes thai modificiition in 
which llie hydrocarbon is changed into tlie alcohol, 60 tlial U 
represented fully it would be 



CH 



\ on. 
cii, 



OH 




riiey wore acquainted with alcohols in which the re«i 
CHj occurs twice and three timea, and perhaps only on*?© 
CH, was replaced by peroxide of hydrogen, he ' 
ftider it a primary alcolioL When cue of the IFs 
by Oil, bo considered Jt a secondary alcohol, a;,., i 
IT being replaced by OH would make it a tertiary 
ilr, Chupmun called his alcohol a primary alcohol, f 
CH was replaced by peroxide of hydrogen, therefore ill 
would be three diflerent classea of primary akohola, 
whicli con lamed one, another with two, and a lUird 
three CII. 

Professor Wan'klyx preferred to classify according to 
ViDkuig, and to have criteria by which to recognise the I 
ing. The criterion by which a primary alcohol was recogn 
was, that by oxidation, it gave an acid cnntainittg ibe i 
number of atoms of carbon as tho alcihol itself. By 
dation, the alcohol Mr. Chapman had obtained gavcisobat 
acid, which bus the game number of atoms of carbon 
alcohol. Thia alcohol would be called a pseudo- primary, 
an iso-prlmary alcoliol; the proof that it was not lite no 
butylic alcohol wa.^ that the neid formed was not the coma 
butyliencid, but tho ipobutylic 

Dr. Odlino: What is tbe proof tliat tb© common b 
add is not the igobutylic»and this tbe common t 

Profewior W.^XKLYN said tlio proof was two or three 
old. Butylic ether, boiled at 1 19", isobutylic at its*, 
lime salt of one was more sotitble than that of the otlicr 

Dr. Odltkg thought Mr. Wanklyn did not un^l * - 1 Hi 
queatioa, He naked for the proof that the parti i- 
applied to tlie acid Mr. Chupniau had obtained, ..„ - 
tho ordinary. 

Mr. WA^^rLYX aaid there was a dlflerenoo ..in the 
lion, and therefore a dlifereiit formula must Iilfiwrittea 
express it. ^y 

Dr. Odlino would not for a moment be un<lorteitood 
doubt the correctness of the formula, but Mr. Wankl 
not taken the point of hift questirio. There were tw 
butyhc acids, and two distinct butylic alcohols?, in a 
to a great many more; how did Mr, Waoklyo kuowt] 
formula a applied to the compound a, and not to the 
pound 6, and r*W crr^a? 

Mr. Wanklyn replied that, in addition to the dlflfe 
reactions, there was the eynthctical proof. Isobutylic i 
might be made from cyanide of isopropyl, and the ^yuth< 
Cftl proof of the composition of isopropyl gave syiitheti 
proof of the composition of isobutylic acid. 

Mr. Chapman said there was also the analytical pn 
Isobutylic acid would break up in oxidation, while the n 
mnl did not He did not quite agree with Dr. Odling-' 



[English i:<litioii, Vol. XIZ., No. 487, pagei 164, 165^] 







Chemkal SoeUly. 



jropoacil formiilie. If thoy hiid only primary, secondary, 
md tertiary idcohols to dtal with, Uiey only wauled criteria 
.o d'tsiiiiguiajj those three, and his method of viewing tbera 

]fh-jA the advante^ of presenting at on© view what was the 
pofi-siblc uumbor. 

l)r. Odlixg obserr«d that, with regnrd to forniulne, it waa 
a mcro mfttter of preference and convt^tiiynce wliich wiia 
adopted. As to tlio other poiut, Mr. Wankljn misunderstood 
his expreasion. It was not the classification lie objected to, 
but the defiiiitiuu- As a matttTofkigio, thodeliuition should 
have reference to the eriteriun as nearly iim possible^ so 
that, in saying whether this Lody beloug^ to the n or the 
It clnssu the great thing was to see whether ii behaved in a 
ticular way. 

Cbu3C Brown felt very strongly tbo iiniwrtance of 
ig stibstances and ideas rather aooordingr to faiitft 
the particuhir way iu wldeh one might choose to ra- 
preaent the facta. An alcohol was a body whioh hnd eerUin 
TeflcCions when treated with acids; some yielded by a parti* 
Ctibr profess au aldehjd; some, by oxidation, yielded nn 

'acid; then let them bo claprfifiod by the way in which they 
yielded theue. Let there be a fn'nctionol classitieation of 
alcohols as well ae of aldohydea nnd acidi<, and then they 
would g:et an inverse oporation to represent the different 
classes of alcohols, and get rid of tbo danger which at- 
tended the free use of the atomicity theory. Tins theory 
did not seem to bo in harmony with the pciiersl dynsmioal 
principles of ffeionoe. and therefore it must be replaced bj 
a theory which would have a true place in physics. 

Mr.^VANKLTK desired to say thiit iu order to ckssify, it 
"wras necessary to co-ordinate the faota. They could ordy 

finnke out what were the relntivo values of the fiicts by the 

[theory, and to proceed rationally they must classify from 
theory, and not from facts. 

Dr. GuTHRTB wished to ask Mr. ChspmBn whnt was the 
precise orijrio of the ftisel oil, upon which ho had worked. 
One of the earliest InBtancea of isomerism^ viz., the two 
amylic alcohols, was discovered by Pasteur in working with 
fiisel oil; and therefore Mr. Ch&pmaa should have men- 
tioned the precise origin of thi« fuacl oil, whether from potato 
or grain spirit. 

Mr. Chafmajt was very sorry that he could not answer 
that question- Distillers were not given to import infor- 
mation. In many distilleries niixod {grains were employed, 
and therefore it would be difficult to imswcr Dr. Guthrie's 
qu'jstion. The alcohol and the fusel oil were mixed before 
he had it, so he could not answer with any Cfjrtainty what 
the mattf-r whs. He had, however, examined many other 
Bpcciiiens offnsel oil, and they ull gave symptoms of con- 
t^iiniu? butylic alcohol- If it was found that on treating 
normal iodide with tdeoholic potash no butyl compound was 
evolved, nnd that on treating the iaopropyl carbinol with 
alcoholic potash, butylcno was evolved, they would have 
fair ground for making a wide division of the alcohols, and 
I>€rh«ps be justified in caI 11 fig thorn hydrates ofolefiues and 
alcohols, lie wished that the Society would use it.^ influ* 
enm? to obt,iin a careful arrangomont of the already known 
chemical dafA. 

Tho rRE^DKNT, in thanking Mr, Chapman for his paper, 
said Uiat he could not see thero would l>o any good result 
in pi omoting the experiments ho had proposed. If there 
was anything treacherous as n basi.H on which to found an 
idea of the purity of compounds, It was the boiltnjf point 
and speciilc jrravity. Seven years' eiperieut,'^ cf his own, 
which WN9 followed up by l>r. Miller had led him to the 
conclusion that thfv could not place the sli^ditcst reliance 
on them. 



Anniversary Meeting, TiK^nlaj/y Marrh yytk, 1S69. 

Dr. Warrkn DE la Kve^ F.Ii S, PrtaidcHt^ in Ute Chair. 

'The business of the evening commenced with the reading uf 

the finrtuciwl sUUeuieni by tin* Ireasurtr, whrch hwd been 

^audited by Mr. Tusou and ilr Iloben Wjiriiiglon, 



The PiiKSUJEST called the attention of the Society to a cir- 
cular from Yale College, warning the scienlific public against 
an impostor who was u.^tetisibly oallecLing minerBls and waa 
receiving nrooeys in the name of aom*- of the priiioipala of the 
college, lie then proceedid to read the address, which gave 
a very cleur account of ihe year** progress in chemistry, and 
referred to some of the leading iuvesligationa in the various 
departutcnta of chemical science, 

Mr. llEison, in proposing a vote of thanks to the President 
for h*is addresa. »poke in laudatory terms of ibe way in which 
Dr. Du La Rue had filled tLe Pj esidenti«l cluiir, and propoaed 
that the address be printed^ and circulated amongst llie fel> 
lows of the society. 

Professor "Waxkltn seconded the vole of thanks, and spoke 
of the great difficulties with which the President Imd bud to 
deal bl different times during his presidency, 

Dr, Odlino could noi r*'call a president who had devoted 
ao much time and atiention to hiR duties as Dr. De La 
Rua. He bad also achieved some difficult negotialiona with 
a 8uccf)S8 which sihowed, in the liighesl degifo, the esteem in 
which he was held, and the position which the Society had 
attained. 

Tho propoa.^1 was carried by acclamation. 

The meetiug then proceeded to thtj ejection of officers, 
Messr.'j. Basset and Waiingt'm acting as scrutnlors. The 
following are the names of tho oflicora for the present 
year: — 

PreMditnt^A^ W. \N^ilIiam8oa. P}>.D., F.R R 

Vict-Frejtuieftts, irhn havf jilM thi cj^/i? of Pir^ulciU. — 
f^ir B. C. Ilrodie, Kll.-^. ; Wurreu De La Rwe. Ph.D., RR-S.; 
Thomas Graham, D.C.L., B\RS. ; A. W. Hofmann, D.QK, 
FR.S.; W. A. Miller, M.D.. DC.L, F.R.S.; Lyon Playlair, 
Ph.D., C.B , F.R.S. ; Otlonel P. Yorke, F.K.S. ' 

Vice■PreMdtJif.^.—J.ll.Gl\h^yn, Ph.D, FR.S.; X H. Glad- 
stone, Ph.D., FR.S.; It M. Noad, Pli.D,, F.R.S. ; W. Od- 
hng, M.B.. F.II.S. ; T. Redwood, Ph. D. ; John Sienhouae, 
LL.D., F.RS. 

SecretarKs.-^A.Yemoa Harcourt, MA., F.R.S. ; W. II. 
Perk in. F.R.S. 

Foreign S^cretanj,—!!. Midler, Ph.D., F.R.S. 

7Wo.snrtr, -F. A. Abel, F,H..S. 

Othrr Metnhf.rs uf Couwil. — K. .^tkinsriii, Ph.D.; J Lothian 
Bell; !«:. T. CliJipnnm; W. Croukes. F. R.S. ; David Forbes, 
F.RS,; D. n-inbury. F.R.S ; A. Matihiessen, Ph.D., 
FR.S.; R J, Mills; J. Prealwich. F.R.S. ; Maxwell Simp- 
son, PhD, F.R.S.; A. Voelcker, Ph.D.; C. Greville WiU 
liams, FR.S. 

Mr. FxKLit proposed a vote of thanks to tho officers and 
council for iheir effirietil services during iho past year, and 
assficiated wiih the vole tlie names of Dr. Redwood and Dr. 
Odling, For twelve years Dr. Odling liad, with hardly a 
single exception, occupied fhe Secretary's chair nl every 
raeeling of the Society; and they crnild nni hIIow htm to con- 
clude his secretj^ryship without thatiking him fhr iil-s kind- 
ness and oijurtesy, as w* 11 as for his sneces.'sfiil endeavours la 
promote the welfare of Ihe Snciely. 

Mr. Ti'fliON. in seconding the vote, alfo spoke in appro- 
priate term« of the valu.tblo Services of Dr. Odling and Dr, 
H-edwood. 

Tlie PRESTDEKT Said that the Secretary was tho most 
active ngonl of tlie Society. Without active secrrt-^ries, the 
meetings wnnld someiimes paw; over wilhout that intellectual 
(im\ from which they derived so much beneflL 

Tho voto was carried amidst great applause. 

Dr. Oduno IhnnkcMi the society for the kind manner in 
which they had txpressed their sati.sfaction with ihe services 
of himself and Dr. Redwood, and reft^rred to sotne of thtt 
ebanges which had taken placf in ctmnection with the Society 
during the thirteen yeara he had been Secretiiry, and also to 
the p' ensure he had derived from being on terms of close ac- 
quaintanee with the dl.itinguiahed men who had filled the 
chair during his term of office. 

A vote of thanks to the Scrutators brought the proceeding! 
to u close. 



[IliiSliah £ditioz^ VoL ZIX., Ko.437, pag« 165; No. 488, paff<175.] 



Chefnii 



Jkrif, 



Tkurifhi/t Aprii i«<, 1869. 

Db. a. W. WiLLi.uiso.v, F,RS^ Pif^'Unt^ in the CJaiir. 

TiiK X\^i of presents lo tlio ScKsicty waa rcsid, and a vote of 
thanks paaj»oii to Ihe donara. 

The* folloiviufi e<iriific:iteji were rend : — 

For Ibo liral time — K, Meiisel, tJjiivtTsifj College; A, W. 
Reiuhnld, MtTton Colli-fff, O.xtonl; J M, Mujr, Sltorlland, 
Thames UoM Ftpld, New Zoalnnd. 

For tlic Hvcond time — ♦!. T. Boliomly, M.A., Kinp's College, 
London; F. Bniby, MoiiiU Henley, Sydcnlinni tldl. 

For tlie third time — W. IL Detfring, 12^ Sunvj Square, 
Old KenlRoud, S.K. 

The Inst-mentUiued genllGrnau waa then balloted for and 
declarod di»!y ek'CU'd, 

A paper by Messrs. E. T. Chapman and Milea H. Smith 

" On nonit I/rcampnitltiofiS uf tkf Aridn tif the Acttic iSeftM" 
was liiea read. The foilowiiig ia an ubairnci: — 

Action 0/ Btinuiiie mi Acetate of Latd.-^On adding hfnmine 
to an aqueous suUiiion of aceiJife of hfld, tlio uulliora foutid 
that a brown prccipiUile, consiBting of peroxide of lend, was 
formed. K)\\ being wannt'd, tbo formation of tliu precipitate 
proceeded uttiil 1 eq. of bromine had been added to a eqs. of 
acetate of lead. TUo foiluvviug equuiiuu repreaenta Ibe de- 
ootnposiiion : — 

2G,H,PbO,-fn-iO+Br=2CaH40,-i-PbO-f-PbBr. 

Actum of Biomint on Avdatr of Poimh. — Tvro oqs. of 
bromine and one eq. of acelalo of potatjh, and water, were 
sealed in a d(g'e*tion tube for eleven lumrs. On ofjollng and 
opeiiiu!: the tutu*, CO2 escjiped, from which llio mlxiure was 
freed by dilute caustic poiuah. The following chunge occur- 
red : — 

CatliKOj+aBr— KBr-fCOi, + cn,Br. 

Action if CVihrine an Arffatc of Polfish in Aqnrnus So^ 
httion. — The action is strictly analogouM to llint nf bromine. 
Bichloride of mcthylftio la amongMt the products of Ihis 
reaction ; and tlio nuthorg tliink that, under appropriute 
ciroumstHQCts, it would iuroish a coavcnient source of this 
Bubatttnce. 

Ai^tion of Bromine &n Vtderianate of Soda in Aqueous 
Solution. — Tho products of this reaction are carbonic acid 
and bromide o1 bulyl. more or lesa brominated. By frwc- 
tional dUisllalion of the liquid producia, a body, having 
about the boiling pinnt of bi-bromide of butylene, waa ob* 
tained. 

Iodine was found to have little action on the alkaline aalta 
of l!nj frtiiy acidp, 

NitrntK of Anitjl and A'^itic Acid. — On adding nitrate of 
amy I drop by drop to a wiirra mixture of twenty parts of 
glacial acetic acid and one of concentrated snlpliuric acid, 
gaaea are evolved wliich cuttsiHt of carbonic aeid. a liUle 
uiirogen, a truce of binoxtde of nitrogen, ond an ii.tlamtnj^blc 
gas. The latter ia soluble in sulmion of proluLUIonde of 
iron, and proved to be nitnte of nieihyl. The liquiJ pro- 
ducts of liie reaction were acetate of iintyl, with traces of 
ocetatQ of melhyL Ltaviug out the uuiyl mtd the sujplmric 
acid, which t^ike.s no part in llii» or the follt>wing reui-tion, 
though causing them to uike place, the rcuciiou was as fol- 
lows : — 

nNO,-fC.H^O.=CL\+CH.NO, + n.O. 
With the ftniyl— 

+ CO,4-H.O. 
The acetate of methyl Is supi>o?Bd to Qvre it? orii^in to a 
secondary reaction between ihe nust.-ent nitrite of methyl 
Aud the excess of glnclul acetic acitL 

Nitrate of Butyl and ttlacial Acetic Ac0 — The action is 
prt'clsely aiiuihir to the above, butyl being substituted for 

Nilmk of Ethyl and ^'. ■' '- ' - Ac'd difTer only from 
'C obuvt*, iii that thu nil I dect>irq^>oses, to some 

lent, by the heat of iI.l . and some of the pro- 

Cta of the decomposition arv; obtained with Ute oUiora. 



Nitrate of MeOiyl and GUinal Areiir Acid. — The tnothyl^ 
of the nitrate of methyl is oxidised, and not the ftoetic 4Lcid.j 
The authors express the reaction as follows : — 

3Cn,X0,- 2CH,N0, J- HNO, 4^ CO, + 11,0. 

Action nf J^trrnic Arid on Nitrate of Am\t\. — In the pi 
senco of sulphuric 3f!id, these bodies give rise to formtato 
of amyl, protoxide of nitrogen, carbonic add, and water, 

Mr. Perkin remarked that some time back Mr. Dupp» 
told ium that be had sucH?ecded in oblaininj; the cJunidea 
of the radicals from awtati^a and salt.^ of ijio other acids.. 
In the caac of acetic acid, he obUiined chloride of methyl ;j 
and in the cii,MC of succisiic acivl, ho obtained chloride 
ethyl He (Mr, Perkiu) made an examination of the cldo- 
ridfj of ethyl, and found that it produced the normal hr- j 
dride, and behaved ju*t as the iiorujal chloride of ethyl. 

The Phesidknt asked Mr. Chapman iiuder what condition* 
be got the chloride of methylene by the action of tliloriuo 
upon potassic acetate, whetlier with tho preseuce of water j 
or not? 

Mr. Chapman replied thai; all the decompositions occarred 1 
in the presence of water, with ihe exception of that in the] 
case of glitcial acetic acid. When the liquid was kept 
warm, and the cldoriuo passed into it pretty rapidly, being 
occasionally neutralised with potash, a notable quaritity of I 
cliloridu of mGlhyleue was formed, but it had to be looktdj 
for nncj eiiridensed with care. 

Mr. W. I!. Pkiikis, F.RS., then made some remarks Iiiv 
reference to a paper published in the Cuemioal Newb*! 
by Fittig, "t>n the Cmt^lilution of Cownurin and Co^mtiti«\ 
Af-id.^' Fillicr assumed that L-onniJjrin was not fom)cd frouj 
tlie hydride of aoeto-salicyl, as hud been staled, but that 
it resulted from the prerious formation of coumaric acid. 
Some time »im?e, flertojEiuui statefl that tho hydrid» of] 
benzoyl, when trented with chloride of acetyl, yielded cin- 
rianiic acid ; and Fittig scjppoaed tliat an amilogous rcactioi: 
took place between the hydride of ealicyl and acetic anby- 
diide, yielding coumaric acid, which, aocordiug to this «^'cw, ] 
would bo oxyciniiamic acid ; this, by the further actiou of] 
acetic anhydride, decomposing into coumarin and water. 
Coumarin would therefore be the anhydride of coumaric j 
acid, standing iti the same rektioa to coumaric acid as liie*j 
tide did to luetic acid, thus:— 

o,n.o,-u,o=c.n,o.. 

laciide. 



Lactic add. 



C'laukkric Add. 



Couutario, 



But the question was whether coumarin had the pi 
ties of an anhydride at all. It was formed in the plant, in 
the preseuee of water; and it might by crystallised front < 
water any number of times without being changed, 
boiled in strong potash, a saline comjKmud ol ooumarin wns^ 
obtained ; but directly an acid was added it sepuruted un- 
changed. On adding nitrate of silver to a weU-saturated 
solution of coumarin iu soda, a yellow preripitnte vvas pro- 
duced, which, on nnnlyfiis, gave the fonnula of coumarin, 
jWifcS oxide of slver, (J^IlflOjAg-.O. If it were an ardiydride, 
it would yield, with ammouia, an amide ; but it did not do 
so, and he thought it was very evident that it was not »n 
anhydride, as Fittig supposed it to be. lo fact, it was not 
an easy matter to produce coumaric acid from couniarin, a 
boiling super5Uiturated sohilion of caustic alkali being re- 
quired. 

The PjiFgiDEXT thought that Mr. Perkin's stritcn«enl» 
decided very clearly the point winch liad been raised by M. 
Fittig ; but to complete some of his statements, he would 
like to ask him if he had recognised the properties referred I 
to in the artitlciai a«i well as in the ordinary coumarin ? 

Mr. Pi RKiN said that not only tho artiflcial coumoritu 
but also tho homologies, formed conipouuds with ciuistioi 

• Vfli xbc, p. 73. {Am. Bfpr. April, if^pagt ijo.) 



[EnKUsh Bdttlou, VoL XHL, No. 4TO, v^^et 176, 17«.J 







Cheiuical Socktij* 



mlph 



In 



IBoda; and, in tho Ciise of the hotnolo^ucB, as thp sotia <*oti- 
oentratcd on Iwling, the new oojnpotintj geimmtcd tm an 
oilj layer, \rhidf, on c-oonufi, liccyaie n stickj mass. 

The PHiSLDENT remarked tlmt it was not conceivHble that 
an anhjdroue add on tioUin^ with wutor and nn alkali 
eltouM remain as an anliyilroiifi acid capable ol' fijUint: down 
as Bucb upon the addition of an acid lie thought Mr. 
Perkin's Gvidcnco waa quite ooncluEive. 

Mr. PiaiKJN, on trjnng Bertajanainrs expc*riment with the 

tijdrlde \)t l>enzoTl and ehloridc of acvtyL, had n<3t yet 

mooeeded in obtaining" diinnnjio f»04d. He did not know 

whetlior nny penticmen present had succeeded in obtiiiuing 

it. He intended to repeat the exijcritueut, and Jjoped to bo 

.more fortumite. 

The I'EBSiDBNT thought the absence of the notion of am- 

Jjttiotiid on couninrin Tory conclusive that it eowld not be an 

ydroiB add. Me thanked Mr. Perkin for hia commu- 

licdtion. and announced that the next meeting wuuld be 

on Lh£ i5tliinBt 



Thursdan, April i^lt, 1SC9. 

Dit A. "W. Williamson, F.K.«., Prmident, in (he Cliair. 

yttaas the minotos of Iho preceding moetiag had boeo 
read, « 

Mr. Chapmak said that fiovcral ^nilemen had qiiestionod 
n about the notion of nitric ethers on acetic atid, and h«j 
pposcd ho mu'^t bavo forgotten to munllon tli:it tho dtv 
rnijoailion onlj ocscurred in tlie presence of concvulrultd 

jric acid. 
ASlct a. Blight discussion, in which it was st^itod that 
e report in tlio Chijmical News waa csorrect, the wordfl 
the prcficoco of sulphuric ac-id " were ordered lx> be 
ed iu the oiinutea, whidi were then confirmed, 
be certilicates of the following gentlemen were read 
for the accond time : — E. Meuj^el, Uoiversitj College ; J. 
M. Muir, SJiortlaud, ThanieR Gold Fieiil, New Zealand; 
and A- W- Rcinokt Merton CoUegei, Oxford. 

The certificates of J. T. Bottoniioy, M.A., Deraonatrator 
of Chemistry^ Kiug'a CoUoi^e, and of F, Brabv, F.G.S., were 
read for the third time, aR^r which tho geDllomen were bal- 
loted for, and duly elected, 

Mr. Chapman read a papor by hinrwelf and Mr. M. XL 
Smith ^ On Propyl Compounds BcriVtsd Jrvm Qie Ftvjujhc 

•iPbey operated on that portion of fustd oil which re- 
ttftSnod after the amylic, bvitytic, and cthylic alcohols Imd 
lM?eQ aa perfectly as possible reiuoved. It boiled Ironj 79" I J. 
to 106". It was^ couFtrted jntu bromides, and the bromidoa 
Craetiouully dietilUii From the mixtuix) of broriiiduE, llie 
bromide of propyl ia aoparated by fnclional dlhtillatlou with- 
out much labour. It ia a colourless liquid, boiling at 70^ "C+ 
and of sp. gr. i'35J> at 16* C. The alcoltol waa obtdluod 
from tlie brouiidc by converting it iutr* acetate, by digestion 
with acetate of potash and acetic acid. '1 ho acetate so ob- 
tained was contaminated with trsict'S of bromide, lo reinovo 
which it was dlgciited with strong ammonia, Avhich con- 
Torted the bromiJo into bromide of propylamhio. Mid the 
acetate partially into the alcoliol The mixed alcohol and 
acetate wure treated with caustic aoda, whereby it was at 
©000 and completely converted into ihe alcohol. 

The alcohol t« a colourless liquid of strong but not oppres- 
live odour; it boil* at 97° C, and its ap gr. is rJii^oat 
16' C On oxidation it yields propionic ai^id. 

The iodide was prepared from the alcohol bol digest^un 
with eicesa of strong hydriodic acid; it boiHg at I02* to 
foj', and has a ap. gr. of 17343 at 16" C. 

The iodide and broojide yield no ol&flne on treatment 
with alcoholic potaih. 

Mr. Ou.vPiiAS' iheu read a note *' On Bromide vf AniyV^ 
by hirnKelf and Mr. M. II. Smith. 

Thoy prepared broajide of atnyl by the action of hydro- 
bromic acid on amylic aiuohoL Thoy And tho bromide has 





Dot been ronxylly, thonffh vanotjety, described. Accord- 
ing to tlic^' obserrations. it \a a mobile liquid, boiling at 
121° C, and of «p. gr. i'^i73 at 16 C. They drew atten- 
tion to tho fact that the iutervnln between the boiling points 
of tho broaud»jaof niethyl, t-thyl and propyl are constant. 
vi»i about 29 ; that between bromide of propyl and 
bronu'lc of butyl is only 2J*, but that the interval between 
the brouildea of butyl and amy! is again 29% 



Brmnido of nwthyl hoilii at 
*• of ethyl *• at 
" ofpro'pyl " at 
*' ol butyl " at 
" ofumyl " at 



Piffercnccs, 
I.!!" } 2<) 



Tliey explain Ibis by the fact tliat tho butyl and amyl are 
not normal radicals. 

Tliey cxiiTcss a doubt aa to the poasibJhiy of obtamlng 
pure bVonuMe of amyl by the action of brotnino and pho»- 
phom^ on the akchoJ 

The PaEainEXT thought the subject of the paper particu* 
ktrly iriiix>rtaiit Every addition to their knowledge of or- 
ganic chemistry waa ol value. He thought that on a for* 
nier occjision Mr. (Uiiapman made a j^iatomout regarding tlic 
onyia of fusel oil, wJxen ho (the President) was unfortu- 
nately ahaeut. 

Mr. (-"HirM\N explained that tho fufiel oil in question was 
al)oul twelve or thirteen yeiu-s old. and was obtained at the 
tiitje wlicu t!l>ere was a demand for am^'lenc. Uo had ope- 
rated on the lower portion. 

Professor Wankj^tn madie a verbal ooramuuication touch- 
ing thr- attiruicity of sodiuui. He fi!iiid tliat the researches 
which had ocotipie<l him duiing the last few months had 
t-nded toconvinco Mm that fiiMlinni waa an eminen'ly poly- 
valent element. Tlie crj-sttdline conjpmntl obtained by 
acting on cice9B of absolute akohol withfiodlum, and whidi 
waa eudowod with great stability, bearing a touiperaturo of 
100* C. without idteratioii. had tho empirical formula 
CiH^BNaO*. In this compound sodium appeared to be 
teven-vuteatf thus : — 

CH.Ol 

€,H,0 

Cdl.,0 

■ iil 

In u great nurober of componnda which liad heoa recently 
produ'i'ed in the course of I be investigation, sodium occurretl 
in (it least a tJuxHi-valent state, 'Jiua :— 

^ »<r ( (Cjll*)" I Ilrdrnted oxide of ethylene-soilium (or ab- 
^'^ ] OH f solute ethybite of s dium). 

N*i"' I ^qIp H 0)]' { ^^'^^^ o*" etljylone-sodinm- 

^ ' ' Compound got by treating hydrated oxide 
of ethyleno-aodlum with UCL 



Na -^ U 

(n 

I 00,H, 

Na '-{C;I1,0 

(CI 

(01 

hi 



Compound got with chloride of ocei^L 



oc.n* 



Compound got with 11,3^ 



Many other audi compounds can donbtlesa b© prodaoo*!. 
ina.sme.ch as the hyilr.-^il^d oxide of ethylpne-Kodium manifest' 
this tondency of cnrnljintng with BO many vurioius rcajrent»-. 

The common so hum compounds arc retr-irdod by Profe.* 
Bor Wauklyo as bciug not, properly speaking, compound • 



[EasUsh Edilioa, Vol. XIX^, No. 48B, pag« 176; No. 490, p«CM 193,199.] 



In whluh'soilium is monovalcac, but comylox compouuda, 
tliiia: — 

is common SftTt. 

Tbe Ph^:sident roninrkcd that ihe question of the equiva- 
lont Value of elen»ent9 was one in which then? wsks, at 
present^ room for iliiR-rence of opinion. Mr. Wanklyn'a 
views \vert» likely to be uaeful if foHowed up hy himself 
ted othtT meuibtre., so as to come t*' a distiBct «nd deilnite 
decision, lie thought tliot in mnny ptirta of their progress 
in tcifciico, thoy atteudnd loo excjludiTety fc) one piirlicular 
ordor of phenomeoa, without comparin^j their conclasiona 
with olher part.s of Bcieiioe. Until they obtained a com- 
pound of sotJtum with throe monoda, tbey must have some 
healtation in assigning to it, o^i a gonornl priuclpio, tho 
clESsiflcation of triad functions. At tho same time, it 
geomed to biin quite natural to suppose that a motmd^ 
aucii as aodiura usually appoared to loc. might, in certain 
coses, act as a triad. But it wa.i a qoostlon whetlier it wag 
more in accor^lincc with its geueml behaviour to assign toll 
tiiope functioutt wiuch It appeared, In exereptional caties, to 
aaaume ; or to any tliat sodium was a rooand, and to 
explain the excei^tional oasea by tl"ic Bpccial hypothesis 
whicli seemed to suit them boat Mr, Wankljm waa 
probably aware tljat many of tboui might bo representwl 
Bd a njouad to sottiuiu. tfxlium. comMning with throo ©f | 
ocetylc, s^-emed to favour Mr. Wanklyu's view; but when 
they bad three tinjcs that group— r.cctyli', two cjirbon, 
and one oxygen, a union am-^ugst tho«o elements them- 
Belves might bo conceived, farming a radical which might 
i tself be monadic;, and that oircurastanco was tlie difficulty 
in organic bodies. He (the President) thought that organic 
)>o«iiv3 wui't generally o'xjy those prinGii5e}>, which were 
clearly establiahed among mineral ooinponuds. 

Mr. Yerno.v llAncouRT could not understand why it was 
more naturnl to suppose tlmt the combination of th()«e mole* 
cades of alcohol which hud boon regarded a.H a tnoleculo of 
BOdiura and alcohol should not be rather analogous to the 
HUter of crysUillisution with any hydrate or any other Halt. 
In the instance before them they had, besides sodium 
hydrate, other combinations cf the sodium hydrate j when 
the solution waa oraporated they obtained crystals — he did 
not remcral.ter whether they contained three molecules of 
water of crystalliHalion^ but, (ollowiug Mr. Wanklyn'a formu- 
lo, he would write them ihuft*. — 



Ntt^J- 



Supposing that the crystals contained three nKvleculea of 
water of cryetallisfltion. there would be a conipouud slmi'ar 
to that of the new sodium alcohol, which would furnish an 
argument, and a very weak one, for regarding the eudium 
&B being heptatomic. 

Proft'B.'ior W.vNKLTN regarded tho combination of salts 
with their water of cryslallisutioti aJS nnil coinpoundsw If a 
great deal of raallreatmont was necesartry to break up the 
hydrate of sodium, he wouUl congidir tho corobi nation as 
BO0<! a clu.'mieal compound as any he knew. If a compoand, 
containing the elements of alcohol and chloride of sodium, 
were adunittcd to \jo a pcnuino chemical compound, and if 
the ordinary values were assigned to the carbon, oxygen, 
and chlorine, could it be 4:'xpre.«!ied othf rwiao than by writ- 
ing sodium as triatoniic? "VVilli regard to the ordinary 
sodium compound^, he consiilered that the aodiutu was 
merely complex <*mlium, or diatomic. 

A slight diacusaioD ensULui between Dr. I>ebii8 and Mr 
Wanklyn as to water of cr^atalliaaliun, Ac, of compounds, 
a/ter which 



Mr. Cha^phak said that unleaa they were prepared 
abandon the atomicity thoorj-, they roust admit that wti« 
two compouada unite, they have a bond with whid» to huk 
themselves togetht^r. If they bad a certain compound o^ 
chloride of Stwiium with anything else, hu thought that thoj 
liad nearly perfect proof that either chlorine or -sodiuin— moa 
probably botli— were not mouad.s ; otherwise there was tj< 
reason why the compcnind should hold together. It co\x\ 
otdy enter into combination with asiother body if that bodj 
was diatomic, and then ouly by splittiag up loto tta elc 
meats in doing so. 

A fter some further remarks by Dr. Debus, Mr. Chapman, 
and Mr. Newlunds, 

The PRESitrENT said it was very important to knoirj 
what wiis uiraut by a/mnirttt/ in <xiiiiradiatinetit>n 
tquivaletux. He thought the words had rtceived a vej 
distinct definition, which really ought to he atlhered tc 
The only difference he knew in the cooaiateiit ui'C of t) 
word was, that atomicity waa a real or untrue kind 
equivalent which was rigid, absahito, and unchaogeabl* 
They had used the word In a very different sense that ei 
ing, and he thought in one tliat ought to be convoyed 
the word equiidfcncc. lotroduciDg such words as Itffttds 
bdievod quite uouecessary, because a " bond '" waa a phj-^l 
cid image, and nothing whatever could be expressed 
that word wjiii-h could oot be expressed without it 
habitual use of such a word must be productive of vei 
coaaiderahle injury to tho theoroticul habits of those wl 
used il. He would not express any opinion as to whctht 
tlie atomicity theory was right or the equivalence ihcorjj 
but they were differeut. For his own part, he thought ' 
rule waa to find that elenients wore eapaWe, under diffei 
cut conditions, of assuming ditfereut equi valence of valuflfj 
but it waa, he thought going a little further than the fa( 
to any they must nil be capable of that ; tho coromoo 
waa that elements ctuinged their equivalent value, and 
was rcnsouahle to euppoao they all did so, and by in< 
menta of two* 

Tho tiocieiy then adjourned. 



GLASGOW PIlILaSOPniCAL SOCIETY.} 

(Chemical SBCTiny.) 

A ITKKTIN'O waa held in tho Upper Ilall of the QhtBt 
Art G'dlery on >louday, tl»e ^gth inst, at eight o'dodc 
ihe evening. W. R. llutton, Es(\., in tlio chair 

Two new meai):9or3 were admlttod by ballot, and oqg 
didate was pmjxiscd. 

The following papers wore re«d : — "' On the Examit 
of the Flaui^ of the lS€JS»cmer C'livtrier,'' by TUOMAS ^WJ 
Esq., F.C S. : '' Onihe Kpd of Pho.vpiwrm on Imn" by 
MAS Rowan, Esq., F.C.S.; " On lAe QMhty of Ownj 
Mvlecnk.%'' by J. Camebos, Esq. We intend to give a 
Iher notice of these papers as space penuits. 



NEWCASTLE CIIEMICAL SOCIETY. 

The fourth general meetiLng of the Society was heM 
thii 25th iust, the President in the chair. 

Seven new mem bees were elected. Dr, LirNQB 
" XoUu<) on Um Ptvgre.ss 0/ Foreign Analysis during 186S/ 
J. W. SwAN' exhibited and iiescrilied a powerful llols i 
d action machine. 



Ths concluding meeting of the Society was held on Thur 
day, thy 22q\1 lust, tbe President, J. L. Beli^, Keq, 
the chair. 

Dr. Lu.voR read an " Abstract 0/ Ihe OtmtenU of ^fct M 
nales drs Mma^, for 1868.** 

.Mr. BuwM.v.s read an '^ Ahsiniet of M, Carmt'a Pmuphk^ 
on Afit^t^9ia «/# a J'Vmiice MaUriaL^^ 

Mr. B. 8. PuoCTOii read a •' Nitie on Medicinal Jihi^arb," 



lEaeiiitk rdltioa, Vol, ZIX, No. 4^0, p&t»» \W,2SW , «o< 4ai,^V^^5'.«o.4^l, P»5« l^M 




f^mces. 



315 



FRENCH ACADEMY 0? SCIENCES. 

Mandiy, March sinti, 1S69. 

Among the papers read we notice and brieflj abstract the 
follfiwin;;: — " On ih^ Lnniimsilfj of Gfifshr Tnhtnf by Fr'u- 
r>rm," M. Alvergnut axWs attention to tlie fnet, tliat hy 
•Imply rubbinjf one of tho pforoauul tu1)es witli the drf 
i»nd'or a ijioce of «ilk, it oxhlhitH tin* Fame pliennmuna of 
Inniiuotfiiy as if iudueed by Hlevtrieitf ; the phosphorescence [ 
to, however, weak, but may bo increaaed when within tho 
lube are dcpoaitfd aubstanoea whirfi may btcnme plioa- 
phorcscont under tho inHneueo of electricity ; when a tube 
so arranged is quickly rubbed it become* witliin a fow mo* 
mcnta guffi-'iciitly luniJuous to serve aa a faint light to 6t'e 
in B dark room. 

Professor Dr. Q. Chancbl rend a paper " On the Ethers 
of titt [ropyl'C Alothot deihed from F<ermfntaiimi.^' He be- 
gins with a Btalcmeut thut his rcflearehes on this aubjeci 
are uot yet siUTiciently advanced to cna}}lo him to give 
^mplete delaUa ; propylic elhor, or oxide of propyl — 

Cdh [ ^ 

is obtained by the action of io«iide of propyl on Ibe propy- 
" ito of Eodiuwj. The oxide of propyl boils at about S6" C„ 
is a liquid exhibiting a high rffraciivc! povror, »liglilly 
table in water. When the iodidya of methyl, ethyl, and 
ijrl, are suflTered to act upon propylic alcohol in the pre- 
vx of potfisno, compound ethers are obtained, r g.^ pro- 
^l-niethylic other, or oxide of propyl aad methyl — 



CH, f^' 



which boils at between 49° and 52'* C. ; propyl cthylic other, 
oxide of propyl and othyt — 






diatils over at about 86* C; propyl amylic ether, or 
of propyl and amyl— 



'^' I O 



lich boils bptwecn 125" and 130" C. All these liquida 
ive a density varying between 075 and o*So, aiui exhibit 
I a peculiar etheretd odour, as of ordinary other mixed with 
some stran^fe odoriferous principle. 

M. E. J, Maumene presented a note '* On On; Action of 

Conosiit Snhfunat'; on Btnkniide of I^yhyfrn.'^ Thu author 

first reminds, thut aome years ago he called attention to tho 

(act that Berzeliua and other authors hnd tiot paid proper 

attention to the reactions which in this inatance tuke place, 

and Mauiuenn cornea to the eoncluRion thnt Berzelius had 

not even had prepared biniodide of ethylene, but mistaken 

iodoform In ita stead. Semllas, Mitscherlich, Bouchardat, 

and others, are then criticiaod, and the author next goes on 

^^witb a stries of theoretical roaaouings not directly support- 

^^bd by exiJcrimenta, but entirely fouuded ou algiAtraico- 

^^BKfmicul formule and reaeoning; by these mpons he prove? 

^^Uuit, not liH wan stated by Berzelius, iodide of carbon 

^^pb the result of the reaction, but that either a chloroiodide 

^^of ethyl or a chloride of ethyl ia formed. Tlie learned 

L author endd his paper with thia dictum : All chemical 

[iac^tiou« <run be beforehand proved by theory ; all formu- 

which do not agree with it, will be rejected by eiperi- 

3DtS. 



Monday^ Jfarck igth, 1869. 

[ta meeting wae one of very little interest for the ficlentific 

jblic K^ittcrally ; being chiefly occupied hy the reading of 

irrespondenee rehiting rather to bi3t<»ry, 

Tlie Rev. Father Secoiii^ S. J., made an interesting com- 

lUication in reference to the apectroacopleal research 



made by him of the light emitted from the |«lanet Urantts. 
Tins light, it appears, differs from that of the rest of the 
planets belonging to our eolar system. The spectrum 
phowu by the light of this planet, exhibit brood absorp- 
tion Utiea; so that i1t« yoJlow colour is alnin«t entirely 
wanting — abeorbtjd. While it is elenr that the light emit- 
ted by this planet is reflected light from our sun, it ia evi- 
dent that the surfiice of the planet modifies tliat light in 
the name manner aa do coloured bodies. 

The Rev. Father ulso conimunieiitod, that tho apectrum 
of R. Clmiiini. a so-called variable star, clearly exhibits, 
when at ita greatest brightnoaa, the lines duo to hydrogen, 
magnesium, and .lodinmu 



Monday, April $, 

At this meeting a large number of paperm were read, but 
the major portion d«>es not Iseloug to \.U<t sciences treated of 
in the CiiBMfOAL Nfiw.s Among those which may interest 
nor renders, we briefly menliou tho following: — Avery short 
communicaCioci from Dr. Maumene, in respect of" Tf^e Action 
0/ F'AiiAf^ium upon Dntch LiquidJ' Many of «jur older read- 
ers will perhaps recolie4.*i the very siiarp dijW!Ug.sionri o'J thia 
subject whiciv a lung Ituie ago, took pUice between Dumm 
and Liebig ; Muumeut*' now proves that Intth ihoao eminent 
mvaniti were ri^hi, aincy tho diversity of tho resultij obtained 
by thera is euUtely due to tho fact that one of them applied 
tho liquid in exoes.-*, the other the roulftL 

M. Gai'gaix read a paper wherein ho proves that, even with 
feeble galvanic cnrrenia, llie eiectrodea are alwaj's polarised, 
and thnl thia polarisation is coni4l«ut when the re'aliun be- 
tween tlie intensity and ihe resiatnncerLimaios constant. 

M. Bertuelot read a paper " On the InjUence a/ Prfsmrt 
on 0u fi4)tiction Instween Cation and Ilydrogtu^^^ of which 
paper wo proj-oec to give a full report afterward.**. We intend 
to do tlie same with the paper read by MM, Schiit/etjberger 
and Nttudui, " On the Arftic Acid DcrivMivex of tht Carbo- 
Hifdt'aUji'^ \ wo therefore brit-'tly now .stale that, nccording to 
iheir researches, starch paste has to be considered aa aa nlco- 
hoi, since it can combine with acids and form definite com- 
pounds. 

M. DuoRtJNFAUT made some rnther unexpected stjitemesta 
in respect of the impurities of refined sugar, which will startle 
refiners m well aa consumers; the le«rned gtntleman has, 
however, made heauamp de hrniipour pen da beaogue, and haa 
entirely ignored the series of analyses of sugar made both by 
means of tlie iacdi'\rimi:tfr opliqui^ and by very carornlly 
executed and well-devised chemical methods by Professor 
Mulder, executed some years flgo^ which proved proiierly re- 
tiaed angiir, aa ordinarily met with in eonunrrco, to bo ulmoMt 
chemically purcj and^ after all, M. Dubrunfaut does not find 
anyihing wt^ree than about o'oi per cent of glucose, and a 
very small proportion of aah. 

In order to elucidate the history of niirificoilon, IL lIouZBKX! 
made a commtinicatiou in reference to hiaexperinienta ou the 
surface aoil of Ltjwer Kgypt and also uf the ialand of Noir- 
moutier. His reanlts oontinn Lavoisier's opinion, lh;4t nitrates 
are tli© priMhu-e of the slow combustion of certjuu organic 
aiib.Htances phiced under fnvouruble circnnifttances. 

M. Ft' A propi^aes, in order to prevent the accidents of gat 
explosions in cool. pita, to place along the roofs thereof plat- 
inum wire* rolled up in spir«l fonn, and to moke these red- 
hat by meaTis of an electric current, thus Ignite cottou wicks 
previously steeped in molten sulphur, and, nutreover. provided 
wiih a phewphorus match eompositiou, and to set firo, by 
this means, to tho gMS always pre^int in the pitfl It need 
hardly bo mentioned that Boussingnult v«'ry proptTly observed 
thereupon that, sine© the aocidenta of thi.H kind in cxiuKpitsare 
chiefly duf to sudden outbreaks of gns, and ef»peeinlly to a 
sudden variation ofBtmoflpI.eric pressure, this phui would not 
at all answer the purpose, the less bo oa, according to Combes, 
a velocity of the gas current, from 2*5 to 3 metres to tho 
second of tincie, renders the safety-lamps also inactive. 

M. KoiiiiNKR communicated that he has succeeded iti oIk 



[English Edition, Vol. XJZ,, ITo. 400, pages 176, 177 -, No. i89, paft* 19^1 



m^mty oj 



99, 



Jun-t. tfiC9« 



uiiting a bnxe which is bunit^ric wilti toluidine, hj bringing 
crysUlIifiCHi mofiobromaled u»luol into well-ct>olud str»ni(,f 
nitric uciU; he itius fir<st obtains mououltruted bromotoluiii, 
a siilphitr-yollow cuUniredi (luid. By tr&dtitig tbin Quid lirni 
witb tin afid liydrocliloric acid, and the resnh ot ihis r^ociiou 
next Willi tHKliutu-aiimlgain, tlie now toluidine U prt.xli«c**d ; 
thia,ia a culourless liquid, having about the ssimeapecilic gra- 
vity as WMtc-r, boiling at 198' C, and yielding, with ncida, 
well-detiiied salt*. 

MIL 1)K L\iRE and Girard mnde a brief communscalian 
conconiing the itjiiueneo of prosaure whou rtsaclious lake 
place in do**d vesselfl, such tw Healed tubes. Anioiig the 
results obtained by them we notice tl»it increase of pressure 
doe» not fiivinir the formalion ofdiphenylamind; that tDcr«u8e 
of lemperaturc, on the other hand, favours the production of 
that sut^Htu nee; white increase of pressure purulyseav so io 
apeak, tite good ioHuotice of teinperaiaro. 

MoudfTtj, AprU xith, i86gw 
TUE first paper reatl at thi^ mealing, was one on the " Stjn- \ 
thev's of a AVw BuiyU'n—tfte tZfhyl- Vinyi;' by M. Ad. Wurtz 

Thia aubftianco m;iy bo obtiunod by two entirely distinct 
methods ; eitlier by sulTering the iodides of the alt'ohol radi- 
Ciils to act upon sodlutti, or by making the alcoiioHc bromldeg 
ftoct U|K>n iiric otbyL By the ftrat nitihod, the author ob- 
tained melhyl-atlvl; by the second, U>o vinyl-ethyl haa been 
obtained. This is, at ordiT.ary ien»i>erature, a gus, but In- 
comes a liquid at — 5'0, Willi brotniiio. it forirtri u bromide, 
boiling al i6<i\ Si.ibnjUted to the action (►f hydriodic acid, 
nnd heated in a sealed tulK-, a liquid is obtained which is verj' 
similar to icHlide of butyl, boiling, a» the hitter docs, at \z\ . 
The apocillc gravity of this iodiie of ethyl-vinyl is i 634; it 
diir4:'r8 from the iodide ol butyl by its Ix'huviour with acetate 
of silver, in a^ntact with wfiioh tlio iodide of ethyl-vinyl is 
dectmpjsed, formiug an acetate, boiling al tio U. 

The auitkor dot's not, for the prcxcni, df,*if'e 10 eDt*?r into 
rtjrther detaila, which he reserves, after having more occu" 
rately studied the origin of this fiv>b!»lance. 

Moiliyl-allyl boilsi at about 15911, and haa, at 0*0^ a jq)C- 
clflc gravity of 1S299. 

The other papers read do uot belong to the doajaln of eci- 
ence«i treated iu our paper. 

We read, however, under the same heading as above, in 
Co6mo«, *?onr»et bin g which may fitni conveniently a place here. 
It apjiearB that ihe well-kdown Swiss »<iL'un/, De la Rivo, \a 
at present -at Paris, and engaged in studying the propagation 
of electricity in gas and niretied vapours. His assistant, Br. 
Sarrozin, bus noticed mme hitherto unknown phenomena of 
phoflphorescence. As srKm as pure oxygen is reduced to a 
pressure of only two millimetres or leas, it becomes exceed- 
ingly luminous tindor the influence of elecinciiy. No other 
kiiowu gas is po^gcs.sed of thi^ property. All compound 
gMses which contain oxygen beoonie ulso luminous, and roost 
flo the protoxide of nitrogen. The Doctor has found that the 
cntuo of ihLi |>ljosphoreseenco is due to the furniation of 
ozone, flirict» it docs not take place when, previous to pnasting 
lia electric current thrmigh tl>o ga«!, powdere^i mctidlic silver 
has been introduced into the spjico euulaiuing the gas, but 
the «iker beetitnes rapidly oxidised. 

Wliile engaged in studying tlie part winch sulphuric acid 
plays in ibeao phenofnenn, Dr. Samizin found that when a 
small quantity of this acid, which is considered non-volatile 
lie ordjtmry temperatures, was coullinod along with nitrogen 
jean, for Instance, in a gas Jiir, and an electric current passed 
through, a very intense luminosity wascaiised, notwrthsitRnd- 
Ing niirofien is not by itself rendered Itiminous under th»?se 
eondilioiis. The author found that iliere wnis dec'oinpos;iiion 
of sulphuric acid, with formalion of ozone, and that thephe- 
tiouteuH ceased when powdered silver was introduced. 

Monday, Ajfril 19 A, 18691 
Avcisa the larjTO munbcr of pai>ora read — somo ofwliidi 
do not iatoFcet as, being <&ither purely inaiheiDatical, aatro- 



nomI«jaV or lielongiug to applied meclianics — we moot, 
the tlr«t place, with u brief note frv.nii .VI. DoliAjJorte coucvrt*?] 
ing the commuaicationa made by Mil. Caillettt and Berllie-1 
lot, ou the p.'irt pressure plays upon so«ie chen»ic;xl pheuo-T 
roena ; sinoo that noto is, however, piu^ely Llujoretieul 
reasoniug, not supported by any exiierinwutii, and while it, 
luoreover, does not advance our real kuowletlge about this 
que.stiou at all, the rreaidcut thought it ought Dot to 
discuHseti. 

M. J. E. PETttKQUtJJ read a short paper " On the Cerumt 
conitxintii in tiw. JJuitutu Ear^ This substauc» Imd beeuj 
analysed by Vuu(iueliu, and also many years ago by Berae- 
lius; the recent reseanjhes of the author prove tlcit it e<»n*1 
taius about one-t»?nth of its weight of water; n tatty «ub-] 
stance mode up of oleiue and j^U^ariiie ; a pota&sa soap flolubJ< 
in water and alcohol, insoluble iu othor at the ordii 
temperature of Llie air; also another pctossa Roop.lnsotublo 
in alcohol, but Bolublo in water; lastly, an organic sub- 
stance ioaokible in water, ether, and alcohd, cantaiiung, 
moreover, lime, potassu, and soda. 

M, R.vB\ciiE proposed, instead ot expressing tlie equiva- 
lents of the elements a^ luulUples of the CfiuivahMit of hy- 
ilrof^jeu taken as unity, tlxat the figure should bo 0*25, al 
this would simplify ttie tables of equivalents. 

M. DtntAS observes Oiereou that tlxe e4|uiv;Ueut of pot 
giura is uot the multiple of 0*25, or |, but ol' i, aiid more- 
over states tiiat really there is no warrant for any .sucl 
change at all 

M. SottKT ootumunJoated that, after liaving road ProfesBol 
Tyudiiirs note *' On the Cloutis," he had felt inim?^! t< 
examine, by means of the polariacope, the beaolifully bln« 
colour exhilritiHt by many parts of the lake of Cteuevi, \w 
be stated that this colour w;i» duo to th© presence of soU\ 
particles iu the water and of the same specitic gr.ivity 
that fluid ; but he dot»a not say what these particles are noi 
what size or shapo they have, promiaitig, however, furthel 
Fosearolies. 

M. DUBUUNFvDT staled as the condiision ho has !)eei 
brought to by a series of researches ou supiersaturalLc 
solution, and juporfusion, that the molecidar constituttou 
dissolved Rul)istiinees is different from tliat whidi the £aaic 
subslanoe exhibits when crystoUised. 

M, Dumas performed, at tliia meeting, the following ex- 
periment iu onler to illustrate the paper " On the Action of 
Heat upon the Teroxido Salts of Iron,"^ hy IL IXbray : — 
In a large portion of distilled water aome fk-w dr '" ". 

n»(Urai solution of chloride of iron are ix>urt;d, ■ 
taken not to apply so much of the salt tJiut its c\_ 1 

all imparted to the water; on heating the liquid grwdualljr 
up to. and above, 70' C., it becomes perceptibly brown -co- 
loured. When that moment has arrived, the water no 
longer contains cldoride of injn, but instead a mixture of 
free hydrodiloric acid and free fieroxide of iron ; tlie Hjupi- 
dity of the fluid is not, however, at all intpaired. Iu or Ivr 
to prove Ihis, it is only requisite to pour inlo '*" '' * • 
solution of common salt, whereby the static oqu 
the liquid is disturbed and the oxide of iron pr 
When the experiment is made in sealed tubes, and the ha- 
ter heated to betweon 200 and 300° C, crystaJliDe oxide of 
iron is precipitated. 

MM. FttiKiJEL and Ladejojctro sent a paper on the pre- 
paration and ]»ro|}ertie8 of a compound which only diAers 
from oxalic acid by the substitution of ailiciam for the t-ir- 
bon of the acid just named. We intent to return to <1iis 
paper, and oUo to publish the interesting papers on the 
areometer of Baunif^, by M. Baudin, and that on Uie easenoc 
of sassafras, by M, Griroaui. 

ML Mauhesb coainiuuicate<l eome further researches 
made by him " On ifte Adion of Fotowiitm upon Ihikh Lujn'iK'* 
the result of which is that, when the motal is in cxorS, 
three gases are given off, but when the liiiiiid is in exct,^ 
OTdy one of these appears, while the two others remaiu ia 
solution. 

MM. CUAFELAS-COITLVlER-ORATIKRf E. HoBFBT« BUd TWt- 



tBagllMh Edition, VoL HZ., Ho. 4&9, pace lES; «o. 4S0,v*V ^^^\ 'So. to\, ^ti^* •tvV.\ 





"""lilJ'iMr^} I^Iuirinaeeutival Society. — Royal InMltiUitjn of Great Brikiiii. 



317 



jrESCUivT de;?cri1ml &i thiij meeting the brilliant aurora Loro- 
a.Ua 8t>oii at Piirig oa the uif,'ht of tha i5thJU3t., Trom a 
quarter p;iat niic until about uli.'veii o'clock ; tho plienorao- 
noti waa rtnuiarkiiUly dcvelopeii eoinplolely oocupi,ing the 
N-E, to thfe W.N.W. portion of tlio sky. It appears that 
not 0!iiy the very seusitive magnetic inatnuueuts at tho 
obatrrvntory, but even those at tlie tolcijraph stntiouSj were 
l»erofpubly dlsturboiL 



I 



PUARMACEDTJCAL SOCIETY. 

Wctlwada%j, April ytfi, 1869. 

G. W. SA.XDFORD, Esq., Prcmknt, in the Chair. 

Mtt. TlowAiro mado a r:-w romnrks with rtferetico to tho 
coltivafion of ciuchoiia iu India, dwelling' morn particularly 
on the iiec(?ssity of dlacriinmatiiig between the ombarraHS- 
ing number of vurieMos and spetnes now luidfr cuUivatjou, 
owing: to tlm great vuriatiou in tho amount of thetr 
rc3|K'i*tive yieldfi. In ro.>?pect to the cflHoLs of cidtiva- 
tion on Iho productiveness of tho bark, it nppenred tlxat 
the ciuohonine increased in greater proportion than tho 
quiniao. 

Dr Ked«*oot> road a paper \\\ wh;<^h he proposed that 
the question of lliQ oxjiediency of dinning our presoat 
syat^m of wpjffhis and menaures for the metric system 
shoiiM l>o diaeussQd. The abstract question itself" was, 
without doubt, aoccpted on nil pidoa : tho only objeclion 
to b*^ niiaod wag a quontioii of flie bnlniiee of udviinta^'es 
attendin|!T its tidoptiou aud the iiieouvcnieueca to bo en- 
couut^^refl in introdudug it. With the puV>lio it w^s only 
a quesliou of familinrity, and it was [jropost-d ^n many 
eidos lo prileh tJio old Byftt»:'ra rather than revolutionise and 
adopt a new system in its entirety. In deciding ag^ainst 
«uph patchwork, and in favour of the metric syfitem, eiitije 
di^S;»tisf:ictton with the old, or unqoidillcd approval of tiie 
now system was not expressed, it was somotinies lament- 
ed tliirt our measures were not aeourately <Jrr{Jned on srien- 
titlc principles, whereas it was aaaerl-ed tho standards of 
til© metric sys^tem were so defiaofl Ttits was an entirely 
erroneous assumption, and was only true of our By stem 
when the inch was said to be the measure of three barley- 
coma, the foot tlie longlh of a man's fot^t, &a The metro 
of the metric syatotn was not selected because it was the 
most useful measure, hut be&mse it was tho io-rail!iontb 
part of Q certain portion of the earth's surface. In basiu|i? 
the standard raeasuro of our system on the vibrations of a 
aeeonds i>enduluni, we htt\'e cot sought n unit of measure* 
ment, but Biraply to determine the lenprth of the inch from 
which all the old estahhsihed measuroa mi^rht be derived. 
Moreover, it had been found prefonihle to refer measures to 
■ OorefuIlT preserved artiflv'ial skuidard, so that the metric 
systeia docij not ovfQ it,s BUf>erioriiy to ita natural standard, 
but to the comf^tarabihly of ita diviaions, which enable it 
to be adopted uh an iuteraaiionril fiystem. The author 
also recommended tliat pharnjaeeuticid chemists should 
be iaipresaed with a defiuite notion of the integral parts 
the system, uot eiinply ticfjuainted with its priuciptes. 
moutioned a variety of plaua by which this object 
tOaXA be attained. Ho comsidyred that it would pToatly 
facilitate matters if the names now in use in France were 
anglicii^cd so ati to conform more to EntcUsh notions. 
Tho valuable opinions of the Alnster of the Mint wore also 
quoteti and discusaed by the author. Aa n partial measure. 
the total abolition of troy weights had recommended il*eir 
to Dr. Graham's mind; and Dr. Redwood inferred from the 
leral lone of his report that no swoepiug change could 

expected just now. 

After a slight discussion, iu which Dr. Altfiold, Mr. 
n-iaeldcu, and Mr. M. Carteighe took part, it was proposed 
and carrietl, that tho further discussion of tlio subject be 
at^ounied; and the Pre.'iident annoaneed an extraordinary 
meeting to b«r held for this purpo:je on Wednesday evening, 
May 6th. 



ROYAL INSTITUTION t>P GREAT BRITAIN. 
Ftidai/j March ^Ik, 1S69, 

'' On some furV^er He-sulls of Sjwtntm Analysis as applied 
to (/<« JImvirrUy Hodies:^ by WiLLlAM HdgQiKS, F.R.S. 
—Tho speaker commenced by aaymg tluiL four years ago 
he had the honour to give in the theiilre of the Ro^tU 
Institutiou an aix-onnt i»t' the results of an attempt to 
apply tho mclhod of aualyais by the prism, for which 
science is indebted to Kirchhoff, to the Ught of tho 
heiivtmly bodies. It wits the s[>faker'H purpose to describe, 
on the present occasion, some of the results which had 
been obtained iu his ohservatory sinoe Llie Spring of 1865. 
The peculiar suitability of spectrum analysis as a niodo 
of investigation of the bright object,'? in the heavens had 
Ixjen confirmed, not only by the gam of further informa- 
tion of tho chemical and physical conatitiition of some of 
these immeijsely di.-ttant bodies, but aJso by kuowledg? of 
another kind which this elegant and searching method of 
analysis had revealed to us. 

The speaker then described tho three typical forma 
under whidi all spectra may be cbsaod. and tho interprota- 
tioD which our present knowlodgo cuaWes us to give of 
these different spoctra when thy light ia emitted by Ixxlies 
rendered luminous by heat. The spectra of Huorescent aud 
phosphorescent bodies wore not to be described. 

1. A conUnuoiui irptctrum without dark or bngM lints 
shows, as a general rule, that the luminous source is in 
the solid or liquid state. In certain e.\ceptioual cases, 
however, a gas may give a spectrum which is appareutly 
continuous. Dr. Dalfour Stewart pointed out thai, aa 
gases and vapoura possess a power of general absorption, 
iu addition to the selective abaorx)tion pecuhur to each 
gas, a gas when luminous would emit light of all refmngi- 
bili'.ios, producing a continuous spectrum, iu addition to 
its spectnun of bright lines, and further that llio iutenaity 
of this c^juiiouous speeiruin would be in proportion to the 
opacity of the gas, Tlio researebea of Plijcker and Frank- 
land have shown that, under certain conditions of density 
and temperature, the bright hnes of hydrogen expand 
as to produce a spectrum which is apparently continuuus. 

2. A Jfpectnim 0/ Itright line's miAitAica thai the luminous 
body ta in the state of gna. Each gas aud vapour has its 
own set of lines. The lines may be greatly moditied, 
or even altogether changed, under different conditions of 
temperature aud density, as is well known in the case of 
nitrogen, the vapour uf sulphur, and some other aubstances; 
but throughout all theso changes, each gas behaves in a vraj 
peculiar to itself. There appears to be one exception to 
the statement that a spectrum of bright liuea is peculiar 
to luminous gna Bunsen found that when solid erbia ia 
hent«d to incaudesoeuco, the coulinuous spectrum coutaina 
bright bands. 

3. A continuous rrprftrum inttfrrupfrU htf {lurk lines 
informs m that the light has passed through vapours ut a 
lower iGitjperaiure than the source of light. As the kinds 
of light absorbed by each vapour correspond precisely 
with the set of briglit lines which that vapour emits wheu 
in the luminous state, it i^ possible to learn if llic vajtoura 
are those of any of the sulaatanceB with which we are ac- 
quainted. 

The speaker said that, following the arrangement adopted 
in the former discourse, tho must important recent information 
obtained of the jfixed starti results from the application of pris- 
matic analysis in a new direction. Under certain couditiona 
ihe spectrum of a luminous body is adapted to tell U8 whether 
that body i.^ moving towards or from the earth. The impor- 
tance of innjrdlkition on this point will L^ seen from the con- 
sideration that the proper motions of the stars represent that 
part only of their whole motion which is transverse to tho 
lino of sight; for any motion they might have iu the visual 
direclion, toward or from the earth, wnu'd uot c;iu«o any 
vtsiblo displacement of the star, and could not therefore h^ 
ascertained by the ordinary oiotboda of obeorvalioa. 



[E»sUah Edition. Vol. XIX., No 491, paga 211; No. 489, pages 186, 187.] 



31 8 J/anchesier Society.-rCJieiuical Noticed from Foreujti Sources, j ^")2JJ,SS»!*^'' 

As it is upon the length oflTje waves, or ujwn tlie number 
contained in tlie series that enters tlie eye, or ftill* ujjon the 
prtBto, in a second tltat a jnrJj^nuMit is ronnedi of Llie colour of 

\e liglit, or its place in ihe spectrutn is determiuthl, it follows 
Hint auy oirc'nmst*i»ce which would alter the length of the 
wnvea rdnlively to the observer^ or, in otlier words, c^iu^^o ft 
liirger Dumber of waves to enier the eye in ft second of litne, 
would cause a chaoge in the colour or rofruugibilitj of llie light 
ao far ns the observer In concerned. It is obvious that if the 
observer advauct?8 to meet the lighf. a longer scries of waves 
ftill npoii Iho reliaa in a second of lime, each wave apponra 
shorter, and he ascribes to the li^lit a higher refniiij^ibiliiy 
thjin be would do if he were not advancing to meet the lijfht. 
If he were receding: from the star, an ulterution of refrangi- 
btlity in I he opposite direction would take place. The Siime 
effect would ensue if the luminous source wore in motion. 
tiTliua, to a gwimnjer atiikiog out from the shore, each wave 

Ippoara phorter, and ho pasw^'fl a greater niimb€r of them in a 
given interval in proportion to his speed through the wiiter. 
IlhistfutioQS were given of this principle, which wns first 
sunrgeRted in 1S4T, by Poppler, by means of an nnrtlogous 
ohiinge of pilch in sound. Two tuninp-forka sounding in 
uni-on were mov«d rapidly towaitls and from the liudieuce, 
when bents were heiird, wiiieb told of a diflVreuce of pitch 
produced by the opposite tiiotione of ihe Turks. 

As ihere exisls beyond the visible spectrum, at both ends, 
a store of invisible waves, these w«»nid be ndvimced or do- 
graded into visibility, in proporiinn as the colours of the spec- 
trum were altered, wnd no churi^e of colour would bo per- 
ceived. It idi therefore essential, before we can apply this 
DittUiiNl to dL'ttct the radinl mottrju of the stars, tliat we know 
the ofipin»l refraogibility of aoiiio part of the li^hl at the 

niotnent il left the star, and also that we are able lo recognise 

this pnrticMjlur pnrt of the lij^ht again in the sp-eclrura of the 
star's lif;hl. When, by means of a group of dark or bright 
lines^ wo letira the prcsouco of a tfrrestriiil substance in the 
star, bf>th these eiitditions are fiilflUed. 

Of all tlio stars which the speaker had compared willi ter- 
restrial elements, when workioje with his diatin^ished friend 

Dr. W, A. Miller, Treas. U. S., Sirius, which contains four 

very slroni^ lines which are duo to hydrogen, appeared the 

most suitable for this iuvcstigalion. The apparatus employed, 

and the bjpjciuI precautions wiiich were tnkeii to ensure the 

perfect coincidence in his inatrumcDt of the steUar line with 

those of the substatice compared with it, were described by 

the speaker, who stated that, aiVer a prolonged compHrison, 

extending over many weeks, of the lino of bydrog:^^tl iti Siriira 

in ibe ^reen, at the place ofp in the f*olar ppectrotOt with tl»e 

lino of terrestrial hydrogen, he found thut the line in the star 

had undergone a shift in the spectrum equal to a diflVronce 

of wove length, which would corresjiond to a motion of 

recesAinn between the star and the earth of 41 miles per 

second. The speaker had obUiiued evidence from experiment 

that this shift was not due to unsymmetncal expnnsion of the 

line ia h3*drogeu aa tb© density is increased. The (freater 

width of this line Id Sirius than in the solar spectrum would 

fihuw lhi\t tlie hydi'Ogcn in Sirius, f hough at a prea.siire consi- 

dierably less than that of our aimc»phere at the surface* of the 

earth, is more dense than the hydro|i^en in the stdar atmoBphere 

by which the dark Ifue r is produced. This conclusion is in 

aceordunce with tbo presumably enormous mass of Sirius, 

as 8iigu;esttd by ita great intrinsic j?plendour. 

The earth at the time of observation was moving from 

8iriaa at about 1 1 mdes per second, which would leav* 30 

mile* as due to the stHT A furthiT corrt-cliou ia recjuired lor 

the solar motion in space, which is believed to be towards 

Hercultfii, with ft velocity of 4 or 5 miles per second. The 

whole ol this must therefore bo deducted, Icjyfing- about 26 

miles as the molion ofSlriu); from the earth in the line of 

sijfht. The true molion of the star would consist of this 

radii*l motion corapouuded with the transverse motion of from 

24 to 40 milei per second, which Is shown by its proper 

motion. 
The speaker then described a further examioatioa of the 



nebulrti (about fifty have been successfully observed) with A 
wore powerful spectroscope, which Cijntirma hia prerioua 
conclusion that these bodies consist mainly of thegft:»ej3 niiro- 
fren and hydrogen. He al'jo found that when the j*peotra of 
thw^e gaseri are made faint by the removal of the spark to ft 
distance, all the lines are extinguished, with the oxcepiioti of 
the one line in each spocirum which is found in the nebulie. 
If such an exiiuction takes placo in the case of the nebuhe. 
since they are objects of sensible size, it must be nitiibuted 
to u power of oxliaclioa of light existing iu oosmical 9|>ace, 

Observ;itioua of four comets liavo been made. A liirgo 
part of the light of these strange objects was found to be pe- 
culiar, and tlierefore emitted by the c»->metary matter. 
Brorsen's dmiet at its return in 1868, and a comet discovered 
by Winnecko, gave a spectrum oftliree bright banda. Tt»e 
sjtectrum of Winnecke's comet (comet II., 1S68) was found 
to be identical with the spectrum of carbon as it appears 
when Ihe Induclion spark is taken m olellant gaa, and m 
some other compound* of carbon. The spectrum of the comot 
was compared directly in the iustmroeDl with the spectrara 
of olethiut gas. 

The speaker then described some observations of the 9un. 
He found that while the solitr hues *re for the rooal part 
thickened when viewed in the light from the umbra of a sp>t, 
the lines c and r, due to hydrogen, did not appear to be altered. 
This observation is of interest in connection with the consti- 
tution of the sirAdT promuiences aa shown by the obst^rvuliona 
of the great eclipse of kst August. The speaker, nearly three 
years ago, at the same lime that he had independently made 
attempts to 3«e the prominences b^- means of the ajwclro- 
BCfipe, al»j> tried the method of lismg absorbing nu-diX by 
which the parts of the sspoctrum where the bright lines oecar 
might remain, while all tine rest of the spectrum was extin- 
guished. In this way the fuint prominenctfi would be ren- 
dered visible, in consequence of the much greater relative 
diminution of tlie intenaily of Iho illuminated screen of air, 
which, on ordinary occiisious, conceals them from view. 
Recently he had succeeded in viewing the outline of Oinae 
objects by means of a crjloured glii«m combined with a »p'*c- 
troscope with a wide alit. Ho expected to be nble to view 
these objects by means of coloured uiedia alone. 



1 



I 



MANCHESTER 



LlTKKAltY AND PHILOSOPEICAL 
SOCIKTY, 



Ordinary Mating, April 6<A, 1869. 

R W. BiNNiY, F.aS., F.G.a, Vtcc'President, in tha Chair. 

Db. Jon-E. F.R.S., gave an account of his endeavours to im- 
prove the instrument known as the tlip circle. 

A pnper was read 'On tht ChewicaJ formultt of Alivtrinc^*^ 
by EiovARD SciiUNCK, l*b. D.. F.R.S., *a (See page 193. 
Am. lif^r., Jitnt^ 1869. pfige, 300.) 



CHEMICAL NOTICES FROM FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 



Analf-ala of a Iffetcoriie ( Cttswo.?), known as the mete- 
orite of Wisconsin, U. S. Specific gravity, T^2: composi- 
tion in 100 parts:— Iron, 91 03; nickel, 7 20; cobalt, 0'53j 
phosphorus, 014; copper, a traws ; insoluble iu hydrochlo- 
ric add, 04 5, 

DreouipoKltlon of Alkaline Chlorldea,_-(j!/rwjfte«r 
Srindtp/ut, N"o. 295.)— .According t^J Ml^^J^^3. Kuontz and 
Jossiuet, Iho decomposition of nlkaline chlorides is readily 
and economically elfocted by the combined agency of heat 
and high-pressure superhcrtted sbenm; the uhloridoa are 
broufiht to fusion, and while in that state a jet of stoam, VA 
just described, is forced through the fused mass ; hydro- 
chloric acid ia formed logether with a caustic alkali, or if, 
at the same time, carbonic ucid is injecwd along with the 
atoam. the carbonate of the alkaU is formed. 



[EngUah rdlfloa, Vol. XIX, No. 489, pa^ra IW, Wft; 'Ro. AOi, ^*v^ MO, No. -IBB, pag© 17B.1 






CJiemioal Notices from Fotoiyti Sources. 



IBcdiirtton MTIilorlde o r Sll var,^ Zeiischr. f. Anal. \ 
ChetnA — Acconlin^ lo Grfi'jer, an aratnomacal solution of ' 
chloridG of silver is V017 coriipk-telv reduced by placiiig 
rticroin tolerably largo hiraps of zioc; tlio sfthitioti is bost ] 
placed in a wide-mouth od glass stoppered botilo, and tliia 
requires to be shaken frequemly; tliere ahoiild be zinc in 
eatcesa. When the Quid, on .1 drop thereof b<;ing tested, no 
loiigor yiclda n precipitate witli liydrochlorio acid, the opCT- 
alion is flmslird; the sMvtr 13 then separated by pouring 
the flujid off from (hf> epongy mass, and wiishlTurby dccoti- 
tation ; the pieces of zinc having been removed, the apongy 
silver is woshed vith pure strong hydrocliloric acid, aoU 
next with water. The silver thus obtained ia, accordiag to 
the author^ chemically pure. 
^On llio Acllon of Kn1|i]iure(tcil tI]r4lro£:en Cin« 
upon IkiJile of IrtMi aiitl llydrnted Oitlde of Irou. 
I —{Journ. f. Giiahthudittm'j^ 1S69, No. 2,) — M. E. Brcaciua, 

I at Praiikfurt-on-tlie Maine, baa instituted a aeries of long- 

continued experimeiita in reference to tlio alxjve subject 
and its special boarluf? upon tho illuminating gas purifying 
process, known as " Laroing's," when limo purifiers are ap- 
plied not simultnneoualy for the purpose. Aa result of the 
reaearcbeg and expedmcuts of Brescins we And — 1, Thut 
when sulphuretted hydrogen gas acts upon hydrpted oxide 
of iron at the ordinary teniperatare of tlio atmofipberCf there 
is forttied scsqui-aulphuret of iron, Fe^Si , aceording to the 
formula— Fe.O, + 3118= Fo,Ss + 3l(0. 2. Perfectly dry sul- 
phuretted hydrogen gas has do action whatever upon per- 
fectly dry oiidc of iron- The experiments are fiiOy describ- 
ed in a lengthy paper. 

N«fiv Prcparutlt>n of Dltliloiialo of Soda, Ao«— 

{Les MotnUs.) — On shaking nitrite of oxide of amyl with a 
eolntion of bi^ulpliite of soda, tlio dithionat^ is obtained in 
tbo form of a while crystalline mass. The niell.od for the 
preparation of hyponitric acid, by means of nitric acid and 
Brseuioui* acid, does not give a pure product If nitrite of 
oxide of arayl is treated with chlorhydric acid, hydrate of 
oiidc of amyl nnd chloride of ammonium are obtained j no 
amylsiaide can be found in tho products. By causing hy- 
ponitric acid to act on csscnco of gaultheria, nitro- and bim- 
trosalii-'ylate of oxide of methyl aro produced with a separa- 
tion of oxide of uttrogon. Kitroaopiperidine and nitroao 
diajthyliue, obtained by MM Th. Wertheiin and A. freather, 
must bo regarded as iiitro bases. These compounds are kinds 
of aiuides of nitric acid, and are obtained by a loss of wat^r 
in the corresponding nitrites. 

Preparntlou of Carbonic Add— (^eirw« H^*d, dk 
Cii/n.)^ Messrs. Rous8ea«i and Piodbcauf propose to obtain 
carbonic acid from sulphate of lime (plaster of Paris), by 
heating in retorts, arranged and made aa those iu use at gaa 
works, a mixture of the material alluded to and charcoal or 
et>ke. The decomposition which ensues is represented by 
SO,CaO + C,:=8Ca + aGO^. 

A Pecullarltfr eoDcernlng: Aiitbracltc. — {E^vm 
H>:hd. rft CJiitn.) — In the mountains near Aoata, Italy, an 
anthracite is fouud, which, on ii^ccount of containing too much 
iron pyrites, h:ia very littlo value as fuel. According to (he 
obaervaliotia of Deytes, this subatance has antiseptic proper- 
ties, and has been apphed to kill tnaects and as a jiuitable 
nuiQUfe to vineyards; lie also obaors'ed that, when given to 
pigs, at a doso of 20 grammes daily. U greatly aasLsts the 
fattening of them. 

Analj'slM of th« Sllmc and Mnd of the River Nile, 
bf i»I, A, llunzeau, — { t'onipt<i.f Jic/idi^^.) — One hundred 
parts of air-dried mud contain: — Water, driven off at lio' 
C. 770; chiy and snud, 6271 ; oxldb of iron, magneaia, and 
emoll quantity of phosphate of iron, 14 70; carbonates of 
Uroe and iron. 0"57 ; aluniina, 8-27; sulphate of hme, 056; 
organic matter and loss, 549; nitrogen in 100 parts, 00504. 
The author liaa also determined the composition of the water 
of the Nib?- during its periodical Hood, and has paid special 
uttunlion lo the quantity of nitric acid and ammonia; among 
(be curioaitic'S of the results ii, that tbo Nile carriea every 



I 
t 



^ 



weelc into the Mediterranean a qaantitj of 6,000,000 of kilo> 
gfammea of nrnmonla. 

PInorlne in tUe Brikln.— Professor IIor?ford, of 
Hurvuid ColJfgo, has tried to detect thiorhie in the human 
brain, he was induced to do ao by the fact that llourino ao fre- 
quently acoompauies phos?phonc acid iti itie mineral kingdom, 
and also on account of the largo proportion of pbosplioricacid 
foimd iu ihe train and nerves by Von Bibra and olhera. 
AAer luiving very eureJuUy ascertained that the reagents he 
was about to apply wore quite free from fhiorine, the learned 
])rofeKsor opomted upon a Eiunmn brain which had been long 
kept in spirits of wine, but which in consequence of neglect 
had, by the ovaporaliou of the liquor, become wnnkkd up 
and dry, A aeries of carefully made experiments proved un- 
doubtedly Ihtt existence of Ouoriue in the bruin. 

N'et** Seriwi -of Plntinitm CTontpouiid*.— f^'W^" 

d'trfi\s Annnleii, voL J36, part i., 1S69)— K. Schneider hos 
discovered a new series oT crystal tisable plaiinum compounds, 
wherein stannous oxide and stannic acid phiy an important 
purt. He first deacril)es a compound coutainlug 29"io per 
cent platinum, 57 05 per cent tin, ty^S P^"* ^e"^ oxj'gen. 
This is called by turn stannate of stiujnoua pfotoxido of pla- 
tinum. On treating this compound in the moiat state with 
on aqueous solution of an alkali, soda for inslaneeth© olKalna 
a compound coutainiag in ico parts — I'ktinuni, 50*0; liti, 
?9'3; 8(Hlium, 60; oxygen, 135; ihia ia NuPt>n,0», or 
staunale of protoxide of phitiuum and soda. Tho author 
furtlwr describes at very great length kalium platitHiiy- 
siilpho plutiiin-stantiaie, tliat ia to say a compound couiainiug 
in 100 parta Pt, 59*47, Sn, 11 "86, K, 776, S, 19*35, 0, 179, 
and also natrium plaiin-oxysulpho-plttlino-stannate, composed 
iu 100 porta of Ft, 61-41, Sn, 1202, Na, 473, S, 1966, 
0, I So. 

Reduction of OxldcM bf W^fil rot^en.^Pofjgt^idrfrjfM 
Annalen, vol. 136, part i., :869.)— M. W. Miiller has institut- 
ed a scries of experimetitg with the view to detennine 
precisely the temperature at which the oxides of meUds begin 
lo be reduced by tiydrogeu gas. He has experiuieoted with 
oxides of various metals prepared in various ways, and alao 
deiermiued tho eCeet of other gases, nitrogen, and aqueous 
vapour, upon the tenjpemture of incipient reduction. Oxide 
of iron prepared by cautiously heating metallic iron in contact 
with air wat found to get, reduced at 285' C; the aame oxide 
prepared from nil rate of irou was reduced at 286°; when 
rather moiat hydrogen was applied and the oxide of iron 
prepared from oxalate of the protoxide, the temperature of 
reduction was found lo be 27S'. Oxide of copper prefHired 
from the sulpliate of that metal and precipitated by caustic 
soda, and previously heated to joo", was found to become 
reduced at ijs"*; strongly iguiUad oxide of oopper became 
reduced at 1^2* on an average of five experiraeulsi oxide of 
cobalt becomes reduced at about 132°; oxide of xino could 
not be reduced at a temperature whereby gUtas became fused; 
oxide of tin. about 174" ; oxide of lead, at from 310" to 
31 15^ ; peroxide of mercury, 230** ; oxide of silver, at between 
73 and 7S*, The experiments have been extended to the 
chlorides and sulphides of some metals. Chloride of gold 
does not appear lo be acted upon beJow 200", but at a higher 
temperature an explosion took plncfj. The action with 
chloride of platinum was rather strong at 85°, and rather 
violent at 165°; reduction of the metal took place. Tho 
chlorides of silver and lead are not reduced below the boilrnj^ 
^voinl of mercurv, but require a red heat; sulphide of gold ia 
reduced at 200*, while sulphide of platinum ia reduced at 
the ordinary temperttlure, aulphurelted hydrogen gas boing 
formed in both cases. 

Quantlinllvo Bntlniallon of Tartaj'lc Aetd.— 
(P/iarm. Zcituhr. /. Mi,<"r., i86g, No. 1.)— Dr. Marttmaon, 
First Assistant in tlio Ghenjical Laboratory of l!»e Pharroa* 
ceuttcal Institute of Dorpat, Rasala, has made a aeries of 
experiments, with the view to obtain a tru.stworthy and 
readily executed method of quantitative estimation oftartario 
acid. After flrat ascertaining by n aeriea of experiments thai 



[SagUih EdtUon, 7ol XIX., No> 468, pagM 178„ 17».] 



3 20 



Chemical 2^afict'i< 




gn So'iircee. 






MKins 



tarirRl« of lime Is Icaa soluble in water llian is (M>mnio»ily re- 
ported ill books ilu^ iHfeccrtniiu^J tliat i part of the alnrej'nid 
salt requires jil »8^ I'. 2388-16 porta of water for cimiplele 
scjIiKiom), he diBCovtreii iTie almost compifio iusoIubiUiy of 
the tartrate of lime in aicohol of 85 per cent atrtMigih. In 
order to estiimftie the tiirtaric acid in tartnit-o of potash, for 
iuatmice, Iht- sail is dh.-d at 100' C, di«j?-olved iti n mwU 
qi|ji(»tity of df.-itille*! wat^r, next pure chloiide of calcium j 
solution is added, witli tho precaution to avoid fcxct'ss il>ere- 
of, afterwftrda a few drops of limo-wnier ore «iJde<l, hihI tlie 
porceluD ciijiaulc wherein this opcTJition is per for mod la Idt 
Btanding for sora« hours. A erysUilIine preciptiute is iIhih 
oblnined^ it is collected on a fili-er previous y dried at 100'' 
«nd weighed^ the supernatant fluid is first prvurtd upr»u the 
filler*, then tho precipitate ia collected and w»i»bvd wiili 
strong alcohol, the pri?dpitate and filter are thoroughly dried 
tkt lOQ^ Uie precipilalo ii« wetghL«d a^— 

2CaO,CBH«Oi« + 8HO. 
It 13 of importance to take ciire to use n porcelain bfipin 
the glare of which is quite free from cracks, oth«.Tui:ie the 
preeipitato has a strong tendency to adhere to such por- 
tions of the basin. AVIicn either hydrocbloric or lo'tric 
acids arc present along witii tartaric, the fluid is first nearly 
neulraliyed with pure C4irbonotti of litne, and warmed to 
expel ciirbonlc Jicii while tho last traces «'f add ore removed 
with liiiKv water, Tlio prencncc of either chloride of ainuio- 
Mtura or chloride of calcium in excess interferes vrHh tho 
correctnesa of the results nnd makes it neeesfiary to add 
iilcoliol to the fiqnid to be operated upon. Results are ao 
curate wlien proj>er care is tiikeu. 

D<>fcrtloti or Kulpliur by uieann of PotitiiKiluni or 
aoaium^—yZot^chr. J. AunL C/icm., 1869.1— Br. 8ehonn, ut 
Stettin^ recwujmends tho u^o of either of these two metals ' 
fjr a3ei?rt;iiuin|j: the pref?eDee of sulphur in osiiliscd or non- 
oxidiacd state in inorganic compounds; a rmall quantity of 
tho sijbstatice to Ik.> tested for sulphur is pulverised and 
placed in a dry test tube, a small piece of potafiyium or 
sodium 19 then addod, and upon it a small quanttty of the 
powdered aubstance which is to be tested is agtiin pbced id 
the test tube; bout i^ applied, reduction lukca place, flud 
Bulphlde of the raetal ii formed. The lest tube, after cool- 
Id}?, havinp: been broken, its oontt-nt* are placed in & small 
quantity of water rendered acid by a few drops of sulphuric 
acid; pnlphuretted hydrogen is erolved. If the (luantity 
of sulphide formed id likely to bo very small, nitropru.s.'*ide 
of sodium should be used as a teat. L'or© should be token 
that only small quantities of substance are operated upon 
in this manner, especially since substances us rcalj^ar, orpi- 
inent, and others containing sulphur and arsenic, at the 
samo time, violently explode and detonate when ignited 
iwitb the above-named metals. 

Por Delecting: Sulpliiir In Oreaufc SubMancen, 
enpcrlHlIy of Aiilimil Origin.— (^e<i>c/ir./ A/i'tL tV/. m , 
1869.) — The same process m uvailuble. Hair ami feathcra, 
nnd dry skin and naila, may be at once submitted to igrji- 
tion with the metal. Whit© of egg, etuulsin, salivu, and 
luuscle, shauld firHt be calcined on a piece of platinum, and 
the tinimal ehwrcoal ao obtained be ij^'dted olouj? witJi po- 
tassium or eodiiim. In most cases of this kind, iiitro-pnia- 
pMe of sodium will be required to make the presence of 
sulphur absolutely evident 

Detection of Phoiipliorn* by tueann of ilfasnc* 

mltttn. ~{X(iL^chr. /. Anal. Vhnn , 1S69.)— [Jr. Sclu-nn, at 
Stettin, fotiud Unit when previously well-dried (previous ig- 
nition is oftcQ required) inorganic combinations of phos- 
phorus and phosJphatts, even if they are mixed with sul- 
phates, are ignitod in pulverised state in a lest tube with 
small quantities, say from 5 niilligrammes to i'5 ctuliirram- 
inea of ma'(j;neHium wire, rib)>on» or better still, pure niap- 
nesinm in powder, there is formed pJio^phide of matrnesium. 
Alter cooling', the fused mass, on bcinjf nioistened with 
water, will dinengago phosphurettcd hydrogen gas, w-hicl% 
ift miiity iosiunces, will be I'ouud to be the spouiaceouBly 



iuHammable variety of that compound. Phofphonis tnur 
be detected in the same way in or^Muic siibbtitnees; as, for 
iiist,"an'e, brains, mnscle, Ac ; but those should bo pre- 
viously calcined^ and the dry animal chtircoal so oblaiacd 
submitted to the experiment. 

DeC«otlon ofOzonc fntlie AtmoHphcrc— (Zet&trAr/ 
Anal Chtriu, 181J9.)— Dr. Van Huiztiipa has mado a st-nca 
of cxperitncuta to compare Iho relative value of ntixcd 
iodide oi" potassium and starch, and of protoxide of tballiuin, 
for the detection of ozone in the atmosphere. Ho comes lo 
the conclusion that neither of these two reagents are quit© 
so reliable in all respects as ia desirable, but tlie latt^^r de- 
Bervea prefcreuco, A series of comparative experimeuis 
were made by the author and Dr. Van Stcr; the ionoer 
being on the island of Texel, tho latter at the Helder. and 
exerimouting witJi paper prepared with iodide of potassium 
and starch. The thnlli^ira pai>er was uupregnaUd with ft 
preparation obtained by preripitating the suliihutc of thal- 
lium with baryta water. The paper coniatued, for every 
square c»Tiiitimetro surface, about 1 niilli^ramme of protoxide. 
It Is well known that protoxide of thallium is dianged hy 
ozoue into the brown oriile of that metal 

Dctcctlou of Flcroloxln In Boer.— (ZTr^rA, /. Anal 
(?ftcw.)— Kidder's methoil for ihu detection of picrotoxin, 
the active and poiaorioua principle of cocculua indicus, la 
based upon tlie fact, th.at when ammonia is present, acrt;»t© 
of lead precipitates sm insoluble mutter from beer, such sub- 
atiinee^ aa dextrin, gum^ glucose, wiiile the picroloxiD, 
which is not thus precipitiible. cun be removed by means of 
ether from an acidided fluid. The l:>eer to be t^^sted is first 
mixed with ammonia until it is dit;tinctly aikaline, the en- 
suing precipitate of phosphates is allowed to settle, and 
after the fluid has become clear, a boiling hot and con^c- 
trat'd solution of acetate of lead is cautiou&ly added m? long 
as a predpitaio ensues; excess of lead solution should he 
avoided. The prcdpiUite so obtained should be colU-cted 
onalilteraud wu?ihed with hiH alcohol for a short time; 
from tho filtrate, the lead is reuioved by mcuus of Sttl- 
phuretted hydrogen gns. tlio suljdiide of lead removed by 
flltratiou, and tlio fl trate evaporated on a water-bath to tbo 
consisL4 nee of a synip ; the fluid obtained is troatcd with 
etlier, the latter separated from llio aqueous residue, aud 
the ether removed by evaponitiou. Picrotoxin reduces the 
oxide of copiwr lo protoxide, is soluble in sulphuric add* 
exhibilluK a saHVon yellow coloured fluid. \\ heu bichro- 
mate of potash ia added to the sulphuric add solution, a 
violet colouration ensues, which ends b^ bccfjiiiing bright; 
green. If the beer cont^iins strychnia eimultancouply with 
picrotoxin. or extract of cocculus indicus, the strychnia re- 
mains behind in the syrupy lluid whidi remains after tho 
ether is separutod therefrom by means of a stopijered funnel. 

IVIolybdIo Aild a Te»i for Morphia — {Zeiftrhr. /. 
Anal, ('h'yiv., 1869). — M. Ainu n bna thoroughly tested tho 
value of Kri'hde'a lest for mnri>] da— sulphuric aeid which i» 
contaminate with, or contains molybdic add, puriiosely 
added. A beautiful pnrplo tint Is produced when &iich acid 
is broxjght into contact h ith either pure morphia or its salta. 

f$ol[il»inty of Mllfo-fliiorlde of Potaaiiium in Dl« 
lule Ilydroeliloric Acid. — {Z^itchr. /. AmiL Ch^m , 
i8<3(^) — ^iiif.,:. hydro-flaosilidc add isaomctimes re-sorted to in 
the quantitativo estimation of pot.ash, it should be borne in 
iiiiiid that, even though aI<X3hol be used to increase the io- 
solubility of the silico-Huoridc of potassium, F. Ton Stolber 
has obsprved that i part of this salt is disaolvod by 409 parts 
of weak hydK>chkiric aeid, cr ntaining rS per rent real] 
acid ; wdiile the stronger the acid becomes, the greater 
tho solubility, even at a temperature of 14" C. 

ISbuDltlou of 'fXnteT*—{2*ogger<dorjr'' Anmhn.)—ln^ 
rcfei-enco to tho wdl-estubliahed fact that water, lil'tor Imving 
Vieen deprived of air as mu'-h as possible, either doo? not 
boil at all when heated, or does so with violent sudden starts'] 
aid concusFiona, some experiments have beeq njade 
Krcmora, who observed tbat^ iu order to uasist in expolU 



fEngU«Ji Edition, Vol, XIX., TSo. iae, V*%«» ^'^^s 180,] 



CviMJOiL XCTTS, 7 



Chemical Notices from Forehjn Sources. 




[|»ir from water, tbo atlilition of ppirit of wine, in the pro- 
>rUou of one jinrt of tLo luttor lo tliree of the former, is ' 

Jtery useful He t^auliuas uguiuiSi a diiuper wl»jch exists 
rhen such a mixture 1h IjentoU too rapiUly, sinoo it ta very 
ipt to boil over, ei*pccially aittT a portion of tlie .spirit has ' 
&v«porated. It is r;»ther curious thul, tliongh both the j 
ktor and 5pirit of wino employed were pure^ tlio mixture, i 

[iVhen boiliug, sbould aBsumo a j^rotDJ^h yellow hue, which j 

tfiiaiiplHjars ajidu on cooling; the boiling point of the fluid 

'ensily bucouies ua high i\a icn^'. As a rt{"iilt of a large 
nnmbv'r of experiments, tlie author finds that water, as ' 
fully deprived of air aa poasiblt?, oiay l*e iiealed as high ttS • 

illrom I So 10 200' C , witljout b:>ilLi^p permonently. 

Eleiiiciitai'y Oreantc Aiialy^lji. — {Zeiitichr. /. Anal. , 

'^Cfiem.) — Messrs, Steru and C":dbcrla reoomnicnd the use of 

[pure raetallie silver instead of copper-tnniings in the elernon- 
iry orji^nnie analysis when, uilro^en lK?inij present in the [ 

^fubstnnoe subnutled to combustion, pure, elwin n>etaUie cofi- | 
sr-turning^s are, as is well known, pboed in the front end 

[©f the combustion tube in ordi-r to ruduce any binoxido of 

•iiitrop;ori which may be formed The authors prefer sdver 
on acrounl ot the non-necessity for reduciug this metal a^^ain 
by means of li^rdrogen after the combustion is ended. Sil- 
ver, ncconlin^,'' to their rcfioarchcfl, answors all the purpoaei 

•of Copp<^r admirably weJL 

TfHtltis; Opium. — (Ztitschr. f. Anal CA-^rrt.)— Profossor 
Sdiiieider h;i? proposed in the 6th revis'ed edition of the 
PhariitarnptBin Au^trim^, the following method for teatin;^ 
tlic poo«inet?f of opium. Ten grammea of pn.viously dried 
and powdered opiurn is treated with a mixture of 150 

Igrammes of distilled water, to which 20 graramua of pure 
prydroelilorie add. sp. yr^. viz, is added; the residue, after 
^tiot^, should not exceed 4*5 grammes weight- to the 
fluid 20 gnimmea of common salt are added, and the 
prccjpitute thereby caused is eotlectod, after 24 hours, on 
tUtcr, 6iid tlio liiitor washed with a solution of common fiiilt; 
to thy liltnito, ammonia is added, and the fluid left et-anding 
ajK'ain for 24 hours ; the cryatala whicli have !»eparatod are 

tcollcetcd, rc-£Ji,ssijlv«d in acetic acid, and precipitated with 
aianioniu ; the prodpi'ate ao obtained is washed, dried, and 
weighed; its weight should not hb less thau i gramme. 

T*i\niA,—^Cmfipt(s Rendw, 1869, No. 10.)— M. A. Bosen- 
Btlehl hna roudo a «eric.9 of experiments with tho view tx) 
eolve tho queation whether the toluol we are ocqmuiited 
■with is a mixture of two isomeric hydrocarbons, which 
Ahonld yield two toluidiaes, or whether toluol ia a peculiar 
principle which on being acted upon by uitric acid is cou- 
Terted into two ililTerent nttro-e»im pounds. From soven 
Bamiile» of toluol prepared by as niftiiy difTerent proc.^sEwi?, 
the uutlior haa obtained theaarae rog'ult^ to wit, a crystal- 
1 sod nitrotohiol, corresponding to toluidine, and another 
liquid — nitro-tjjhiol— corrf'gpoijding to the pgoudo-toluidino. 
By the reduction of iL'vers nitro-toluols, prepared by vurious 
mothod.^, the author obtained a large quantity of nikuloids 
which hive been pubraitted toanalyaie; he fourjd aUo (i) 
there are alway.* two nitro-toluols formed, whii-h, by reduc- 
tion, yttdd two tohiidiues ; (2) the proportion of tho two 
nitrosubstniices is not confiuuitly the same ; he never ob- 
t»ined more than 66 per cent and never leas than 33 per 
cent of toluidiue from 100 parts of erystuHised nitro toluol. 

AMlflclnl ^u1p]iac« »r Barjrtn. — {Ris/on Jourml of 
Chemijstry.) — This, applied to glass by means of siiJcat© of 
potash, imparts to it a milk-whito colour of great beauty ; in a 
few day!i tho wlica is intimately combined with it, und tho 
colour resist:) washing with wiirm water. By the action of 
strong heat, tins silit^oua vnrui-sh is transformed into a 
white enam.:^l. Blue ultra miiriuc> oxide of chi-oi^ium, mid 
pulverised oolour^^-d ena(Deld may bo likewise applied. 

ISmtlmalton of Carbon at cm In ^Vu^tcr.—^Z'itscfir, /. 
Anai. C/trin., tSGcf ) — CMievabH t^sLimutfs the entire qunntilyof 
corbonntes in wiitT by talking 200 c.c, liltering tlmi qunnJi- 
ly, and, afier ad<lirig to it 05 gramme of chlurido of umm*^- 
I lUaai, disliilitig, t« ing car9 to collect the first loo c c. wh h 




come over iu ro c.c. of very dilute S'dpliuiic acid. He next 
eHtiuiul*»B acidiniettically, Unj sulphuric acitl wliffh b;i8 not 
beeuuu" cond>ined with ammouia. Accoidiiig lo tliis melluKl 
he tuuud the solubdUy of cdrtionatL* ol lime lo be 0*034 
gratjuucr and that ot CMit)oMute of m:igti4»Hin to be o jo6 
graunme to the luroof wnlor. These ri'Siilla agree wilh those 
obtained by Dr. liorumnn and Al. C WeltrJen, 

Action or SaliiiQ Solutions npun mtneral».^ 

{ZrU-schr. /, AntiL Clc^in., (8(59) — In niiior to tlud ujutlnKUof 
immetliale analyf^ia, Mr. Fevreii has studied the ttiumllsintwiia 
nction, especially of amtnoniacal salts and heat, upon a deriea 
of native cnrbuiintes. Tho^e of baryia, struuli!!, tutd Imte are 
readily and completely acted npoti, ei«pi'ciji]|y it the acid of 
tf»e ammoniiical anil expcrimetitt'd vviih Cornis In water n 
rendtly soluble corabinaHon with the cjulwn .1 te. Native ear- 
bonule of mBgUfsia Ib rotidrly acted upon by all ammoniucnl 
sails; ao ia also llie native carbonate of prui«ix«de of manga- 
ncise; nllbough less readily, still very unmLstukably, carbfinata 
ul protoxide of iron ia acted upon; with the nuiive car- 
bonnles of zinc, lead, and cv>pper, the ajimo was objserved. 

Atomic H'clglator I^aiitlianiim — (^rV^^^A;-. / Annl. 

ChertK, 1869 ) — Sitice the di/tcrniinaliim of the atomic weight 
of this element ha.s only bei-n derived from llie sulpliateof 
bapytJi ohtiiined from sulphale of lanthanum, and siuct;^ it has 
been found iliat this motho^l is incf>rTi;ct,in consequence of there 
beinrj carried down, with the gul}ihat« ot biryUi, undeeomiio,wd 
sulptinteof lanttiaTium. Dr. W. fjasselmaroi baa e*ti(nated tJie 
correct quantity of «ulplmne acid wliich coinbincH vyjih oxide 
of laiJihHLum, by meuuHof JgniLion. FroTn a long aeries of 
wvertil experimentj*, which agreed, he has dt-ducted the 
uioinic weight of hmilmuum to be 45, and that of its oxide 53. 

Te«f in«; Cliieliona DarIc.-(^, /^r;«r. / Anal Chrm., 
iS6g.) — Twenty jj:ramnif s of ipiina regia, or rubra, nud 50 
grammes of qulnn fuseu are reduced lo powder and iniimale- 
ly mixed niih oue-tburlh of tht-ir weiglil of bydriite of lime i 
(his mixture ia next plncvd in leu times il.s weight of boiling 
alcojjol of 90 per cent Blrength* fitteied, nnd tlio residue 
wanhed with bfulitig alcohol. The alcoholic solution isaeidiUed 
with acotte Mcid. next the alcohol ia removed hy distillation, 
the residue evaporated to dryness on a Witer-bath, re-dift' 
solved in wafer containing acetic acid, again fihered, again 
e^apnratt^d to u smnll bulk, und treated with hydraieof lima. 
The ensuing precfpitalo is washed with a snmll quaniily of 
water, thy re.sdue dried, next treated with boiling nlcoho!^ 
i\m sohiticm au;uiu evaporated to dryncM**, and the reaidmi 
weigh'.'d. Tlt3 weight to bo obtained from tho abKjvetiamed 
quantities should not be less, fur quina rubra, iliun 5 of » 
gramme, for quina ri^gia and funca not less than \ a graunno, 
provided tho barks be of good quality and the operuttous con- 
ducted vi\l\\. prffiper care. 

Action or Air upon ITyiioplioAphorotiJi Aeld*~ 

{Bat Mn. d' In S>*r.(.-him. de /\im. 1S69, No. 2.) — Aocutd- 
inj; to the late (r. Kose's views, hypnphoRp<ioroiia ueid doeM nol 
abwrb ihti nxygeu from the air, while, iice<>rding loWtiriifi, 
hypoptmBphites are slowly converted into pinjj^plates. i'r, l^ 
kammelHljergt in order to settle this point, neiilruiifted aouio 
hypophosphorou.s aeid which had been (or a long tiuje ex- 
posed to air, wilh carbonate of lime; on testing the Ssdt h^ 
til ua obtained, he found it gave reaction* due lo pho9ph<»rou9 
acid — consequently hyp»i*hoflphorous aeid cbuiigcs, by the 
action of air, into phosphorous acid. 

Oit the CoiiipoBlUon of Hjdrati^d Su)|»lild« of 
Zluf.— (£!«y. AlttK dr la i>''ic, Chftn. dt J'nrvi, iJiOy. No. 2,)— 
It appears?, from diflferent rosoarches, that the hydrated sul- 
phide of Kinc does not always pof»ejss the same pliysical 
properties', and also varies iu respect of the water it relama, 
i»ven nfier drying. According to recent researelies made by 
M. A. Sfjuchuy. tne snlpliidc obtained by precipitating u solu- 
tion of sulphate of zinc With sulphide of aminouium retains, 
even aflcr haviiig[ been kept for s.jveral months over sulphnrto 
acid, II 37 per cent of wuter, whicli ct>rresp<>nda to the funnu- 
I lft3ZnS,2'IO; dried at 100' C, it retains 735 per cent of 
water, eorrespoadiug approxunalely wiili the lormula iZnH, 



[EngUth Edition, Vol. SIX , Ko 488, pftget 180, 173, 174 ; No, 489, paeo t9(r 1 



322 



Clittnuxu Xotwesfrom Foreign Sources. 



{ CtantiCAt. Nr»», 
\ «/»A«, 1660. . 



nO; driod at 150' C, it retaios 4 86 per cerit of water — ror- 
muln, 5ZriS,nO. 

Prcparntion of SponicT Oxide oT riironilnm.— 

{Dhl. Mm. th; (a ^\k\ tliirn. r/e /Air^.v, 1S69, No. 2 ) — lV»t>|ji;fr 
recomraerida. for iliis purpose, to act fire to h mixture of i yaxl 
of picric ncid and 2 pnrtsof biclrroiiiateof mnntoQia. 

Preparation of PertbcUy Purr Osye^n 0«t*— (J9u/. 
Jfm. (/« fa Svc. Chim. >h P<iTi% 1869 No. 2.) — Bolt^iT re- 
commends, for this pui-pose, to liewt permnr)|r«uaie of ixjiash ; 
it 13 true lliiit tins mil otily yields fiUout 10 per et'tit of ox vg»'n, 
but it i* perfectly free rroon clilorine, fla wtll ag from ozone. 
There reniains, as residue, n mixture of niongatinte of pouisli 
and oxide of muugaiiese, readily re-eoiivcrlible iulo pcrnuiii' 
gannte. 

Ai'lton of II eat onSalphatcof Stroutla,— (J^/L J/f/L. 
de la Soc, Chitu, fie Paris, iS6g. No. 2 ) — M. Darritstadt ca'ls 
attetition to the HiCt that sulpliate of jiiroiiliQ obLHJtied 
by double decom position loi^ea sulphunc acid when it is 
6tronKly ipiiiied ; moistened t\ga'm wiili dilute stdpliuric »cid, 
it regaios its primitive woiglit afier ignition over a Buoaen 
burner. Boussinj^Hult proved years hj^o that all rhe!tu]|iliatoij 
of the nlkaline eurlhs lose sulphuric acid when strongly ignited. 

On the Preparation of Zfnc-Dlhjl.— f^^/. Meiu d*la 
Soe, CUtni. dn Paris, 1S69, No. 2 )— M, U. Wichelliaus haa 
foqnd that the conrsely powdered zinc, obtained by pfiMing 
«it^c fllitigs through a sieve, acts directly upon the icnlide of 
et!»yl, without the necestjity of hEviiip tlio zinc alloyed with so- 
dium. TUe rcBClion readily tok^H place when the apparatus 
contiiiniug the mixture ia plaovd in a water-bath ; the apparatus 
should be provided with a lube contftinittjif irie'rciiry, in order 
to increajae the preaiure ; the reaciioti is finished in two or three 
lioura. The reault is satisfactory, and y idda froii) So to 90 per 
cent of the theoretically n quired quantity. 

CottipoHillon of Suijar-Senm.— (i?H/. }ff„, ^^ i^ Sor. 
Chim. di Parts, 1S69, No. 2,) — ^'Ihis marerial. whicli is used 
83 manure, is obtained in thai portion of the supar relininp 
flnd sugar extrnclion proceas called df/f^cntum. The reeulta 
of the analj'jiia here quoted are given by M. R4jiis.Hille :— Or- 
^nic matter, 3351 ; carbonic acid, [037 j gilica and soluble 
silitiHtea, 3*42 ; soluble silica, 090 ; oxid«a '*f iron and ahiininn, 
1*37: phuMplioric acid, 0-46 ; hine, 4140; potassii and ?oda, 
004; chlorine, 002 ; aulphuric acid, ooj; water, 727 ; los.fl, 
121 ; total, loo'oo ; nitrogen, 0446. It is rdtnojut unneces- 
sary to observe that th>e composition of l\n& material will 
of nej-eaeiLy vary in many ai«pecta. 

Itcii«*nrr1k«w foncernlns: BiiNnifiic Modena Vlne- 

icar*— (/{«i. dr; U ,Sof\ C/ti>/K, 1869. ^o. 2)— Fui]f*io 
Seslini lia» made some reaearches concerning this substance, 
very little, if at all known, or used, in more rect^'ut limes j all 
the samples, five in iiumt>er, submitted to ans^lvhig were more 
Ihsn 100 years old. The tlnid.i are dark cohiured, exhibit 
an aromatic odour, poHsesa a pleasant acid taste, are rather 
thickish. wyrup-Uke, but miwible with water without becom- 
ing turbid; mixed with aleoho!, however. « dark-coloured 
jjrecipilate enauoA. Tlie specific gravity of lhe«o (luida varied 
from I 1931 to I"3I77; the quantity of wuter from 42647 to 
62 270 percejit; the quantity of rnontt-hydrated acetic acid 
from 7051 to lO'Oii per cent; Hxed acid was preaent at 
fr<:»m 0767 lo i 925 percent; ultnin-Uke niatti-r was found 
nt from 2-072 to 5 531 ; other fl.Kwl non -volatile organic mat- 
ter occurred at frum i8'464 to 44*447 per cent; anil, at from 
0'952 to 1290 per cent. It is rather curious, that, among the 
aubalances fotiod by the nuihnr in these Uujdsj glucic and 
apoglucio acids have been met with. 

Readlljr Inflaintnable Llqnld mi:jttnrc,—(^Co8tnos, 
April 10, tS6q) — Professor Xickli^cidlR attention to the facts 
that when the chloride of sulphur of cornmerco m mixed with 
Bulphideof carbon, wherein phojtphorua has been previously 
di.ssolved, a fluid is formed, which. Ihuugh emitting fumes 
when in contact willi air. ia harmleas, and may be for any 



length of time kept in well-stoppered bottles ; on addition of 
liquid aminonia,, however, or on pagsinp into thia liqui<l » few 
bubbles of ammonia gas, a most inteni<e cttmbuatiou at once 
ensues. This is due to the fact that the ammonia seizes upon 
the chloride of Hulphur, forming chloride of ammonium, wher©-^ 
by »o much heal is set free as to cjjuae the combuation of tb» 
sulphide of carbon and phoHpliorus diiwolved in it. 

On Some IVoleeiilar roniMnallon* of Piienol, 

— {Bid, de ia il^of, <7**//,., 1S69, No. 2,) — TrofesBorJ, Romei 
has repeated some erperimenta suggested to his miud bj 
some made by Dr. C. Cidvert on thla sume subject, in order 
fco test whether Gerhardl's view of phenol, or that of the 
former gcntlomnii, were correct ; tlie question 1)eing whether 
the curabinatious of phentd with boHCS are true suit*, or 
8imply inoleeuliir juxtapositloria of matter. Troffsssor 
ilomci has concluded, from his experiments, that Dr. Cal- 
vert's view is correct -that is to say. that tlic combinations 
of phenol with bases is a simple molecular juxtai>ot*itioa, 
and not an atomic compouud. Phenato of pot-assa may be 
made either by mixing together alcoholic <»oIutioQS of phenol 
and hydrate of potasaa, and evaporating until crysuUa nr© 
formed, or by fusing together phenol and potassa ; in both 
instances a crystalline mass is obtained wbicli absorbs rnoia* 
,i.ne from the air, beeomeB gradually yellow and lastly 
brown, is soluble in water and alcohol, somewhat soluble 
in ether containiug water, but almost entirely inaolublc in 
anbydroua other. As average result of four analyses, tho 
following figures were obtained for 100 parts: — Pheool, 
56-60; hydrated potassa, 31-30; water, 1 2 00— this ia rep- 
resented by llic forinulu, CflHvO.KllO. Phenate of oxide j 
of copper ia obtainod by double decorapositioo, by pouritig; 
a solution of sulphate of copper into a solution of phenato 
of potaiisa. Tlie phenate thus obtained is dried over sul-i 
phuric acid ; it is a green powder, soluble in acida andj 
readily docnmposed by heat ; its oumpoiiition \b exhibit 
by- 

2(C«HoO).3^CuOHaO,). 

TtcontahiB 55"SS per cent of oxide of copper; thowntorofc 
binntioD cannot be removed by heot. or otherwise, withoul 
decomposing the Sidt. Phenate of oxide ot mercury, alsaj 
obtained by double deeompogiiion and drying over sulphuric 
acid, yields a comptiund containing 6<)-33 per cent of oxid^ 
of mercury — formula, Coll«vO,ngOiHs. Phenate of quininoj 
is prepared, by double decomposition, from ^72 i«rts of 
sulphate of quinine and 3 parts of phenate of ptjtassft, 
both in aliu)holk' solution After twenty-four hours sUiud- 
ing, the sulphate of potassa is removed by iiltratioD. and 
the filtrate evaporated at a vory gentle heat ; very beauti- 
ful crystals artj obtained nearly insoluble in ether, very 
soluble in aleohol and acids, but inaoluhlo in water. Oq 
oualysis, this substance yielded 7669 per i-ent of quinine, 
while the theory requires 77*51. Tbo author calls atteution 
to the fact that phenate of potassa may vory usefully 
serve for the detection of water in ether ; the salt (a entirely 
insolutdc in pure anliydrous ether, but as soou as any w»ter 
)B present thcroiu, partial solution takes place, even if the 
ether eottUiincd only 250 parts of water in looo of ctlwr. 

On Clnnamateof Beiiiyl.— (BiJ. de ia Soc. Chim. di 
Paris, 1869, No. 2,)— PYom iVru balsam Fr^mv has obtdned 
ao oily substance named cinnauteinc; this material yields, 
when saponified, cinuaruiu acid. When cljloride of benryl 
and thoroughly dry cinnamatc of i?oda arc miit*d and lx)J!cd 
along with alcohol, cinnamate of benzyl is formed; thi« 
substance, represented by CuHuOa, is obt^u'ned in small 
pearly, 8c«ly crystals. It melts at 39" C, and Tmty n>. 
main in a stmi-Huid state, even nt a temjierature do«p iip*->n 
o' C; it distils over, uucimngcd, in a apace from w^'nch air 
) is exhausted at b<4vveen 225" and 2}-^', Txcomcs deeom^ 
I posed at 350", yielding ciniinmic aeid and oily sul^st^vncvs. 
' It is very soluble in alcohol and ether; when drpn«?iited 
a!ler the evaporation of that solvent, it exhibits oily drops, 
which slowly solidify. It is decomposed by an alcohoh'c 
solution of potassa. 



(EngU*!! Edition, Vol XIX-, No. 4«9, pages WO, 1»1.] 






Chemical Koticesfroin Foreign Sources, 



323 



On tlie ranne of tbe llardenlns^ of Hsrdriiulle 

ronieiit.—^iJrjVAfAr / <7Aem.>— Ir. order to U^st the truth 
of the dijTeront liyixttlicstHS made pouporiiing to tliis subject, 
A. Sohulutschenko, seeing the iTOpossibilily of separating, 
from o mixture of sIlicAtHS, eocli'ppecialcoiubiiiatioii thereol', 
rcpoated Fudia'a eipyrioient, bf syparatiag the silica trotu 
100 partg of pure sohible silicnte of potussa, and, after 
mixing ii with flity parts of liine, and placing tlio mass 
under water, when it Jinrdeutd rapidly. A similar nnxture 
was submitted to a very high teinperntiiro, nnd in this case, 
«lao, a ocmeut was roude. Aa a third ciperimcot, a similar 
XQlxtnro was heated till it was fii?^cd ; after having beon 
cooled and pulverised, the fused mass did Qot harden mvj 
more iiQder water, llcncc it follows that Imrdening does 
take place in cement made by the wet bm well as dry pro- 
as, and th^t the so-c«illed over-burned oeniont is inactive, 
in conaequenco of ila particlea hairing aujlfered a physical 
change. 

Wrnn'An\Ux,^ ZritJidir. t Chem 1869, No. i.) — The mh- 
•tance which, many years ago,, was nomed rhomnoxanlin 
by Buclmcr, ig obtained froto the bark of the lihatttniis 
fntngnia^ a tree growing wild in Soothcrn Europe, l>y boil- 
ing it with aminoniacal water, precipiUiting witli hydro- 
chloric acid, and boillnjj the precipitate wHlh alixiliol and ace^ 
tate of lead. Franguliii, Cj„Hn,Oi«,, exhibits a yellow mafta 
having d distinctly cryfitalline texture, as may bo ween with 
a Ions, aJinoat iaaolubl© in cold water, alightly soluble in I 
cold alcohol, and raoro flnhible in boiling alcnhol, soluble in ! 
alkaline Bohiiions, and tliea exhibiting a most briDuiiit pur- 
pUah-red colour. Ita ammonia sohition is ut first colour- 
ieas, and Wc-orties, after a while, n brilliant retl ; it fuaes at 
6° C, and sa a very weak acid. Acids split this aub- 
stance into sugar and IVunguliuic acid^* 

I>«*tf ctloii or 5tii][>hur<»u«i and II]r|>o»utphnron» 

Acid. — {ZtiUchy. /. CVre^^r,, iSoij, No. 1.)— lu^tciul of em- 
ploying hydrochloric acid and zinc, Reicbiti'dt iiaea aluniiiiiura 
,lind hydrochloric acid. Zinc may be eont^iniin.itcd with 
^Bulphur oompounda, while nluminium, on account of its 
having almcsi no affinity for sulphur, is alwayg pur© in this 
respect ; the latter metal, moreover, dissolves very slowly 
in dilute liydrocbloric acid, and therefore the wime piece of 
aluminiuo) raay serve for many teatingH. Heicliardt dis- 
tiuctly dt'twted the Rulphureltcd hydrogen when a sohition 
of one part of S* J, in wabT, diluted with 500,000 parts of 
water, was treated with UCl and aluminium. 

On Pyruvic Acld.-^^uJ. de /« Soc. Cht'm, de Paru, 
1869, No. 2.)— WSI. Ph. de Clermont and R iSilva state that 
they have been eug-aged for some time in reacarcheB on thia 
acid, but that the results obtained arc uot sufficiently far ad- 
vanced to enable them to speak with exactitude aa 1-q its 
rctd composition. Purified pyruvic acid, treated by bromine, 
l)ecome8 a cry- f^tal line mups, which waB found to be bibromo- 
luctic acid ; this acid,^ treated with water and evaporated in 
vacuo, yields a cry«tnltiTie mass — another acid — tlie naturo 
of which ba.s not yet been further investigated. 

O bite rratio tin ou tlic Frepnralluu of Strons Mf" 
drlodlc Acid lit Nulultuti.— (Sj^t de ia Soc, Chim, tk 
Pari*^ iSfw), No. 2,) — Since this acid is becoming d«ily more 
and more uKcd, Mr. Ferd. Vigier has studied the l>est mode 
of its preparation. It ia well known that, for this purpose, 
a mixture of amorphous phosphorus (as tirst suggested by 
II. PorgonneX iodine, and water ia gently heated in a tubu- 
lated rcti>rt to the beak of which a glut«9 tube i»«s been 
soldered. Yigier !iaa found that too often, in tt'Xt and 
hand-booka ou Wiemistr}-, a wrong proportton of the ingre- 
dients to bo used ia given ; and after Borae eiperimeiita on 
this subject, he tinds that 1 pan of phonphoru:?, ?o piirls of 
iodine, and 15 of wat<_T, are the best and only proper to 
ensure the reaction taking plaee ; these proportions eorro- 
apon d to th e formula , P ■«- 5 1 + 5 H l> = PO » + 5 H t. j 

Canfttilulioii orPtieimeoiite A*'ld. i*iid tlieTraiim- 1 
rorinatlon ol Benzol lut4» Tartaric Acid. — By U Ca- 
riud. — {Ann. d. Chem. u. Pftann.^ voL" dix., No. 3, March, | 



1S69.) — ^In a former paper, the author dcFcribed two Hulv 
Btances^ — tricldoropltcnoiuiilic acid and phenaconic acid; the 
former of t!ie.'<o ia the direct product of t1>e action of 
hydrate of chloric acid upon beneol, according to the 
formula — 

an,-t-(cino,),=C4n,G!,06-hOii,; 



TriohloropJirnomtillc at-ld. 

the latter combiDntion, however, is the result of the action 
of metallic oxides upon the acid just alluded to Phona- 
conie acid is a Iribasic acid, which m^y bo considered as 
tricarbonic acid — 

(C0|3C,H,.0„H,. 

The author describes at groat length a scries of very 00m- 
plex combiuutioni and reactions obtaint^d by hiro while 
studying thia nc'd and submitting it to divers chemical 
agents, and finally arrives at the result that tartaric ncid 
mwy be obtained from phenaconic acid, and heuce, deriva- 
tively, from benzol by the iutermediat© of dlbroino-sucomic 
acid. 

296, April i5ih, 1S69.) — For a number of jears pHSt many 
Bcientitic cbemisls have tried to obtain nlizarine by artificial 
means Ju Ihe year 1861, M. lloussm thought he hud suc- 
cee led, by wiilidrawing from buiitraiuvplitlialino, CjaBu 
(NO,), two equivalenla of oxygen, and by cnmveriing ol the 
santo time the nitrogen into ammonia. Altliuugh tliis ex- 
periment was unsuccessful, it bus uo doubl been made the 
starting point for the very imporumt sululion of tbia problem, 
which MM. Graeve and Liefernntnu, at Berlio, have just 
bronglil to a highly successful issue. The two lai>t'named 
gentlemen found tliai when aliy-arine obtained from nnidder- 
root was acted upon by powdered zinc, a hydrocarb'»n waa 
generated, wliiciu instead of miphthultnc, proved to be para- 
mjplitlialice, wliicli, accurdtng to lUe researches o( MM. An- 
derson, Friizche, Limpricht, iind BerlJtfloi, has the foHowing 
furmnla : — ChUum ac;orttit)gl}', MM. Gmebe and Lieber- 
mann consider thnt the foruiuhi for Blizarine sliould be 
CitlLUi. It will be observed that ibis furmTjla did'ers from 
that of i^aranaphthHliue only by having two atoms, four 
eqiiivaleiiia of oxygen more, and two of iiydrogen less, than 
that of panmaplilhuline. The process of IranHformatiou of 
par.inaplilhaiitie into alizarine cohsIaib of three operslions: — 
Firi^t, the paniiiHtibihaliiie, also naraed authracen, C|«H,), in 
c-mvcrted into uiilhnupiinone, CulUOj. which is done by 
either heating one part of anlhracen with two parta of 
bichromate of potassti and sulphuric acid, or by heatiitg the 
authracen with bichromate of (K)tassa and anhydrous acetic 
acid; the anthraquiuontii tiius obtained is first washed with 
water eryalahised from alciihol or benzol, nnd so purified 
constiiuiea a yellow-coloured a<tlid, crystallising in needles. 
Tliie second portion of the priKcess coii.«i8ls in substituting, for 
two atoms of hydrogen, two of bromine in the juiihratpunono 
— in other words, the preparation of bibromanihrHtjumoue — 

Two meihoda may be followed for this operation — either by 
healing, wiibout simultaneously applying pressure, th© 
anthraquinone with bromine, at temperatures varying be- 
tween 80 to 130' C; or, without first preparing nnlhra- 
qukione, by makif>g the bromine act directly UfKtn the ao- 
thracen, thus producing (|Uttdrihrnniide of anthrucen— 

C*II,o + 8Br = C,Jl»Br,i|-4llOr. 
The quadribrnmido (first discovered by Anderson) tljus pro- 
duced ia next oxidis^i by any of the two meti.oda above 
dewribed, afid ihcn bibromadtirraquinone isobmiiud; if pre- 
ferred, cidtjrine mtky bo substituted for bromme. The third 
part of the process is the conversion of the bibromantlira- 
quinone into alizarine; for this purpose it i.s heated, at from 
jjo' to 260' C, wiih a solution of caustic polassa or soda; 
II bine colour is prnduc^'d, which becomes mure and more deep 
at tirst; when the doejicning uf tlie colour ceases, the opera- 
tion is flttiahed. After awliog, the saline maas is treated 



[EngUih Edttton, 7ot. XIX., No. 489, pae« 191 ; No, 490, page* 203, 203.] 



3^4 



Cluiuical Xutken from Foreign, S(jurc€8, 






Willi wntrr. the solutionJi a-e filtered, nn wcid is ndded in ex- 
cess, fttnl ft yclluw pi't'cipitutt! ciisuis, vvhicli is ihe 9ili/.aititi[?;, 
oi- lizitt'tc acid; Ihia, afier WHfsliing with wuler and gcLlly 
drytii{(, is dL fur use, nnd is Iti nil ri'Fpccte identicHl yfxih. that 
nuturully produced in tlie inndder i twn. 

On tlio^ub^tiliitlon or Grajplillc by Antimony In 
Cnlvauir BaticrlcH — (^W. Mruh tk Ui 8'h\ Vhim. tk 
Piiriit, 1869, No. ?.)— According to Hotter, Lbe foilowing 
itrnitigenieut w proremUe, an re^rHrdH force uud durabilitj', t" 
either I>anit?]l, Mitiotto. or Lcclaticlif's builHiic-a. A cylinder 
of ftiitnl^'iimatcd zinc is ptatcd in a ccnioontrati'd soluUou of 
ei]Uul parta of coTOtuon tn\l uud siilpliaLe uf iniigi^ei^iji ; tliu 
stiliitioiiv m plttO^U m a poroasceil UUod wUh dilute sulphuric 
odd, 

Abl«>tlle (/x"^^ Momle.^) IS a substance d'reovered by Roch- 
K'dyr in \\\c hetdlc-liko leavfB of llm Jhi'gM jierfimila ; in 
ninny u.^p'eets it» resembles maniiitc, from wliich il dilTer? by 
)la &oIiil<ility autX compositiou, wlitrli may be nprtseiiled by 
l\H«Ov Tlie »iid Icn ea uIho c<iutitin a RoluMe tainilu, 
CiiHuO«, which, by loising oxygen nnd hydrogen, is readily 
tmnslortiied itjlt) an tnsolublo nKniificHiiou — 

Action of llfdrlndic A<-i«l on Orsctinle C1ilorl(l««. 

— (J^s M^'iiil'Ji.i — AcLOidiiig to A. Liebtn, tlit cljl(Hidert of 
elliyl, butyl, j.nd amvl» nnd also oilier cbloriiinted oig^tmic 
compoun«b<, when hialtd in staled tubes with hydiii^Uic rtcid. 
nre oonverieti into the corresponding iodides without any 
disengngement of ga^. In order to discover whether, pt-r- 
bnps, tljcre wer. actions of n)a8s in pluy, the aiithi*r {ma 
reversed the experiment, by trojiting iodide of eihyl nt 150 
C. in a senled tube with hydroehlorio acid ; there was only a 
sltghl trace of chloride ofi-thyl formed, Wlieu chloroform is 
healed lor 8e%-eii hours o^uisecmlivety wilh eleveti times ila 
weight of hvdrimho neid nt 127' in a et'oled tube, there is 
formed hydro-iodoform, iodide of nieihylei»e, hydrochloric 
«eid, nnU free iodine; this reaction m»y be ihua repre- 
senlitd: — 

ciici,^-3ni=cni„4 iiici. 
cei,+iii=cHaU4^i4- 

Bonke Tarlctleii of Rocrclla ITliietorln. J. Sten- 

hoose. — {Atuu (L CfifitK v. rfifhw., vol. 159, No. 3, Mnrch, 
1869.) — The moat interesting portion of this rwtlier long 
pnper is undoubtedly un improved niethml fiir ihe ci^linifltjou 
of the (lUrtnUty of eutourii>g mutter eonlaiaed in llscse and 
slnnlflr kinds oriJehens. Fur thia purpose, roo grains of the 
tiehens Jiru to be digested wilh u dilule solution of caustic 
Boda ; this operation shnuld bo re|Kaled. in nrder to make 
fitaro of exitaoling all u^efiil nintlcr The tluld so obtnined ig 
flilered; niter tjlirntion it i» treated with st pohuion of hypo- 
chlorite of fl^da of known Btrenjjih, tlie additi'm of which 
pohitioti produces a blot^d-rcd colouration of the fluid, and 
llil.'* cnnliioies a»? lonpr hs any <.'<^hjonr:ff itmlter h left. From 
the qnaiilily of ffifi cfr jnvelfr u*«i?d tho quantity of colour- 
jng matter uiny be inferred. 

K)»|»lien1n._By C. Ei-jrlor.— (Jnn. J. Otrrn^u FharvK^ 
vol. 159, No, 3, March. 1869) — ^When treating bonzo-nltrihj 
■wilh bioinini', the nuthorobluioed n substance which pr<pved 
to be idtiitictil wilh that obtained by Cloea on irejilhig 
chlofoben/ioyl with cyanale of putitssti. Cloez considers 
kynphenin i^^* ttlo-beo»i-niirile, in c«inf»e<>uence of its atiHlogy 
will) kyiiiineihiii. M. En^ler hnH tried in vnin to obtnin sulUi 
of kyHpheiiin ; he simea tlnit, unlike Cloeit, he did not find am- 
moriiii abuttdiintly piv«'n oil' if kyaphenin were boiieii even in 
scaled tubes nt 150 C. wilh an ntiKdiolic R>luti*m of cauMije 
potai^an. On treating ihe kyjplienin in % sealed tube al 220 
Wilh excefis cf futning hydriodic acid, hentoia «cid w,m» 
formed. b< f»ide8 stune iodide of ammontum i nd a email 
qniintity of nn iiil. prnb.ibly hexybhydrogen. 

On Itic Kxlnleiirc of a Norninl Propyllc AleohoU 
— My it. Flltig — {Ann, d, Cheui, «. Phunn,, vol. 159, No, 3, 
Alarch, iS6g.) — The discovery by Clmooel of u noimal pro- 
pyllc mIcoIi.jI in fu«..l od hug been frequently di.«puted nnd 



contrndi'led, M, R. Fittig obtained from Pr. Mnrqvnirdl 
w<ll-known chi'mie;d works, ne. r fJotm. n p»nKluot wf>i 
purp«irted to be propylic alecthol. «and which, notwith*tffln( 
ing its greater bulk, was ginde up of dilTerunL alo<fhots, ooii' 
taintng, on the whole, a very fair prtiportioo of propyli< 
Instertd of trying to sepnmte thfse alcohols by a fraciioU 
di.stilUlion, which never yields P4iti«liicU»ry result*, the uulh 
eotiverted the whole of the raw mRlerial. by means of amc 
phoUK pho*»plunils:ind bromine, inio bromide? and after purit 
ing Ihepe, he Bi^pflrat* d them from each other by means o( frac 
ttonul dii^tdUition, lie obtained a fluid boiling al 71^ C, aiii 
on isubmittmg It to elemtntary flnnlysia. obtained from lh< 
fluid and it.*i silver s^dt i-esnlts which place the existence 
Chuncera normal propyl alcohol out of all question. Th 
raw liqnid ijbiained fnun Dr. Marquard, abi>ve ftUuded to^l 
w«8 found to coiituiu uboui 10 p».r cent oC propylic alcohol. 

RettearelioM on IIunfEartan l¥]icat and WlioateitJ 
Flonr,— liA U, i^ciopwoll.— (.i/iw. 4. Vhtm. u. J'Uim,, vol, 
1 59, No. 3. Miircfi, 1S69.) — It is a well kuowti fact, that the 
eii'niix>8irioii of whent vuries according to dimaie and «*oi' 
At Pe)<lh IB t't^ltibliHlnd a moat ei tensive dep<^t atid granm 
for ihf produ(!e of Hungary, and also a very huge e«liibli»»hn 
ment fL*r grii.ding wheat. The analysis of the grain gave tlu 
following riRuIi h.r too pHrts; — Water, 10 511; aah, l-« 
ghiten, 14352; starch, 65407; fatty matter and woody tlbr 
S225; logelher iqoooq. Ihe ttxifiteiice of sugar could at 
be'proved. The chiet ingredients of the ash were found 
be — phosphoric acid, 49902 per cent; pola^sjj, 31 855; mai 
ne««ia, 14S62 per cent. 

On Guinmle Arid nnd some of Km ron>biuat1on«.| 

— M. Febko.-i.iwn, d.Cheriu u. PharnK. vol. 159, No ^. Murch,J 
1S69.) — Gnmniieocid waai Qrst dii-covered by Ivciohitrdt. 
1S63, nnd ita nsimo derived from the fact that this substanc 
(the ocid), Hci'onipanied by u gumdiko matter, is fonni 
when oxide of copper in ulkalinc solution is acting uj 
grupe Bugar. The onhydrous jieid 1ms the formula — 

the hydrate is expressed by — 

C6H40,o-4-3lIO+6aq. 
Neutral, or alkaline ammoniacal solutions of the acid 
precipitated by chlorido of calcium solution. Linie-wal« 
yields dirpctly a jirecipLtale. Cliloride of iroa do*'s not pi 
cipltnte the ncid, or its salts, but doe." bo en addition 
alcohol ; solutions? of pktituim and silver become reduced 
metal wbeji in contact with the acid. The acid coiubiuc 
Willi bases and oxides of metals Ui form salts. 

On Blehlornretted Aldehyde.— H. T 

d. C/ietn. tt. Phurm., vol, 159, No 3, Mui 

author has prepared this Htibstonoe by disiu mv, i. u. 

of liiehlonirctied acotol with from four to six parti*, by biilk,i 

of ordinary concentrated sulphuric aoid, It is ber^t lo ] 

form tbia o{ierution in a retort, placed in au oU-baUi 

hciitid to alwut 130 l^ ; the receiver adapted to the re 

13 kept very cold, artd the contents thereof arc, after the ( 

of the reaction, rcctillod. The fluid wliich eome.^ over 

tTveen SS' and 90 is the pure bichlonireitcl ' ' ■ ' 

li(|uid is header tlnua water, and soluble \\ 

wi.o tjohible in alcohol and etlter; it boils Lt:..^ .. , . 

90 \ and its vapour strongly flfi"ect3 the eyes. Us elcmt^i 

tary analysis pickled the follownng result*?:* — Corbon, irajj 

hydrogen, 177; ehloriae, 62-1^3; its ftjruiida is — 

CJ1,C1,0, 
and the density of ita vapour 39. 

Plilobaphcn— fJIm/R. /. P>ait< Chnn, v.Krffn^r- 
No3. 23 and 24.} — PhloljMphen, an umorphons kii 
acid precipltjible by ncetale of load, is, according t- 
6ki, the principal couf-tituent of the oak bark. When thj 
phlobaphen is t^oiled wilh dilute sulphuric arid, it it} split 
into sugar and oak-red (eidienroth) ; this Fubptance, puriiic 
as much as possible, and dried at 120* C, proved, on 
meuUiry aualyhis. to yield, in 100 parts— C, 53.4; U, 4 



[SngUit Edition, 7ol. XIX.< No«490, pagoa 203] 



r 
I 



CHimcuL 7(itw«,T 



Chejuical Notices from Foreign Sources. 



325 



I 



Combined with calcium, tlie compoaition of this eubatiuoe \b 
expre89ei] b/ — 

The oak phlobapheo ia composed according to — 

Isodulpile,— Jourit. /. /Vafc. Cfu:m. v. Erdmanfi, 1868, 
N08. ijnnd 24.}— Isotiuk'ite is a augar-Uke puhstauoe derived 
froni quercitrin, by boiling it with dilutt* snlpbtiric au-id, M. 
G. Malin haa studied the isodulcitic acid obtained TroTii 
Isodulcite bj oxidintng it with nitric add ; the acid ao ob- 
tained crystaOisfeS, is almost iiiBoluble in alcohol, readily 
soluble io water, and it does not ejterc-iBO a reducing action 
upon an alkfilino solution of c^^pper. After having been 
dried over strong sulphuric acid, the elementary analysiB of 
tills substanet} leads to the foriuula^ 

The isodulcitic acid is the most highly oxidised subBtanee 
beloiiging to a oeried of oampounda which begins with BUgar 
of milkf 

the acid alluded to or^natea Trom isodulctte, in the mannei 
as oxalic acid ia derived from alcohol — 

AlciiboL OxnJiQ *uli'. 

C,H,40,-+-50=C.H,oO,-|-2n,0. 



iKMlulcltu, 



IfiOilQloUic Jicld. 



Concbl nine— (Jouni. /. Frnk. Chem. v. Erdrnann, 186S, 
Nob. 23 and 24.)— The alkaloid belonging to and dorived 
ft-om the Cinch ona-treee, known as chiiiidiiie, chinidine, (i 
chinine, B chininii, anchotine, cryatanised chinoidine, and 

fjiioyine, haa l>een chria toned by Hesse conchiuine, because 
t resembles chinine, aa well bh cinchonin. In order to pre- 
pare this conchinine, which occurs to upwards of r6 per cent 
in pitoya bark^ the eommeroial chinoidine ia ihe best soui'oe, 
Binoe therein the conchinine is largely found. The chinoidine 
is repeatedly treated wilb eight times itd weight of ether, 
this solution ia filtered, and the ether removed by diatillation ; 
the residue is dissolved io dikite sulphnric add, and after- 
wards carefully neutralised with auiraonia. The soiution ia 
next treated with Seigtiette salt, whereby the tartrates of 
quinine and dncbonidine are precipitated, whUo ihe tartrates 
of cinchouine and conchinine remain in solution. After hav- 
ing treated the previously filtered solution with aniiiud char- 
cottl, iodide of potasMium is added to the warm solution, 
whereby hydriodido of couchinin is precipitated as crystal- 
line powder; this salt ia decomposed by ainmouia, re-dis- 
milved in ncetic arid, re-purified with animal charcoal, and, 
lastly, treated with hot alcohol, from which it separates in 
crystalline fnrra. The conchinine ao obtained is soluble in 
2,000 partfl of water at 15% in from 35 to 23 parts of ether, 
according to temperature, and in 26 parts of 80 per cent 
alcohol ; tlie substance melts at 16S' C, without charring. 
Tbe substance, which is capable of fomoing seieral hydrates, 
has fur its formula — 

C„H„N,04-|-5Aq; 
it forms, with odds, salts. 

An«ly«t« of Ripe Orape».— ( Jbjirn / Prak. Chem. v. 
ErdmauH, Ko, i. 1869.) — Dr» Classen haa done good serviee 
to science, as well as lecliDok*gy, by supplyiug us with these 
analyses ; tbe grupes, three diflertnt kinds, grown in the 
neighbourhood of Kreuznacli, were bought proniiscuouRly 
in the market-place there: — 1,000 grammes of fruit yielded 
— (1) 577i (-) 634t {3) ^t**5 grammes, juice; this coosistted 
in ioi,coo parts of solid Bubfltance dried at 100' 0. — (i) 1644, 
(2) 1S97. <3t 2046; grape sugar— t499i '624, 1740; free 
acid— 72, 6S, 48; ash — 27-83, 3095, 4008. The ash con- 
tains, as might be expected, a largo proportion of potassa 
and pbespboric acid as the chief coustituentSf and besideB 
V^oL. IV. No. 6.— June, 1S69. 21 

[EngUali Edition, VoL SIX., No. 490» 



chlorine, sulphuric acid, lime, ailicn, and small quanlitk?8 of 
magnesia, and oxides of iron and manganese. 

Notes on ttie IQaniifketare or Soap. — {Jouiti, f. 
Pf<tk. Chfun, V. Erdmaun, No, i, 1869.) — It is a well-known 
fact that, by an indirect process, a potassa soap may be con- 
verted into a soda soap; this is done by adding txt a boiling 
fiolntion of potassa soap a very concentrated solution of 
common saltj and it is generally taken for granted that, if 
enough of the latter has been added, the potassa ia convert- 
ed at leaPl chiefly into soda, while dilorido of potassium is 
formed. Neither in chfinical nor in technological works Lhe 
question how itwc/i of the potassa is substituted by soda has 
been answered ; hence it ocscorred to Dr. Oudemans to ascer- 
tain this poml, he having a good opportunity to do this by 
being aoqnainlod with the proprietors of large soaj^works. 
Without entering into the full details of his published paper 
on the subject, we quote the results obtained by hinit which 
are these: — By the process as execuied on the large scale, 
and yielding excellent produce, only a little more than half, 
to wit 537 per cent, of potassa is replaced by soda, wbile 
46-3 per cent of potassa are left along with the otiier alkali 
combined with fatty acids In the curd soap. 

AnalTflifl ortlie€«le1>r«le(l Aventnrfii Glaaa made 

at Venice. — i;r. Jialvieii.— (/^A^/i/t. Z itschr. /. Uuaaiftnd, 
No 2, 1S69,) — In 100 parts: — silica, 673; alumina, 90; 
peroxide of iron, 34 ; oxide of tin, 23 ; oxide of lead, lo \ 
metallic copper, 4*0; potassa, 53; soda, 70. 

On tlie SolubllltT of Iodine and Sulptmr In Pe- 
trols am.— Dr. Th. kolkr. — {Ncncs Jttltrb, j. I'hfinii^ voL 
x.\:x«, No. 2, 1S69.)— One part ut ii>dine reijuires for its solu- 
tion, at a teniperaturo of 17" C, 1 45 6 parts of petroleum, 
and I part of sulphur (as so-called Hovvera sulphurX requires 
at the aam© letnperaLure 158-4 parts of petroleum. 

enrlouiilj Pctrined TV aad._( Jimrn./ Prak. Chcm. v. 
Efdmaan, No. i, 1869^— Dr, Oudemans, jun., has had the 
tjppurtuuity ot aimlysirg some pieces of wood from the Col- 
baUa ovatat a trey indigcuoua to Java, which wood, on 
being placed in a certain stream in tliat island, hecontes 
rapidly and thoruugldy petrifled, so aa hardly to he distinguish- 
able t'rom sandsloue^ but microscopic research detects ihe 
organic strucLuro. The atr-dried wood leaves rg per cent of 
ash of the lollowing coinpoHilion in looparia: — dilica, SS'S; 
phosphoric a«id, iH; carbonic acid, 8'6; oxide of iroa, 1*5; 
uluniina, trace; oxide of fnungancse, 01; lime, 128; mag- 
nesia, 27; potassa, 11:3; soda, I'S. Tlie pelrilied wood 
was composed ol — ailiea^ 9S0; pluwplioric acid, oxide of 
iron, and alumina, ingether, 13; lime, a trace; organic 
matter and water^ 07. It ia not quite posHibJe to explain 
what causes ihia curious change,, unless there were an 
opportunity to obtain and analyse the water, wlierein tlie 
petrifying process goes on (us is said by the uatives) very 
raptdly. 

Analyalfl of 8maIt._(Jbttm. /. Prak. Chem, v. Erd- 
mami, No. i, 1S69 >— IT^nder this name ia known a blue pig- 
ment largely used on the t'onlineiit; tho sample, of which 
the result of analysis is here quoted, was as brautifulas beat 
artifcial ultramanne. In 100 parts: — Silica, 637; oxide of 
lead, 27 ; protoxide of eubuli, 57 ; potassa, 201 ; alumina, 
40; oxide of iron, 13; water, 17. Not a trace of protoxide 
ui nickel was found.. 

On an AII07 of Iron and Zinc. — (Joum, / Prak. 
Chem, «. Erdftutnn, No, 1, 1S69.}— It is a well-known fact 
that iron is dissolved by molten zinc, but nowhere is any de- 
tlrtito alloy of these metals descntted, nor is it also stated 
how tnucii iron is dissolved by xiuc. Dr. Oudeman?, jun,, 
obuiined for analysis a piece of uielal which hud been ibrmed 
in an iron vessel wherein zinc had bc»n fused for several 
weeks continually ; this metal was found deposited at the 
bottom of the vessel, aod became ao itnpedicaent to the melt- 
iiig operations in consequence of ihe relative infusibiliej of 
the alloy. In physical as|)ert this latter was of verj njuch 
whiter colour, and entirely different crystalline atruclure y^i^^ 



pa^M 203, 304 ; ITo. 401, pagos 213, 214.] 



326 



Chetntcai Notices fi'om Foreign Soitrees, 






ainc; the alloy disaolved very readily nnd briskly in dilulo 
snlphuric or hydroclilode flctd, siid woa found, on anolvfliK to 
cont4iiin 4*6 per cunt of iron. Taking for grunwd Umt tliis 
alloy is a deSoite compouud of the two oouBlilueol m|tiilp, iU 
formula would " 



FeZn„(Fe=r56; 203175). 

AiMiIX»l«orTwo Kind* orLabradortt«*— ^/oum. / 

Priik. Ckein.v. Eidmann, Ko, i. 1S69.) — Dr. Oudeman.*. juu., 
analysed two varieties of llijs minei al — nne viotet-culoured, 
the other white aud nou -transparent. Violet variety in 100 
part«: — Silica, 56-21: alumina, 2919; oxide of iron, iji; 
lime, iri4; magnesia, 0-51 ; soda, i'37; |>otasRa, a trace; 
Ion on ignition, a trace ; total, 99 73. White viinety in 100 
parts:— Silica, 581; oxide of iron and alumina, 279; lime, 
9-4; magnesia, a trace; aod(\ 51 ; total, 1005, 

H«tM>«rcbeB on nome Derlratlvea Croat rinnaLiiiic 
Add. — 0. Ulaner. — [Ztittchr. /. Chrin. v. ik.ikU%n^ ttr.. vol, 
xii,, No. 4, t&6^,) — The author hoH, in a former notice, 
apoken of an acid contHining H, les^ thau cinnimnc acid; 
that acid baa been called by him phetijlpropioUc acid, thtj 
couatitutioD of wbicb is repreaeuted by — 
C,H*C 

I 

CO.H. 

The author further state* that, by taking CO, from thjs acid, 
he w<mld be enabled to form a new hydrocarbon, which 
would stand in the same relation to aceiyleti as styrol ataiidi 
toelhylen. Thia new hydrocarbon is nHmed ncetenylbenxol ; 
this material is a ailourleas, highly refraugibie fluid, having a 
peculiar odour, and boiling at 140" ; vapour donfuity, 3"7 ; 
formula, C»lT<i. It ia rpudily decompo«ed by nitric and 
Bulphtirio acida. It comblnea with copper, rorming a com- 
pouud — 

[C,lItC,]2C«4'CuO. 
BromopKtliatlc aud Nltroiilithnllc Adds — Vm^l 
— {Zt!it»chr. / Vhem. f. BeihtHn, S'., vol xli.. No. 4. 1869.) 
•^The author prepared, (or some otht* r rewarchea, bromo and 
nilrophthalic acida. The former ia rtpreaeuied by — 

In the pure state it >a a white cryalalJine powder readily 
soluble ill water, alcuhol, and ether, and fu*ia betweeo 136 ' 
and 138' C., without giving off vapour uf watur; it forms 
aalta with baaea. Nitrophthalic acid— 

O.Hv(NO,)0„ 
ia obtained when phtbalic acid is digested with a miztiire of 
equal parta of red fuming nitric acid nod aulpliurio acid; tha 
mixture is lell for twenty-four houra to iu»elfi aud then 
treated with water and puritied by mnking a poiaah ^all of 
the newly forn^ed acid, and this is decompo«»ed l»y meana of 
sulplmric acid. Nitrophthalic acid cryHtallises from ether in 
struw-yellow prismii, ia soluble in water and ether, and fuses 
at 208' C. Tbia acid alau furma salUi very readily. 

mono" TrI- and Pentji-broiiio»l>enzoie Add. — 

Reiuecke.— <^»/W»r. /. Chem. v. iAeffate<M, d'c , xii. No. 4, 
1869.)— When bromino acts uj^mn benzoic acid, water being 
present and a higher t^?mperiiiure appUeii the above-named 
bromo-benzoic, acida are obtained. The mono- bromic acid — 

CTlI.BrOt, 
ia difficultly eolufale in water, cryatalliMS, and AiaM at 153° 
C ; the tri bromo- benzoic acid — 

C,H|Br,0„ 
is aleo a solid crystalline subgtance, hardly Holubte in boiling 
water, and fdsea at 235" C. ; the peuta-broiuo'betizoic acid — 

C:HBr,0„ 
is alao a aoltd, aoluble (aa are also the two preceding) in 
weak ulctthol, and fuses at the same temperature as the iri- 
bron>o-b«a;eoic acid. All these acida readily enter into cona- 
biDBtioQ with lime, forming reguUr aud wdi-dedaeil tialte. 



Rennltit of Annljaea of Compressed Peat ft'oro 

SwltEerland. — Dr. Gnpptl.«*roeder. — {Cticm. Cfntra/M, No.| 
u, 1869.) — Tlie air-drjed substance contained in 100 parts: 
—Water, 23 17? ash, 7-87; carbon, 4009; hydrogen, 453; 
oxygen, 2150; nitrogen, 2-84, The material submitted to 
elementary orgnuic analyajs had been dried at 120 ' C. The 
ash contained chiefly sulphuric acid, lime, alumina, pepoatida 
of ipyn, and siticfi; also chlorine, soda, magnesia, and traces 
only of phosphoric acid. 

On the Ijowerliii; of Tentp«ratare dne to the 
Solution of Suit* In ^Vater.— Fr. Riidorff.— ^BmcAferf, 
( PtutKvhm. Chrm, Gt^rtlach. z. lUfiiin No. 4, 1869.)— The de- 
crease of temperature wilt be the greater the larger the quan- 
tity of any salt which water takea up at a certain given tem- 
pemture. Since, liowever, water at a c«?rtaiu temperature 
only dissolves a detiiiite quaniily of any salt, the maximum 
decrease of temperature will ixd about that at which, under 
given circurastatices, a fully safuraied soluiioo is prxl'iced. 
When, therefore, the salt and the water are applied in the 
propdrrtioti where from a saluruted soluiion r€8ult«^ a long 
[joriod of time elapses before tlie la«i portions of the salt are 
entirely dissolved, aud the effect of the warm ambient air 
to some extent vitiates the proper results of the experimenta; 
the aalaraled solution should Ihf refore be obtaioed as rapidilj 
as poasible. The experimeijils were conduclt?d in the follow- 
ing mantier: — The tlnety powdered salt and tlie requisite 
quantities of water were, prtjvioua to the making of the ei- 
perimecits, each put in separate beakers made uf very thin 
glaaa, and placed for from I2 to 18 houra in a room wliereiu the 
temperature could i>e kept as nearly aa posatble couatani; ia 
cousequeDce of tins the beakers and conteDts attained tl>e 
same temperature throughout. The mixing was efl'ected by 
pouring the water on to the salt, and stirring up with a very 
delicate and biglily sensitive liiermometer ; the maximum 
decrease of temperature to<.>k place within a minute after 
the mixing of the salt and water whs made. The results of 
the experiments are exhibited in the following tabulated form, 
recording the average of a series of several experimenta with 
one and the aame substance, which were couoordanl withia 
0-2" : — 



SuluLla 
In 


with 


'"***TK''"' Number 


I DO ports 
of wiiter. 


too parta 
of wat*r. 


Fro^ 


T^ Dajpeea. 








*U 


"C. 


*0t 


fryfitalllatd ftlnm... 
t-hUirlde *of suKllum . 


io"o 


14 


+ 10-8 


+ 9'4 


i*# 


35^ 


36 


ta6 


♦ IO"l 


^9 


Bulptu»t©offKit'**a,. 


9'9 


13 


147 


+ U7 


3* 


Crr«(alibed pho*- 












ljh»ieof80(I» 

Bulptmte of Ajntno* 


9*Q 


14 


lo-a 


+ 7'« 


rf 












nid 


r3"3 


75 


lya 


+ 6-8 


«♦ 


Bal|>hat« of totja 












icryiUiU) 

Sulphate of iTidg- 


i6-8 


ao 


"'5 


4- 57 


69 












nr*lA (crystnls>... 


800 


8S 


11*1 


+ 31 


8t» 


CnrboiMl* of w)ia 












(oryAtala) .......... 


300 
»5'5 


r. 


107 
13a 


* s-6 


9« 

IO*» 


Nliri*U) of pr.uiwa.,. 


+ 3* 


4.bloH(l« uf puUM- 












fllnrn ....,.., . , , . . 


»8'6 


30 


13-3 


+ 0*6 


ia-6 


Carbon Blfl of am- 












manlk 


syo 


30 


»S'3 


4- 3a 


irt 


Acetate of aodA (crys- 












mm ,...,.., 


800 


85 


xo-7 


— 4'; 


«S* 


Cblorl<!e of amiuo- 












nlum 


sS's 


30 

75 




— S'l 

— 53 


16-4 


Ndrateuf io«la 


69 "o 


18 i 


nyp(is(i1iiihUeor(M>da 

(cryatalA)... 

Ii Hilda of polanlum 












980 


JIO 


107 
10 B 


-8-0 


t«7 


laoo 


140 


— 117 


aj'j 


Oblorifte of cuIHiim 












(,fr>9Uliiietl) 


aoo"D 


250 


to-8 




93^ 


Nltniu< of puiiinoi.ls 


SS"© 


60 


136 


•7» 


Sttlph.wyanicle wf ..»- 












riKjnUuu 


1050 


133 


13 a 


— i8o 


3»a 


8nlph< •cyanide of po- 












taukuiiu — ....... 


130-0 


ISO 


lo-B 


— 337 


34'S 



Tljo quantity of water applied varied between 250 and 500 
gramioea, and the quaotity of salt used corresponded there* 
with. The decrease of temperature obtainable in this manuer] 
can never fall below the freezing point of the sahue solntiou^ 
in question, but can very nearly reach that. The aulphocya. 



[EnSUah BdlUon, Tol. XIX., No. 491, pago 214J 



» 



» 



I 

* 



^ Wohl 



Hide of potaasiuai is the best salt to he adopted for the nrlifi- 
cial pruKluciiou of ice; when 500 grammes of tills salt are 
dissoiired in 400 cubic oetitituutrcs ol WMier, and itie luixlure 
•tirred with « tesutube filled witii water, the Iktur wiU bu 
frosen in from two to (hfe« miuuU's, The degree of solubi- 
liiy of the mite referred la iu lite first columa U made up hc- 
curdtug to G. J. Mulder's highlj eUtiorate researches on this 
subject 

Oil neiUtrleii — [J9urn,f. Prak. Chem, v. Srdmann, No. 
I, 1S69 ) — This is beat prepared from aceton, by nllowmg it 
Co be left firBtfor twentv-fuur hours iu contact vviili aulphuric 
«cid diluted wjtb half ila bulk of water, and proceeding to tlie 
diatillailon of tbe mixture; uHer th«t ticne, in this niitiioer a 
larger qusD lily oT r»vv produce m obcaitied. which is next 
rcTCLiaed by distillation over wdtum- Treated with strong 
nitnc acid, nieftityleuk; acid is prrKiuced, wliicli foruia, wtto 
bftBes, well-detined ftalta. Among the prtxiucta of oxidation 
of tneaitjieti belor>g uvitinic HOid mnd trimeainic Bcid, while 
cnesidir4ic acid is aa interaiediute prinluct. Ihe (ullowiQiBr 
iormula? refer to these producUj, mesidinic and iiviiinic acida 
being pnjved to be idenliciil; the foruiuiu fur ibe Latter 
reftrm to tlie latt^^r also : — 

lir«4tTlen. Mesiivl«nic «d4. rTltfRlc add. TrimcslDie add. 
C.fi,,. LVUi.Oa. VAhO,. CbH*U,. 

Uvitinic acid ie a solid substance, difllcuUy Sfiluble even in 
boiling water, but rendil}^ m> in alc^jhol and ether; it fuHef-at 
288* C., sublimee without decomposition, nnd in abibasicaotd 
which readily forms salts with bHSOs. Trim^iinic acid, when 
dijililled with excess <^r lime, yields^ chiefly beaEol— 

C.H.Oo— 3CO,— C<H. ; 
(his acid is coosequetitly a benzol wltereiu for jH has been 
subrfiii'ited 3<;ulI0. 

Obialuias Toke quite Dree from Sitl|fttiiir« — (Mtmi- 
teur df VJmhe France.) — The coke roade in the usual manner is 
placed in an appumtuij wtteretn it is lieaied at a temperature 
of ttbuuC 300^ C, and MTuultaneou^ly submitted to the action 
of « 8tr(Kig current of atmaspberic air compreaaed to between 
two MDd three atmospheres (30 1045 I'j*. lotlie square imch). 
By this meaofl the sulphur is convt'rud Into sulplmrous acid, 
and that gas ranoved by the strong current ofair Analysis 
of coke, before and after ha\'ing been submitted to this pro- 
ceii^ proves: — (a) Not a trace of sulphur is left in any toroa 
In tbe coke submitted to the described treatment ; {h) all the 
iron prt^viously eiisting in the coke as sdilphide has been 
converted into peroxide; (<■) the cwloriflc power of tbe desul- 
pburijieti ciike has t>ecoino greatly iucrcHSi<i, and is at leust 
one fourtb more limn that of ordinary ooke; {d) experiments 
conducted on the large soale al iiron woika have pruv^ ibat 
the coke treated as described produces iron as good in quality 
as that obuined wilh wood chareoaL 

Preparation ol t^rle Add from Peravtan Guano. 
— Ur. J. lx>we,^Xf# Mffudtjn^ i\o. 14, 1869,) — In order to 
prepare nric Acid from this material on the lurge scale, take 
4^qnal weights of sulphuric acid and guano; bent the sulphuric 
acid in a porcelaiit bu^ia placed on a water->balh, put the 
previously well-dried and ground-up guiino, dried at 100^ C , 
Lille by little into the aci*J, luking c^ire to stir up the mix- 
ture with a glass rod, since during tbitj opt>ration mucii car- 
bonic acid and hydrochloric acid grisare givvn oH", It is oeces- 
fiary to perform the operation either iti the open air orundira 
cUimney htwd with a gtHud draught ; a« soon as the reaction 
cea^tu dilute with from ten to twelve ittuea its bulk of dis- 
tillfd water. A yellow precipitot© soon ensues, and it is 
Ihoreforo preferable to perlbrm tbe dilution, not in a bysio, 
but in a cylinder glass. The precipilnte having (settled, the 
eupernatant liquid is decanted, the prediuUi<e (irst washed 
by decantation, and afterwards collected on a filter and 
washed undl the sulphuric acid is ne^irly all removed ; the 
precipitjitc ts thvn, little by Uttle, nddt-d to a boiling weak 
alkaiine solution, and the uric acid prfcipttnted from the al- 
kaline fluid by means of hydrochloric nciiL Tlie crude nric 
acid thu» obtained is puriHed by the processea of either 
Wohler or lleiutz. 



Ob the Aftton of Prncac]i]orli]« <*f Pltoftplioruai 
upou haccbarluc Sub«taiiceM. — a iJiityer.— ^iffricAto 
d. Jjtutjic/ien t'h^Tin. G^icUich. z. lictiin. No. 3, 1869). — When 
gmpe sugur is btjiled with a uiixturo of pent^chloride of 
phosphorus^ oxychlonde of phosphorus, and water, an amor- 
phous, colourless, fliKxrulent matter is tor raed, which dissolves 
in water on boiling; this indicfltes either the formation of an 
anhydrous substance or of a chloride; since, however, the 
so^r is, while being tliuR treflte<J, rcndily decompoised, mid 
this dtcomposition accompanied with a brfjwtiidh colounition, 
tbe reactk>n etiiitiot be saiisf.ictorily studied Cotton wool 
behav<;s, when treat^nl tvith the same subslunoes, in a similar 
nmnner ; when gun cotton, however, is heated up to 200' 
C in a nnxlure consisting of six purb) of pentachloride of 
phmphorus ami some oxychloride of phospliytnia, the guu 
cotton is entirely dir>>M4ved iu the latter suh^tanee witliout 
any decorapMiiion. When the oxychloride and penutchlonde 
of phosphorus are dissipated by *vjip«ration by means of lb' 
current of air heatea to 170' C , there is left a thick eolour- 
IcAs liquid, whidi. o!i cooling, leaves a brittle gum<like mass ; 
this substance is soluble iu ether and alcohol, nnd inscduble 
in water, but o(i being boiled therewith decomposition ensues 
and a vii^cous subsUiuoe reroaina When the gum-tike mass 
is treated with solution of caualic potassa, and heated 
therewith, it becomes brown; on Witip iK-atid wtih hydrio- 
dic acjd^ iodine is separated. The sulj«Uiiiea in t|uestma 
appears if ► be a chlonde of cellulose or ol sugar, eotuewhat 
resembliDg the chlorides of mannite. 

Xcaf lor the &cnalticoeM» ofCbflcolatc — H. BeiDPCh. 
{['harm. ZtiUxhr. / jiimslaud, No. 2, 1S69.) — One parU by 
weight, of chocolate is ground to powder and mixed w ith 
ten tinjes its weight of hot water, the nnxlure boiled f^ir a 
m Mute, next co«>kd, mid Uuu ptnirtd on ft pupor filter, 
Witen the clifxrtdate is genuir.o — that is to say, has not bt-eu 
adulterated with t;iiarcli. whiHien tlcinr, or starchy nuiUt^r of 
any kiud^ — the tiuid is not thick^ and easily runs ihrough the 
papt^r ; the tlltmte is also clear, and exihibita a light brown- 
ish red fluid agreeable to the tasie. The reverse is tbe case 
with adulterated chocolate. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Mhnoh-e 9ur la OomposUi'^ Chimigva dea Monneria Nier- 
laitdaises ct sur la Volatilimtvyn (k VArgenL Par A, D. 
Van Riemsduk, Doctour es Scit-tices. Pp. 3S. 

Tnm is an abstract, reprinted and separately published 
fritm the "Archives Weerluudiiises," vol. iii/iS6^. The 
larger work was written and publislRd in Dutch early last 
year, k treats on a subject which can only satislkclonly bo 
experimentally studied in a well-arnuiged Mint; and l)r. 
Vuii Kiemsdijk, having that oppc^rtunity at LTirecht Mint, has 
thoroughly gorie ini<i matters with ^riMl 7.eal and industry. 
It will be clear, tvtu to a casual ub»/rvi'r, that divers chtuj. 
leal changes must of nt<.vssity occur to the alloys intended lo 
be convened iii)o com during the many operations the alloy 
is submitted to belore it leRve4 the works: it is simply im- 
possible to melt logeih*jr two n^etnli*, and af«erwards again 
anneal ibe partly rolled-out bars, without some chemical 
cliange being culled into play, 'the various changes and 
ellect^i also of the btuuching and cleaning of the alloys have 
been studied and experimented upon by the Hutlior; he hita 
extendtd his expertmeal^ not only to is'^eiherlands, but alM) 
lo Belgian, French, Peruvian, Bolivian, aid t'hiliun silver 
coins, tjuld coins are not nihde at the Utrecht Mint as cur- 
rent Nelh*?rlMtid coins, hence no experimeais were made wilh 
gold. The author Inui alno iiivei<tig:ited tht> capnbility of sil- 
ver, botVi pure and alloy td, for absorbifig and occluding 
various ganc*!*. especially hydrogen and oxygen gjis, Uii th« 
whole, tliose who wurk in silver on the large wi-nle, and are 
interested in tfie r«^al composition and Constitution of iho jil- 
h>yed metal, will Und in this f^iper mwny very tnterestiiig «*fd 
useful hinl*, while assayers will certainty read with pleasure 
the informuiiou coutalued iu these pages. 



[SnsUab Edition, 7oL XIX., ITo. 491, {>££«■ 214, 21 J, 209; No. 487. pa^ea^ies, ISS] 



;28 



Correspondence. 






The Voice, and How in (Tm It, By Charles James BiauBX- 
VES, l^'roJesaorof Siii'*'iii/, Irfii»Uuu: I'ublisbed al 52, Myr- 
tiiuerr Sireul., Caveitdisb Square. 

TrtJH pamphlet trpals etitirety of the cuItiTjition nnd preser- 
Vrttiotj of the voice f»ir singinp-. The nuthnr, who hna well 
Hltidied his subject, not only enteM fiillj into the course of 
prMdiue rt'qnin*d, but de^tcribes the niedintiisrn of ihe tochI 
ArgTins, showing clearly and iDtcllitrently the intlueuce they 
exert: he aino rfoonmienrls ruri'tul attpotion to U)e diet, 
which greatly allacta the UevelopiueDt aod power of tlie 
voice. 



a little more; the circuit Is mado by wheel aad sp^' - ' 
presently thb pk^ctra plavi a second time on l^e wir 

pow sound, with an interval of & tone or more, .. ^ 

to the qumility of electricity which has pa*3ed throuj^h oois 
of them. By regiilating tlie time Ih^Iwcmjij the inst^kot wlien 
the wires soimd in unison and the itistant when they gouud 
again, and notidng the mtjaical interval caused by one of 
thenj becoinin^- fiat, we iiave an audible measure of t!;t' fx- 
pansiou of the counected wire, or the tcrnpenitwro towliirii 
it has been ruijjed, and of llie quantity of electricity which 
\ has traversed it to produce that effect, By continuing tlio 



Life amoHff the Paoreat. By John EnwAiiD Moroah, 
M.A,, M.D- London: Lougiunna, Grtfen, & Co. 

DiL MoROA!^ re»d a puper hn ihe dwellinfjs of the poor fn 
towns, at u tneeling of the British MedJeal Awociatioti, Ox- 
lord, hist August, and the pamphlet before iis is a reprint of 
this matter. Tht* author remarks that the housing of the 
poor, wliile besot with great difEieulliea. Is most intimately 
connected with tlie future prosperity of the grcfit mass of the 
people, fn all our great cities, there are unheaUhy quarters 
Avhcre the death rate \a exceptionally high, and the re^aori of 
ihiK, after careful inspection of many su'^h placea, I>r Morgan 
believer is to be found in this statement. Dad air, or too 
httle of ir» kills the people. 

Men wdl grow robust and vigorous, the atithor remarks, on 
very {x>or food, in very dirty cabins, and in very sorry attire, 
provider! they enjoy a pure and bracing ataiosphere, and the 
great phjsicid development of the nations of the Hebrideaand 
the western highlands of Scotland is ciu>d as an example. I n 
fltrikiug contract to tltia, we find tliat in the Isle of St. Kilda, 
a arimll island, nuinbering about eighty inhabitants, three out 
of every five infants born alive are carried off a few dai's after 
birth by a convulsive affection allied to letanua, the diHerence 
being apparently due to the huts having 110 snvoke-hole m the 
thatch, and being rendered impervious to air by double walls 
filled in with peat and sfjda, theobj*-ot of which is to prevent 
the escape of dtuoke, and iu due time the soot ia collected and 
used as manure. Space will not p«rnnt us to deal with the 
details of the subject, but the data appear to be carefully col- 
lected, and wo believe tVmt tbo^e iuUTested in theaubjecl will 
Hud thiA little work worthy of their attention. 



movement, the interval between tlio notes will iacrease, and 
at last the wnro operated ou will become too Black to ^utid 
at all If eoutiection with tirie battery be now broken, and 
the heated wire bo allowed to cool, its note Will bo hoard 
to rise by degrees to its original piuiiL With a siogle pair 
of plates, the phoaoelectroecop© answers well. The experi- 
loeiil is a striking one in a lecture-roon*. very iustniciive, 
and eoAiiy maniigod The apporatua is so simple that any 
one aloioat auiy make it for himaelf. 

££)Wt)S( SuiTH, M.A. 




CORRESPONDENCE. 

A Ph<imoeleciroseope. 

To the Editor of the Cheuical Nbws. 

!?m, — A little instrument which I have recently contrived 
for tlie purpose of illustrating the heating power of the vol- 
taic ctirrent, aiid which niay be Hfly called a photiocle'tro- 
awpi^ conaista of a rectangular wooden box, ten inches by 
,,^_ five, two steel or platinum wires 

fr^ Stretched from end to end, a small 
ppindle corrjiug two qniU plectra, 
and an eccentric wheel for making 
and breokinjr the current through 
one of the wires. The wheel turns un- 
der a brass spring, which plays upor* 
a button. The spring is connectt-d 
with one electrode of the battery, 
the button with the wire nearest to 
it, and this wire with the other elec- 
trode. To exhibit the use of the in- 
strument :— First, tighten the wires, 
by means of the millcd-hcaded 
screws, to unison, to about the pitch 
of middle C; then turn the spin- 




The Chemistry of Sn^m- Refining. 

To the Editor of tho OHtiiiOAL News. 

Sin, — I was led to infer from the tenor of Dr. Wallace*! 
coinmunioations, that ho supposed the fact that '' weak 
adds invert cane sugar" was insufficiently known, or ho 
would not have repeated it so frequently. Tht rr^dwHto ad 
absiitdum of his concluding remarka on this subject iamcher 
an old ruse, and quite unworthy of him. 

My remarks on the calcic carbonate with w^hich sugar rtfl- 
ner* of this country load the carbon surface of their boiie- 
black, hud refercnL^ to that which is derived from iinpim- 
tics in the crude sugar, and not that found in d«.'W bone-black. 
Dr. Wallace admita In his papers, that* the amount of calcic 
carbonate existing in bono black as in use in our reflnerie* 
is a variable quantity, sometimes io excess, at others deli 
eient ;. would it not. therefore, be preferable to get rid of U 
entirely (as it is not an ''Siimtial constituent of bone-black, tm] 
far as the sugar reflncHs use of it is cf>ncemerl, as the Dp. 
would have ua believe), either by the dry hydrochloric oci 
gas process, or by *' others of a similar uature," if *mM ea» 
ht found and rieutralise the acid of the crude sugar before 
submitting it to the action of the bone-black in the maimer, 
aa I have alrcudy said, which is in practiw in other couu 
triea? Or the synip of the cntde sugar might advanta- 
geously be Altered through oalcic carbonate in grain.-i before 
passing it on to the bone-black Altera; thus thecnmptuints 
of ''sour liquors and the occurrence of iron iu the syrups'* 
would oease. 

1 would, In coaolnsion^ remind Dr. Wallaoo that ih© use 
of imemperaie terms in a scienttSc discnssion does not 
tend to bring convictiou to the mind. — 1 am, kc.,, 

EllWABO Bbakzs 

CorUvTfttlog, MaMeatMUUl, April (th. 1869. 



J)iacov(try of iht Weight of (h< Air. 

To the Editor of the Ciikmical News. 



Sir, — Toil will donbtless allow me, through your me- 
dium, to reply to Sir, li^dwell. I do 90 by tint giving the 
text of Aristotle, according to the most authoriaed edition! 
— viz., those of Berlin, of Didot» and of Du Val, in the 171J1 
century, hnprimcrns Jioyale : — 

'h^f ty uirjv yip \fi^ tr<Ur« /J<!poc ^^f* ^^'^'^ "^f***! **• ^ ^"Jp* 
yinfiT»p i' irt lS.ni wXttnv i rr^virif^iVnr inw^f rv» «ti>n^ 

**Suo euim in loco gravitntem habent omnia praster igne 
etiam ipse aer. Cujus signum, est utrrm intlutum plus pon 
die BO M to sound the two notes in deris qnam vactmm habere."* 

** Dans sou milieu, tout pt-se, eicepte le feu, y comp 
I'ttlr lui-mAme. La preuvo en eat qu'une outre goufi^ pci 
plus que ai eUe etait vide." 



i 

I 
I 



fsuccession before tlie eccentric wheel 
makes the circait. AiUt thcae have 
Bovuideil in unison, turn the spindle 



{^BftlMb BdJtion, Vol XUL^ No. 487, page IM -, No. 488, pag« 177 ; No. 4B7, pag* 167 ; No. 488, pag* 177 ; Ho. 489, page 189.] 



^un«» 1860. f 



Con'espondence, 



329 



^ 



" Id their own medium, all bodiea, except heat, have weight, 
the proof of which is thai n leathern bottle weighs more 
when filled with air thau it does when empty, " 

Mr, Rodwell has asked for the originul text ; I give it to 
hhn with authorised irauslRtiona, except, indeed, the Eng- 
lislii, in which Inn^oge I have not been able to procure an 
edition of ArisLolle. Beaidts^ the word fia.o?, whicli 1 flind 
invariablr in suveral editiong, is suflicient to jusiify the 
'* ttfri'-m," which is likewise found in all the Latin tninslu- 
tiotie that I have seen ; I might add that it is also tlie ex- 
pression ''u^rcwi " which the niflfjoritj of Latin commenta- 
tors make use of. 

Ptoleuij, SirnpHcius, Seneca, aud Soerates throw no light 
on this subject 

Ptolemy and SimpMchi? denied Avi«totle'a aflfiiertlon, be- 
cause tliey did not admit the theorttieiil explanation of the 
pliilfkpopher. Seneca might thuik what he pleased as totiie 
opportuneness of the question; bnt bt-caiise he threw jests 
on it, eti pa.'n^anl, I do j»ot see liow they concetTi Ari&totle. 
I pass 00, then, to another p<dnt. Everybody admits that 
« leathern bottle, whether formed witli a skin or eonfsiFting 
of a bladder, eonstitutefl an open extertfliMe vessel, cai>abte, 
however, of being bent or flattened. Rcaistanee to exten- 
sion does not, in faet, imply abpohite rigidity, and a body 
can cease to be extended without; becominpr atitV. It ean 
«Iso be said that a lealheru bottle ia very slightly extensible, 
without ita meaning rigicL We comprehend, then, that a 
leathern little can receive compressed air; but will it resist 
any eflbrt made with the intention of bursting it? It would 
be superfluous to show here tliat this is a needlees fear; 
prepared skins ore not wanting, capable of eoniutning, at 
least for some length of timp^ air at a greater pressure than 
that of the atmosphere ; aa for the diJIercnce in weight 
tieoeegary to prove it, ail depeuds ou the volume of air ex- 
perimenlcd on. Let up admit the bulk of 15 litres, which 
IS not exorbitant, and suppose that tbo press ure can be in- 
creased in the interior by 15 millimetres; there miiLtht Ijc a 
difference of a gramme, and from thence it would Ijc appre- 
cinblo. Mr. RixlwfU reasons, in the persuasion which he 
eeems to entertain, that Arigtti^tle would have l>ei?n obliged 
to swell the bladder with liis own breath. But this euppo- 
aition is unfounded. Long before the philosopher's time, 
if Homer is to be believed, tlie Oreek smiths were acquainted 
with the use of bellows; and wo reuwi in the "Iliad" that 
more than twenty bellowB were at work in YuIcbd's forg« 
for Achilles' shield. Bfside.^ Mr. Rodwell seems to regard 
it as an undDuht4:^d fact tliat only rough and clumeay scales 
were in use at the period in which Aristotle lived. This U 
scarcely the case. U^ at this tiiue, gold was weighed with 
extreme care, why might tJiey not Ji.ive, I will not soy bid- 
auced indicating Uie i-ioth of a roilligroinnie, but halanfjcs 
giving the docigromroe, if not tJie centigratnttie. Mr. Ro-J- 
well refers to Aristotle'a oummentaiora who repeated his 
^peritnent and failed in their atleoipL But, as 1 have aaid 
't>eibre, many t>t' tliie philoBopher''a adoiirers di9regard4'<l his 
hwtructiona on thia point — Ptolemy. Ardiiraiden, Tliermis- 
tlna, Simpliciua, an«l a number of otliers. At the same tiine, 
Averroea affirms that he succcode^l, ajid, if I am not mi^- 
token, he \s not the only one. If Mr Rtwlwell wishes, I 
will a little Inter, point out tli© text ; at the present mo- 
ment, 1 have not it lK?fore me, Why. then, congratulate 
those who did not succeed, since it Us not proved tlui! they 
SiU*i Aristotle ntuat necessarily nasearry in the attempt. 

Mr. Rodwell does not think tliat Ariftotle cared much 
about tlie honour of passing for a good experimentalist; 
thlfl astiJ^nitihea n>*>. Arijft/>tle ol*served ©verythiug with 
the greateKt cnre, and it is known that h» has left little to be 
Baid on many branches of natural soienoe. in uU that was 
accessible to him. This ia a eulogy which naturaltsta do 
not he«ttat» to accord him — M, Flourens, tor instnnee, to 
quote only one example, in his refutation of Mr. Darwin's 
work. 

Mr Rodwell is not an enemy of the philosopher, It is 
im honour to him to render to this greet nmu the homage 



of esteem which he deserves. But it Is a singular way of 
proceeding, to contrarlict, udihouf ceyttitn prtx>JSy the clear 
and explicit word of the most exalted genius that human 
reason, left to its own powers, has produced. Mr. Ro Iwelfa 
hy}x>thesia does not appear to roe demonstrated; and far 
from being the ceriaio proul^ of which I have just spoken, 
it remains in the state of a supposition. 

Finally. My hof»ouruble contradictor will find in these 
lines that the veracious o( Aristotle which transbte d^iraf 
by bladder are not in the right, that there is nothing to pre- 
vent the experiment snetreediag by means of a leathern 
buttle; also, thai unle-ss somctliiug further than what has 
yet been advuuced is proved, it does not remain a less ea- 
tubltshed iriith that Arij^totlti affirmed tb« fact of the gravity 
of air, and that ho gave, as a proof of it, an experiment 
which neither disinterested comojentators nor actual oppo- 
uieuts havo proved to be abaurd. I cannot, then, under- 
stand why iiir. RodweO has been so eager as he has shown 
himself in seekiug to bring my opinion to nothing. Ifr in 
my answer, anythiujij: impulsive hits escaped mo, I disown 
it having intended to oi>po3e Mr. llodweU only, with the 
greatest esteem for his learning, aud the greatest cour- 
teousnosa towards him personally. 

Such, Sir, is. the auhwer I have thought it right to make 
to Mr. Ro«lweil; it v/iLl sulhoe, I hope, to make known my 
opinion, and to give all needful explunations to ray worthy 
oppofteut--l am, Ac, 

TuK Ajibk a. Uamt. 

iiotx, M^rcb 16, 1869. 




Svdden CryjffanUtation. 

To the Editor of the Chemical News. 

Str, — ^I am obliged to Mr. Allen for his note respecting 
cTystallLsalion, but ana i^orry it dues not give mo any infor- 
mation about my difficulty with respect to breakage of the 
iias^i. I have avoided the use of thick vessels, in conse- 
quence of their liability to craok in preparing the gupt^rsutu- 
rated srlution, and I am at a losis to understand how Mr. 
Allen prepares hia solution in a medletno bottle. Would 
he kludlj inform n>e? — Chtstal. 



O/* SolHi*OM of Glatihers Sulf. 

To tlie Editor of the Chbmical Ncwa 

gill, — Your correspondent " Crystal "" has written twice to 
a.sk for iiiPtructions how to prepare, for a lecture experi- 
Dietit on sudden erystallltati/^n, a supersaturated solution 
oJT Glauber s salt witliout breaking the tiask. 

It is etisy to do tlvLS if the heat be properly managed. 

The sfiU parts with li& ten atoms of water of eryslaUisa- 
tiou with so much ease, that if the heat be too suddenly 
applied, the anhydrous salt is thrown down in the form of 
a line powder, which makes the Oa^k bump, or caui^es it to 
crack, by fusing and by preventing eonvective currentH, 
When om-e the anhydrous salt begins to form, the evil is 
increased by ral'^iug the teiuperatum, for by this moans its 
solubility i^ diminished. 

As the ordinary solntion of this salt is one of the anhy- 
drous, and not of the lo-olora or of the 7-ntom variety, at- 
tention mnst be paid to tlio point at which the ordinary 
lo-atom salt fuses in ita water of crystallLsation; tfiut Is, to 
the point at which the onliydruua salt dissolves in the 10 
atoms of water that ac-oompauy the ordinary salt. It does 
so at about 93' F. Now, in [niUciog a solutiot. of six, five, 
or four parts salt to one of water, the tiask coiitaiiung one 
of these proportions ahuuld be gently heated with coni^tjint 
agitation over a spirit lamp, or otlter source of heal, or in a 
water bath not over 100", so that the contents of ihe flask 
may not much exceed 93*', or from tliat to 98". Under the^e 
coniiitions, tho salt wiU quietly melt down into a clear solu- 
tion, which may be then left to boll. The boiling im^^ be 



[fngllili Edition, Vol. ZIX., Ko. 489, pagM 189, 191 ; No. 450, pagt 900.] 



f^oWU 






groatlj facilitated by the additloD of some fra^^rwentB of 
cocoa-nut shell charcoal, or even of n lamp of Of>ko or of 
pumice stono ; bul Ihe charcoal is the beat^ on accouiit of its 
superior dcnaity. 

The boUrng aolntioo s!inuM be filtered halo tubes, flaeks, 
or bottles, made chfinieally cleciii by wnehhij? tn caustic 
alkali, or eulphurio acid, i^pirit of wine, Ac, and rineliifr. Tl»e 
tubes, *o., may stand in hot water while beinj? filleil ; or 
when tilled, they may bo pa»aed over the source of heat, so 
fis to raise them to ucar the boding i>OLQt before beiag plug^- 
ged wilh onttoii wooL 

SuL'h snlutioiiB may t:te kept for a length of tirao,, dear and 
bright, without nny chnngre. On lakinj; out the cotton 
wool, crygtillianttoii nets m from the surfooe, and proceodi* 
rftpidly downwards, converting ihe whole into a solid mass so 
that the ves^ol may be iuirerted without any eacape of liquid. 

r think it is a logs to the lecture table thut f^olutionn of 
thidi salt are confined to the single illustration of sudden 
eryataUisation ; whereas a whole lecture might be profit- 
ably devoted to the consideration of this salt, as it rosi^ecls 
the phenomena of supersaturation and the action of nuflei. 

Did your space jxjrmiu I would write Bucli a lecture; but 
I can ordy point out briefly n ft-'W experinientfi, 

1. Put a tube, eoutiiining: a cold bin highly superanturated 
solutiou, into a froezing mixture at 20 to 30 F, ; in a few 
seconda, well-shaped oc»ahe<lral crystals of thtj aubydroufl 
salt will begin to deBcend. The tube may now be wiped 
and exhibited at the luntom, or handed n>x»iit. 

2. If the neck of a larxe Haak be slipped over the neck of 
one of the tla.«iks containing the boiling dltered solution, 
and this be set aside in a cold place for maay hours, there 
will lie found at the bottom of the flawk crystjdtj of tho mo- 
dified 7-atom Bilk (rour-.«id«'d prisms, wth a rhombic base I. 
They should be bright and tran^parout. On invertiug the 
flnaks, the mother liquor may bo disehurged into the empty 
ttusk. If thi3 be not clean, the liquor will becojue quite 
solid; but, with care t wanning Ihe nook of tho smaller ttaak 
ia a good pUm), the crystals «an he disengaged from ihe 
supersaturated mother liquor^ and left to drain. If tho 
ery^ituls of the 7-atoin salt bo touched with a bit of wire or 
other solid, t!;e point touched iimnodiaiely becomya opaque, 
aud the opacity spreads in all directions, uu^ the whole 
mass becomes like tho boiled white of egg. 

3 Before closing one of tho tulles with cotton wool, touch 
tho inner surface at one si)ot wiih the ftnger slightly grcitay. 
When the tube is cold, it may be inclined so as to bring the 
solution into eouuict with various p:irts of tho glass: tho 
clean portions have no elfect; but the moment the solution 
touches the edgo of t.ie linger mark, crystallisation wets in. 

4. If tho solution bo filtered into a stoppered boltlo. and 
tlie bottle Ix." closud and tied over, and shaken so as to wet 
every part, it may be lell to cool. When cold, the bottle 
nuiy be violently shaken; and tho air, though long ia sepa- 
rating, does not act as a nucleus. Oit lofjsening the stopper, 
air streams in, and drags in a particla of duMt, which iuimo* 
diately acts as a nucleus. 

5. Solids, whotlier porous or compact, boiled up with the 
filtered solution, are inactive when the solution is cold. 84», 
also, is a glass rod, Ac, marie chemically cleun. Or a metal 
or gloss rod, paesed through the plug, held in the boiling 
steam, and left 8iiA|>cudQd in U'le Husk, is iuaetive whon the 
solution is oold. J^uch a rod may become covered with a 
cryHtolluie crust of tho salt, and even this is not a nucleus. 

6. A striking way of sljowiug the sudden trystallisution 
of the salt is to boil a filtered solutiou in a Rusk, put tlie 
flask on a plate, and cover tins with a bell jar It moy be 
loft for wou-ks in this stuto without crystallising ; but the 
roocnent after the boll glass has Ixen lifted off the solution 
becomes solid. 

7. If veisels wilh necks of different diameters bo opened, 
tlie solotioDs are long in crystulUsiug in proportion as the 
diameters are small. In vessels wilh very narrow necks, 
the solutions may not crystalliao at all until a nucleus bo 
inserted. 



8. Fnniday, in one of bis juvenile lectnres, g»ve some 
idea of the heat UV>,?ratod during the erystAUisation, by 
emptying a ilask upoa tlie bulb of a largo spirit thennome- 
ter. The temperature commoDly rises to about S5' ¥.; but 
the best salt for showing this effect in a lecture fxperimeut 
is tlie sodic acetate. It is easy to show a rise from 19' to 
105 F. 

Miiny <*lhor experiments mi^ht bo shown, such a» tho' 
easy fusibility of tlie 7-atom salt, tho milky appearance whea 
the chilled solution is shakcu, tho varied action of nuclei » 
tc. ; but these aud other illustrations will natually occtir to 
any one who is goiug to give a physical lecture on (Glauber's 
salt. — I am, ko , 

C, TOMUNSOM- 
Hlghgate, N., April 19th, 1869. 



Jargania, 
To the Editor of the Ciikmical News. 
Sir,— As siorao fiuestion has arisen about what Mr. Sorby 
has douo, 1 think it might bo well to give extracts from two 
of the letters received from tliat gentleman, during (Axt loufj^ 
correspoud[?iico relntivt* to a recent paper ♦in the Proceed' 
ings oj tiie Royui Socirty. 

""Sept. jotb. iB&L 

'* I forget whether I told you that I had discovered tho 
most remarkable spectrum that probably anyone ever saw, 
in a Kireon from Ooylon. It is quite unlike anytliiug pre- 
viously seen. It contains about a dozen abgoq)tion bands, 
which are not mere shades, like what is generally Been ia 
solid bodies, but in narrow perfectly black lines, like those 
seen in the spectra of colourtd gases. It is not due to asir- 
conia, because some zircons show no trace of such a spec- 
trum. As for as i can make out, the Enes are not due to 
any substance known to produce absorption bauds. So Cir, 
it is a complete puzzle, and 1 am half iodined to believe thai 
it may turn out to bo due to some unknown element. Ua- 
fortuiiately the amount of material at disposal is far too 
Small to admit of aualy^s, and curiously enough, it does 
not give any bands wlieu melted witii borax, but only a 
colourless bead I may say that the mineral which give* 
this wontlerful spectrum is neirly colourless, and lieoomeft 
almost at>sotutely so when red-hoated, aud remains colour- 
less, but gives tbo same wonderful bauds, when cold." 

"I have been led into a long series of work by the pro- 
bable new euljstanoo. I am endeavouring to determine the 
spectra of all known elementary substances when combined 
with silica. There are only a very Ibw that I have nut 
been able to study, and hopo to be able in time. 80 fhr na 
I see, no known substance would give tho spectrum of tho 
jaqron 1 named. 

" 1 have wiuce examined a number of jargons and other 
zireous. Tliere does not seem to lue a trace of the new 
Mubstanoe in any except those from Oeylou, and most of 
these only c-iutain a small (|iwintity, in comparison with tho 
very remurkublu specimen M,'hich must contain so much. 

** I do not know if I told you that 1 suspect the exist- 
ence of a second new substtmce. 1 may bo wrong in both 
00303 ; but it seems difficult to draw any other oundusiofi 
from the facta at present known."— I am, Ao.^ 

P. J. BCTLEa. 
5S, T)e 1l«anvoir Roiid,N. 

Ajtril i^th, 1869, 



[Cngtkh Sditiou, Vol. XllLf 1!l(>. 4dQ, ¥&%«& ^M, Vi\. 204 




Sktddm Crystallisation, 

To the Editor of the Cusiiical Nsws. 

Sm, — I am afraid 1 can bo of no further assistance to yrwir 

corpespondent " Crystal," as I have never met wth tho 

dilHeulty be describes. The bottle to be filled with the »aU 



* "On tba Btnicture ut llnhU-t^ Aupphlres^ Dhxtaoniit, aQil 
other Htn«rftlV* 'f'- xvll., pp, agt— jtja. 






CnCKICAL Wrws, 
Ak^ 1B«». 



Carre 




phate w thoroog^hly warme<l, ftod the hot solution filtered 
Into it The same quantity hfia been ufttnl by me several 
times, Iho RolidiAed salt boitig re-disnolvtul by plfletnj? the 
bottle in warm water, which is thea heated to boiUug — ] 

ALFKPO H AtXKM. 



Decomposition CeU, 



N 



To the Editor of the Chbxical Nbwr 
Sib, — Mr, Woodwrard's description of a glasa coU remindB 
xne of an iirronK^int'Dt I am in the habit of using, and a 
tk^scriptioo ofwhieh maybe of interpst. The coll is made 
by cementing two piews of window-ylasa on to a properly 
ebaped piece of wood, by means of hot pitcli. Platinum 
wires and plates present no difficulty ; no clamps ore re- 
quired, atn^ aeiiiB have littJe or Jio ticLioo on the pitch. A 
few weeks ago, I ooustructed a. cell, by placing a piece of 
ebeet gutta-jHirdia betwocn two gh\s8 plutej beated before 
the fire. It lasted a few days, but then leuked; I thtnk I 
can yet sutTt^Mi in making it pennaneut. Wlicn the c«ll is 
to l>e exjXMcd to great heat, as from the electric or time 
light, tlio portkoQ of ilie gbss not required lor transmitting 
light should be covered wJth tiu-foit^ which of course re- 
fleets tbc" heat, insleiuJ of abwrbing n like the pitch and 
^utta-perchau — Alfiikd 1L Allek. 



Ejuivaletice and QuanHvalence. 

To the Editor of the Cubmical News. 
Sin, — In your repori of the lart mcctvng of the Chemiwd 
Soeiety appear aome Taluable remarks of the Preflideot, 
Br. Wiiliamsoo, on the mjurioud eoufm^iou wlueh is intro- 
duced into chemicai edeiioe by the indeterminate signili- 
cfluce, and iuterehnngeable use^ of the two worda alimiicUy 
and eiptivalenc^ Dr. Williamson deprecated the ahiflhig 
aud iitioertain eenee which had bei>n attached to these ex- 
presaioDB by vafiou>? speakers during the evening's debate. 
He Also demurred to the introductiou of such words as 
**boud"to express the fuiictioo or property id virtue of 
which cliemieal aimpounds are held togellier. " He would 
not," be adued (aooordiiig to your report), *' express any 
opinion as to whether the atomieity theory was right, or 
the etjjtivu^ence theory, but they were diflferent.'* 

While buiiibly supporting with my entire concurrenoe 
the earlier part of the learned Preaideot's obs'^rvotions, I 
would veuture, with deference, to submit tliat, into hia last 
above-qiioted phraaov there seem to have crept Bome traces 
of that vagueness whictj ho hiinseif tso eanieptJy deplores. 
Let me, however, hasten, iu fairue^s, toaay tiiat the phrase, 
as reported, wears the aspect of aa abridgment, in which 
the full sense of the speaker's wordus amy have suCTered by 
conipieiwion; so that it should be only after reviaion by 
Dr Williamson himself tliat the report should be takeo to 
convey his precise m^ianing. 

With thia reacTvation, I take the phrase as it tMbands in 
jour columns, aud a><k permifi^ion, in the interest of ceo- 
chemistry, rcsiieetfuJly to point out Lh«t. lu referring to 
atomicity and equivaleoce oa opponed thoorieis etandiag in 
such mutual .iiittigonisfn us to comport the expreaaion of an 
opiniou ''whether one or the other U* right" the speaker 
6eem« to have been betrayed (doubilcsa by the baste of 
improvisatiun) into a temporary abhviou of well-known and 
momentoua lawa. 

Those laws, uud the mojit suitable forms for their oipr«»«- 
aion, it devolved upon me to atjudy with the utmost care, 
during mj col^aboraiiou w ith Dr. llofmann ia his " Intro- 
duction to Modern ChemLstry,"" aud eapecially while writ- 
ing the philo*iiopliica] ctiapterw of that work; a duly which, 
owing to tije illustrious Profossor'a numy uiid pressiDg en- 
gagemenu at the liuie, had, in a great measure, to be eiv 
tnjsted to my inferior hmad. 

It; tlicreJore, it be opportune, during the prevalence of 
the unsettled opinions exemplilled above, to submit for con- 
sideration stotcments of tboee kwa, m tenxui at leaat free 



from TugueneKa, whether otlierwiso admisaiblo or not, I 
hope that my Intervention to fnfll this duty will not, under 
the ctrcumstatiees mentioned above, be deemed unduly ob- 
trusive. 

Thus much explained, and audiouce tak(?n aa therefore 
grunted me, I strike at oaoe into the heart of the subject, 
by oflbring, in the coociAeat language at my command, 
exact defiaitions o( eqnividence atid atomicity; or^ aa I pre- 
fer to term the latter, <q*MniivoJe»€^ 

To prepare tlie mind for grasplog these defioitiona, I 
would first observe that fhe former expression, «^ira/rMc«, 
ia essentially ponderate aud is the answer (so to speak) 
made by each kind of matter to the qacRtioD How mwrhf 
while the tatter expression. quantivaUnee, ia essentially of 
uumerieat sigi:iflc3anoe, and ia the reply of each kind of 
natter to the experimentalist's question, I/ow mauyt 

Tliis preliminary indication shotvs us, at ODoe, that there 
is no such antagonism between tbe^e two aspects of chemi- 
c«l enqidry as Professor Wiiliamsou (if correctly reported) 
was led &i the moment to supptjse; that it is not necessary 
to enquiro " whether one or tiie other theory !)« right," but 
that, on the contrary, both views may be true — nay, not 
ouly moi/, but must be true„ seeing that they are but the 
separate expressions of co-existent and co-relative ^/Sicl*. 

The/od. of whkh equivalence is the expre«.«^lon, ia the 
reply which a material element makes, from the pan of the 
balance, to theque^tioo propounded in the retort or crucible 
— Hoio m«cA nf ifOH, by wtighf^ is the mifUmum quantity, 
r«/a(tv«fv ^ '^'^ aniTUftud tiandard-Hmt (E = iX rei^uisiU l« 
take pttrt in the /omuttiun of a eompomnd molecule f 

To this clc>ar question chlorine aa clearly replies, 355 ; 
oxyiTen answers, 16; nitrogen, 14; carbon, 12; aud soon 
through nut the elemental list- 

The /(iH which qtmniimlence (somewhat barbarously 
called also atomicity) purports to express, is the reply made 
by an element to the analytic and synthetic interrogation; 
^JT^m manij utattd'trd aUmut (H~[) is yttur tniuimum ftiait^ 
culf'fi?rminp le^n'jht, or aquivaient wtigld^ above dejined^ 
rapfibte ofjUAng. t<t futm a cwnpound m4>katdt, or of rejdacing^ 
in a etnnf}OUud m"ieeide already formed 9 

To this distinct question (How many 7X chlorine distinctly 
answers 1 ; the reply of oxygen ia 2; of nitrogen, 3; of 
carbon. 4 ; and these numlHjrs, written small, each agaiust 
the name of the respective element (represented by its mi- 
tial), denote the respective co-tfficierd* of quanU^^akncA. In- 
stead of numerals, dashes, in appropriate number, are fre- 
quently used to signify the»e co-effidents, which conspicuously 
stamp on each element's symbol its relative atom-lixing and 
atom-replacing power, or (if I may so express the fact) its 
chemical valvx in ejtrhnnife. 

These quantivalcntial co-eracJenta find their most con- 
venient *jyA<-t» enunciation in the Latin iiumerical predxes — 
wti. 6t, tri, and the like. Thus: we call chlorine r/n*vaieot, 
and write it O'- or CI'; oxygen, we term fcivaleut, aud 
write it O" or 0" ; nitrogen we denominate ^'valeut, and 
write it N^'' or N" ; while carbon is designated quadru 
valent, and written &' or C"". 

Turning to the phenomena themselves, which afford ns 
this distinct informution, we find id equal volumes of hydro- 
chloric add, water, amntouia, and marsh-gna (all, of course, 
taken in the vaporised or gaseous condition), the consti- 
tuents CI, O, N, and C, in the proportions due to their re- 
spective equivalent weights — 35-5. 16, 14, and 12; while, 
upon counting the ataudard atomft fH=^ 1 ) in each compound, 
we find I in the first-named (Hd), 2 in the second (lljOX ^ 
in tlie third (li»N), aud 4 in the fourth {HiG). 

By writing into these formuhe the respective co-ofQcienta 

of quantivalence of the elements engugcd. the balance of tKe 

forces in play, or, as 1 hove ventured to call it, tlieir quan- 

tivalentiid equilibrium, is beauti^Uy shown ; thus we have — 

HiCl'-, 11,0^1, H,N"«-, aud n.O"-. 

It is remarkable that the nuraerical quantivalence of the 
elements varies quite irre?pectively of their poudcral equi- 
▼alenoe, or relative combining weights; the combiniog 



[EnfUah Edition, Vol XUL, Wo. 490, pag« 204; Mo. 491, pafu 211, 212.] 



332 



Miscdlan^om. 



weighta in tlie soriefl above, for example, happening lo 
dimiuiFh pro^efi^ively. wliilst tho atom fixing powers, on 
the contrary, increase, thus ; — 

0=35-5 ^^** ^^ ^^^ 0^7 ^ ^ 
— 16 " two atoms " 

N = i4 " Uire« *• ♦' 



C=12 



four 



These higher and lower numcricol relfltiona. orittractjoos, 
of the C'lemeiita, are, nevertholeepy to be carefully dislin- 
guisbcd from the gmdation?, more or less intt-cse. of their 
chnnu-al activity, or (il' 1 may ao Fay) frora the iptci/ic cltem- 
ism of each. For example, the otie fitoin of hydrOi,a>n which 
wu/valent chlorine fixes, may (nnd does) happen to bo held 
with much more force than that which carhoti, all>eit qna- 
drivulctnt, puts forth in grasping its four-fold t;oiuplutntctit of 
atoms. And so, agniu, to illiiBtrate ihe poiut id another 
way, though potassium aud hydrogeo are both but uui- 
Taknt bodies, yet tho former fK) by reoDon of its superior 
t^cifir cketnium for oxygen, takc3 oxygen trotn tlio la iter 
(H| with exploaire rapidity and force. 

It iu not, however, toy present buuiness to dUiate on the 
bea^uty or to develop© the conditiona of these marvellous 
endowcneuU) of matenal boflies. so much better known to 
those I address tlian to myaelf. Tho atrict limits I have 
hero to obBt-rve extend only to th© clearing up of t^rtain 
prevalent misconceptions na to the precise import of the 
terms eqaivaltnce anJ quautivafeuce; as also of ihe latter'» 
derivatives— ttHii«/c«/, bivalent, irivalent, quadrivaleTUf mutti- 
To/cn/, and tho like; derivatives, let me odd, pasftTn, of 
more dassical conatructioti tlian smAi hvbnd terma as 
moitoialent, poi'yt'olcnt, Ac, formed by tlie intermingling of 
Latin and Greek, and whiob I regret to see so often em- 
ployed- 

Ab for the alternative expression, afomieity^ its meaning, 
as marked by its derivntion, eeema tu bo "indiviaibility; " 
a meanhig ftltogethcr inappropriate, otherwise than by a 
purely arbitrsiry convenLiosj, to express the idea of chemicsul 
V4due in excliango, whidi quonliTaletico. on the cotitrory, 
aptly denotes. Atomicity is, indw?d^ a weak neologiain into 
which chemi^ta set-m to have drifted, for want of a better 
word, at the time when chemical phi'osophy was beginning 
to undergo its great modem transformation. Lot us hope 
that BO defective a term may soon give place?, by contmoD 
consent, to the more aJgniflcaat and appropriate term qutn- 
tivaleiice. 

Let us, in conclusioraj abo hope that between those two 
terms, itquivolenre and qimniif'ait;m<r^ as well as between the 
great laws they imply, all ambiguity and confuaion may 
henceforth oease.^I am^ Ac., 

F. O. Wasd. 

London, April a^ib, iS6^ 



Ktw Uarb&nie Acid Gtnerntor. 

To the Editor of the Cheuigal News. 

SiH,— Thig Is but fl tnodiflcatiofi of the spongy platinum 
hydrogen lamp, but the modiflcjition renders It very useful 
lis a quick producer of gas on the lecture table. As in, tho 
hydrogen himp, there are two receivers, one standing in tho 
oiher: it la in tho inside receiver that the charges are made. 
For tho lump of Bine of the lamp Is substituted a tray of 
perforated lead, with a rotl. by which to bang tn the re- 
ceiver. A bit of lead i^ joined to the bottom of the tray 
(outside) to serve as a hniidle, when it is to bo put Into, or 
removed frora, the roceivor. Tlie tray has three feet, which 
leave space for the handle, and allow the hcjuid to dr«iu off 
wolL For use, the tray \a filled with bck1*i crystals, and 
hooked into the receiver; acid and water put into the outer 
receiver. The action is now just that of the hydrogen lamp 
One trwyM of soda is quite enough for a long soricR of 
exi)erirneot3, but if more be required, In a minute the tray 
18 taken out, emptied, and refilled with crystals. Evidcutly 
this apparatus is Just as useful for hydrogen production. 



The tray will hold a hirge quantity of granulated rinc^ and 
with strong solution a steady flow will be kept up, v^ith tho 
coc4t full open. The otlicr day, when putting by this ap- 
paratus, I ob^rved for the first lime, an interesting ex- 
ample of a lieavy body floating Crystals of »oda, even very 
large, floated to the top of ihe acid solution, supported. T 
presume, by tlie evolution of gas. The aoda coidd not be 
less dense tlian the solution. The crjrstala first fell to the 
l^tottoiu and tlien rose to the feurfaoe. It ia, however, evi- 
dent that the solution must hftve a oertuin strtngth; for 
I tried a second solution, and in this oidy small crystals 
floated ; tested with a hydrometer, the wooodl BolatKKi w«« 
1qs3 dense than the 6r«k^£. KBftSAji. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 



Rcdficinjf Alumialoni from Un Ore*, — ]hlr. A. Ic 

Flcury, of liiisluo, U, S.., mixes pure alumiivi wiih got lar. 
resitk, petroleum, or eonie ftudi stibsutice. making it into a 
stiff pjisle, wbidi is divided mlo pellets, whrcb are dried in 
an oven, then plnccd in a strong retort or tube, whkih is 
lined wiih a ofjftiiog of plntn»jHgo. T)»ey ate (ben e^cpnaed 
U» a cberty-red lieat. The retort must be stifficienily strong 
toHTJind a pressure of from 25 I030 iba on the sqtiane indfi^ 
and l»e so nrraiiged that, by means of a safety valve or tabev 
Ihe iteeeasary amount of some carburet'ed hydrv>gen gaa can 
be inirt>diiced into tite reu>rt among il»e Iteated mixture'^ and 
the preBSuro of from 20 lo 3oH)«. on tlie square inel^ be maiti- 
tiiijjed. The gas alluded to in forced into llm retort by means 
i^ A ft:>rce i>urap. By this proooaa the alumina i9 reduced and 
lite aluminium remntnH as a sprmgy roasa, mixed with carbon. 
This mixture is re-melted with nvotallic zinc, and wtien Ihe 
atuminiinn has collected iti a mHaUk st^ite :l>e xitK* i^ driven 
oil' by )>eaL The reduction la due to the rarboretied hydro 
gei) pia under proswure. The lin»e recjuired C»r reducing otia- 
hundred ponndu) olaKunina earth, cryolite, or other cofnp*>und 
of iilutninH, alionld not be more than four hours; wbco tho 
giiseaTi be ap(>lied in a previously heated as weil as strongty 
etim pressed Stale, tho reduction takes place in a still sliorter 
period. 

Tho Royal I*»ljr*P***nI<'— The rooet striking of the 
Raster novelties at t}iK in^Utntion is the large rnducli^'m coil 
which has been made by Mr Appe. It ia 10 feet long and 2 feet 
m dinmeter. The core of sftft iron weighs 1 rj pounds, afjd con- 
sists of wire* each 5 f'*et long and 0625 inches in diameter. 
The primary c*«il wei)rl>s 145 poondit, and is composed of 
3,770 yards cripper wire. The secondary wire is 150 miles 
in length, and 015 inctres indiftmet«r. Tlie gHlvanic current 
for tho primary coil Is supplied by 40 of Bunsen^ cells. It is 
capjible ef produeitjjf a spark 29 indies long, and the fluah 
w^ill perfonite platc-gl.ifiH 5 itidics thick. Ibis fiii^-e «ad 
powerful coil will not only bo vahiable to Profe«»>r Peppf rto 
illustrnte tho wonders of electricity lo the general public, but 
we hope it will be used m a means for promoting aoieotitic 
research. 

Tlie Can Snppljr of the Cltr orison don ._t>r T^th*> 
by, the Chief Gfls Examiner nppointed by the Board of Trade, 
has, in accordance with the pmvishvns of the 7iHt secti^Mi of 
Ihe City of Umdon fitis Act, 1S6S, rep<ifted on ilu? ijuMlily o» 
tlie gas supphed to the City of London during the monibs 
of January, FebrnHry, and March of tlie present year, from 
which it appeara that the ilhmjln<»(lng power of the gas sup- 
plied by tiie seveml city companies is as follows: 

JUttminating Bwkt in Standard i^r>n Candles, 

Wutmuio. UlolamiB. Av«n^ 
City of London Gas Light and 

Coke Company. i6'27 J403 H83 

The Gas Lighi and Coke Cora- 

pauy ....i6aS 1438 15*26 

Orent Central Gas Consumers* 

Ci>mpnny 1685 1426 I4'9(> 

These are the results of ex«miijHtiona of each of tho Com- 
panies' gas, three limes daily at iuiervjila of not less ibtiu aa 



i 
4 



.. [EagUMh HdlttoD, VoL XIX., No, 491, pages 112, 213, aifi,2\6 v Vo< ^V1« ^ai« VSk\ Ho. 4S8^ v>C(» 177, 178.] 




junty wm. 



Miscellaneous, 



in 



hour, between the hours of five and ten o'clock in the after- 
noon. Ab rogardB the puritj of the gas, be reports that amraoDta 
iioa constantly been preiicnt in the gas or the Chariored and 
Great Central Cuinpaniet ; but that the gas of all tho com- 
panies has been always free from auluhuretted hydrogen. 
Tho amounts of aulpliur present in tiie (^ua lu olbor forms baa 
beert wa fuHowa \—- 

Grains of Sulphur p^r loo r^tbie fixt of Oat, 

MaxIcuuui. AHoiuiutn. Atangt* 

City of London Gaa Light and 

Coke Omipnuy 1S9J 1170 i5'0O 

The Gas Light and Coke 

Company. 2415 1575 1949 

Great Central Gas Con- 
sumers' Cofiipany 24 00 7 "03 1 2. 2S 

B«port i>n the Sewage of llic rtlf ol'Iflelboame. 
— Mr. W. Sydney Gibbooa (jus kinliy f^irwarded to ua a copy 
of bis report on this B>ibjiM!t, from whicli rep>rt we brtdiy 
abeiract the following: — It appears thnt as yet the City of 
Melbourne is not provided with a proper syi^tein of under- 
frround sewers, but a kind <3f c«>aaptt tllcnation, suggeated by 
Dr. Tracy, has been adopted, and Mr. Gibbons wna requested 
Vo inquire into the efficiency of that ayateni which, briefly 
described, haa the following arrangement : — The- water-closet 
is supplied by Yao Yean service, and by the bftth-water of 
the hooflo to the exclusion of kitchen alopa. The cea-jpit, at 
a short distance from the doset, ia a iar^ stone chamWr 
furnished with an iron grratiti^, and a pMrtition-wali dividing 
it into two parts except at the bottom. The dejecta are thus 
comminuted by the force of the stream of water beating 
against the partition- wall and the grating, so that before they 
reach the fitter, the whole is homogeneous liquid. The filter, 
at the bottom of which the mixture enters, is a covered pit 
with an iron grating at a short distance above the bottom and 
another near the top. Between the two are layers of road- 
metal, oysier-ttliulls, and a mij:ture of animal and vegetable 
charcoal. The author of this report made a very minute in- 
spection of all tlimgs connected with this subject, and took at 
dilFerent pUtces in Melbourne, samples offltihy eewage water 
in open gutter?, which namples were analysed; the samples 
all agreed herein that they oontained a Iarg« amount of or- 
ganic matter and solid residue, while fcoiid exhalations and 
gase« wf»TQ freely given olT; for coraf>ari»>n'a sake the Yan 
Yean water from the main pipes was analysed^ and this water 
found to be clear and 9 weet, yielded a solid fraidue of 87316 
grains to the gallon, of which 21 52 grains are organic mutter. 
This water was free from anpmouia and eulphurotted hydro- 
gen ; microBcopio research of this water, m wt-ll as of the 
aewjige water, proved ttie former to contain only such in- 
fusion as may also be met with m freah sweet natural water, 
but in trie case of sewage, myrinda of all kinds of lower anU 
inal forms of life such as accompany foul and decaying organic 
matter wero mot with. As to the cesspit t^llration arrange- 
ment, it was fully proved to be chemically inoperative, and 
n>**chanically incomplete. The lengthy and copious report, 
which is chiefly of local interest, proves that the city of 
Melbourne is sadly behind ia proper sanitary arrangements, 
and deduient ia the requiaita meaoa to carry oflTLia foul and 
refuse matter. 

The Cbenilral Soeletj.— !n the report, of the discussion 
on Mr. Chuptuatis paper, in this number, Mr. Herkin's 
remarks are not quite clearly given, we therefore reprint 
them as follows: — 

Mr. Perkin remarked that some time back Mr Duppa told 
him that he had suooeeded in obtaining the chlorides uf the 
radicals from acetates and salts of other acids by tite action 
of chlorine. In the caae of acetates, he obtained chloride of 
methyl, and from succinates, the ohlorid*3 of ethylene. He 
(Mr. Perktu) had made an examination of the chloride of me- 
thyl formed in this manner, and found that it prtxiuced the 
ordinary crystnlJiun hydrate, and behaved just tike the nor- 
mal chloride of methyl. 

The Bora] »o«ict|r._Anoong8t the candidates for ad- 
miaaton 10 the Ruyal Society this year, we find ttie namee of 



Henry Pircka, F.CS.; W. Easnn, M.A.; Professor G, 0. 
Foster, B.A , F.C.S ; Peter Le Neve Foster, M.A. ; .?, Nor*^ 
man Lockvfr; G. Slalthey ; Dr. Theophihi* Redwood, F.C.S *, 
CromweirF, Varley ; and Dr. A. Voelcker, F.C.S. Alto- 
gether forty-five candidates are proposed, out of which fifteen 
are to be elected in June. 

The riiair of Chemlatrjr at Edinbnrfirtt. — On Wed- 
nenday Inst, at a meeting of tbw Curators ofihe University of 
Editiburgh, Dr. A- Crura Brown was elrtted to Ihe Chtiir of 
Chemifltry. in the room of Dr. Lyon Plnyfwir, M.P., resigned. 

C.'otiipltnienCarf Dinner lo Dr. Odllnt?. — q^ the 
evening of Tuesday last, April 20lh, a number of gouileroea 
who have been asfMX^iated with l)r. Odling as pAst end pre- 
sent members of the Council of the Chemical Society in the 
thirteen years during which he has filte(i the ofBoo of Secre- 
tary, entertained the Doctor at a complimentary banquet, at 
the Albif>n Tavern, A 1 derogate Street The chair whs occupied 
by Dr. Warren De La Rue, F.U.9,, V.P.C.S, who was supv 
ported right and Ml by Dr. Odiing. F.R S.. Dr, Tvndnll, 
F.R.a, Professor William'son, F.R.S. (Pres. C.S). Sir 'Benja- 
min C. Brodie, fiart., P.R.S., Ac., ke. The following rs a list 
of those who took part in the eriterluintnent .• — Messrs. P. A. 
Abel, F.H..S. ; E. Alkiowm; J.Anderson, M.TX ; J. liowthian 
Bell ,• G. B. Buet^m, RK.S. ; F. C. Calvert. F.R.S. ; D. Camp- 
bell; A. H. Church. M.A ; W. Cfo«>kea, F.R.3.; U. Debos, 
Ph,D„ FM.^[ F Field, FIL8.; D.Forbes, F.R.S.: G. C 
Foster; J. II. Gilbert, Ph.D., F.R.S. : J. tL Gtadntonc, Ph.D., 
F.R.S,; D, Han bury, F. US. ; A. V. Hnrcourt, F.R.S. ; C. 
Het.«ch: H. Leiheby, M.A., M.B. ; G. D. Longsiaff. M.D. ; N". 
S. Mttskelyne. MA.; A. Maihiessen. Ph.D, F.R.S. ; 0. H. 
Makiua," E. J. Mills; Hugo Mtiller, Ph.D.. F.R.S ; W, Mar-' 
oet, M.D., FR.S. : E. C. Nicholson; H. M. Noad, M D„ 
FU.a ; W. H. Perkin, F.R.S. ; D, 8. Price, Ph.D. ; A. P. Price, 
Ph.D.; T. Redwood. Ph.D.; W. J. Rns^ell, Ph.D.; J. Dfu- 
hnm Smith; A. Smee, F.R.H.; J, A. Voelcker, PhD.; H. 
Watts, B.A., F.R.S. ; J. Williams; J. T. Way; and J. A. 
Wanklyn. Letters expressing reg'et at being utuible to 
attend were read from B Frankland, Ph.D., P,R.S ; T. 
Grnhara. D.C.L.. F.R.S.; A. W. Hofmnnn, Ph.D., LLD., 
F R.S ; H. Benoe Jones, M.D-, F.R S. ; J. B. Lawes. F.R,S. ; 
W.A.Miller. M.D., LLD., V.P.R.S.: Lyon Playfair. C.B., 
MP, Ph.D., FRS ; H, E. Roecoe, B.A,, Ph.D. F.R.S. ; R. 
Angus Smith. Ph.D., F.R.S. ; E, R. Shnnck. Pli.D, F.R.9.; 
J. Stenhouse. lLD., F.R.8. ; and Colonel P. Yorke, F.R.a 
After the usual loyal toasts, the Chairman proposed, in elo- 
quent and appropriate terms, the toast of the evening, "Tbo 
Health of Dr. OiJUng;*' and drew attention to a handsome 
silver ttmkard, which had been presented by aome of those 
present, appropriately inscribed, for Dr, Odling's acceptance, as 
a meraonta of this day. After this had been filled with sn 
" elhylic comp<Juad of complex composition and high satu- 
rating power," as the Chairman nptly described it, and had 
been parsed round aa a loving cup to ail present, it was pre- 
sented to the Doctor. The Chairmim concluded his able 
speech amid loud and continued apptnnse ; and the toast was 
drunk upstanding, amidst enthusiastic cheers. Dr. Odling re- 
plied in feeling and impressive words, in which he spoke of 
the great advantage and pleasure it had been to him to form 
the ttcquHintunce of those distinguislied men who had Qlled 
the Presidential chair, during the thirt4?en years in which h& 
had occupied the Secretaryship of the Chemical Society. Ap- 
proprhite speeches were afterwards made by Professor Wil- 
liamson, aa President of the Chemical Society ; Professor 
Tyndall, on behalf of the visitors; Sir Benjaniiu Brodie, Bart., 
Messrs. Harcourt, Perkin, and Dr. 11. MiiUor, as Secretaries ; 
Ppofi«aor Abel, Dr. Gladalooe, Dr. I»ngi*iaff, Prufeawr An- 
derson, and others. In the intervals between the speeohess 
Professor Abel performed a selection of opc«ratic music oq 
the piano and songa, comic and otherwise, were sung by Mr. 
F. Field, and also by Colonel Boxer, Captain Goodcnough, 
Colonel De La Rue, and Mr. J. C. Brough, who were present aa 
guests. Great credit is due to Measm. Abel, Miiller, and 
Nicholson, who formed Ibe executive committee, for Iho ad- 
rairable manner in which everything was organised. 



[fincUflh EdltlcHi, VoL XV^ No 488, page 176 ; No. 489, pagaa IB9, ISO ; No. 490, pafsa 801, 802.] 



334 



hntemporary JSeienMj 



^€88. — JVofes am 



tt^rtes. 



IMt. 



CONTEMPORARy SCIENTIFIC PRESS, 



AmiR •« (^jcperlment of more than etKbte«n nitvntba. we haTc decided i 
to dtw^nttniie Lhic department nf the Joarnftl, and wp haTr> made ar- 
rangi'inr-nu fiir i^i'inji; ahMracti of ibu contcDl*, Iii9(«a<) of the tllles 
»«i«relj, of ull oriaritml irticU-n In the Imidine Foreign t'bfinicAl journals. 
Tbcwft artlcli-* wblcti are too coLnprehvoBlre to bo citrnleni^ed will. If 
thej are of flofflclvni imfortanre. b« tran.'^lated In fu<l, and Inserted «• 
•rton M fMMibtf after thfir paMioatfon abroad. TboM at>MnK-tA will b« 
printed In tmalter t5'i)«, thereby tncr«a8liif tbm avuUAbI« aiM aa well aa 
iba v&lna of tha Chcvical Naw«. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Atomic WWflAdi.— Tb forwiet numben f<t the Chmmioal Kbwb *x» 

t«Qdcd qnoiatiubi have bv«n (iTen from ProrcBaor i^'tu'it inltiMC« and 
muterlr renearthe* on " Atomc weight*/* publi»bi'il In rS6o and \i b 
Intereatlng: !» notice how clo«eIf bit neaulta tolnciide «'(tb tbttsc d^i- 
dlMMd ^>in tht" inT««tl«ationt bj Dr, I'f nnj on ibe same Mil^eol in 
s8j9, aaitbuwti In llw fullowlng comparative italemeal:— 

Stan. P«rtny. 

ShToTio*. ,. 35457 33 45 

IIltr*if«IL »4044 Uoa 

PlWer,, , ,.,..,., iof9|D to7'97 

PetaMtam l^^yr W^ 

Bedluu. « *3*o4S 33105 

Cmnjihor af PatchovH \h qaltc ivhUe, not Mark, an btated la Init 
nomber ofCuKHiCAL Nbwr<^»i. Repr^ May, tS,iy>^, page j68). I have 
« quantity In my biboratury wblcb any oae ao mieiuetcU may •«<. — 
8111TU1IF8 Piai&K. 

SubatUuta for Blnck Lead for Fin Gratsn.— Cad any of your 
readers inform me wh^re to find a df-Mriptlon of a kind of [intnt^ made 
with poUft»lc or »«>ilic ftilluiita, Lnteadi-d to replace the aso of plouitiikgu 
tor flr«gt*tt*«?— 11, M, 

A>w t'olour Tt»t for Blood. — Fnwn some experiments made "by 
Pmfrtaur Kloxanu u{ Kln^'a ttollog*', \n a public Itctuff, It oppears 
that a mixluri' of ilnetur«< of ^olacum and oz<»nl>ed 'ttbor (thai (b Ui 
My, • «olution of piirozlde of tiydrt>|f<>ti In ethtrr) IriAtiuitly pnidac^s, 
with blood or blot>dMaina. a beuUtlfuJI blue tioL ]*n>fi»isMjr Oloxnm 
mcoliuned that be bad extnkcted aatu^W llntu fibri\ lu llie caw <jf a 
Moud atalo twenty yi>arA utd, uud with &u aluio^t ItiiipprfclHble auiuaiil 
cf Stalo on it : aad hiul found tbi' etiankrtvrlKtic blue C'lnur wu Im- 
ia«dlat«*l7 iDdac<L-d by tbo U>«t, and readily detected by lulurusCoplcat 
esamiiisUoa.— Z^mcdi. 

Ht^o Framing Mkeiurt, — Ln tbe notice amooK " Motes and Querii<« " 
1a#t week oft "Aew Fr«erinsj M I itu re.** ( -I tn. Rtpr., Xay. iy^hi'<Hft 
367), tberv b an otnl«sioD of tbe nilnn!!i Al;Kn b<ifore tbe 8^ Pahr., the 
toiiipfratiara falling 8' beliiw lero wlien from two to tbree ounces of 
material are iiiwd^ I also fla^t that tb« fluid obtsJoed tty mlxiniK tbe 
powders ntentloaed in tb« DOt« bsooniM aoUd 1q a day or two standltiK 
in a corked Jnr. Tbe solid oaasa has the appearance ofset pla^t«r of 
Tarls or datnp rhalk. Tbe addition of a very little water appears \ja 

Iiiwrent MiU sotilnfr Into a ralfd tnaas, bat tbe cbalky-lookbig citrate 
las a long time In cirld water without being «]l>«olTod. Further obser^ 
TatloDfl on th& inhjeet are D<ic«ssary and may lead to Interesting re- 
aulta.— John <}ALLkTLT. 

Action of l^nve* on Ctirbonle Acid. — In order to answer tbe often- 
doubted fact of tbe deoompoaliloD of oarbontc aeld and the furmatlon 
of oxygen by lb* leftTee of |ilAni% Boneslnjrauli bm tntroduceJ Into 
mixture* of carhonie add m and bydro|CeQ and tbe fornier ^as and ni- 
tro^en flr«ta clean stick of pbosphores ; as long as no oxyi^en Is present, 
tbis eleiut«t dot>ft not un<lerK>> slow eotibuatlon, tberehy iflving uiT 
vii[HHir«, bat as rooq as a gT««n leaf of any plant wa^ carefi'iDy bruugbt 
into tbe Kueooa mixtures ituDdlnir over mercury the slow couibunlJun 
oftb« phosphorus be^Q. owing to the dccomiKieUion of the carbonic 
a<\l(l and fornintlon of uxyeea; this action takes plaee also In dlfTose 
daytlgbt, but not duri»t( Iwlllgbt ; leav<-s wherelo the cbluropbyl la iM>t 
fully developed da not act In this manner. 

Test Paper for iMUcting Mhiutf Trac^t of Uvdroeyanic Aeid 
may be prepartHl, according to Scbonbein, In the foriowlni^ munnar:— 
Good Dlterinc |>aper Is thuroaghly soaked in tincture of irualacuni 
wood eotitatning at least from 3 tu 4 ptrr ocot of resin. After dryiuig. 
It Is molsteniHl with water c*»ntairdnifc[ In »<.'lutloD o 25 per cent of lul- 
pbate of oopTM>r; tbis pnper beonmes colonrcd blue aa soon aa It Is placed 
tn contact even with very ratnute i{iiaTititlefl^>f bydrocyaulc add. Test 
pnper prepared with a eoluilun of Iodide of iMtsssluro and »Uirch solu- 
tion, will, when previously also molsU'Ded Willi tbe aUive^named »i>lu- 
tlon of copper, become blue when placed Into contact wUh.HnislI. otb«r- 
nrlie luH rradiifjMroeptlble, quantities ofbydrotiyaDk acid.— JStVAwefs. 
Woekntrnk / Fharm. 
TmUng Ot^foarku for Sugar, Dtmirin. Gtun, and <7{i«coaA— When 

SyeerlnA, prurlousty diluted with from 30 to 34 itmea iu bulk of water, 
mixed with a few drops of a ■'■lulion of mulybdate of ammonta, 
while also a (bw drop« of nltrlf actd are added, the fluid, on being 
heated to boiling pointy becomes tNsluured blue, wht^n tbe glycurtne hae 
been adultt-rattd with 1^ soloilon of *uf »r ; when duxtrlii Is present, 
the rraoiluo Is m*t so marked, and the eolour rather more ireenlsh. 
Bol Dr. A. Vogel. wbo trivestlgited Iblt subject states that the B<ial- 
Urst/0ii ofgf/oeriDs by dextrin and glacutfo Is InfuUlbiy d«tect«>d by 



the welMtnown tlqald, a eolntion of % ealt of copper to which a aolo 
tloB of tanaHe aeld aiMl eaoelle potuM are added, applied to the deteo- 
tloD t)f grapo sugar ; as for gum, the mulybdnle <rf ammonia Is a gw<vl 
te>.'^t. The presence of jium In gtyreriae is iodleaied by a more psls^ 
blue colour — InthittrU Zeitung. 

Ttnting tk* D«ctlouri»ing Powar of Animtil CharrnnL—kcCOtA- 
Intf to Tlsaandler, to gmamw of a good sjiecitnin of ibis matcrfal care- 
fully mode, and also 10 grammes of tbe sample to >>« lubiuitted to rX' 
nerlHient, are taken and reducer] to a rery tloe powfier; eachqinantltj^i 
Is then placed on a paper fliter of equal ulic. and ni-xt ther» !• pi-nre*' 
oTur the charcoal a qoaolkly of » c c of a sDlutlon of ratbfr darHj 
brovrnftugiu' dlwolved In water; the same quantity Is repeatedly pouf 
ed >.vor the charcoal until the fluid whlcb pa-s^-a through the ftH*r !•] 
of thtf aame rlark colour a» tbe dark coloured flugar solution used 
When, for Instanre, ibtr liquid runs U>r»'Ugli the normal aniniat chaf 
coal, as dark culoured as the originally appUed solution, after eight 
doses of 3€ graininen each, while such happ^-ns lo occur with Lin* ctjar- 
coal to be tester! after four of «ueh doMra, it is Hear that the decolouT 
tlve effrcl of the latter b* only tjalftbat of tbe rormer,— Jfimi/z-Mr /«< 

(?</# /*ur//ff(!ifif»«.— Mr. Oasch, Inspector of kss works at Ncun- 
kfrchen, Prujwla. has made a series or experimi^Lt^ with tbe view %ft* 
settle « qneslion which is alto of srlmtlflc Interest, vi*,. whether ear- 
bonlo arid li expelled from lis combination wUb lime (as formwl In tl»w 
purifiers of gns workJS) by sulphuretted bvdroxen. or whether tbe t«-, 
rerse action takes plaee. The re?iilta ooLained are thi- f'JI"winy: — j 
ri. Carbonic add expfls hydru»ulpbutic acid from Its comblaation withli 
lime. (The congbli nation of bydrtKnikihorlo arid with llmo appears K>i 
bo Oa9,Uti), b, Hydro^ulphario acid does not expel carbonic arblj 
fhwn cartMDHte of lime, c, When vithet Illuminating gasi, nwl gas. 
ptmovpberlc air are p.isned through layers of suwdust. earboole aeil i*> 
expelled In Iutjz* qanntlty. es|wclall.v at tbe beginning of the Oiwratloa^ 
or when tbe teiD|wntturc> of the au'wdusft Is artlflolally Inueaaed. d^ 
Lime, which haa been fully Saturated with earbonle add, absorbs hydro* 
ciilphurU- acid rtjry <n«rK^tieally M l-ng as It la cuolst, while no gaa k 
exiwiled from iL—Jcurntttfar Ott*bM*tH-Atvng. 

IhUMtatUm of Petroitnm by J7e<il— M. Balnte-aatre l>eville baa 
recently culi*.i attention to a Jani^er In nsfteot to petroleum. pamiBa 
oik and tlic like fluid* In counequenee of the rery gnat dilatation lbes# 
liquids uiiderg.1 by ol)an«es of temperature of tbe atmtwphere r>o srresV 
er than thia** obwrved from winter oeld to summer heal. l>cvllle ad- 
vises thai casks and other elo»ed tcmcIs conumtng potr<>leutu eliould 
never be filled, as the terms runs, full to the bun|, for if this be lione 
witii the afortsold liquids, there is an imminent danger of the vewela 
containJi)^ Uiein being fi>rce<I asundtir by the mere dilutation of tbe 
liquid cuolamed in ihrra by an incrfase -tf temperature. It is, thrrfr- 
fore, especially Id cold weather, si>i»aliitely neces»ary 10 guard a^aiui 
enti ely flliling casks and ."ther vessels entirely with petroleum and all 
similar fluids, since the bursting of tbe ve»sela tanf become alteodcd 
with d^inverMnd ri^k of fire; exitloslon al»o may ensue by the vapour 
becoming mixed with tlr.—AbAdffeiJfttim Mi>niteur Btlge. 

I'Mntite or XtgotU't—" A Medical titudcnt" hi tutfkrring fh>ni a 
pommon form of confndon of ideaa and terms. The galtatdo curreint 
Is Mt up at the surface of the xlnc and Is due to tbe totce set free by 
the xino wblie displacing hydrogen fW'm. the ncld. Thus tbe sine is the 
poiltlre plate or element of the battt-ry ; tbe current pawn throueb 
the Liquid to lh« ne^nitUe plmti^ or element, the copper, plstlaiim, or 
carbon, which merely collecta the force an<i transmits It As the cnr- 
rent coaalsta of pohirlAed molei'-ulea there is a [>ositlre aud necatire at^ 
ererj point wherever tiie elrcult Is opened, and the sid<- of the oi-ir 
Ing to which the current C'>iut<s on its roiid from the tine thn>ugh lb 
liquid Is always the [losttivc : tbert-fore tht> wire leading froailhe n 
tlT* element of the bult\>ry bi-comi''S lis positive (kiUj, and wh»'n 
nvcted to aiiutber cell, it Is the positive ektuent of that cvW ; tbu-v 
Ie4l to ajiother batli>ry cell, it hi oonthiuerl in the zlne or positive pi* 
If tn a deeompi>sltlon cell, it Is the posltlre pole or aDO<la, to mUH 
proceed the negstive portb>iifl. of the compounds under el<o.'trolysjiY^ 
then-fore called anl-..ng, whlcb are the chlorouti or ivcid elements aoa^ 
radical!. Hut thuy do not gu to the an"de from any "attraction" 
themai'tTet^ t»r If free, they only range thetiiselre" In that t^rder of 
larlty when forming parte of a molecule capable of beintr polarised al 
separated IntM two durtlncC components, therefore onJy binary 
pounds can be directly decomposed by the *. Jectrlc current. The 1" 
zlncode and platintHle are merely confuaiug nuisances. The wire I 
Ibe line plate is of course the uegallve pole of the battary ; Iti' 
road by which the electricity returns, to use a comnr ■ '■• 
It is the complttlon of the circle of pol*rl*ed moli 
essential chnraocer of a galvanic current, for only « ' 
ed is electricity developed; when chemical action tan'>» i-ui. . «lt 
thia condition of a complete molecular ebain, heut Is ilevfloped h. 
action Instead of t^loctrlcity. In ratios which prove the two to ' 
same furrei under dllforent conditions. I'bus, in the cells, the cuf 
ge<'»from xinc to copper; lo the circuit its <ji>urbe la from eopp«r 
line— J">n.*f T. iiJraAOCK. 

J'onitive or 3>(ruf»re.— Pcrhapa I might be nllowed to aitswer 
Medical Student," who, In your limpres»i{>n of Murch ig [Am it4i 
Slity, 1869. pag^ 367), asks for Inforinstlon about tbe pulf^of the r«>i 
battery. In the flrsl plnce he must remctnber that il»u poaitlee eleuif 
or platti is m>t tbe ramo as the po^itlv^j jHile, in fact, just thi< rn^rers 
and this, I eX|)ect, is what bos confuse«l him. Now snpp"«e w» have ( 
battery ctWl, the plates of which sre zirtc and cooper and tbe fluid 
ordinary dilute j^ulphurio seld, I'horlnc U acted u|>on and oxidiae4 1 
the acUt, but tbf cojipi-r is not; the xinc Iherefnrv become po.>lll> 
tbe copi*er negsilTe. A current of electricity would now ps 
tike Zd to the Cu If I* could, but as a current can only nase I 
cull and nerer In a atrstight line, the panicles of the liqoia are 
polarised and put in a ittate of temsloa ; btit If the plate* are o>> 
by a wire outside ihn c«lL the circuit is completed, and tlie oorrar 
now paaa from ibe alnc, tlirougb the liquid to the coppec, tlieOC« ! 



1 



(fiacllB]} Edition, 7oL XI^ Ho. 4B%,^^«V1&, l»o. 4Bl,^0ai|M\«l,UA.\ 






ri#t. 



W5 am 



les. 



335 



^ 



I 



by the win to tb« tine. Now U tna.it be noticed tUat the rarr«nt in* 
• 6e the bMtcrv passf ft ttota Zn to Ca ; bat out^ldf, or Id ihe wiret ft-om 
Cn to Zrt, TlTat |»al« tnm wbkh th*^ currenc Harts ia cklle«l potitttire : 
therrfor« tUv *lnc U l)i« p4j«ttlv« pUte or «ki«K-nt, B«l the c«if«|>er 
wire ]« the (hjituivfl polltr, ftid, or tenulnaU i>r tbe ftnoilo ; Ibo cv|)t>«t 
p1*l* b tbo nej^ivc pute, hurthe zioc wire l« the negative p<>le i<r tfai} 
cathode. Those subiitano^ b which, oa dccompo»lllon, app««r «t the 
iKMUlropolo or cnp\MT end arc tinned anlona, vU., O, LI, [, anl the 
■cIdiL TbtMe wblcta appt:ar at ttie ceuaitve or zinc polt? ui-e cathionn, 
tU., hydmiion, tUe mccali, and comUnsilble ■lUistam^e* In general. 
Oftr« more, tbe Za ts Ebe poiiltve plii.l«, but a^jfallve puitr ; tho Cu It 
tbe nfgatire plate, but p<>»HlTe pole.— :*i Hit:*. 

Sab^tii lite, fur Bliick- Lead /tr ^itovM.—k enncentratoe! ftolutlnn of 
•Uirate ■if p'Ptajh or ttwla, t»v wblob tnay be Ktdoil inlm'^rai substances 
lu e<ol<i4irtiijir nt:>tter; fur ln»taDc<i — i^yf vliito, tln-aib, |irfcir>Jtiil-i:il aoI- 
pbat« of baryta, oxlila of xinc. and "ih^ Itku ; fof fed, \ unetljoi rt?d »ud 
divera dbitdeei «if oxide ^jf iron, alB4i red oatirus; blue, ultrau]Hirti)«, co- 
balt Mue, and Rttcn like «iib»t«nce»; but the qiie»llon U. fV*«n If the 
drylnif ffoes i»n wcVI, wilJI nut the drjr material aosle off readily aiealn ; 
of course U wil »(}iuewliat depend aa the mure or le»t rou^jtintfaa dl tbu 
•tirTace of the Iron. Paint inaii« with boUd lln^ee^ oil \s out of the 
question where heat ha;^ lo be eiidure't, and, inore«>¥er. It utick* to W^n, 
in consfqutTce u/ ihe p-fciillar iir<ip«rtieA of Ihc oil Itaell. There la no 
p«t««rit tor it)'- rrn|>]oy merit of ■fltcate of indo. 

SktUti>H /,4ffture*. — Tbure it ni^w sonie h^pe that sclentiflo InBtnie- 
tlfiil wUI Id ftittire fortn no inconsJderable pari in the educiiUulinl cur 
ricaloTD of ttar pabHc »oho<»l.t and iwIiooIji in seaeral. I beiieve the eJt 
teoslon of thia important branch of ItDovioiJ j[e may be KTeuily extend 
cJ ainoitipt tliKMi who have pctMid their »rho<>) dajt without tbla ad- 
▼unt:i^ If eumnci ^HQterprltlnK nbllosophlcaUinttnimcnt maker woald 
iupply ateli'trtn kctiire^ wltb ihe neceesarr Instrtitnent* and apparuiin 
to llEubtrate them ua ]<iati add reasonable tcnna. " Skeleton t^frmoM"^ 
are mnch in Tojrue, and wkj not ikfleton lecturee on fclencp, well ar- 
nntped and nrLiptt.-d fur the apeciiU tMperliuentA Ut muWe them Ixptfa 
Lnt«re»>tlQi; ami lni*'Ui|fJble, I am qidu? sure thfre art? himdred* ef In- 
.telliirent p«Tftoa^ who now devotts thvuuialvea t«i "P&nnr Keadiuffn" 
WKUJd b« io» glad \>i give brief lecturea on popular jurlenw. If they 
cotild only hire tUe neceuary apFiaratua, Ju;^ to give them ialvreftt; a 
•ciealiOc lecture without expertmesta, fa like a bo^ly without iLfo. I 
■hall be glad to tM»e thU auggeatlon carried out,— VV. Littlk, Ueckliig- 
ton Hall, Lliwolnfthire. 

DfttcHmi of ifinuU TYaotn of Itj^droe^anio Acid — Pagentecher 
aoine lime atrn p->tnted oat that KUJaioum renin with hydrocyanic a«ld, 
■od M*tn« lalt of copper, caused a blue colouratioa. Muro recetttiy 
Bchnobeln baa shown how to prepare teat pa[ier oi' grent AenslbUlty with 
tincture of ih* abuvo-numed re»in, for di'tecttng hydroeypinic iu:Jd ; but 
Ihfl folfowlnpf «b#erv»itloii ot the Mine senaiblHty of the ahavliiKJi from 
wbirh thif ra«in \f^ derived, eKjioi^ially wUh tbe fhjivfiiKaof the lii;nuin 
»ttoctam< la. I believe, new. Mulsteo afi'w sbavlDica wivh n weak ttolu- 
tliM of siil(ih.it4i of copper, [ilai.-« them on a pie«>:' of perforated paper 
over the luouth (jf a bunle cc>nlAlntnff cberry'Liurel water; after a few 
minute* the cr)lr)(iratl'>n will take idace. Jjy the aarne way I have Cmd> 
firmed M. L'>Ukfet*a oU»ervniliiii or the exlstenct* of a minute d<ae of a 
cyanide In salivation. iMeUti^n a. few shavings wtth the weak scilutioQ 
of copper, upon simply spliting upun it, ImmedluVeiy the blue colour 
will appear.— 1^, CoHNt, Cjnilori, Aitrll 5, tto«). 

On ti Mom*ntary Moltcttinr c^an^a in Iron Wirt,— Mr. flora, 
y.U.!>., whllHt making; aotuo exporbnenta on heatinK strained Iron lo 
rodiieaa by nie^na -ff voltaic L'li'Clrlcity, obaerroti that, on dls^^Mineclln^ 
tlie battery nnd allowing the wire to eool, during the prcicess of cooHng 
the wire suddenly clon^ted, and then fraJuuIiy tboriened until It be- 
eame quite cot<l^ Th« amount of elcini:*tlon of the wire duriau the 
momentary molecular eiiA-nge was uauailj about cj^iolb part of the 
lenfTth of the heat«d wire; tbe molecular change eviuentljr Injciudes a 
dlminntktu of coliesinn at apiu-liculiir temperature durlniB the proceas 
of ciMjllng, and it ts ]xit«>resting to notlee that at tbe same temperature 
during thp beating proo^fa* no such loa* of uobeatuii nor any incrtrasM of 
eobeslon take* place ; a certiln tempentnr* and strain are thiTefore not 
alone suOloierit to prodkice it, but the eorkdillon of oo<jllng must ahio be 
Included, A turiie number of experiments were made with ifreal caro 
with wires of imllaillmn. ptaiiuum, gold, silTtT, copper, leAd* tin. csd- 
]nlaro.z)ne. >ir.'i««, (termnnailvvr, aliimlaium, and m&(;ncKSDm, bat In no 
'nstanee could a siiidlrvr molecular chani;^ to Ihut ob»«rve<l la irnn be 
^eteeted, Tfait mo ieculiir change woidd probably be found to exist Lo 
larire masses of wrougljt-lron as well as in small Kpedineut of wire. 
And wonlil c>>nje lnt'i^oi«ratlon in rarious cases where tliosie mavesare 
•ulijecli'd to the conjoint lijflueuce of hoot and stiaiu, tu lu variuas aO" 
fint-erini; ofwrailonrt. 

PutitA Luiui,1 .—\%Ti. any oixi rdoaM Inform me of a cheap and ooo* 
tinuous pri>ci'S« of making qnootlties of Dulcli liquid or olefiaot gas!— 

tSamt-stitftn — The Moniteur Bfiffe of April gth, mentlona that at 
Naples Mewlna, and tij© whole of 8ouih.-ro Italy, dayHght, durili« the 
day of March j^lb, was bo obscured by th*? tftnd of the African deaerta, 
that at iJepKlo and manf othff places 1nmp-(iirht had to be re*>nrd to 
aa a mituu.i of enabling fwopie to perform their dally work; tbe aund 
wan carried by the eon th wind even as far lui Turin. PrcifesKir Fttli- 
tnlerl rccoKulst^d the true nature of ibis sand by meoiu of the tuicru- 

Action tif Amtntmia f*fi Photphont*. — Some very Interesting and 
eurioue •'X|rerlmi-i]ts on the {ictlon trf ammoiiU on pht4«pborui have 
been puldislted by M. HJondlot. When a pleci- i.tf plioipborus is fc.pl 
In stroouc linuid ummonia. It becomaa tlnit brownieb, tbcn Krveii. and 
flaally deep liLck. At the aume dute tbnt these chaa^^a of culoor oc- 
eur, the uho»uhoru8 becoinuft bard and billllo; it cnicks and split/*, and 
Ultlmai4-ly falls t/5 jjowiler. Solar Hj:fat favnars lhi# fhaneu remarknbiy, 
eauslruK it to become mnnifi'st in several days, while in dArk,titore than 
A y«ar U rtqulred foi ita accumpUslUQeut. Tbe moat coiicvii Crated aiu- 



■ I 




mooln produces th* most rapid and de.dded chanee. The blaek phoa- 
phorua may be easily rubti«d down to fine powder In a ratirtar with 
frome watt-r; it mn>- llten be driail on a water baih. If it retains aay 
nncbonged phosphorus «l»l'-li would couit' It^ Igidilon, ihU ifiay tH? re- 
moved by washing with i^ulphlde of oirhon. Passed through a flneslevo 
It D'insUtates an 1atens<-ly black impaipftble powder, which may be pre- 
served under wntcr without senfiibie a1ti<rittion. but if exposed dry to 
air it slowly evolvcN a trace of ammMnia, and, little bj little, becomes 
yellow. In tbL<« state it ri'»emb1cs aiiior]>b<>u8 pba<<ptiorija in neveral of 
its chemical cliaraclers, allhouurb In st^mc others It difleri c-iMlderaMy, 
and ni^itably iu colour. Tho >i>llow ponder heated In a tube to joq* C. 
evotr«A aotne pljo^phurottcdl hydrotrea. nnd paKa<.if to ordinary anior* 
phou» phoifihoros: tri-acerl with atninonia. it re-aasumes In the conrao 
of an h'lur iu orltrionl biio^k colour. Aitiioiii^b Blondlot ba'% not accu- 
rately dL-tertained ib* chetuiod nature of lhe*c changen, he Is incltDed 
to regard the [.owdt-r a^ c.ntaliiiog solid hidrldeof plKMph^irua and 
hydmted ami<rpbous |ih<'Spl»nru*,^/'A»irm'irei<fh'<i/ Jtntrtvui, 

Ifeci^mjutnlU'tn I'Al /or th* Or^j-ltydt'it^i^n l^nttriK — A simple 
and convenient arrai^t-mcot may be mnde as Tdlows :— uike two («quare 
pieces of pliiie gliiM, and also two squ^ire plet'ca of vulcanised lodia 
rubber, all «if ti^c »ADie ^tee, 1 'Ut tlie rubber sn a^ to form two pieces, 
each of the ^ha|H; i_j. Tva platinniii wlra, M'rvlng as etcctrudes, are 
then placed bi'tween the two pii'C«s of rubber, tlie gloea pbite^ placed 
one on each aide of the nibbur frnnie», and the wb«de fastened together 
by clomps at the e<lge, Tlie cell 1 have rncidv Is .2 Inches squnre, and 
tbe rubber K^ of an bich thick. —C. J. Wo^^itWahiv, Midland Iii»iUut«, 
April ijth, i»6i>. 

If*tc MLrtu-r* far Ttonpering Statl,~A locksmith at Mti}bou.*c, 
nnmed l-Ierr.nsHtmldl, cliilm4 t<i have dl*c«fTereil a mix lure which Is 
Mid t^ give to tbe cotninone^t sleei the grain and temper of the nno«t 
eii»t inolat, atid wore«iver, to have the ])Ower of brinifinj; back the uri- 
Kk1.1l 4|iiality of plcel which baa been burnt. The lutxtnre Is coTDpi»<«d 
as fotiowii :— With 16 Utrws of dlslfile^i water mix i kil"*jrraroroe of by- 
drochlorie acid, jcf grm»>of nitric add (sp. icr. t 334). 3t aivx*. tit suliphAte 
of line, and 100 Krmit. of trtpoM. In this «ai\tore la to he placed a {Jece 
of c«at-ir*>D of the Ari»t fUsinn, weighlnft loo grma. x^ hen ttie acid 
mixture hv) acted I-jt twenijr-four h<>ur», tbecotnpo*ltloip is ready fi«r 
Use in the ordinary way, wliich, in all Utie[lh>>D<!. meiiii» for c<:>oUng 
therein prevltfosly heated steel, and Ihe eoiupoeltlon remains elTectlva 
till it is nil ae^il— Mining Juut-nal. 

IhUcii'tn nf Z>*firno/nfj»,— Several of your contemporaries quote 
wbal they call a safe and eAsy, but after all a cliini»y. niethod of lentbir 
the true nature of diamond, tfy burying Jt In powdercl fluorspar, pLacctf 
In a platinum crucible, poiirlng atrong suipburie actd over It, attd ex- 
[io5lng tho cnieilile to hent on hot diarcoai, with th« precaution to be 
attended to, not to breathe the fuuktia It need hardly be mentioned 
that ilnce fluid hjrdr*>fliioric acid la sold in gutti-perchn-made botilea, 
and whereas the acid tbU'* snld is iulilclentiy concentrated atronj^ly tr» 
AttAck »ny glK^«, even that ciIIlmI itra4*, ffinerally nsetl to Ini'tate 
iliaruondii, there is no need whatever for perfonulng an experiment aa 
d^'ticribed, which In inexperienced hands may beoome dangerous. The 
liquid aold alluded to is exalte efficient enough to U'St diamonds, if tt 
la rcquire^l to do «o, by thU means ; the fluid sold also attacks native 
quortx.— Q. 

C*m*ni for Le<ith«r la best made by mixing with ten parta of sa1« 
ptalde of carbon ona part nf oit of turpentine, and adding thereto so 
much fTutlA (lercha, as, by dinaolviDa in thi* tiilxture, will form a 
tough, tidokly flowtnx llquldl, like treacle. The cemebt Is applied to 
]>olh pieces to Iw Joined, tbe surfaoes Lroujrht Into cintact, and prea- 
sure applied until tbe joint la dry. < itie esMintlal reijulidte of sacceaa fa 
the perfect freeil< >tn of tbe surfiices to be joined frotii all ircoM, — OoaA- 
maJktr'* Journal. l^S. 

MVxwt /""/JO.— Will any of yottr obllglnf cnotrihutor* kindly Infbrm 
me bow to Ojpermte on wood siiuvlufs to ooDVert them Into white puip T 
1 have found them diQlcnit t<i bleoeh ereo white empbiyin;;: iiaucb of 
the ohlorido of lime; the alkali 1 use is caustic aoda, snd the aciii sal* 
phurlc, My result^ are not at all good ; all I cou obtaiu la a yeilow 
pulp.— PA^Ra. 

El^cli-itity nnd Pkwphurttt&tl ffjfflr&i/^.—la making pho«- 
phurettod hydrogen the following formula Is used:— 

3KHO + p4 + jHJO = 3KPHiO.'f P«a. 
To the above, In a teat tube, I added a amall ounnlity of iodine, and 
heat'^ get^tly. In addition to PUj, I observed f.r tbe flrst time tliat 
electrtcitv wae irtvcn off. Will any of your oorreapondeDL* kindly ex- 
plain if there be a coniiet':tlr>n between the above method of nroducUon 
of oleetrlclly and ibe common method with xiuc and sulpourlc add, 
■kti. T— Lki. Liverpoid, 

riVlll our correspondent Inforai as bow tbe electricity was detected f 
— iW. a A\] 

Aftlting and St>fidifi;ing Pointt ,^ FaVrj M'lttem.—SV Wimuel 
baa proved, by % series of experiments, that tb>^ geuerally accepted 
rule, that the degree of temjierainre of fiOliillflcatlun. snd melting of 
scitid fu.Hjble subestaDces is exactly the same, does not boM good fiT 
fiiltv «ab»ta&eet. Thoee property io called— thni li to aay, those which 
yield igiycerine on decompositloti— become s«did at a temperature far 
[vM biifb than that at which they become fluid; subalances like bet'i- 
wax und spt runeeil b^-eome »itUd tmmedlately their temperature flallf 
b.dfiw their melMng point. M. Wiminel haa fouinl tlwt when the solldl- 
flcaUnn It retanle<l, there is always an increoee of temperature when 
tbe aolldiaoatlon takt« plsee. The fatty subrianee known m butter of 
mace beoomea suddenly sidid at ly' C, and thU S'dldincatioD b acconi* 
fjanled by a surlden Inoreoae nf temfteniture to ^j'l", while the melting 
point of this fat Is 45 5'^. Some fl4t^ like beef and mutton suet, do not 
become clear and quite traniii[>arent unlen heated far above ihelr melt- 
ing point, while b*'e«wax and Apermacet) become transparonl and clear 
\qUx before tbcy ar>- enilreljr molten. 

Mutual DevimiifOtitioH.—AiMlyti* q^ iSttcUf^S.— Pcrhape yua wlU 



Bofliah Edition^ YoL XIX, Ho* 487, page 109; No. 488, ptge 160; Na 489, pafiM 191, 19a, 194; If » 490, pac« 204.1 



336 



"8 to Correi 




w. 



{Ci'RiriCAL NrvA, 
Junt, t8«». 



be g'lod enough to Inform a n«w «u^«crfbpr Hinder wbnt conditiitnft of 
teiiip<»rMuie 4tii] <>tb«ni, suIpNnte of Uiiiie ami parlM>nMte of lIlBgrrle^l]l 
vtt]itiiii]|y deconipo»« i-noli ottjcr, himI f')rni f»rlKjnotf of liint" ami »«J- 
plt»t« or auM!n««lA; the apiiroxiniBtf [enifHTuture at wtilch (Jk* docOTn- 
p(«ltlaD take* plnet' ; if tite tr!intp<«hli<a of \\\« nrlil'v iacnmplt'U* or 
pKrtlnl ; aod, parUcutarly, If tti<i prejueuce offtdicat^ <jf ulumtna in brge 
qiiuititf. mxA of fiproKJdo nf in<ii In »mall qurtnt ty, may be tvpccU'd to 
tocelcrste «r rflArrJ the t-fTectf Aw\ uJao If yoa wtll pleiive p*<^int oat 
AOj Infttti** *Fiow ill. ilif be«t cno«i«' of iiDal,v«e« of s<>wii^o nixt of wiiter, 
IMtUcular' ' t.itlve rJetcnuiaatlon uf aiiiiuoQlA of ultrat«a, nl- 

Pre^pui rjiunt 6<iA, Oftd tke to-called Dutch Liquid. — 

M«d;' y«ar» Atjo Miu-cijterllcih discffvtrctl a proceNi for tlic prx'^Arnlion 
«f obQartt f;4iA. vhfi h yJi-M» (T. « tnnjiit c^ntinuoui'ily, and iffves, at the 
•ame time.* very i»are pp>dnct. This (trocea* i* bnuwd urHUh tbf^ HiCl 
that tt ftulpburlc acid of such fttrcnietb uh behave It* tmlllng poiot at 
s^s" C. <» mixture of lo part* by volume of fttr<}iip*ulphnrlc «cW ood 3 
<4 water), ilec*impo!>«A lh(> vnpour «f «trt>i>g Alcohol into vst«r and ole- 
llaatgM* Tb>» liiU da^riptioa «f Ihl^a [nocMA (Uid aJ*o the ^Imulianc 
<iUft I'PepAratioD of rlu/l chlorldij* <«r IfiiLoh liquid, cancmi be well un- 
d«r«il*cM] without s woodrut; we tlirrcfcno refer uar corr^spnndtMit to 
lite wvry elnrionitQ vaA f«ll dJeacriptiOD to he fonrni in rol. tr., jip. J45 to 
55a, of the //itttduidrUrtmck d*r ffeinen u»'l Ang(r*icafidt4n ChrmU 
von Litbig. Wdkltr, nnd t^^mdorf, Brnnswicfc. iS^rjj, which work 
tntv be in.>^ptft>U>4] nt the Lltirnry of the- Co'ininlaaianer of PutDiilJ. 

AiuiHittium HttLtL—\mp\ii'ir%tX\t,t mm* B«lgtiu) iDinuf«ctorer h«A 
Jutt had » b*'ll C48l of ftliimtniuin. nnd with very gwvd reaultB. It b iif 
cuura« eitlneuK'ly JIghL, m that, tlvongh larpe, It c*n bf ♦'Ojtlly tolled; It* 
lot>« U r«p<>rt«'d to b« load And of ejKccUeDt pitoli. Alomitilura la the 
niiMit ftOfK>roua of all n\e\a\%.^Engin«*r. 

Cai-i^on^lc Acid. — I>o you ice any ohjectlon to common wafhlD^Podfl 
■A ■ soorce of r«rlKinli; ACid? I huTe UM'd H now for yearti. nnd find 
It a very gi^at couv«<nleniRc. TIilto la * tot»l abtwDcc of fautca, as t 
n»« aufphurlc arid and w«t«r ; Ibero to an abuDdaDt supply of g«, and, 
•bore aJI. thwre Ift very rapid pn>duction, fci denlmble In (.■!««■ exp^rl- 
ID«Dt& ^tllL, H« nooti of " llie buKjka" mention It, I heillftte to teacb 
tliar nodjfc I1 a better earbimati* to um than in«rtile or cbalk. In one of 
bin Chri'ttniaf lwtJirt*(i.'i»EMJ« Ai- Nrw«, xti., %ot—Am, Jtepr,, AjM-it^ 
1S69, page aiiok. Dr. iMliof coloured tlie |;a» brown. How ia tbat to be 
dk>neT— K. K^rnak. 

- //r>u? to Pt-ttumt Vu Spread of SiMirM Fr^er."— A. few wcpka 
AS*, «<irae S'j|r{re«lJurif on tiie above suTjM-t appeared In aBiAdical paper, 
Aifd were ropilntml <n a b*ad)nf(JournAt; the ldii>A of the writer wm thai 
the plfutiful MAC t»f '■ green coppern* " ak a dlalnftxtant woald prevent 
tho flpread t^f ferrr; the germi of whicb, from the drain*, often pene- 
trate Into ibe wells and contamlnAtu the dritiktag water. All<<w nie to 
AAk a qiif-ftli'rn, with reference to tlie pbiu above atatcd. Tbl« dbin* 
fi^ctunl ia, I tH>]h've. a poison ; and I* there nf>t danfer fifvm ll« Infect- 
Inii tbe water? If «o, the remedy wonld bo u bad u Uie <vU that la 
•oudhl t<> bu eured. I throw out the bint, only ■u,crR<M>ttnK the ((Uectlon 
for dlMiiAslon, and nut [ireteodlng to ii^ve aiiy opinion upon It; It ta a 
nAlier, bowevsn well worthy thi attention of your reud-^r».— Sanitaa, 

JUutufii Deoon^potUion.—AHniim* 0/ S*fpaQ*. — About forty yean 
Afro, reaeArehe^ were niAd« oonceriilng the first pa>t of Ihli query by 
Pr. O- 'I, MiiMer, The printed memoir contAtuljig the result of iht'Se 
re«eardbe« it out of print. But the preciao answer t>i thb eomewhat 
comhHeated iutject, dependa ou th« mndltlona andi^r which tht- aults 
ar* Ifroa^ht to|iri'thor ; aliij. wh*<ttier <ir not organic matter I » pri-aent. 
The preR**Tic« of the slIicAt* of aluoilna. and «»f the pfroijile of troo, 
>uia very little. If Airiy, influene« at all. There Ar« plenty of exceltent 
trc^ttl^ 9 on fttaalytlcAl ofaetnlstry, publUhed In variouji laniruaeej, the 
titles of which " W," may be Inforaied of by any bookaeller Tber« la 
DO nu<^•'l^Hv to *f.edlfT any of ihe«e hooka in our pAjrea. 

Sn/ittj jTf/fcA*.*.— It ill well kii'>wn that t<ui'-a» aocidenta occur from 
flrei, ciin».'d by piTBons c*rcie*«Iy throwing down matcbiA which they 
belle ve to \k hartnleai because the fliune has been extlnci]]?thed, but 
Vrblck lo reality. ari» highly dsngerout, and quite capnlile of comuiuDl- 
catbik' flro to any Hjjht, dry material, In < oieeijutnce of the woi»d nf^Unt 
being At A red boat, Jilthoiiirb not nelnally tn dame. It hna bet'n pro- 
p<Mwd, In order to prevent thlA, to aaturate the ipUnti, previnu«ty tii 
their bcUv: dipped, with a solution of eotne cheni^fcat avlt which hiu tbe 

Eroporty of preVfntlng the wood frtrui reliMlnlng at % red heal after the 
aiiie haa been extinKuUhtHt. without belnif In any way deUicnental to 
thi- In tla nun able nature of tbi'tplint, and thni to |»reTent the jMiMlbUltj 
of accident from tho dropitlnc of the mAU-b jifter the eitlnetlon of the 
floiDA. but while the splint U atJU at a r«i1 heat. The aubstance whl«b 
it la propoDMHl eo enipluy la i'um^ tbi^ugb other aaII* have the aauio 
property. The mat hea, before beinc <ll|ipcd, are to be iBimerited to a 
Atronf solution of alum, ©r other aalt w1t>i almllar *ctlon. ontd tht-y %tv 
AAtuntted ; tliey are <hen to bc> dried aixl tlpiHid with the onUnary com- 
puHitlon. Matcbf^ vi treated, are aaid to igi^te and bum with flaoie as 
lonf and as rejtdlly aa otber matcbes; but the loatant the flame la 
tlowti out the matah beoomeA bUdi Aod perf<tctly bAtmlen,— JciefU^ 
American. 

On Luttiituand tht Sp*ctra i^ aome T»iltMD Orgitnia SvhgtancJ*. 
— ^By Itttelne, Or. Thudlcum trndtrfiUmda a tcHow <rr> etaJlIre «Qb»tanc« 
occarring in varlooa parta of anLmala and p!ant^ lia, for Inatanee, the 
corporti luien of ovarloa, terum of bl^oti, yolka of efcua, in aeeda. aa 
tiioue {Indian 00m), in annatto. In carruta, nud the atamToa and petal* 
*>f a Kr«'At many flowera. Latelne J« eaflly *o1able In alrobnl, ether, 
And cbloroforin, ln»o1ul<k< in water; the»e«oliitlona ar« yellow, but that 
In chjoroform, nhtn c*>norntrHtt:d, hiui art orafige-red colour. Sttectrum 
«f aolntloni ia dt.-lliiifuii>hed ly urrvAt brilliancy of the red, yelfo*r, »nd 
green part, and by three abs^'trption banda, wbl<'h are lituated In the 
blue. ln(1i|[o, and violet |»art of the rpectrum. the cryfttals of luteloo 
«re anpareoliy riuuublc plates, of which two or mure a're alwaya auner* 
poAed Li a curluut manoer. The cryataU vc mieroftcopic, jalibw frheii 



thin, orange to red wbvo thick, aim) hare no re««tnbfane« to Any oIliArn 

ka<'WD Aniui&t or ve^^etable 8SJb^tdnoe, Lulelne combine« ^Uh fe^r T 

Kubatanci'K. n)ercury-act:Ute belii^, perhaps, the only reairent hy *rhlcll 

U l» Immedliitdy and coin|i|et«ly prfClpluted as a yellow deposit; mer- 

curynltnitf produci'S a yellow precipitate which, on Btatieling, l>eeonirt j 

white. Nitric neid ^mmfed over the cryatiibi, prodncea a blur col.mr. 

whieh Unmi^diftte'v p4«*e» int*t y*lluw. Tno blue ii« aiA pn 

nitric Kciti ll ailU'd to either the alcHjbolK\ ethereal, or m 

solution of lutelne, tut atijH'ara with the acetic acid aolutiui. 

pear* axaln rapidly. Lutelne haa great affinity for fatty matlert aud fur 

alhuniine. 

StdpKide 0/ Carbon Light.— fir. D. Vlnatanley dcMrtbea (In th« 
Britif/t Jimrnal nf I'Soiogrophy) an Apparatus conJlMiuK of a watvr- 
balb heated by a Bunw-it ^rni burnor; within the vral(^r-t>u'h K plaeid 
vea^el, lo hdld disulpliido of carbon. Ilie (ruter and inner vepaala ar^J 
flrmly loldenfd tofftlher, nnd proper amnseinents an- made t^i eunM«'j 
the fiperlrnt nter to pour water In the outer Tevael, whl*h l« also pro* ' 
vided with a Deck Ut hold a thermometer, serving to Indicate when tllv»1 
teoaperature at which the bliuiphlde of carboo COJitalr.e'l in tho Innerj 
veu4<l h4ilU. ihe Inner reaael in provider! with a neck, cb-i^'d by 
welbfltUne cap when the appnrattu It In tiae, for thf Intp-d'n ti<>'i "t •!•• I 
fluid bUulpld<ie of carhop; beaide tbls, there la loldervd ' 
TejiMfl a ga»-plp4> of ?mall bore, wbloh pip* pr^'jict* at ^ 
beleht above the outer vi-aMi ; to thia pipe ipaoldeied ainl ' 
right AngelA Aootbi-r pipe, pmvtdod with a (•tof^-^xtck. and Turi 
necti'd. by meana of euatic tubbig, with a g-oa-holder couiainUig ( 
){as madf from chlorate of polaab. After the npplleallon of 
beneath the water-bath. Ibe thermometer la waUhed, nntll It IndleAti 
that tho vapour of the blaulphido of carbon Ja I'ainlng from lh») burner] 
i^frona the g<k»plpe connected with the Inner rean*!); the li-:i» U n!- 
lowed to continue beneath the water-bath until the flam'- ■» 

QaHng prdnt, whrn it ia lessened AluitMt to cxlineiicn. Tl^' ^ 

la tb--n cautiously Introduced, upon which tlie flam*' at one- i 

in fize and increases erratly in brilliancy. Thia light ii priiixt^vU turj 
use In photoeirapby on account of Its threat actloUui i as* suuroe of li 
teoBC beat It u>ay also, perhaps, be recommanded. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

NOTICE.— Tlk* Ameriean Puhtinhtr* ^Tb« Ciikmical N»wi ff<«^ 
n>iUiM thai in aeeortiaiketmUk * tumnMott o/Ma. l'kwikbs. fAe 
Kdttorand proprUtor oTih* Kn^liA PuhlU-jtion.tAty irtllb* 
pl^ffnvt to rfcHre and^nr^^-' f'< *■■— tt? JLtmditn any *ei "^ 
puhUcfttion* tAtkUtd in Amu ir—timl uUo aui 

aufJ (^rrim. Art^ifiM, Cori< , fc, for publicut 

r^piy. Tfitirjacilitirt 0/ cujf-h,'. r.,. ,* \cith Ma. < aoojci 

dt'ttiiiM trry (leMntLU to aU pernona tn titt Ihtittd Stat»4 vJk9 
tcisA lo cufjtr ■with him. Addr^^f t'^ hitn. care 0/ 

TOWA'SbwL d^ AbAJiS, 



W. A. 



434 Broom* Str^t^ Jftw Ftfrfc. 



Ctfinmuniottlont hart hetn received from O. Lodge; W. 
Walenu ; Dr V,- Flti*cher : 11. L'ahort Clai>liAm ; W. H. IVrliin, F.K.i 
W. Smith; J. Burrow; if. .VltLtod; L W.Leedi; C, Il.Otborn: 
Lethvbv : A. O. Pritehurd; J. \V. Youfig; L Walter*; E. T. Cirapi 
C »i. Watum; J. FlsLer; lierre fbivil (wit In enclosur* >; W 
Watts: E. Smith, M.A.; J. W. I*later; H. J. .loncs; W. II, Darlin, 
ton; G. Cranston (with cndohure); J. C I^e (with encl<«mT); 't 
Bede Metal CompAiiy ; W. Wallace.; II. 0. 8orbv, F.IC.K ; A. 11. Cburcl 
M.A.; l>r. K. iJftTT {with eudoiuri'); F- B. Slfliioe; Gosiagc and 
(With cncl<«sure) ; Wotterthcad and Co. iwltb eiicJ<j*ure) ; W J. Morgan j 
k Bird; Dr. lii.hrlg; 11. Nalhiwu ", T. HtU,; W. Perkln, F.RX; U " 
&«>rt)y, FJIS.; J, Lister- C. H. tistrorne; A. G. I'rHchurd ; K, 
t hapuian; E. A. Urlan«]B.jn ; F. W. Mart ; J, gplller; P. .Ii ff.rsun ; II 
Kich; 11, PewUl; Dr. K. A t<mlth, F.K.S.; T, C AnMleil; R. Uri.w 
K. R Branaton; J, B. Ledshuw ; Dr. Robrig; A. !l. Allen (with 
closure); K. Bloom (wjlh cQclDBure); I?, W. Rich; B. UesoD ; K. 
Tosb ; l)r Balfonr Stewart i The filagnealiun MeUl Lo. ^wlth en 
sure> ; and J. lleywood 

Book* Htctit^d .— " ThA«#B Presrnti-es A la Facnlt^- de# Keleneee 
Paris, fiiour oblenlr U Grade da Doctcur ib gclencos Phyttlqties."' P 
M, ]Starb*las Meunier. Paris: G lUllilerViilars. " fow<-r wK 
Fuel : an iDvesiliratlon of the Mtana bi which It may be ubUined 1 
the ll<al of Natural yources." By James !?. Baldwin, New Y 
William IL Wlnanii. and C". " History of < hem leal Theory." By AiJ 
Uurtr, Translated and Edited by lieiiry Watu, B.A., F.K.S- London r 
> Maciiiiiiar>. "(Jn the Application of the ('onTersion of Chlorate* and 
Nlirale!> Into i hlorWes, and Llilorldea into Nitrates to the Detenntna 
tioia of Several Etpihalent Nnmbers." By Frederbk Penny, t*q. " I 
ceedlngs of the Atncrltan Ateoeialioa for the Advaneecuentjd ^f 1«b 
Cambridge ; Jo*eph LovirSng. ** Lectures un VeutlUi-lon," " 
W. LeeO.*. " i»b»enralions on seme of the* Fundaminial Pi 
Kilstlrif Defects of National Education. ' By Neil Arn"tt, 
Ac. London: l^tnisTnans, Grecji, and Co. 1*69. "The J 
lensibility. amlTenrJc' t^treiitfth of Iron and t?tec1." By Knot 
Tnuislated from tlio Swediih by ilirlMer P. SandlMTU ; with a 
by John Percy, M.l>., F.K.i*, With 9 ilibogniphlc plate*. Londi 
John Murray. -Hhemical Labels accortlmg to the lAiestayaleo 
NoMiinclature.*' Compiled by H. Matthew^, Ft.. 9 , Atd C. W . Q 
L«Dd<in : H. K. Lewis. " Pocket GnlOje t«> the BrllUb PhtirrtiACOl** 
'^Ibo lloipUul Pharmacopwlaa of London." By Peter Squire. F. 
Ac Seeoul KdJtloD. I^»nduo: John Churchill Add 1*4)jit. " Leu 
In Klemenlary Chemiatry. Inorganic and Orgiwilc." By Henry E. 
coe, fi.A., V.VL&. New Edition. Loudon: MaciuIUau k, C^, 



[EagUMh Edltioa, Vol XI3C, Wo. 490| p«s« 204-, Wo, A9L, ^«t«a\5 \ No. 488, pag« 180 J Ho. 4B9, pefe IM.] 



r 
I 



OtnnrTCAi. Nrws. 



American Supplement 



337 



I 



AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT 

New York, June, 1869. 



Soperti«taralii»iii and Science. 

Thb revival of learning by no means dispt'Ilefi all ihe 
BiiperstitioQ of the dark agcB. Tlie nuperuaturalbm of 
the present day i;? a Tery refmt'd nrticle^ but there is 
such ubmidance of it xhsl we meet it ut every turn, and 
aometiratifj womJer if it reiilij be not on tb't! inerrase. 
At any rate, recont events urgentfj call attriitiotj toit^ 
luxurioua existence, and sug^'est that men of science 
who Imve tbe wellare of so-^sety at heat ought lo be 
alarmed. Tli«} new-papers of the day ^ve ac 'ounts of 
witch-huriiing in Mexico, and of r el itjrioiH persecutions, 
and even ward, in various par^a of ilva w >rld ; it is said 
that the belitiVers in sprritualisra are to be reckoned by 
millions; hun Ireda of tlioii^'aiids of a childish toy called 
a plan< liei te have been sold to pircbsacrs, who had been 
persuaded that it was endowel with stipt-rnaturul quali- 
ties, aQ'l euougb baa been printed ahout the silly thinjr 
to coiistiiu'e a library ; Bupernaturaliiim lias beenofTered 
and ftkTcepted aa a suitable defence against a criminal 
cliarge in a court of juatice, and as tbe prosecution 
failed to show by what specific natund menns the act 
was committ-d, the prisoner was discharged, — and this, 
the present year, and in the enltghicsjud city of New 
York. Persons calling themselves astrologers, clairvov- 
anta, spirit niediums, &c., abound iu every ciiy and vil- 
lage, and get tlieir livjn'^ by iho practic/of their shal- 
low arts; witnesses to the stiper natural arc found 
everywhere and in every rank of soolt^ty. In shoi t. 
among a cnnsiderable part of raankiod tlie ^ttpematural 
requires I '83 testimony than tlio reality; in tbe name 
of fiupornaturalism, crime beeoniei innocent, and ridicu- 
lous folly appears aolenm wisdom, 

No^v, against this dangi'rous epidemic of credulity 
there is nothing so eireciive as a course of treatment 
according to tbe scientific method. Where the diacase 
his no*u reacfied it^ last stage, when the abil ty to r^jtt- 
soil an<l decide is wholly gone, a (\:\v applications of 
fundanientd priaciple-<i will bring aboutaconvalesceni.'e. 
Bcienc."— we mean here espejially nn'cbanical philoso- 
phy an I cheintsTry — is the ep'loine ol the experience, 
observationj and runsoning 01 the nn«st capable men of 
all times ; it is our ra 'St positive knowtodge, Tbf laws 
of m'tti^»n, tbe conservation of raatt'er and uf furce, ami 
a few axioms of maihemati*^* and phy?^ics — these are the 
unquestioned universal truths' an I using them ai 
tests, we confidemly reject whatever i.^ inconsistent 
with them. Supern;duiulism, on the other hand, is 
inconsistent with itself, a:idbas no planaibility ; imd the 
testimony ir] it« favor is ttie ei^«ivoca! and conflicung 
etatemt'uts of uu-^killcd and i«icomp tent witne-ses. 
Supernaturalism invariably bides its face from ihe light 
of science, • 

We think that men of science do a wrong to society 
by ignoring the poptilar stipi*rnaturali.sm. or hy treating 
it only with rlilicnle und c.>ntempt^ They ought to 
know an I teol that the cure or alij.tement of ihe enl is 
in their hands, and it ahituld be a c mscfentjons duty 
with tliem to apply it. And there are other cousidtT- 
ationa besides the immediate good to otb-rB that may 
fairly invite their attention to supfmaturalism. The 
ingenuity and dexterity dL^play^d by the miracle- work- 
ers are som^tiines fit oHj-.-cts for arauseraent, admira- 
tion, or study. A curiosity a% to the precise device", 
and the principles of mechianios, &c., concerned in the 



perlbrmances of skilled rappers, tippers, writer^, <fec , 
.nhonld be encouraged aii<l gratified. The psychology 
atid physiology of supernaturali-^m are especially a pro- 
ini4ing field of research ; the ^jeneral belief in puper- 
naturahsm is almost a miracle in itaelf, aod the philoso- 
phy of it has not yet been fully explored. Faraday set 
a good example in these regard* to the scientHc vvt.rld, 
and if it ha^l bcim well followed there woidd have been 
no occasion to print now stich an article as ibis. 

To our presentation of ihe subject there are a few 
who would rai*e tiie cavil that Fupernaturalism is not 
so oppo-sed to science that it m ght not iti acime torm be 
proved true. To such it is amply suRicient to say that 
we by no means di-ny the p >»sibility *if the truth of ail 
anpernaturalism; vet as the demonstration of its truth 
would require at least as mfjcb testimony a»; seieniific 
frnthj a sup;iio^ 1 case is really of no practical account, 
and need nut appear in the argument. What ghost of 
a shadow of a chance is there of the reality in any of 
ihe rubbish of the current supernaturulism ? Tbe pro- 
bability, in our day, of any trulh in supcraatuialisra is 
as smiiU as the bttle end of nothing. 

I4 it necessary for us to say that men of science are 
not corifineiJ to the schools and tj the professions, and 
that there are other ponrces of the science in this caae 
n*'eiied th:m the text-bouks? Knowledge, without the 
judgment to use it, is of little avail. Hard coirjmon 
sense is sutTicient for most emergeneies, but when for- 
tified with the accurate data of science, no error can 
stand in its way. 

Finally, does not this discus-ion plainly suggest that 
the sciences and scientific meihuds are too much neg- 
lected in our educational sy?tems ? Let children be 
t tught that supei-naturalisni ts a delusion^ and it would 
aooo disappear front the world. 



Tli« An rum BoreaJla, 

In Harper'* Magmim for Jtine is a very interesting 
article by Prof Elias Loomis on the Aun»nt. It is pro- 
fusely iflustrat.-d by appropriate engrnvings, and it occu- 
pies 20 pages of the Mitgazine. The following extract 
is from the part which treats of the th^'(»ry of tlie 
Aurora, and is a good example of the li<gtcal method 
whtch appear <i through the whole artii.'le:^ — 

At the height of 50 miles the atuiosphere is well-nigh 
inappreei ible tn iis effect upon twilight The pheno- 
mena of lunar eclipses indicate an appreciable atmos- 
phere at the height oi 66 miles- The phenomena of 
shooting-stars indicate an atmosphere at tlie height of 
2CkO or 300 miles, while the aurora indicates that the 
atmosphere does not entirely cea?e at the height of 500 
mde^. Auroral cxhibiijons take place, there'bre, in an 
atmosphere of extreme rarity ; so rare indeed that ilj iu 
experimcTits with an air-fmmp, we could exhaust the 
air as completely, we should aay tliat we had obtained 
a perfect vacuum. 

The auroral light i« electric light. Our first reason 
fur believing m this iil-niity is derivwl from tho 
appearance of the auroral light. The colors of the 
aurora are the s:ime as those of ordinary electricity 
passed through rarelied air. When a spark is drawn 
tram an (trdiuiiry clcetticul machine in air of the usual 
density, the light is intense and nearly white. If tl^e 
electricity bo passed through a class vessel in which tho 
air has been partially rarefied, tlie light is more diffuse, 
and inclines fu a delicate rosy hue. If the air be still 
further rarefjed, the light becomes very diffuse, and its 
color bocomea a deep rose or purple. TUd same rari- 



33» 



American SupplenienL 




yuiM, ISO. 



ety of colors is observed during auroral exhibitionsu 
The transiiion from & white or pole siraw-color to a 
rosy hue, and finally to a deep red, probably depends 
upon the height above the earth, and upon ihe annjunt 
of condensed vapor present in ihe air. 

The erxitrald-green light which ie seen in some auro- 
ras is asicribed to the pmjetrtion of the yellow light of 
the aurorn upon tlie blue sky, since fjreen may be lorraed 
by a combination of yellow and I lue I'tght A similar 
effect is ofieti produced Jn the evening twilight by a 
' jmbination of the yellow light of the sun with the blue 

the celestial vault. 

The Irght of electricity po^iscases certaio properties 
which distinguish it from solar light There are certain 
substances which, in ordintiry solar li<rlitt appear almost 
eetirely tiangparenr, hke pure wa'er, but which, wlien 
illundncd by an electric sjmrk in a dark room, present a 
very peculiar appearanct-, as if ihey were self-luminous. 
Tide app<mrance is termed fluorei^cence. When *iueh 
aubstauces are illumined by auroral light, they exhibit 
the same peculiarity as when illuuiiijed by tlie spaik of 
&D ordinary electrical mat."bine. 

These coneideratiouB must be aflmiit^'d to create a 
strong probability ih.st auroral light is jdentical wi)h elec- 
tric lighf. This probability becomes a certainty when 
we study the ciTect of an aurora upon the tel-graph 
wire** The eh ctric telegraph is worked by a current 
of electricity generated by a voltaic Im'tcry, and flow- 
ing alorg the conducting wire which unites the distant 
Ataiions. Thl.M current, flowing round an elcctro-niJig- 
net, renders it tempomrily magnetic, so that iia arma- 
ture is attracted, and a mark is made upon a ndl of 
papi'r. During a ihuiider-siorm the electricity of the 
atmosphere aflccts the conducting wire in a similur 
marmtr, and a great auroral dij<play produces a like ef- 
fect. During the auroras of August and September, 
1859, there were remarked all those da-sst s of elfecta 
which are considoied as characteristic of eleetriejty. 
We will enumerate the moat remarkable of these 
eflei t«: 

(I.) In passing from one conductor to another, elec- 
tricity exhiliil!? a ttpark olligbt TliJsi light is not like 
thttt of a burning roal or a ht-ated iron, but a bright 
■park^ without iipprcciable diirai ion, which is rencwt-d 
wheneVL-r the clci trie ty passes. During the auroras of 
1S59, Jit numerous stntions buiih in America nnd Euiope, 
Mmi'&r sparks were drawn from the telegraph Mures 
when no battiMy wj(8 atta« bed. 

(2.) In passing through [»oor conductors electricity 
develop-i heat In like manner, *lur)ng thi- auroras of 
1859, both in America and Europ?^, fiaper, and even 
wood, were set on fire by the aurcind influencL- alone, 

(3) ^\ hen pa.H.'ved through the animid system, elec- 
tricity cominunicfttcs a well-known characteristic shock, 
Th:R electiic shoL'k is urdike any effect which can be 
produced upon ihe nervous system by any other known 
method. During the auroras of 1859 several telegraph 
opeiutof-s re''eived similar shocks when they touched 
the telegniph wircs. 

(4 ) A current of electricity decomposes compound 
subri Lances, revolving them into their eleraentJ?. Most 
of the objects with which we are fitnrilinr in daily Ufe 
are coiiipoun«lte ; that i«, nre formed by ihe union ol tw*' 
or more elementary 8ub>fancea The currerrt of an or- 
dinary voltaic battery alTords one of the moat efficient 
means of resolving compound bodies into their eletnents. 
The aurora of 1 859 was fuund to produce similar 
decompo.-sitions. One method of transmitting telegraph 
signals, which ha? been successfully practised^ is known 



by the name of the electro-chemical, in which a mark is 
made upon chemically prepared paper, this mark 
resulting from the decomftoaition of the substance wi 
which the paper is impregnated. This substance 
decomposed by the passage of an electric current, an 
the cbiinge of c^lor of the paper is the vLdble proof 
the decomposition. The aurora of 1859 producetl th 
same marks upon chemical paper as are produced by 
ordinary voltaic battery. 

(5.) it current of electricity develops magnfifm in 
soft iron. The auroras of 1859 developed tnagnetiam in 
a similar manner, and they developed it in such abun- 
dance that it was more tlian sufficient for the ordinary 
business of telegraphing. 

(6,) A current of electricity deflect* ft magnetic needle 
from its ordinary position of rest In England tlie usu ' 
telegraph Bignal is made by a mngneiic needle, sii 
rounded by a coil of copper wire, ?o that the n« edic 
drflected by an electric current flowing through t 
wire. Similar defle<;tioiis were caused by the ajroraa 
of 1859, and these deflections were greater than tbo6« 
produced by the telegraph batteries. 

The^e facts clearly demonstrate that the fluid devel- 
oped by the aurora on telcin'^ph wires is indeed electri 
city. Ths electricity may be supposed to be derive 
from the aurora, either by direct transfer fmm the air i 
the wires, or may be induced upon the wires by ih 
action of the auroral fluid at a disUmcc, If we adof»t th 
forme^ t-upposition, then (he light is certainly electri 
light. If we adopt the latter supposition, then, sin- 
we know of but two agents, magnetism and electricity, 
capable of inducing elect! icily in a distmt conductor, 
and since magneiism is not luminous, we seem com 
pelled to admit that the auroral light ts electric hgUu 




Ue 

] 



Aluminum. 

The great hope of virtues which the world expect*.- 
to find in i\m metal has not been realized. Whej 
aluminum was first brought to ext* nsive notice by tli©1 
eiithusia m of Deville, un^ier the stimrdus of the im-j 
perial prniwe, it seemed to promise usefulness in aimoslj 
all the ai-ts; Uie catdoL'ue of it^s virtues was longer] 
than tiiat of any oiher suliStiinee. At the present day^ 
however, we af-k What it is good for? and we pause f-jr] 
a saiisfact^iry rep>ly. Within a few ye^irs aluramuiaj 
bronze lia.^ been much praised as an imitation of gold, 
for ornamental purposes ; it w«s >uprM:>8ed that here at 
last was the grand cuneummation of utilities. But, 
alas I we are d"-omed to anotlier disappointment ; fo 
aluminum bronze, at lea^^tso far bb i ur experieme goes,;! 
proves to be the pooiesi imitation of gold (h:»t was everj 
imagined. Indeed, it m not »> good as common bi 
while the bru&s known under the name of oroide 
VHBtlv belter. 



Tlie Boiler ITMters of the Paelllc Rallroed. 

Tbere are very few railroads whicln are so loratedj 
that good, fre^h water for making steam is accessible; 
In t'le course of the long stretch of (be Pacific Hailroad, 
all tlie varieties of water which are armoying to eo- 
ginerrs have been met with, and there is little doubVI 
that the experience with these waters will prove ofj 
great value to the world. The table herewith pre-j 
sented exhibit.^ the snline composition of the water atl 
nine successive locomotive stations on the Union Pa-J 
cific RaiU-ottd, the stations being from ten to fitteea' 
miles apart The analyses were tnade at the editor's 



» 



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American Supplement, 



339 



laboratory, and are as complete hs the soiall quantity 
of material u»«?d in ihe work would allow. It wag im- 



fidently expected that in some of these waters a notable 
amount of the rare alkali metals may be founcL The 



practicable to del ermine the contents of pasea and names at the top of the table de.signatc the fetaiions as 
organic matter. An examin dion under more favor- | represented on the railroad liQie-table. 
Able circumstancea will sbostly be made, and it is con- 



I 




Sulphate of Soda 

SuJphate of Potasaa 

Sulphate of Lirae. , , 

Sulphiiie of Mngoosia 

Chloride of Sodium 

Chloride of Polassium.. . . . . 

Carbonate of Limo .,...,., 

Carbonate of Magnesia 

Silica 

Alumina and Oxide of Iron 

Beeiduea, per galloo 






2S-49 
24.15 

5." 
6.65 
8.05 



iai.29 



1 

o 

P 



24.64I 
178.15! 
80,08 

23166 

41.72 
3.0S 



459.06 



167.79 

73.^ 
35.49 

23 38 



306.46 



106.6 

3-78 

17-99 

567 

2.17 



136.22 



45 70 
23.10 

18^20 

25-55 

52.29 



164.85 



w 



38.64 
10.71 
12.60 



57.30 43«-«3 

354.76 

^S«-5i 
2X5.25 
^^4,55 



1.05 

5.071 



87.85 156.87 1,620.92 28.84 



I" 

I 
I 



The Aurora *nd the Teleicrrapti. 

O.v Thurailay eveninor, April iSth^ Chore wa« the 
mO't brilliant auroral display ihi\t haa been seen in 
ihiiH hemisphere since 1859. It. was att^-nded with the 
phenomena, which nsually character ze these exhibi- 
tions. The telegraph was in all part«? of the country 
affected to auch an extent &s to render them almost 
us.'le^^a for two or three hours. Mr. Dolan, the night 
manager of the Western Union Rice, at 145 Broadway, 
reports that the strongest effecta were sho-vn on the 
wire« running east and west. The atmo-pheric current 
was very strong, and affected the insti iimentij very 
much like a lari?e main battery on short circuits. The 
bfittery was taken uff the wires IrKitween this city and 
Bo-^ttm, and for a quarter of an hour hnaine?8 was ex- 
chaofc I on Uie tiurotal c rcuita. The auroral current 
was Tery [leavy wvbI of Butfalo, but was le s marked 
south, and the printing instruments belween New^ 
York and Washingtun worked well througliout the 
evening. The fir?t interruption ro the wires m th s 
vicinity o.xurred on the L ng Island wires, and imime- 
diately afterwards the effect wha thrown on the wires 
runninrr ea?t. The reports from otht-r oflice» are of 
Bimilar cbiracrer,^ — The T^ferfrapher. 

Again on the afternoon of ^lay 13th the aurora 
manifested iiself in disturbing the telegraph, and busi- 
ness waa seriously interfered with, and, a^ before, ee- 
fiecially on the hnee running east and weat. The f d- 
owing «statt'merit U copied from the Wa-hinj^'too lit- 
ptibfican : ** About Iwilve o'clock yerterdiiy auroral 
currents became qjite observable upon the lel» grnphi'.- 
wires, and riipidly incre.ised in force until they inter- 
fered materiaUy with (he wt»rk)ng of the lines, and at 
times entirely stopp -d thu trnuainisiiion of ih^spatchrs. 
The effecr of these currents wsw lelt ujkju the wires of 
the W* 'Stern Union Company all over the country^ — 
ei-peciailv between Philadelphia and Pittsliurjih and be- 
tween this city and Lyuchbnrgh, Va. — both of these 
lines being worked with considerable r»i'iliiy upon the 
aurciral currents* alone, the galvanic batteries having 
been detached. 

" Some of the wires between Washington and Xew 
y^rk were also worked in ihe *Hme way, ami Mr, 
Marean, the chief operator of the day force', aucceede 1 



in an intcreattng experiment, viz., the substitution of 
a return wire for the ordinary ground circuit,, upon 
which the Sfimo phenonieua were obset vable as when 
the ends of the wire were coimcct d with the ejjrth. 
The interruptions continueil utit)t between six and 
Seven o'clock, when ihey entirely ceased, and during 
the night the wires woked as tintly asi ever. 

** There are several questions which will eugi^est ihem- 
?elve6 to the aavariM in regard to the^^e deuionstnitiodfl, 
among others whether the monntaina ovt-r which the 
two lines most aflecled pjuss Imd any influence in in- 
dncing an excessive auroral cunent to pa«s. The 
Phdadelphia and Pittsburgh hue was the first to dis- 
cover that the auroral current could be used in trans- 
mitting messagfB, and has upon all <icca>ions of its 
presence had more than an average of these favors." 



Tlie Palrlnc of tbe eicmenls. 

Tub table of paired elements which appeared in the 
April SuppLKMEST, and ilie remarks we made about it in 
the May StfPPLEMENX, have attracted considerable atten- 
tion among ihoi^? who are interesiteil in chetnicul phi- 
losophy. The prevailing opinion appears to he that tiie 
paiting, which at present may not be reg;irded ajs any- 
thing beyond a cui ious fact, may be found at last t<j be 
aHieil or dependent upon some as yet undelined law of 
mutter. 

Of the letters which we have received upon the Fub- 
ject, the following is the most important: 

'* Your remarks on a'oniic weights in ihe April 
Number of GnEMiCAL News have suggested to me the 
enclosed tnble. Yon perceive that I hjive put the dif- 
ferent elemimta at hk.ights representing their jitonjic 
weight"*, and thosu of one series in eoltiinns together. 
The regularity observable is certainly n very rude one. 
But considering that every diflerent coodnnalion of 
molecular ela'^iicitiea (as show^n by spectral lines) must 
give a new set of chemical properties, and con-^idering 
that only about sixty elementary substances, out of the 
myriads which tiiere might probably be^ are known to 
u.% we ought to expect no more accunite a ela3sifica-> 
tion of I hem than could be made of the animal king* 
dom, if only sixty animals were known. 




American Supplement, 



i CniciiiriL Kbv*» 
i /UAe. ISfit. 



'* You will perceive, however, that the atomic 
weig-hts seem tu arrange themaelvea on the diagram in 
parallel shelving line^. Also, that there is a oojrespond- 
ence b<4weea the geriea of art a«iri and perisaads which 
have the highest atomic weight — that is to eay, Na, 
K, Kb, Cs, Tl^ on tlie one hand, and Mg, Ca, 8r, Ba, 
Pbj on th»-^ other, iiiasmuch aa thej form strotjg bases 
and peroxide?, but no suboxiiles or acids. A corre- 
s^'undunce is also to be i raced between the two series 
having the next hi*?hest atomic weights ; timt is to say, 
Fi, CI, Br, I, and 0, 8, Se, Te. inasmuch as they have 
a strong tendency to unitt> in simple proportions with 
the members of the two groups just mentioned, form- 
ing definite and distinct compounds^ and also form 
strong acids with oxygen, but nfver bas -s. There is 
nlso some correspondence betvseen the next highest 
grouj»s on each nde, that is betweeu N, P, As, Sb, Bi, 
ami C, Si, Ti, Zr, 8n, Ft, iiiasmucli as they lorm acidi* 
which unite in the moH coniplicated proportions with 
ba^es, puLting type? at deliance, and also (as fur as the 
higher mendiera of each series are concerned) have 
some tendetc}' to form weak bases. 

•' I a!so notice that there is a much greater difference 
in chemical characters between K and Na (not boraor- 
phou?), betwot'U FI and CI (the fiuoridrs being very 
insoluble), between N and P (NiO» being roonobaaic), 
between and S, between C and Si, Kud between Gl 
and Mg, than between any other two adjacent numbers 
of their respective aeries. Also that the maximum of 
rest-mblance is betiveen As and Sb, Br and I, Rb and 
Cs. Sr 11 nd Ba, Se and Te, Zn and Cd. 

" Finally, there i-", ft'^ you point out, special resemblance 
between elements occupying corrfsponding places in 
tlje aeries, iis between U and B, and Fl, S and P, Ca 
and K, Sc and As, Sr and fib, Ag and Pd, Au and Os, 
Tl and Pb, ^c.'* 

The table sent to us was drawn on engineers* profile 
paper, ntid is soniewhat easier to he understood and to 
be verified than the engraving. The engraving it, 
howcvi.T, a tjiilhful copy of iho original, excepting the 
ruled lines. The protile paper and the cross-secnoii 
paper of the engineers is exceedingly convenient lor 
preparing similar ta'des and charts. 

Our correMpon dent's table, besides being a very ad- 
mirable exjjosition of the facta of paiui ing, at the a%m& 
time illuslratL'S almo.-st everything of value wldeh has 
been writtn on the classification of the eleineiiH and 
the nuraericid relations of the atomic weights. It will 
well repay a careful study. 

There is one point on which we suggest a different 
view from that of our correspondent : the |irobable 
number uf tlie elements. Is not our classificfition at 
piesi-nt-^if periasads and artiads, paired groups and 
paired individuals— about as perfect and sati-fr.ctory ub 
any cla-ssiliiaiion of natural history? Our classification, 
80 far as it goes, isi good; and is there plainly room for 
new classes or new individuals? In our lost we sug- 
gested (hat it might be agreed that some of the un- 
paired elements are endowed with both alomicities, and 
thus be paired with themselves. The suggcHtion (by 
no me:m-< a new one) is applicable especially to iron, 
manganese, chromium, copper, and mercury. Iron, 
in FeS«, is an artiad; in FcvOi^ may it not he a 
perissad? Dr. Odling says, *' Tlie fen ous and ferric 
atoms have distinct chemical properties, and form dw- 
linct serits of compounds, which differ more from one [ 
another than do the safta of lerrum fiom those of | 
aluminium and bismuth. So great indeed is the differ- 
ence that, had we been unacquainted with the melhoda I 



of converting ferrona and ferric compounds into one 
another, we should never have suspected them to have 
contained the same metal, or even similar metals.'' 



Perissads. 



ArUadt, 



Bl 



'TL 



Pb 



Osir 



Au 



Ta. 



Cs 



Ba 



■1 



Sb 



Ag 



Nb 



Rb 



B 



As 



CI 



Fl 



B 



■Na 



•Li 
H 



Ca 



l"»3 




Gl'? 



iL be detcrmin'M that the pairing is ftn or'ler of natu 
ami that the Icnown i?luments are near y all piiireii, an 
(hat the known groups appear filled, we ought out 
expect many new elements. 



I 



"sssnwir^ 



AMERICAN DRUGGISTS' PR I CE-CUR RENT-NEW YORK -JOBBERS' PRICES. 



E 

H IIBCT08 APTD €IISIV(I€AL9. 

^^B Aeotoo .1. .-4.,,,,,,....,......,..., per w* 

■ Add, AceUo, No. S- per lb 

■ ^t.. KT. 1,MT LT.aP p«r lb 

^m Cb«rnic&Uy I'ore Mr lb 

H^ GIftcki per lb 

^H Bcnzoio, Oennui , p«r o* 

^^H Bomc;i«, pore, per lb 

^P CItrlo......... i>€rlb 

^M Flaorlo,! lb botUei pt<r (b 

^M Vottuio per lb 

■ GttUki pcrlb 

^B B]rdrupboBpbc>ron«» ...«.per lb 

■ lAetto ..per lb 

^B Ifnriatle, IS degrvea per lb 

^H rhenilical para. per lb 

H NkHc, 88 .leffrew per lb 

^H cbt^mfcaJ. pore...... per tb 

^H Oxillc, patent per lb 

^H Pbfwpboric, ^lad&l ,...,... .per lb 

^H PrnjAto, per oi 

^^H Balphuric per lb 

^H chenUeal pare *, per lb 

^^V V«1«rlao , , . . . p«ru» 

H T»rtttrJc powdered......... per lb 

B Aconite Le«rei per lb 

^ Aconltla. , perdr 

A i£iiir\c A (bn + „ per lb 

Alci>LuL DO per cfc,. perKnl 

Alues, Gape, powdered. . .................... p*r lb 

8ocotrtne, povrdervd.. ...,,.. per lb 

Alcuv Koninn , pei lb 

I lump. , jMjr lb 
Ambcrirrift. gTty ,,.., ,.. .per of 
Anuuoiiiii Corhoiute, balk por lb 
In Jiixi ...perib 

Morifttp .per lb 

AmmoDlA AiiuA, 90 (leirreeB....«, ..per lb 

26 degrees per lb 

Bypnphosphite p«r lb 

tJijuutc!., per lb 

Pb(»pbBt« ppr lb 

BulpbAte per lb 

Asmnodthlm ValeriaiL Crjvtali .....peroi 

AjDmonlUiii Bromide i .. . .per lb 

HydrosulphoTBt .per lb 

lodld« •..*..,., ,4k.. ..per lb 

AmygdoUn per oi 

Amim&af add PolaM... ...,.,.,,,,. per lb 

Butter. per lb 

Amlc* JjUkVKi per Jb 

Ati-DWRuol, Bermuda per lb 

«. Vincent..... per lb 

ArBenLe, while powder«d. .r. ......... per lb 

red pulv.,., per lb 

red, Jump perJb 

Anenlc Soluttoo, Fowlcr'» per lb 

Iodide per o* 

&«>l.i lio&ovAa'i. per lb 

ABbestof ....per lb 

AfpAmgin , pero« 

Atropia .,., per di 

Buluhjite .\*eT *lr 

VakrUn ........,,.., perdr 

Bkllam Fir , . , per |tai 

Ccipalva. ,,..,.... per lb 

Ferarl vi per lb 

ToKtni* per lb 

Bftfbftdoes Tmr , .per lb 

B^rk^ SbD pur lb 

B»rit,Okll»y»,qallL...., »....perlb 

Red^qalU .i...,. per lb 

rjtnyo ....per lb 

Cuic«rilla, per lb 

feletereott... per lb 

^ttwufrM ......,*,.,.,.♦,,.,. ...^...jier lb 

Baryta Mqji^t* per lb 

JJ i(r»te k . . . . , per lb 

Bay Bum ..... ........................... per gal 

Brbuerkn, pure ...... .^, ..,.,,,..., ........ Jwr ot 

Bulphftle , , , , . . , , .per <»• 

BelladontiA Leii veti ....,, prr lb 

fiicurlitujatti ScmJs per lb 

SIchTtiiiruiU' I'oifljih... per lb 
kmalh Metftlbc , por lb 

iiiid A mmonia Citrate pciIoMe .... I'er na 

»nd AnmtioDla Citnite BoIutlc»n per lb 

Oxychl(>rid« ..>, iwir Ih 

enbCHrbon per lb 

Bab-Nltrntfl per lb 

TiuinAte.... ..«...,. 4. •••• ..•••. -per o* 

V&I(trUtmt« ..,«..-... ..pern 

nek T>riip(i *.... ..».....« per «b 

Jiiuu M:ifl» per lb 

Boln, Armenia, trtie ..per lb 

Dxrnx, rcOneil ............ |ter1b 

Uriinetoitit, rull p4'r lb 

Bromine... ........,....,.,.....,.., ......per lb 

Bmcift ..,.,, ,, p«To» 

Ba«bu Lckvet, lonf per ib 



jtnufnuim xmtffffwk^ ^rw^-vwreFU* 



3^ 



ii 



lo 
to 

to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to li 



in 

05 

1 00 
8& 

BH 

1 9a 

890 

8 bo 

8 ^ 

4 sa 

4Sfi 

b 

86 

lb 
8S 
85 

8 00 
9 

B 
fiO 

1 40 
&.•> 

5 m 
m 

3 iVl 

m 
I m 

31 



M 

95 

17 

)» 

39 

4 95 

9 95 

9Q0 

Id 

1 W 

9 sa 

T5 

8 fiO 

8 TB 

1 10 

80 

SO 

45 

U 

10 

85 

90 

IT 

M 

88 

15 

850 

8 50 

8 m 

4 50 
4 75 

1 Hi 

« 00 
1 85 
Itl 
1» 
1 50 
1 85 

sa 

BO 
99 
IS 



BnrgundyPJtcKtnio per lb 

CadrolmiJ, Bromide.. pcroi 

iodide per OS 

McUlUo p«rlb 

Balpbate per lb 

CftfTetna.. ...,,, .........per ot 

CaJcitun Cblorlde. ...„,.,, .....per lb 

Iodide , per lb 

Cdlskja Bark, Mllbua't Qrigbial Ktlxir of. .p«r dnx 

" « « ..pergroea 

Ctdlsaya Bark, Mllhau'* ObalrbeatoEllx. of.por Bob 
•* u •» perffroM 

Cilotnel, Hydrorob. .per lb 

C^mnphor, IteQued , per lb 

Caimella Altta per lb 

GantharSdi'B, ponrderod per lb 

Carbolic Add cryetLals per ob 

" *' Jtolutlon .,,..,...,.....,»... per lb 

" " '* oommon per lb 

Carbon Bi-Sulphttret per Ib 

Ca8cnrlllaB«rk , per lb 

ln-siiiji Butli ,.,..,.,,..,.,..,, ,. .per Ib 

Cnni^T C HI p<r gal 

('auBtlc t*oda per lb 

Cealaury Minor. per lb 

Gerluni, Oxalate ....... ...peroB 

Nitrate... poroa 

Clitlk. Prcclp., Kngllab .,,*.. ..per Hi 

Clurry Laurel Water p«r lb 

Ciiloraie ivtati), Englbh pi<rlb 

Chloride Lime ...per lb 

CbiDrofiunQ per lb 

Honanioiu CeyloDi ^"^^ .....jwrib 

Citrine Ointment per lb 

Ov«it .»..,.... per M 

Cobalt por lb 

CoccoloB Endlcoa. .pvr lb 

Cocoa Batter, .per lb 

Codeine.- .., ....ptr dr 

Cod Liver on.. por gal 

Cod U»'er(rtl,l"SboroOH**) per gnl 

Cod Liver OU, J . a Baker A Oo.^ p«r doa 

. ** •• •* pcfgrnM 

r *' •' ...fiBroM,pcr gr 

Cod L'Tcr Oil, RaBftrd dt CoBwell'B per doz 

' " " pergr 

Cod LlTor Oil, Mllhati's Golden . , per dot 

Mitbnu'B Ktberlied per pti»sb 

Ood LlTer Oil, Milbau'a, wiib tbe Hypo- Ipei doi 
phoBphlte of Lime f per icroaa 

Collodion .......per |K 

i -anlli&rldal per 6ot 

QAq cynth. ptiwdervd per lb 

Confectlo kuwp ,.,^. ..per tb 

Senna.... .M*..***.^.*...«.***<4pv lb 

Contam Leaves ..p«r lb 

tonUn (leros 

Copper Ammuiilated,... ..{^er lb 

Black OxIiTo per lb 

Carbonate. .per lb 

Sulphur, pore. ................. 4. . .por lb 

Coppera* .....per lb 

C^^rfOfJvo Sublimnta.. per lb 

Cream Tartar, powdered, pore per lb 

CuMm.. per lb 

Ctibibln , .....per dr 

Cuttlra»h Bone........ .......;... per Ib 

DliiHaUft Herb,,... ♦ per lb 

UlgUalititt pc r elr 

DitrerV Hf»wder .'.. per lb 

Dragom'a Blood; mnm per Ib 

reods per Ib 

Dulcanmra Stems ..per lb 

Eintf tine . . - jwT OB 

turnery Com... .....per lb 

Flour *,..,, I>«r lb 

EptotD SfdtB............^...,....... per lb, 

Ergitt.new ,,,;♦,....... ..pcrlb 

t:rpitliit> ...per 01 

Eiber, Accile .per lb 

Butyrlo. oonoaaCrated [wt lb 

Butyrac%H>ui .per lb 

Ciilorlo .perlb 

eoneentrated. \wt lb 

Pornilc... ,, ..,,,.,, per lb 

bttlplioHc per lb 

washed per lb 

cooci'ritrated per lb 

Extr. Jockey Club, Chlrli per Ib 

Kxtr. E». ItouQUi't, ChlrU ,pi«r Ib 

Kxtr Bnnana, fltitH^rior..,.., .,,.«,,,,... ..per lb 

l-lxtr. Orange, eoporlor per lb 

FlciarBpar. .. |ier lb 

Flu w i>r^ A llbea |»er lb 

Ariilea.... ..,,... ...insr Ib 

Uornnte .lerlU 

I'lianxitnllr, German....... .pvrlb 

Cbttttiomile. Roman, 198T. per lb 

Lavf-ndtT _ .por Ib 

klalva. targe prr lb 

, eoiMl......... .pwlt^ 



to 15 

to 65 

to TO 

to 480 

to 6 00 

to aoa 

to 90 
to 8 M 
to 11 00 
tulSO 00 
to 11 00 
tolSO 00 
lo 1 0« 
10 1 10 

to as 
to 9 00 



60 



9 T5 



^ 



1 00 



to 1 r» 

to » 60 
to 8 80 

to 9 S5 
to 9 00 

to fiO 00 

to 8T 00 

^'^ J w 
to 90 00 
to I Ml 
to 78 00 
to TBO 
lo 84 DO 
t.» 1 TO 
to 4 50 
t<» T5 



9S 



??? 



Amenccm i/mfg%m9f rrwe^^wrem. 



Junt^SUlk 



Flowerat AoMinaiy ...per lb 

Ttliae per lb 

Vlol«l IHTib 

Fiwel on, purified pet lb 

F«nv - Pfio8pburat«il EUxIr of Calbiaya ) [>er dot 
B»rk, UAxanl & Omv ell'B, f per trra 

Gamboge. ..p«rTb 

Ortlfttlno Kr«ncli Pink i»«r lb 

QcUUdo, White FrcDch per lb 

Cox'B....... ... perdat 

Ginger, Jamaica, bleaclted..,. ,*..,... .^^.-iwr lb 

GlOK'ng *. per lb 

GUub«r Bolts,.... ..p«rlb 

Glycoriae, common ..p«r ib 

oonveatrated ...» p«r tb 

''Bawera'^ per tb 

"Prlce'a** per Ib 

Gljcorole llypophoapbitc,.... .per lb 

Gniii» D'Anjbrelto. -..,,,,.....,.,......., p*r lb 

Tanidlse per Ib 

Gum Acroldvd jwr ib 

Amber ]>cr lb 

Atuuaonioe , ».....«•..>..... per lb 

Arabic, Turker, aorta. ....... «...,,.. .per lb 

\tX plcRed, Trtuata. p«r Ib 

8d •* •* .......perlb 

*1 " " perJb 

Bju-bary , per lb 

Al»felW»i , ...perlb 

Boiuotti, cnmmon. p«r Ib 

prime ...........per Ib 

wh!t« marbl«d. perlb 

Copal, A«rn ..,. p«r lb 

HtinsrucUL ........i>er lb 

Kowrle j^er Ib 

ramar, italarla perlb 

t^lTifcApore. |i«r lb 

Eleml, AnmiaUo ............]>er lb 

Kupborbium per Ib 

Gaibauutn p«r lb 

atratnod p«r lb 

Geclda p«rlb 

Oaalacum. .,.,,. ....per lb 

strained .......,, per lb 

Kino ..per lb 

Mastic perlb 

Myrrh, Tu/kej, powdered. per lb 

Ollbanum p«r lb 

tuara .......perlb 

Bandnrao^. .. ....per !b 

Campbeira O. C per Ib 

Garoet , perlb 

No. S per lb 

Katlve p«rlb 

ppnegal... ...,,,..........., ....,,.., per lb 

Tngacontb, coauood ... ,per lb 

flake per tb 

daltjr muIb pt'r lb 

Ftrlem Oil, Dntcb ^ i*er di« 

H'.lfinan't Anodyne perlb 

llytJriodale iNiUsb, Atklnaon's per lb 

Coorad'i -per lb 

H jOMjyanil L^avca per Ib 

Hypophuf>i<hite .\nuaon perlb 

Iron.. per Ib 

Llll^e per lb 

MangiuieMB .per lb 

Piitrn*, per lb 

biida.... pi^r Ib 

Iceland M'«* perlb 

Indian Hemp, true |ier lb 

Jn«ect Pi.wdffr, tma per Ib 

lodiuc, k«'ftuMliua*l - ,....,.;, ........ per lb 

t ruile, In bulk .per lb 

Irbb Mom perlb 

Iron, Alum perlb 

by Hyilrogwn per ib 

C<wb. Proto ......per Ib 

Preelp... .jier lb 

Ciirmle and AroiiionU. prr lb 

.Mairneaia.... ,.,...... per lb 

qiilijla» . . . . . .....perlh 

^t ry chtilii« ,..,.., per lb 

Hypophofpblie perlb 

lodldit ,....., ..f .... per Ih 

t^yrup , p^r ib 

Lne'ale , ,..,....,..,.,. .per Ib 

]Min»|ihMtc, IVeclpltate. p«r lb 

Pytoplnwpliala-... ,.,... per Ib 

Sjrtip...,,,,. » |»erlb 

BM()illebloHde |>er lb 

£!ol perlb 

Berqtdntlrate |i«r lb 

Bubsulphalc .....per Ib 

gulphaU', piirv,.,....... per lb 

E«»lee»t p.rlb 

Bolpburvt fier tb 

hupr » plii««rb«*e Syrup pi-r lb 

Taiiiiwto.... ,..t ........ , .per Ib 

Jr»rtla Ink... ...]K>r Ib 

Jringtitf*, ttnethao,. per lb 

hOM^ltn, iruc pifr I!* 

>furtli«r Iterrtef ........................_.. per 'b 

Juo'/'cr Tnr *«?'*/>» Unmrd A CiuKeira i^t do« 

.. pirlb 



to 


TO 


to 


TO 


to 


ft§ 


t»l 


« 25 


to 12 m 


tol44 00 


to 


1 m 


to 


1 46 


85 to 


1 m 


to 


« w 


tn 


m 


to 


sa 


8 to 


4 


to 


8S 


to 


60 


to 


80 


to 


1 15 


to 


1 Tft 


to 


0(1 


to 


IW 


to 


u 


to 


60 


to 


eo 


to 


58 


to 


M 


to 


76 


M to 


flO 


to 


4<) 


to 


W 


to 


M 


to 


1 00 


to 


I 10 


tu 




tu 


80 


to 


4Jt 


to 


BO 


to 


M 


to 


06 


to 


89 


to 


1 00 


to 


1«S 


to 


SU 


SO to 


00 


to 


6<l 


to 


80 


to 


425 


to 


T4 


to 


80 


to 


40 


to 


66 


to 


60 


to 


66 


U* 


4» 


to 


43 


to 


60 


to 


60 


180 to 


1 60 


to 


00 


to 


60 


to 


48 


to 


680 


890 to 


640 


to 


M 


to 


»T5. 


to 


860 


to 


aT5 


to 14 00 


(0 


d 76 


to 


8T5 


10 to 


n 


to 


I «l 


ki 


1 10 


to 


e T5 


to 


«6<l 


t<* 


10 


to 


1 m 


to 


s eo 


to 


4* 


to 


96 


Ui 


1 40 


to 


1 85 


M 10 «X> 


10 00 lo t* W 


8 40 t.1 


S60 


to 


6i& 


to 


»> 


to 


8 95 


to 


BT 


to 


1 f6 


to 


05 


to 


1 45 


tu 


m 


to 


44 


to 


1 70 


lij 





to 


IT 


to 


8IM 


to 


65 


Ut 


8 60 


to 


1 75 


to 


1 85 


l*-. 


6O 


to 


6 


to 


%\:> 




Lfictncarlum pcrot 

Lead Acetate, ju-o perlb 

Licorice Failei, toUd... ......perlb 

Bloily per lb 

(.'alabris ixirlb 

IndtatloD. .,.,..,. per Ib 

Barracco....... por Ib 

P.H , perlb 

Lime, Carbonate, PreclplUte perlb 

Hvpopboephlto perlb 

IoVH<1«> perlb 

Photphate, PrMlpiUtO. per lb 

eulphlto.... ...fierlb 

Ume Juice. por Ml 

Llut. Tnylor'a perlb 

Lapis Calanitnarla per lb 

Laurel Berrfea. .,,.,.♦».,....... .per lb 

Learei .....,........».,,. per Ib 

Llqnld Sty rax.... ,.,,......... ,p«r lb 

Long I't'i-per.. per lb 

Lunar t'auattc, poro... ,...)>ero« 

6T per o«nt,2T. 8 per oa 

Lroopedlum per lb 

Uagneala Carbonate -p«r lb 

Galcbaod perlb 

poadoroOA..... .per lb 

nimte.... , perlb 

Bulplilte perlb 

&laogat>«ic.tM>wder«d ..p«r lb 

8«k xooy |»r lb 

Maxuoa, itnall flake, '89.... par Ib 

largo flake, 'CT... ............perlb 

aorta, neir [»er Ib 

Malir»(> Learcas, true...... per lb 

Mercory per Jb 

cum Creta per lb 

Ma;?n«aia.... per lb 

Cyanorvt ..per lb 

Sulpbttret.,... per Ib 

Mercurial olntmeul (.XM) p«i lb 

(HM)..-. perlb 

Morpblu Sulphate , ..per os 

Ac^'tato per oa 

Muriate. ..per oa 

Valerianate,.... ,.,,..,.. per oa 

Muait, tnie , ,,,,....,..% .. ..jior os 

Id eriiln true pcroi 

Nox Voinlca per Ib 

Oil, Atiibrr, Crude pt-r Ib 

AlmoudriflCxpresai^) Allen'i per lb 

Eiaentlal, Allen's per Ib 

AniM per lb 

BergoJBot. ..,..,,,, per lb 

FF, oew crop. per lb 

EoriTiiniot, Dotioer's .fKsr lb 

IScnraU)0L,^6aiider«>n's per lb 

C wlo per lb 

t ajt'pnt per lb 

Gumphor .fHsr lb 

Caraway ..per Ib 

8ecd , i*rlb 

Cassia per Ib 

Ctnaatnon, true ,pero« 

Cltronolla, prime per^lb 

Winter^a , per Ib 

Copalra........... per lb 

Croteu ..,p«rlb 

Cubebfl ....per Ib 

Ci<rnii«in i»cr lb 

Fennel ..per lb 

Cierariiiim ,,., jter lb 

Chlriv .,..,..,......,.....,. -Jier lb 

Prepared |mt Ib 

Turklib per lb 

Jeswimlne pt»r lb 

Juniiwr ........ .per lb 

B<'rrit'«, true.... .per lb 

Lavtadtrr, Ga» den, forto. , per lb 

fine .perlb 

Flowcn, CLlrls, No. I l>er lb 

Lavender Spllte per lb 

Lanrel. Kxpreeaed per Ib 

I*t*iiioT», I>«>nner'» perlb 

Leojon,— G K. A Co'b per lb 

— Soiadi'nioti'ft (uew) ..jH.'r lb 

LenioniiTa.**,— Wlnier's. i*r lb 

.Vlaee, tlxpresaed ,.....*..,..... ..|K-r lb 

marjoram ...per Ib 

Myrrbone . ,. por lb 

IJeroQ Bigarade per o» 

ChWa......,, p*ir«il 

Petit a rain , |mt lb 

OUve, purr ]»er sal 

Si ar»ell!easr tjuarta. p«r Unc 

pints [Msr b<*x 

Oran^ .per lb 

OriKaa<tn perlb 

Petl«hoaly i:*r ot 

Pennyroyal. ......... .. ......per lb 

iVplH'rruint, pur*,... ♦.. .per lb 

Rhnd>utn per tb 

]'>ttt, KiiiasQlIck per 01 

Uuiiuiary, French.................... .per lb 

TTSetU «..,«.. lerlb 

t\s\rtft \*t\Ja 



to TS 

to 90 

to 40 

to 80 

to 48 

to BT 



6 00 



19 00 



14 00 



16 



s n 

860 



45 
9S 

8 n 

660 
40 
SI 
80 

1 SO 

B 

19 

19 



180 

90 

10 

4S 

1 90 

1 M 

I TO 

190 

8 

19 

1 T8 

900 

1 40 

60 

90 

68 

1 99 

S 80 

80 

8T 



to G6 
to 11 00 
toll 00 
to 11 00 
to 18 flO 
to 10 OO 

to aa 00 

to 14 
to 80 
to 90 
to 94 00 
to 4 «6 
T 00 

8 60 
T 00 
T 00 
I 00 

9 00 

1 T5 

2 T5 
5 60 
4 00 
1 &U 
9 85 
8 00 
8 00 
8 60 
4 W 

to la 00 
to 8 00 
to 99 00 
to 18 00 
to 86 no 
to 1i$ iJO 
to B6U 
to 1 90 
to 8 M 
tu 1 86 
1 85 

8 TO 
1 00 

90 
4 9ft 
4 T5 

4 T5 
T*iO 

9 60 
t T6 

5 uO 

6 00 
4 T5 

to 35 W 
to I 90 
8 tiO 
T W 

4 yo 

1 40 
495 
400 

.. 7 l« 
U* 10 no 
to 10 00 
to 1 T5 
lo 1 15 
to a 'A 



I 
1 



Jttne^ \^m. 



A m erica ii Urugghf^ JPrice- Cur rev t 



W 



I 



oil, 9aMne, pure pern 

84ANitra«. cktiB prr lb 

linr, Bftlnd, fine .per IH 

nXttt, Ilotebklra....^*^,. ........ per \h 

Ike........... per lb 

fiucduotn, crude..........*..,...,.. ..pv^r lb 

r cltflod ,..,., ....i>cr lb 

TaiUT,— " Itw'tmAn'*" per lb 

Thrmv, wblt«^ pure per lb 

ValcfifttL .......-,.,,.,..♦.,....,,„,... per lb 

AVint«r{:rct'Q , i*r *h 

, ^'iDtervreeo, Vaq DeOMD Broi. ........ .per lb 

W'lruiwood ....JHT tb 

Wormetoed, Wertero per lb 

Baltimore........ ...]H>r lb 

Black Pepper ..,,,.,.*....»,,.... jwr lb 

C4>iriuic — * ptfrtm 

Ergot..... , ..per o» 

Opium per lb 

Orange Badi or Apniee per lb 

Canwoa Ellbe (ler lb 

Otto Bos«, pure , , per t»» 

cvinnt^Tcial .per «x 

Pepper*, Z&oKibttr per lb 

PiKHiphtiriui perlb 

AiDorphocB •...•«.«»••* ...per lb 

Plperln ..........per Jn 

Pt><!ophrI11ii i.... perM 

Poppj Heade {ler lb 

Potftwa, Acetate. (wr lb 

BicuHiOfifile..,.. ......,.,....i»erlb 

C&rboaulc iM»r lb 

Ciitutio, coiQiQOD per lb 

wlUte l»er lb 

Citrate... pei lb 

earn Celo*. .... I»er lb 

1 ly jii'jihi «pbUe p«r lb 

r(!rni.atig«na.t*i, ordfD^rjr. per lb 

Pboephate , pt-r lb 

PniJttinte T. . . por lb 

Bulphflte iwrlb 

Tartnrto ., ....perlb 

rota«fttatD .,,►,,.... per M 

ItroTnlde .. ., perlb 

t'yaal(li.sfttt.. .fier tb 

grma .perlb 

Iodide ......... per lb 

^ulphuret ..perlb 

Qulnlue, CJtraic, with rron per oi 

Bulpb*te, American per em 

freuch i^er M 

QuMsLi,. ra?rH>d ,,,.,,,,..,,, P^^r lb 

UeJ C:jMilk Flcgfcre ..perlb 

Ited I'roci |»4 ta La , per lb 

Reein of .1 hqi, pure , per lb 

RochelleSttit .,..-.,» perlb 

Kootd, Ac-mHe ,.*, per lb 

Alkunet. ....per lb 

Altli«ft per lb 

Ail«r«*li(!a ,,-.. .perlb 

CoUmiu ....perlb 

Colohlritia. per lb 

Coltimbo per 1h 

Culrt<ris ..,.,.,,,. ............p^^r lb 

Ptnilclian .per lb 

0»lMftB»l .p«r lb 

€enll«n per lb 

GLoger, R»ee. AMcmi perlb 

Jaraalaii, Bleached t^t Ih 

Oolden Seal per lb 

IJelle bore black., .per lb 

wbfto, powdered , . . . j>or lb 

Ipec&GuaijIise per lb 

puwderod |»cr lb 

Jalap .................. per lb 

fn>wdeTed..... ,,,...., ,,,,.,, |ier lb 

Llciirtte perltj 

Klandmke . .. j^er lb 

OiTi», FlorvntlBe per lb 

VeroDj^.. ., .,..,.,..... per lb 

Pink perlb 

Rhntan; p«r1b 

Rbubarb, K. I perlb 

Tnrkey.......... [wr lb 

PwsaparlUa, IJendaras perlb 

Mexloao. .............. I'er lb 

Tiirbeth . , per lb 

Viderlah, Eti^itatl. perlb 

Dutch ♦*, perlb 

Grrman .-,,....,........ .per lb 

Veniioni ...... ...,,..,., .per lb 

Bnahe, Virginia per lb 

Ceneca per lb 

Bom League. per lb 

RoeemAnr Leavce .per lb 

Robl^ Perri. . -,..». per lb 

B&AroD, AtnericAB, new ,....., per lb 

Bpiinisb^ true ....*., ..per lb 

Baao, Pearl perlb 

Balldn ...per «■ 

Bal AeetOBcella... .perlb 

AiJimonifte. .....,,,,.,,,,.....,.,,.. ..per lb 

Soela, Newcaatle perlb 

taDtonln<> .p^'r at 

«WMJhwJiark [ -^r lb 



to 


1 91 


to 


I 10 


to 


2M 


lo 


«ao 


to 




to 


80 


lo 


70 


l<} 


ft W 


t» 


a T5 


lo !•» (10 1 


to 


6 iiQ 


to 


b iH> 


to 


7 t>il 


lo 


2 7S 


to 


» MJ 


M 


1 « 


Ui 


8 &U 


to 


Sfi 


t.. 10 on 1 


lo 


IS 


to 


2S 


t<» 


10 no 


to 


760 


to 


m 


lo 


1 20 


to 


8 25 


.to 


1 50 


to 


60 


to 


85 


to 


8(1 


ki 


86 


to 


SO 


to 


M 


to 


96 


to 


1 l& 


U» 


'i^ 


to 


4 3.*} 


to 


*<0 


to 


« 75 


lo 


i4 


ID 


H 


to 


1 OS 


to 


8 7* 


to 


1 65 


u> 


62 


to 


1 &0 


to 


&»9 


to 


85 


to 


85 


lo 


S OW 


to 


SftS 


to 


J 


9H^ 


T 


lo 


1 1ft 


to 2)9 00 1 


to 


4* 


to 


24 


IT to 


IS 


to 


sa 


to 


85 


so to 


«0 


to 


so 


to 


24 


to 


Sti 


to 


80 


to 


IS 


to 


15 


to 


20 


to 


80 


to 


80 


to 


lei 


to 


85 


to 


880 


to 


8 40 


to 


9 iKt 


to 


S80 


to 


H. 


to 


lA 


to 


11 


to 


16 


to 


88 


to 


xo 


»50 lo 


4 no 


to 21 110 1 


to 


00 1 


to 


28 


to 


do 


to 


IIS 


to 


40 


ki 


20 


lo 


40 


to 


44 


to 


69 


U> 


S60 


hi 


IS 


lo 


10 


to 


S«5 


to 


IT 00 


lo 


« 


to 


00 


to 


J» 


lo 


]« 


to 


« 


to 


1 80 


to 


10 



Scaniinaay, Tlrgn true per lb to 

SiredA, Aora(> jef lb to 

star per lb iu 

Cimnry, Hoicfj ,.,... ...iMT bmb Ut 

Stiiyrna .w«r bu*b to 

Cardamom, Miilabar , per Lh to 

Carol... .jiwr lb to 

Celury jMsr lb to 

CUtver ... . , .per lb tn 

CA)cr»k>iliQ , perlb to 

Coriander fj«r lb to 

t'tiiuriikn i«r lb lu 

Fiujol per Jb to 

Fo'iiin-reck |>nr lb to 

Hvtup A per l-imh tu 

Lbmed, Atnerlcoo cleiin t*er tli<i eo m 

roiigb prr tu^h Ui 

DfTiDbay (gold* ...pi-r ImisH t. 

Cakutia (guM) per bush to 

Unatard, blown .......per lb to 

white........ ,.,,...... [MT lb to 

Uapci ....p«?r Lush to 

Ti iiiothy .per bu»b lo 

Worm perlb io 

8cidl!tE Mtitare, perlb lo 

Sennu, Tfno<'V<.Hjr..* ..perlb to 

Alexandria. '.p«r Jb tu 

E. I. perlb to 

Smalt*. Ulue............. ................ ..per lb tu 

Snair, Loriltard** M.Yccabny .per lb to 

CV>ar»«! Koppee...., perlb to 

IrUh lllsb rotat p<'rlb t** 

Frt-ftb Bcotcb perlb to 

Soap, OMtllo, Mottled perlb i^i 

Willie........... i«r lb to 

flontlnK per lb to 

Low's Drown Wlndiior .per en to 

Soda Aceiate perlb to 

Chlumte p*r lb lo 

Chloride, Liquor .pernl to 

curat*.. perlb to 

Hjdrfmuliihate ..„,.,.........., -iter lb to 

Hyp*.|.h'i-Iiliite •. »* per lb to 

H>I>'>>uliitih..»,. ...per lb t« 

Nilmti^., piir«« perlb to 

Ph<»«l>hitt».. ,.,,....,.... perlb to 

Pyroplioepliiale...i..... ...... perlb to 

Sulpkiiie , per lb . M 

.Vflh , per lb lo 

Siidlmn , perlb to 

Irtdlde per lb to 

Spirit Ammunla. .,,. perlb to 

Aromatic per lb kr 

Lavender. .per lb to 

Nitre l>ulc .perlb to 

Uo'iemitry per lb to 

Sponges, Hahoma............ ........per lb lo 

Bdtldiig. Funnei i<er lb to 

CoHraellroWQ .....p«T lb to 

Fine, lor^ium \^t lb 00 Lo 

^urgeOD'a. p-r ib 4 W lo 

Zlmocn p. rib 2 00 t.« 

Ctip. Turkey .ptrlh 2t» (m lo 

Trteste... ..purlU 4 ftO to 

FfneTi^llecbU-aoheA..... ...peril J2 oo lo 

'Fine Trieste, iinmll ..pt-rlb 4 <K) bi 

Glore,. i»er lb 1 T5 lo 

GruAs |M'r lb ui 

Sheep'* wool............ ]«r lb 1 Od to 

8ur Cbolx. p^T lb t« 

S<)nt11» ....,.|ht lb CO 

^L .Foba's Bread *. I^jr lb to 

StrunUa, Mnrlalo per tb to 

Ntlnite. p^Tlb to 

OxaUte p«r1ib tu 

StrycLula, AcciJite perus U* 

Citrate pefo* to 

Nitrate, ..,-pcr«l to 

Pure. crjreljilllfBd. ]*vr W to 

powdered..... ..per oi to 

Snlplmte perwi to 

V»lerlan«l« pw 0« 10 

StjTTM ralnmlU.. por lb to 

8«i|faT of L'-ad, .....pet lb in 

tSiiarar of Milk pir lb to 

^ufpbiirHauDme..... p«»' lb <J>*lo 

TjunnrlBdji perlb to 

Tnntjln., ..perlb to 

Tapl^a, Fast India, white per lb to 

IVjirl , por tb t(» 

Tartar Ell»etl(^ powdered p«i lb to 

cr}>taltlted , .per lb to 

Tin Foil, thin .....potib Ut 

French, No. 16 .per lb to 

Tobsicoft .per lb ;io 

Tuaquii Bvana. Para par lb to 

Aivnatora.. .perlb to 

Uv* Ursl, American per lb to 

French , per lb k» 

YAjBina Beaua, Boorbon per lb to 

Mexleao perlb to 

Venice Turpentine per Ih to 

Vcnitrto „,■. ..pef o» to 

Vitriol, Blue perlb 15 to 

Gte«ti. i^i^ «Vto 



StIOO 


25 


tA 


5 IM) 


000 


4 00 


22 


T8 


JO 


S4 


10 


sa 


so 


12 


Saj 


SCO 


ion 


SA5 


Id 


to 


020 


6 00 


to 


4fi 


!£8 


66 


S5 


St 


. "^ 


loo 


» 


65 


18 


26 


26 


16 60 


BO 


t 16 


46 


1 00 


1 06 


4 10 


10 


23 


31 


19> 


tf2|« 


4 


11 00 


SWI 


48 


(41 


60 


40 


60 


let 


4 00 


00 


Tw 


U<0 


8lX» 


30 00 


18 iKt 


ir>ijo 


4WJ 


s no 


M 


1 70 


6i0 


12 


e 


80 


80 


lao 


8T6 


T5 


8 76 


8 U) 


800 


400 


650 


60 


40 


6^ 


T 


10 


ST5 


18 


IS 


96 


1 la 


4^ 


80 


40 


Oft 


85 


M 


18 


11 00 


16 00 


88 


6 ta 


10 



344 



American Dm^ggisti Pfice-Current 



\ June, 18C9. 



■ntriot, White ..„,„,......j>*rlb 

Wiw, White,— J. I. ElkeiJt.., ....^perlb 

Na i i*r lb 

1»MI11K-- Pwlb 

Yi^noTT...,,.... , -.* .-.' p" i<* 

WhSlo ff aj^— L*«itili»rdt'i ,,. ....... .ver lb 

Ockmld. ..,.,„,.. .ptT lb 

£:ii[t<!)l«:act:i«d... ..., ,per lb 

'Whl?€Pi*filpUHle...... ,,.inTlb 

Wbho r'i'pi^r ]h'tV9 

Wine, Onlenlcam Soeilj ,..,......,......,. .per lb 

WfifrtlNmpbtha....... ........,....piTlb 

WfiTOWo™ Hvtb .<.,.. per lb 

Tellu* Bark ...,...,...,. .i»«r lb 

Pock.,.,...,..... -fprlb 

Z.iflV«................... ....,....-..li*r to 

Zlae, AceUte.... ....p^r b 

Ghk^iide - ,...,...p*Tlh 

BYES AND ȴB5TVFFS, 

Anllint Bin*. ..,..,.. .per lU 

R*d .,. .....per b 

TWet....... Pf r b 

AnHtttto,. .,.....p.'r b 1 00 

Ck>dil£ti!Al, Hrmduraa. .....,.......«....■'■■ I'cr lb 

Uvxicw. -».- ^P^fl*" 1 SO 

Cu'lbcftT -". '-P'"'"^ ** 

Oiik>*, J'^gutt..... ....i«rb 

(5anibk>r... *..., ..p«ir b 

mjod [wr lb i W 

TiilblVlof...... ...pflrlb too 

Mjwlrii«,flnp ,,....... P*'lb 

^nltnhrjr. .......... 4 ...... per tb 

Kurpoh ■ ■ 'P*f *^ 

OuUfmilft....... P*Tlb 9 00 

C«riiccit ..,,......, .p«T lb 

Jjic Ttj-e. EOCid so fine. ... , .|»ct Jb W 

LogwiXKl. tBiniMicby per lb 

Himdunii..... .......pep lb 

JauiD-lck..... ,.|>*r ib 

I.AUUIIII ... .per lb 

St. HHmtnKO' ,....,.... ...per lb 

liitnct...., -.. .perlb 13 

" In bo* ..........per lb 

ITmii WiMJil ieoLA) ... p«rbbl TO Oft 

Matldw, Diiteh.. per lb BS 

Frrnch..... P^r lb «8 

Natffalb, Blue, Al*ppo..... ...f^r-tb 

(iTchlle... ....... P*r1b SO 

Pi^rslMiBerrio*..... ..ptrlb 60 

gnlBower. P*r lb SO 

i*panw(iod.................. ..per lb 12 

TunuPrie ...per lb IB 

tritramnrlm.... ,....,.,..........., p*?r lb m 

WuKd ...,,,....... .p**r Ib 1& 

IlBUGClIflTSf VLAfiS^VAaE, 
[fackao* pjticia.] 

Gre^-n Rottlra iTid r1al| . . , .50 p*«?i?iit*ffe 

O.TTOftn KIJDin«i*tli:.*atidTlAli .........SO 

Flint Bott^< a iiiid viiilfl , .S6 " 

FuniliiiFi: Wire.... ......10 ** 

Prrriiriier*9 Wirt........ - ® ** 

Oemical Ware - .itet " 

svrii»p»....... 10 ;; 

ifotiiuwpalhlcTiiili............... ..... .-.10 

NAVAL 8'r0BBS« 

jntckCltjr ...............p^T^bt 

Hoeiii,i:itn»l'lile........... perSMlbfl 8 Ofl 

Pftlf. "^ TOO 

Nol. " 6W 

yp.S...... " *W 

Wmlnpd..... I *00 

t'oUlOMD .................... 

?pW(», TttT^ntliHS (Sort li C«ro!lBa) pCT «il 

Tttrpcntlne, Sqft. ...perSey Ibi 

0IE.tt 

LlriMted OH, Americwi. ,. - . . . . ppr S»l 

Kngllib per »l 

FalmOIl. ......,,,... ..per lb 

I'aTifflne Luliriwtbig Otl » ptrgtl 

Sperm. Orade....... ..ptrgnl 

liper"', W Irktcr, iinbl(!achi<d. .. . ............ p«r jr«l 

t.»rrt ol! Prknc^ i'Hf *...,,.. .p«r dpal 

Ki?«i i m. t It V dtntllktl .....,,, - . ..per fal 

K^fi OlL?wpcitil(lcd....... ......per fill 

WhutB, rriKle ptr^l 

"VV liflle, Ilkached, Wlflt*F. per f il 

FAINTS (HBIl. 

A»ph.tUom. cijit. ...,.,,. . . .. .......,,. pet- lb . 

Ittirjtes, ForriE" - .......... - P«r i?n 

lt*r>y'», Americnn ,,,,.,......... ...^ ...-|»«f lb 

JJlttckl^fld .p«)b B 

BtMCk Ivgiy, drop. fair. . ...,,...,-... . .per lb 10 

ffQoil , , .......... per lb I^ 

bept per lb S4 

Bly«relertlaLgoffll..,< l-er lb 

Chliww. ■*l^'? 

PniiiiM. (hb- ui bc#l....,,..........-p*rlb W 

U.tmnAriiM telr lo best perlb Si 



Ui 


1 to 


IfJ 


M 


tl> 


1 40 


to 


M 


to 


sa 


to 


so 


lA 


«s 


Id 


1 ie 


tl> 


1 S5 


to 


1 SO 


to 


nso 


to 


g rw 


tfl 


H ao 


t« 


1 T» 


to 


t 40 


to 


140 


bl 


4fi 


to 


3^ 


tu 


8 


ta 


a & 


to 


i Tfi 


to 


fl 10 


to 


I ea 


in 


1 3d 


trt 




to 


a 10 


to 


I »5 


b» 


60 



B>4 

13 

toTl 00 



dfceonBt. 



to 4 00 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to STA 

to 60 

b<> S 00 



lo 


1 m 


la 


1 m 


to 


10 


to 


40 


to 


i 10 


to 


B«0 


to 


1 Tft 


til 


TO 


to 


n 


lo 


1 as 


tn 


1S3 


to 


T 


t.«43 00 


to 


a 


to 


la 


lo 


i.«« 


Ui 


*o 


to 


id 


to 


u 


to 


1 00 


to 


1 00 


to 


45 



Chalk. Luiop. 

C3hiQ»ta»f....... 

Chmik...... |.. 

Gi^«a P&rk, fair to bc*l. . ...... ..... 

Green <'brmne, fair t* lient . . . . , 

Lamp BlaGi— Co*di Pilnter'i— L. Murtla 

Jk Oo.'b. . . 

Limp Hidck, ordtruHTj 

Ulbai;pv powdi^red, AmerllcanA EngUili. 
Ochre, Tt-llow, FrcDch, djy. ...*......... 

K^'d VrnetlKQ,,. ... *, 

Bed tmlkn, fblr to UtX. 

Ke<i Lead, AmerlcMO. , 

KugllJb , 

BtiwjFJnk.................. 

Slrntia. Am<?ri(SiD 

lUliwr, B'ot 

Kaw... 

Umber. Gmde, Tarkflj . ... 

burnt 

Tlemm'B C«Ut V. nnUJoo 

Pot* CnnuLno ... ....... . . 

ftmlabU* Blue, 

Temilll Dt}, Eti^ltiil], i>*T« 

deep 

AtDerku .r. ..,..,,. , 

'I'hInMH ..................... 

Trioiie. . . 

Wlilte, CTilnii,... 

CrvmnUi ....,..,,.. 

Lead, puri ......... 

giiod , 

Pflrii.. 

ZlDc, American............ 

ZSnc, Freocb .................... 

Wblt%-, 



. .per lb 
..pirr lb 
..pci'bbl 
..per lb 
,p«rlb 

[p«rlb 

per paper 

. .per lb 
. .par lb 
. .ptT Ib 
. ,per lb 
..ptrlb 
.per lb 
..per lb 
.pet lb 
..pprlb 
.hat lb 
,.p«r)b 
.petlb 
, .per lb 
. per lb 
.perTb 
. , per lb 
, .par lb 
, .pot lb 
. .per Ib 
..perlb 
. . per lb 
. .per lb 
. , pw lb 
..pBrlb 
..per lb 
.per Ib 
..per lb 
.p«T Ib 



bi 


iH 


to 


. «Jtf 


to 


4t0 


8fi t* 


£0 


88 la 


43 


S to 


fiS 


8 to 


le 


11 to 


iijtf 


SKto 


4 


»>ito 


6 


n to 


IS 


11 to 


IS 


to 


u 


ta 


ao 


7 to 


9 


la ta 


9i 


15 to 


SO 


C to 


T 


6 to 


9 


i« 


I 10 


to 14 00 


to 


I 95 


to 


1 le 


to 


1 SO 



to 
to 

U 

IS lo 

» to 

Sffto 

10 Ut 

14 to 



PAINTS dlf aiL). 

BIsrk coneb ^ .per Ib 

Blue, Cliltifus , ...... . . per ib 

PriiBfi,!aTi,^ fidr to beat. ..p«r lb 

Brown, Van, liyltft, Mr to beat .per lb 

Dryer, Patent, .4.iiierlciib . per lb 

Kngll»h ..perlb 

Qrpeo, fTiromi" ....................... .per lb 

Imperial ................ . .per )b 

P*rlj< ,,„..........,., per lb 

Vprdlarls .per lb 

PnUy, In bliitld*ri, . .,.,,... ,, perib 

In Tmlfc .per lb 

Red V«iietLiii, Mr lo best. per lb 

Sietitia, ImniitLfitif to beit per lb 

WkiteLeld, Kaslbh, B. B..,.. ........ ..pur lb 

Amerlc&a, pore. .p«r lb 

food..... per lb 

fell..... ...per lb 

Wblte ZIdc, Amerlcwi ..perib 

Prencb , .per lb 

YelJow Ochre. ....,.,......, .per lb 

Cbrume, tkir to beit [wr Ib 

SPICES. 

OoBfeK ^ iQAtf ..p«r1b 

Clovet per lb 

Qiugvr, Bftee^ AAlciLit. per lb 

Mace .per lb 

Nntmei^ No. I,, ...p«r lb 

Pepper. ...,,.,..,.... per lb 

Plmeato, JuiiMfca,. . , . . , i>er lb 

l¥l!f1H>ier GLASS, 



1 W 

I SO 

S3 

m 

14 
ll¥ 
4 

n^ 

16 
9)( 



3D 
90 to 
14Vto 
Ifl^to 
IS Ut 
IS to 
89 U) 
Ifi to 

to 

& to 

n to 

to 

lajtftn 
It to 

V %Q 

10 to 

10 to 

» to 

1« to 

to 
to 
to 
to 



to 1 m 



14 
IS 
ST 
ii 
4% 

«s 



lis 

U 

u 
Ifl 

10 

1ft 

1 00 
1 45 

u 



AmerlHB Wladnw^-lit, M, Sd^mH 4tb qnalUlc». 



bf S 

by 11 

by 14 

by 10 

by n 

by m 

by SI 

by Afl 

bj 40 

ky &* 

by m 

by f» 



to B by 10.... 

to 10 by 16,... 

to IS by IS.... 

to 10 by ^,... 

tt» IS by 80.... 

bj 24 by 80.... 

to U by aO.... 

lo SA by 10.... 

to SO by 49 

to 83 by 60.... 

1^ »4 by «0.... 

to 4(1 by 00.... 
Tbe above if rui.bjc>cl to m dSacoQiit of SO per Mi^i 

Fran<jh Wlpdow— Itt, 8.1, M, nnd 4th qualltlw. (Single tblck.) 



Fn- ftfty foet t e S5 to 8 T& 

« T5 to 4 T6 

" T ao to 5 M 

** 8 !!!0 lo PO 

10 00 to t 00 

•* IS 50 to 8 00 

" 14 00 to 9 00 

•* 10 OO to 10 00 

• ]S DO to 14 00 

** SO !S0 to 1« m 

H 00 to 1ft 00 

!6 00 to 21 00 



14 



11 
18 
11 
Ifl 
29 

eo 

84 by »1 

ra by so 

i^ by 40 

84 by M 

m by 50 

4 by U 



e to 

11 to 



i by 10.. ....... .Per fifty feet t as to 475 



10 by 15.......... *• « TO to 6 00 

to IB by 19.......... " T aO to 6 00 

tn IS bT M ** $ 60 to « Art 

tn 18 by 80.......... ** SO 00 to 7 00 

to S4 by 80.... ■* 1« 00 to 8 00 

lo 31 by 8C " 14 DO lo S 00 

to no by 48......... « 18 DO til 10 00 

lo 30 bf 49(8 qlln)... " 19 110 to 14 1)0 

to OS by b«i(^qlt»... '^ SO 60 to 1« 00 

to 90 by flO(Sqlu).,. ** g* «0 to IS 00 

lo 40 by 0O(Sqltfl)... ** SO 00 to il 00 

^nbjpct to a dlMmint of 80 p«ir cont ^igltih kJ.1i at 10 p«r etat 
dlMuuul 1^ tb« *bort ntM. 



INDEX. 



ASVU, F. A., F.H.S, For. Bee. 
C. 8, Contrlbntiuos to the 
history of explaaive OLnreaU^ 

A]<8lntlie,2«3. 

Abftiivliilftn expt'dltlan. Photo- 

irrfttfliv in conofctinii wltli, by 

Jlba'dtn I'rttcliard. 83 
Aciidi-mv of Sefe[ip(«», M, 85, M, 

147, 'sue, 815, S16. 
Acdtletit, lameutftble, 49. 
Accuracy, 109. 
Act-ilc »vh\, kisltng the ttrenirth 

<tt IGl. 
Mrlc:B, Acldn of the, on Bomu de- 

ciiTn|;io>.Itli>iui of, bjr E. T. Chiip- 

iDftn ami Id. II. :>inith, ^it. 
Acetjlene. on n. mercury eota- 

pounfl i>t. by II. B»-H»tt. 117. 
Add, be tuny le-parapbeoolsu I phu- 

ric, n. 
carbolic, on Its artlon tt» ft thera 

PJUiIc a^i'tiL, by JoHepbHrrech, 
h.ll., Wi. 
cljlf* rhy dp ix yp FTi pyl!«ulpho r>lc, 

ichla rm e Iti y I -SHiihtoolic acid), 
nrtnatlon of, tflft. 
chlorous,, and DHptithalcne, 41. 
cUrie, ue* source of, Ifll. 
«ouiiiaric, and comiiq,rtr>. And 

melUiiUc acid, on tbe coostl- 

tuUnj oi; by Prof. K. FltU^, 

ISO. 
deoMtnpoittloa of rernieutatioti 

lactk-, 150. 
dlluU'd iiltrio-hydrochlorlc, by 

W. A. Tllden, »8c., F.C.H., 

26ft. 
ellai^c, furmadon of, by m«aiii 

of ifoMlc acid, b^y M. J. Lowe, 

1'23. 
formic, ketone of, 41. 
frev' bfdroehlutle, estlmaUoD of, 

blpiitiHc derJvftUom of» S06. 
hvdrfltlHoric. on, by Q. Gore, 

F.lt.a. ISU 
iMlhi'icile^ »jtrthe!<t<) of, im 
melilntic, "od coumarlc, and 

couniarin, ou Uj(-< con»UtutioD 

of, by Pr,.f. U. ritilK, 180. 
AcidM>f the iinetlc iuricfi. on tome 

decuntposUlaiif) uf, by K. T, 

i'btvpnian aail NL II. Htultl^, 

814. 
Add, pyrophos^ilionltryllc, 6©. 
raccoiic, forni»tloti aod coiuiij- 

tulioD «jf, IfllT. 
siil{ib«»b<-its>lic, 150. 
Biil[<faitrle. and elbyl salplit»cy- 

anatc, 2o7. 
Bulphitroun, C. H. Wood on. 

ROlpliurouB, In tbo olr of Mnn- 

che'a»«r, by Pet«r bponce, V.C. 

S., 251. 
tartaric. aoAntiUtlve e»tUhate 

of, 819. 
teraiuinunilAt«d totrapbospbo*^ 

motamto, aoUoQ of beat opoo, 

telrapbuBpbotetrlmlo, 189. 
Actd;», ihii fatty, rrdeaichea on th« 

iictloD of iridium on tbelr 

etJiora, by I'rof. V^anklyn, 88. 
Acid. Ikutilc on thw eatimallon 

of, by D. Forbe«, FJL±, Jt<x, 

111. 
action of bydrltKtic acid Bpoo 

ofpanJc chb»ri«ie«, 824. 
Adulterated and uowbolcBocrie 



foo^ : In Dr. LeHichy's lec- 

tiui'B nn food, 71. 119, ISS. 
AdultrratliKn ».f oKve and aw^fet 

alnmtid till>, dcEecthiK tl"-". 

].W. 
Adv(-rtlsMuentJi and certlflcatM, 

49 
AfllCf^ Sotitb. analyi»l* of a moteo- 

rlltf fioiti, by I'rof Cburch, 80. 
A(rrfcidrtirf, phiwphateu In, S8. 
Air, diwfiv.-ry vJ Um weight uf, 

W2, 828. 
fiXe^l, or cnrboTttu gaa, In Iir. 

Oill{ni;'H lettiirea on Ibe 

rhffiilc^il cboiigva of carboti, 

iSii, 142 
Id Dr. lJdltni;'*« luctnres on Ihe 

p|ienii«'-al t-hatijj^et of carbon, 

lae, 140. 
notv oo the dl-woTcry of the 

-wudght of. bv 0. F. Rodwt'U, 

F.< >., 2S4, SOT. 
AlcohiiT, ronMatioQ uf, from ether, 

ir.rt, 
Ald^-hvdlDP, 2 8. 
AlHarliie, 2C8, 
cbfinkal formula ot by E^ 

Schutick, l'Tl.]^. F.K.S..a00. 
on the artlQebl proporatlQa ol^ 

«7S. 
•ycithb«U of, 629. 
Alkttllmttdciii and rUloHmptrlcnl 

dtf^eea, English und Tirobn, 

by John Pattlusoti, iALB., 

227. 
Alkaline ehforidea, d«eompo«titoD 

flf. «I8. 
Alknlolit, new. In feraionted U- 

<iu(fr*i, ICS, 
Alum, chmind, note on tbt* utlllaa- 

lion of. bf M. F, J. an. VJA. 
AluiTilnluta, rcduda^ from ltd ores. 

AmcTican InstlLutc., IflU 

Aiuruoritimi, aulphJilc vt; on th« 
prddiittt of It* action npoti 
Btrycbnlti«>, toy Frvfcsnur Uww, 
D.O.L.. «U. 

AniyI, hromldu of. by E. T. Chap- 
man and M. H. :?udlh, 818. 

Analj'^lh of a nKti-oilte fri.M 8»>ii(>4 
Africa, by l*^uf&^«o^ Church, 

of un'teorlc ironi, on tbe Imme- 

dialo, by 8. Mt-uDlcr, 118, 
on ih« linniedlatti, of dlireruDt 
TjuHi'lles of carbon, by M, 
liertludot, V29. 
of the alinK* and mnd ijrf tbe 

river MIe. 819. 
a]»cftrnni, cii the method and 
recent proirrt-sis of, by A. f», 
Hcrtchel, n.A-. K.ltA.s.. 27T. 
Analytical chemlalry, contribu- 
lluna tf}, by l>r. E. Flclscb*<r, 
of Drt'Ulon ; the *yiiboii filtt;r, 
4.«i9 : on the Mparatlon wnid ••»- 
UiQAtion of co[t[MT in the pre- 
»4'nc« uf other meLillic aalta, 
290. 
A now element, 262. 
Aulllnt.' dyes, oo soTn<< m^w, by W, 
H. ferklti, F.UB.. Sis:. C:j., 
2B3. 
p*fy,2«4. 

on the artlun of chlorf de of lime 

«nlt.by W.H. I*crk!n, 88. 

kwi^rn to •'orrf?j...riideDt«, C2, 

l*', IW, 216, 2<1S, '^m. 
AnthrckcHi', a pocutiarlty coDCern- 

liiK, Did. 
AotlDsoDy, on the sulphatea of 



ojii.le of, by W. P. Devtef, 12«, 

175. 
ApoiIu'C^rlw' Hall, 9S 
Appamliift, chemlcjil, by W. P. 

DeKter, »«. 
Application uf the liivectrain nilcro- 

tc>}\*c to mlnt'raJoi'v. 268. 
AriaUitltf. nod* on, and tht dl'-cov- 

i^rv of the wtLdit of U«j nir, 

by' n. F. Uodivpil, P.C.S,, 434 
Amn, on the pitchBUinea of the 

Iffinnd of, by J. Wallace 

Younij. 21*1. 
ArBetilc, e«tLnuitlot] of cobalt lu 

prc»«not' of, 41- 
Art and ncivuctf dcpartiDi'nt, 84. 
Artidt-ial maniirfi, 44. 
ftpfclruifji, on the forumibm of, 

wiih a FraniiUofi'r tine, by 

A. Wallupr, 122. 
ralphnle of bnrybi, 321. 
Ais»\ Uijf ^ilVl!r coni| ounds In tbe 

\\ et wii}', I'D a n)0(llfl(«tVi»n of 

tbo motiiod uf, by M. btaft, 

111. 
ALirainlte, on th»* artlflcliil forma* 

tiou or; ift^ ifjfl. 
Aloiidrhy of mofiinij), by ProfobAor 

WanklTD, 818. 
Atomic onlis of fore«', VT. 

Balu and M act oar, Mi>F*ra., on 
talt dt'iosH* fit StiiJ'.-ifiirt, 177, 

li&lMmic Modena vSlle^»^ ru- 
fieiin'bea ctiucornlng, y22. 

B&rrow, .Iidin, on a comiifirntlve 
aunly-i" of Englibh and Aleppo 
galla. 2AI. 
on bl(<ho?phatod PeruTfan gu- 
ano, 'liiQ. 

fia»ctr, H., on a mercury coin- 
piiund >*( a'.'cfylenc, 117. 

Bulb' iur condLunt temperature, 
M. 

BaKeudeirs lawa of attupitphcrie 
ozoue, leuukrks oo. by W. 
Stanley Jevon*, M.A., 40. 

Beef-teit, and e.irract of to*;\t on 
ihv all"jred po:'»oooii.'i quality 
of, by ilaroQ U<'hitr, llx 

Benzovle, paruiiliDnii>h>olpharic ] 
acid. 42. 

BesBcnirf converter, "n the rxatn* 
la:itlon of tlu* '^fldiHo." of, by I 
T, Itowftu, tsi. ( 

Berttiidot, M.. on lh«» ]^)medUlc^' ' 
aiialy'-l!). of iiitftrerit varieties 
of cnrboii, i2J), 27». 

BlchlorufftU'il nldehyd'', 8:4. 

Dmoculur «fifBtrum niuTiiacope. 
on a ni!W aminceuieiit of, by 
W. Oro..k«a. F |t,S., ?)«►«, 

Blaheiideo. Charles Jame?. ♦*The 
Vob**«, and How lo Vm It," 
Lotid^-n, imbJl'bt'd at 52 M*»r- 
tlmcr fit,. Cavendish o^inurc, 
83H, 

Bisulphide of carbon, on the ne- 
tlon (if tiiiiUght uiHin it, by U. 
Loi'w, lis. 

Blowpipe cht-mtetry, ncir applloa- 
tlons of the Tniiirnsoopii to, by 
H. C sorby, r.11.8.. 2*i. 

Boblcrrc, ,\L Adolph-. oo the vol- 
nmelric e^rl)Hntil>n tjf CMin- 
merclal Iodine 68. 

Bookj, Notice* iif, 42, 90, 91, 92, 
l.*.l, 162. 20a, 2<i9. 2:»3, 82T, 
82i. 

BraUhwalte'a Kclro*peet Of Medi- 
cine. voL Ivll,, 42. 



Bread-roiiklntf, Daron Lleblg's «d- 
vlcs> In reiijH.'ct to. 47. 

B4'e1ti'nb;:kch loetvorkte, a prdl- 
niUiarj nntW> iff tlm iDtnend 
rnn*Mtn<nta of. by l'r»d*. K. 5s. 
MaakeJync. .MA.. 202. 

Brews' er, r>fr f avid, "Letter* on 
^l^tul'al Majiic," New edUion. 
Edited by .L A, Smith. Lou- 
don ; \Vi«. 'l\vfi, 18«8, 90. 

Brilliant Idea, a, 3 16. 

B)itl«b ecftM-ted chun'oal. 49. 

BriMMopljtbalic and tjltriiphlluUle 
aeirU. 9^11. 

Bua»eu, I'rrtf. K„ on the wa«hing 
of pM>cipltnto«, SSI. 

BulyUc cmi-oondfl lUrivcd from 
alcoliol l)y fcniientiition, by K. 
•I. (hftptijiui and U, H. Mnlili, 

Butyrie^joatriaric a Id. andbiityro- 
Riillcyl, 0(1 thi- hydfldtf of, by 
Mr. W. H. TerUiJ, 87. 

Dutynk-»rtlicyl aiid biityrlc-ctm- 
iiMide arJd, on ti'C hvdililo ol, 
by Ml. W. tl. l\Mkin,87. 

CA»<A(:aA Wax, cbend&il cmi- 
prinHlfMi of, on tlie, by Ver- 
non I III ►court, ll^t. 
Carbolic ncid, on tbi' nc'lon of, na 
a tlierup(i>utlc nguiit, by J. 
Ilirs.'h. I'h.D., 192. 
CarboiiAte.* iu watf r, cAtUnAtiuo of 

K21. 
Carbon, liUulpbldo ot,on tb« ae* 
iwu wf 5un light upon It, by, 
th L*»ew. U8. 
Caibou, cbi'mlcal ohnnL'e» of, t\x 
b><iure« by l»r. nMus:, M B., 
F,l{.t>., At Ituytil lut.iliution : 
Lecture l. Maibk. lime, 

rarbonlc giis, 181. 
Lt^cture 11. < .ubot.lc ifuB, 

air. i.iiidea, 135. 
Lecture IU, Air, nvUWx, 
c».rl>on or cliarcval, 
14.1, 194. 
LeeUin* IV. Carbootr jina 

or fixed air. 100, 244. 
Lee I urn V, Grjiphlte, 
di«inond, cju-tHiutc 
•iilphtde.249. 
Leetiire VL Cnrb"nle 
dlijijli>lii<li.', curb'»ii, 
<ttli. . . , iTAT- 

b-.l. 

Cafb"», In lir, i» • .«, on 

Itn- i-hetntcal cii.uiijL* wf cnr- 

hoii, 24.V 
on ilir deternilniiUon of, Ineaat- 

lion, by A rthrr 1.111011,264. 
ou tlio iinii>edlaie anatyila of 

dltr«'r.ht > it.-H of, by M. 

UertlM. ■ • , 

Carbon k :, new-, 8^. 

l-u; ; , .-iltf. 

dl«n)p)iidv. Ill l>f. i'd|l..|t'a Ire- 

lUL-t;>oii tbi* eliimicnl cliaOye* 

of CirlMin, 2t5. 
(fos, or flied air, in Hr fHl)In|r> 

Ie«nuri'? on elu-inU'nl eii.«i*L'«'« 

of.iirlon, 181. 18*'), I DtJ, 242, 345, 
Balphlde. la hr Odllnit n ioi2tuii^» 

oi) t1ii> dxttinlralolian^caofciir- 

bi.-i. 248. 
chrtrivjul, In I^r. rfdilnir'« Uc" 

tur.s on tho rheuUeal thungCA 

^f rai boo, 1411). 
CarboooM* oxi'ltf. In l>r. OJ'bur** 

ief:tur«» on the ciiL'tnlcal 

cluui^'ea of tarbou, 245. 



CBKMXCi 



Onat-Iron. on Ihe dtitrrmtnalfun of 
rnrbon In, In- Arthur tHiolt, 
•iM. 
f««<'(i«y!'lii>» on tli« «8ti(riii<i<>t» of 
nlici>.j.lioru!« corttuUicd lu, by 
M. V. tnuUn, 81. 
CathiirUui. or \Uv ii»fln«i>c« of 
ctitriiilciilly ch All surfMctiN by 
Mr. Tonilitr«»ii, 2.VJ. 
Catlikiii, nit thflUDntvAb t^fn (froro 
fllu'iMiA mi I oral' fmiu, by J, 
WiiUace Vouhg. 1. 
CifBptiJun, i:. r., Mtul M !I. Smith, 
on propyl cnmiinuntlK ilenvi-ii 
Troll • tiitf pcopylk tticuJioi uf 
fcrruHntnlion, 814. 
OU bpUjiMlu of fflHl;il. 9i{J. 
utid M. li, Bitiitti on »oini> «To- 
C"niiH)8ili..n*i>ftbraci(U0ftli« 
ocittc 9»^TleA. 8l1i. 
utiil M. H. tjtulih, on iht htityllc 
rompoiiiidgt di-rlTei] fcnin tile*- 
h> I by r»rDifTitit1op. Si't^ 
Cljarooal, arjlfiitii, on Mr. H^'iinosV 

proct'sa fur triiMlnf, Iu8, 
(')le:>p iruiKiiB^lmc, &*«. 
UjiMi'l*«l witiijJfy ftjul fleotilcllj^, 
211. 
aj)pBr»t«!*. by W, R Uexicr, »). 
Cbrntlrnl rhjingea of Oirhini, il\ 
lt.<.inri-8 by pr. ndUriir. M.B., 
V.R.P>.. fi( Ui<>>a1 In^tlliillon; 
Lr<;ture I. « irble, UiOf, 

eatbofjc g:»K. l.Jl, 
Led lire IT. <'arb<>»ilc gn9, 

Ulf, Okhdt'S, «»&. 

Lrciuro Hi. Air, oxbJ*»s, 
(•.kfticko 4kr ch«rcoit^l, 1441, 
15»4. 
L<ctur« IV. Curlionlc 
i:n««, (ir fix«>it nlr. I 'Jd, ^3 
Lerturo V. Or»r>b}U', ilJ»* 
i.h.ud, I'ui'liolilc pul- 
phlU-, W8, 
Liciiu'*- Vl, Crti-l>rtDlo tU- 
wil[bld«\ onrbou, i-fcibu 
ii-UA os4de, ciu-bunlc 
Hiis, 345. 
ChcitilfjiJ cmibiTiPitlofii, on the 
()«'«nil]»biimTlon of, 'it)', 
c"tn|><»r'ill*>ri nf I atinnlm wmv, />n 
tlif, by VcitioH IlniToiHt. lUV 
Ubri('4tiirl.<ft i.r worlcJ^b^pK 144. 
Nor|i>i'» fr<>ir> KoreJyii honrctt.*., 
41. I4l», liol 8l». 
Obeui^oil ^f"»c^ton•, on a now *e- 
rU'i uf. prnduoi'd hj llijsliit, by 
.I.T}iidall,LL.D., F.R.?J.,Ac., 

Chemlr^al Socl«»ty. 88. flS, >8. lit, 
14:, -liYi, 2f».%. r-i. 8M, SflO, 
8<i9. i'.n 81'», 3i;t :;Jt8. 

Ihc pri.'t'kni'V Jif. 2(it 

Cb^mit^iilly cli^an Ki)rr.LC>'«. thu In- 

Uu(>r ly i>r, Mf i-tiibHilviii, bv 

Mr. ToniliiJDon. i i. 
••Chemlntry, a MnnuiU of. F.!r>n»i>n- 

t«ry, 'fhenrrtl* nl. wnd Pr»n-tl. 

• aJ," (.y Oi'O. F<tim..<, F.U ,■*. 

LniMii.ii ; J, cimrcliUI Jt too*, 

C'hi'ini»try, chaJr of, at Rdlnburgli^ 

"Clu'mi-trjr, Klpmentu of, Tbtore- 
Uciil und PrftcUcil." I'nn fi. 
]iuiTiiaMic Cif-iti\ftry, by W. 
A- MUk-r, M.H, LLJ»„ 
V.r.n.g, Lffndiin: I.^nirtrKnii, 
Ore«>n, U«id«rand Dyer, l>(ls, 

"Cbv»»»»Uy fur StmVol*.*' by A. 

\V. Wlllbitn^^oj., F.ir.x, F.U8., 

Ni'\v rd. l.Ureiubm PrtiM, 

lS«a^ lil. 
Cht'DiUiry lo IV (>XAirdii'it(b>ni of 

llic 4li't>iir<tncri(a of !M:iL'ii<x> fttid 

«rt, 04.0«.lM. 
nfunjrir iMunufACti^rp and ^^nitcnr 

n-tiidnn, \>Y I>r. Wiilhicc, 

. F.U,?.E,. K.C.S., 7fi. 2U«, ilS. 

Chewy li lis «n Ihn acib»n of *.ill 

np(in It, l.v Prof c*b«)r»'b. nt». 
fhl'-r* ' ■ 1 'iomIc Hif- 

!■. '.l-nltt iic- 

-Chlotiiio III itriii , ins i:^i.'itiiT) nnnn 



Cblnridta. oT]r.iii1c, convDnltin Into 
tod1<lf!i.'i<)T. 

ClilordDflrkaJ und alfcuUinetrJciil 
dvjpret'p, Kinrli*h ikuJ fori-ijfo, 
ty Juhii I'litiltjaiia, F.C.8., 

CbliiriiK* ija*, oti tbe n|>pIU'iiti«n 
of. to tin' toii^lieiiln^; antl rc- 
nuiiiK "f colfl. by F. U. JtUlrf, 
K.C.SJ.. 87. 

riilorou^Hciii und n;ijihlhnl»'nf, 4S 

Cltb'Titplctln, ^uaiildine from, 207. 

Cbofolittv, Ti>iitliijg tbf nieuuluu 
ni'« uf. Sa7. 

Chroiu** fttwtn, Jiote on the ntlll- 
•ivUi-ri of, by Al. F. Jeim, IW. 
tfrccfi. a*ift. 

CbrombiMi nod nii>1ybdenum« on n 
nicide 4»f I'Xtrui tlitfc lIu-iMf 
mi'tiUs, by J. Eucu Loughlfu, 

luMl lIlHJilRm. ufi tbc Inflcivnrt* 
«jf ItiH osiiloa of, iin the tunr 
jiMilttoti of plg-lion, by .V. A, 
tind y. D. nr»yi>#. 2&Jii 

prpT«;ir!ilion of A|>ol)|;y oxldtt of, 

Cliroiiiyl dlebtortdtu Diil« nn th» 

frpn-lflo litiivlty ohd btillliitf 

polnl *'f, by T. K. TJnrrp«, &7. 
C)iur«-h J'rof., iifirtly>l? of f^ tiufte<i- 

rllo fn<m Sou lb Africn, 8S» 
on tbf a'-t|«in of MtU ujion 

cbcshylite»89. 
rinnh»>«j* biirk. le^tloi?, 3*1. 
L'Innnntntu of hon/yt, 82^ 
(.lUfKiniic •eld, ' rowMtrcboft on 

gHine dfrivutioTis fnJiu, 330. 
Mlric ticid, n4'W acnirc*- ut, 101. 
rinret, bow to nmkL\ 162. 
i bxi'l*. on Uic ]thtavmetKi snd 

fonii;ilion of, bv J. Tvtidall, 

LL,|i,. F,R.S..2i69. 
Crhalt, cslitiihtii^i] of, lo pmeaoeof 

ikr9*uh% 41. 149. 
Cohiaiun Ikure*. 46, 19, 98, 
of Hqiiid*. Wl, IM. 167. 
on tlu" ■ xbit.liloii ..f, t,t ft I -clnrii 
• »ndUncc. by U J. WwidwanI, 

B.^c.in. 
Cok*» onii«> fr*»# firont fiulphur, ojti 
o1>tiiiiUiiu, 327. 
j rolorcU-orku liunln, SUi. 
CoDibuBtilrltf AndBi>ppi^rt«?rof com* 

bM»tfoa : li> bunt *4%>£efi or 

ftjr In fivdj-iitft-n or ^-^j^l i:**, 

lo •bnw ihut Lbcft« are rotative 

UruiB, 2(HK 
Coniba-tibii), ujipArntiia for ^llow- 

tiiir (ba leclprucAl [iatiir« uL 

261. 
t'oiiipi«itt<in of wiffir AcuiD, Sif. 
CoiupJi^i'td p<«kt from J^wUier- 

Imd, ru&ulta uf aualysis of. 

ai«. 

I roncliliiim-, S2ft. 
! Ciimly-* fluid. 4.>*. 

Coii>tMi^ itimMmlnra, baths for. 
91, 

Ootilfiiipnr)iry Pcb^nliati Frp**, 51, 
l«i'J,21&. 1!W. Sl:>4. 

Contribution » t.-aurtlv Icaldu'mlB- 
iry, by Dr. E. F^t!l^chtfr, of 
TlTf-siden ; Iho avplioo flStrr, 
^^^ : likf M>p»nttloii »r)<l I'^tl- 
iiiiillon of cojfper in llie pre- 
»>-ucw of ullicr iitutAlltc aiiUs, 
•iSO. 

Convfralon of nr^^anlo cbb<rl4&s 
lJ•^. I.Mtld*.*, aoT. 

Co|>iM-r, oiv lilt! c«llm:i(lon of, in 
on:*, by ciMljdrt mctboiU for 
wbkb M pr<-in1uui hiu betfu 
nunntrd. 2W1. 
on till' «4'p<irailoii nnd L'stlmHtioii 
uf. In tbe jprdM'jifi" <>f oHir-r ' 
Itiu'lalllc m1(b, by £. FJolBcbiT, I 
«9rt, ' 

Corr.'HiK^ndt'nce, 44, 98, IM, 909, 
i'.' 7.828. 

Ci>rr»fpi>tidunt4v AnswfrA to, B2, 
lOA, 164. SI 6.2ns,. aaik 

Contwlvu pMbHiontff, 111 pr<»i>nn\- 
llxna for llio- dlMt»ci|on9, 140. 

CoLtontf'MMU ndMew lii,8fl. 

Couiii&rin R<-tiU(Hjiiniurln niid rnrtt- 
loflo flMd. oti lb<? cjin»ilioH..n 
of, by PiQfvsi>or K. FltllK, J60. 



Coumarln and conmartc acfd. on 

tht< ci^nstitiilioii nf. by I'rofeB- 

(Kir IL FlllLf, 8(M. 
by W. H. I'erkin. F.R.8., 818. 
Crutoke*, Vi\ F.Ii.!*., on nm^war- 

mriceitx-ut of binofliilnr *[h.>c- 

Iruin nitcrof«c«pe. 8<i<l. 
on B'^tne «Tti.t:larpbi^»noiuena of 

..pat, ?07. 
Crymallizution of Iron. 280, 

Hilddcii, 24H), i>'J9. "SO. 
< rjstds «f SHdJiiin vtbyliate, cotn- 

Irtisltlon of 1.V1. 
CuHotisly pitrtflcd w oiwl, 825. 
Curious viK'ation fyr a tckiiUflc 

ttoclety, 914. 



DAS<rrB, J. B., F.R.A.a., on Ihci 
micri«c<tplL'ul vxjuulnatlou of 
I 4u«t.J5l. 

narlii")?, W. H.. r^t^fttcJu'ii on dl* 
m.UbyLpari il. 148. 

l^ccnmpoMibin <^ll, R8I. 

Dej:ri-«.<ii, Knf liish tmti f<irclsn ftlka- 
ItiiK'trlc.'d »n<l cbtortmi-trlciil, 
bv Joba ramnsou, F.CiJ., 
IWT. 

Oonstf bvdrocnrbon*. on llie dla- 
tllliillun (>f, at hl|rb touiiM-m' 
lurci, br Si, F rtckbitDi, '298, 

DprlvDtlooi of blpmik ncM, 2<>S, 
of pri'parcd bi Jrldo of prop^ i, j 
by V. ScborUm liter, 802. | 

Dejilpnolle, .M . on new exploslvo I 

Bc^ulphuriitloti of cbouilc&l com- { 

blnatlona, 3(»7. i 

Dexter. VV. P., on cbcmlcal iipi>a- 

ratuN 30. 
OD t bi< 8al[thati^a of oxide of 

antliiiii' y, r,:9. 175. 
iJfatuond, In l)r. Odlbiir'i 1i<ctnn-« 

Ob the eheuilciti ch4iiges at 

carbon. 24a. 
Dleblor[)benol, ir.0. 
DieiArlt'3. cuuRlructt'in of, In Dr. 

Lf'theby on fbcul^T. 
DHaU'd nJtroUvdrocblorlo •cld.by 

W. A. Tlideo, B,Bo., F.Ci}., 

2:a 
rH-un-thirl, rcfirarcbca on, Port 

II., f.y W. H. Darllnif. 14S. 
Xilsmu-tf, iiinjruH tbeory of, 47. 
'' UiaiafcctaDta uml I (luiitft'Ctlon " 

by IL A. t^mlib. Ph.T>., F.R.S., 

F.L'.S. Etilnbargb: Kdmona- 

ton * Do.igUw, 3. SCO, 20H. 
Dlstlbnlion of dfaftt* byJiocur- 

bon* at high teniperaturi^a, by 

S. ¥. PecltbAm. 2ef». 
Dl»ulphlde curboitic, in Dr. Od- 

llnji;':i lecrurM on ihr cbcuiJoal 

ibaniTifa of carlwn, 'US, 
Hublln t?olei.tmci(Hti.41. 
Diivt. mbMOiiruplrat vxumlnullon 

of, by J. U. UamoiT, i .ILA.ti., 

351. 



Bnt.;tLiTtos <if water, 820. 
£cHp»v in India, fttllui-« of pho 

tfufraphlnc Ihf, 4*5, 
of tbe Biin. tbf recent; BprCtnira 

observalLioa eormeotod wltb, i 

19. . i 

pbMiozraplia of tli« lat«, takeii In 

ln.I a, l.W. 
Eeole prall<|uc deabnotcB Etudca, < 

PiirlB, 261, I 

i:dlnbur>fb. I'nlrftrslty of. 99. I 

Hg-jrcrlz, Prof. V., vn tbr deter* ' 

mlnnt>fin of silicon, gniipbite, | 

and man^Hncso In Iron and 

■(I'rl. 35. 
ElecirJc curtent. hebavlor of me- 

1.1I4 In tbc 150. I 

Eleetriolty and cbfUiical afflolty, 

211. ! 

KJi'otrotnAtora, veKelalde, bj Ed- 
win Siuilh. MA , Wit. 
KlHm«*nt«ry orj.Tinlr< flnaly^la, 821, 
Elbifrlo iiobi, foMnfttion of bynn-uua 

of trail Ic add, by M. T, Lowe, 

128. 
Elliott, Artbnr, on the determlna. 

Hon uf carboQ In casl-kun. 



EDplIifa and forelRD alkahmetrfc«l 
and chtorliio'tfleal dcin-t-». by 
.Tr.lin Pwttlna.n, K.C.*.. 237. 

f:<iuiTiilfnc« «ad ijuatiUvailenc*, 

8!J1. 

Eatlmatlon of co|>per In orea by 
certnlo tnclhud* for whb'b » 
prindnm has twen awnrdtfd, 
206. 
of titanic ftold, by D. FoTb«5a, 
F.R.3.. Ac, 111. 

Etbyl-i«jdal«, 16«. 

Kthylate of sodium, nxperiment* 
on, by Prof WanklyiuSOO. 

Etltyl aulpbocyriaate, and aulpba- 
rie ncJd, ^07- 

ExpedinciiLB, nute on lecture, SSd. 

Explaaloii at I'arU, 264. 
foarful, 208. 

Exidof^tvc amenta, cootrlbuilona to 
Ibf hlaUtry of, br F. A. Abel, 
F U.S., For Sec.C.8. W»*. 
j^MiMdtirs. on Qtiw, by U. Doalg- 
noUe, 2:9. 

"F;iii*T>Ar aa a DlscnTcri'r," by 
John TyndAll. L<i<ngt[unSk 
Gi-t-enifcC'o.. 1848, 2U. 

Fara<luy on the guv«j7iuu'nt r»- 
cogidtliin of Boipnci', 160. 

Fcrtnrnt»llon Urtio adJ, decom- 
position of, 150. 

Filter, the avplion, by T>r. E. 
FlclBcher of Dr.'flden, 2*9. 

FUUk. Prot 1£ ♦ "D thi» coi(«tlt«- 
tlon of wnmnrln, eoninariv 
iwbl, and lu.bloLic- aeld.iSO. 
on coiifftitDlli>n of counuuriji und 
codiuftrlo »cld. 81X1. 

FlXfdaJr. or rorboDic rav In Dr. 
OtHinjf'a Itc'ures on tbe che- 
mical changes uf carUm, l^i, 
242. 

Flclftcher, Dr. E., of Dreiitlen ; 
ContrtbntlonR to aoalyUml 
efacm1»fry; tbe sypbon Alter, 
2S8: aeparotbin and eatimatloii 
01 copper In tbc pri'Moce of 
othfr metal Ik «Ut»- 29<». 

Flnorine Jn th** bralo, 3l9 

Food: Dr. Lclheby 00— PrMi'nra* 

tlon of fimd — rnwbutetHiiue 

a d udulter&tvd foiMi, T|, I1U. 

mjwhotiiftom"^ oiid ndulttrated In 

Dr. Lelb«?bv on food, J^^«M. 

Foibi^, I)., F.K-i*., Ac, on Uie 

coinpoisltloti and mc-taJiiiriey of 

aome N4i^rwcgian tItaitJfltolu 

Iron ores, 69. 

, on I btr efttlmatioQ of Utntilo actiL 

i 111. 

Ffirce, atomic units of. 9T. 

Furelftn Science, 82 88,84i. ST, 142, 
148, 200, 201. 2MI. 

FormatioD and pb^nnineD<i of 
doudA, bv J. TycidAlt, Lt.D.. 
F.K,S., 2W. 

Fowoe^Gco., F.R.8. "A Manual 
of Elmncntarv Cbenii«try.Tb«- 
welJCftl and Proc leal," Loo- * 
don: J. CbarcblU A &«oa« 

Franeulln, 828. 

FronUanrL Ur , FR.B., on pnrifl- 

catlon nf bo wast — lldr. blilor** 

priM-ess, 4. 
and J. N. Lockyer, F.R,A,5., *ir 

re4<'urf bee uc paiiHitia »p«eirm 

Jn relaliun to tbe ]>hva(cal 

coii-vtJtuUon of tlic HUM. 2*8. 
FrtiU, ilnngi'r Krlsinc from the ejl- 

bulailona of e^^jine kind of. 4*. 
PamltiK of cttitatb acblo, on the, 

IM. 

OittFLT: CffnipoLlsfittcfilti, 149. 
GaIK on a roDipurttire nnfily^bt 
0f EnicllBti and Ab>[»po,'by 
Jfihtalinrrnw. 2M. 
005, carbonic. In Dr. '^dlinir'e K>c- 
turca on ttio rhftnical change* 
of carbon, IDG. 24A. 
eb]ortn<^, oti tb« Dnidlcatlon of io 
the l«injfhfniD*r and n.'f1iilngof 
gold, by F. B. Miller, F.C.P. »7. 
inapcctorflblp for Ihe I'lty, 208. 
fiupiily of the city of LunOun, 
160,882. 






^^^"^«nmnB tr>AchfnK, * gfaoce at. S0. 

H Glu-Jutonc, J. H., PKD., F.E S., 
^^L o(i «i>uie «om|^K3uniiiii of phos- 

^^ Olanc 



Index, 



Vll 






» 

» 

> 
» 



Glance nt o •■.■■•■. ' icUlnir, 28. 

chei.i U, 93, im, 

ntoaa Killing, 41- 

nitt"*, opiicttj, SIS. 

Glasi, the celebrated Avcntnrln 

mado nl, VorUci;, AOitlyiLt of, 

82fi. 
GlnoborS ralti^, bqIqIIom of, 929. 
Glycerin, tt^tJnjc of fur uniftir and 

•Irxtrln. 218. 
Omdlra'd f bi-mJ*try, 94, 
Gohtuti Ihi »[»i'lkali«niorchllarlno 

Iftw t»p fliw t{9t2};]K>nini; and re- 

flnlriK of. by F. B, .Miller, 

F.C.rt., wr, 
Gore, O.. F li.Hv, on lijdrofluorlc 

iici'l, iHl. 
Grabarn. J^ F.R a, on (he f*liHoii 

of hvcJrogin lit pjilladlnm, 12S. 
Grape*. rlp<*. nn:ilv»1» nf. 825. 
Oraphlto. (n Dr. Odlinp'a lefture« 

ou the rhi'iiiicjil dmn^-fl of 

oa the Butrtitilution of by nntl- 
ninny lu gnlT4nic batterle*. 

all Icon, and tiian?tinee«, on the 
d»'l<"rtnlnnlloii of In Iron aud 

Oaala<'aJ, ■ynthcKlii nf. 15a. 
Guaoidliic froirj ch|or<<pluiD, 807. 
Guano, bipbuapbtiLfNl iVrurbuv 

•purlMUB. SIS. MT, ew 
GtUDiDlc acid and aoine of Ita cam- 

bLDiidoiia, 321, 
GuD-cotUjii. a n*»wly discovered 

[property of, VT. 

HAacouaT, Vernon, on tbe ebenil- 
cal cotrtposUioo of eanauba 
waa, 145- 

Hnyif*. A. A. and S. D., on the 
luflurnie of tb** oxldb» of 
chrumium ami tftanlam »d thtj 
coiiipnituiuo of plR-irun. 285. 

Hofli*>n'B Mtel and ir«ii i^rooeaa. 
19;J. «13, 214. 

ncmpaUi, Dr., M.D.. F,K.3., 4T. 

HerKhel. A. S., HA.. F.R A-9.. 
un tbc incthixlfl npd recent 
prrtgrewi of epiclrum analyala, 
»T7. 

nigh f*ch«>oL the new, an J thfl 
laborHt.riea ^f I'srli. 49. 

•'Ulntj lo Purchaser of Jewelrj 
and of » ijtchcji, with an Ac- 
L'ounl of the iCi-iativc Value of 
th«* riifTt-nNt Qiiulllips of 
t>«dii" Bv E. W. Strteter. 
Loiidnn : ^iiiiiikln, Maikhulj t 
Co., 'Hit. 

HIppurIc ttcld. derWativi'S ut, 808. 

Htriw'h, J., Pli.n, on the aotJon 
of cjtrlM>llc Hcid a» a therapeu- 
tic inr. ui. 19a. 

Household pobonlne: tbo tlonln^ 
ufMnicepanif. 156. 

How |»«»pii):kr ecifucu I* written. 
IC8, 

now to ma^ie clnr«t, Ifla, 

How, Prof., IJ.L'.L., on the non- 
preetptUttlun of tnangnncfid by 
»ulphldt.'< of aminxnlutn. In 
prt'eiu** of «oiiic organic am- 
itianliii'alsHtta. 23fi. 
on tiiB pntdticta iff tbi* ficlbn of 
aulphhli' «f aiiKuorjIum upon 
BlrycJjidiie. 80, 

Hug„'ln^ W.. F R.S„ on Bome far- 
ther rexaltd at ipt-ctrum niiu- 
lysla im aj<tiHeil to the bmivcn- 
ly b*.dlcs, 817. 

HooiTKrtuQ wIk'kI and wheaten 
fliiur, reim arehi-a on, 884. 

Uutton, W, H.. K«q., on the fijnlt- 
log [»olrj|: »f tlie vitponrs of Bom« 
eotnuierckat prndiicta, Itffl. 

Djdraiiiio ccUitnt, on the cau$e> of 
ibc bardening of, 829. 



Hydrtdo of but7TO-«ftlfoy1 and bu- 
tyric- ri>u marl c acid, on tbo, by 
iMr. W. II. I'erkln.ST. 

Hydrlodio acJtl, obM'rvallons oa 
the nrepanitlon of, in aulutlon, 
&'>8. 

HytlfKKarftfiua, ilense. on the dis- 
tiUjUinn of, nt Idith tcnip^ni- 
lan-B. by S. F. fecklmni, 293. 

Hvdrrffuorh' jirld, on, by O. Oori-, 

F.n.s.isi. 

HydrogreR. on ih«' rtJatlon of rt> 
pjtUitdiuDi, l*y T. Graliam, F.ll. 
tf., 125. 

Hypophn^[lh>>rnus acid, action of 
air upon, 821. 

Iohitinq point of the Tanoon of 
some commorcUd producta, on 
thr, by W. R. Uitlton, E*q., 
12J*. 

'Visiting polrita,'* uutfortnlty in 
lakliun, 21 11. 

Indigo, etolubillly of, 208. 

lodlno, eomniurciuJ. on the vola- 
Metric f^'tlmntlon of, 1)7 M. 
Adoljihe Bohlerre, «8. 

Iron oinl etteL on pbo»pborua In, 

on the determination of silicon, 
graph1t<^. And man|^aj)«Ae In, 
by Professor V. F^gt-rtz, 2&. 
prticpM, Henton's. in its prestjat 
atat(<, im, S18, 814. 

Iron a^id line, on an alloy of, 8S&. 

Iron, cnnt, on the detenninulion of 
carbon la, bv Arthur £blott, 
S58. 
reaearcbM on the es4laiatl«D of 
pboi'phoriia cuolalaod in, by 
M. V. TftiitJn, 8« 

Iron. cry^talHsatlun of. 239. 
malldabia, and «trel. uti the con- 
nection between tho iiicclianl- 
al qualit1t:8 of, and Lhi' (Wiouut 
of phoauhurua rtuy cuuUda, by 
Dr. B. H. I'aul. 146. 

Iront, meteoric on Iho luimadlnta 
nnalyjiia of. by S. Mc<inlpr,na. 

Irun ores, on the cotnpiAllloD and 
roetjillargry of potne Norwe- 
alati titiuiifenidB, by D. Furbva, 
F.US..otr, 69. 
pig, on (he infliionee of the 
oxidi«s of chn«niuni and ti- 
tan iuu on the o>inp>alUon 
of by A, A. atid &. U. llayea, 
aH5. 

Isttbioolc arid, ayntbeala of, IM. 

Iradulcite, 8^. 

leoUktloQ of the mlastni; antpbur 
urt<», by J. E. Keynold*, 144. 

JAKO0?nA, 880. 

Jargonitini urn] the Ceylon jargon, 

by II. E, sorby, F.K.&., He, 

8mj, 
Jea/), M. F,, note ou the ntiliaation 

of cbroDie alum. 194. 
Jevona. W. Manlcy. M.A.. rc- 

niarltson Mr. Baxendi'lPii laws 

of atmoapberic ozone, 40. 

Kapp. Profeaaor, IfB. 
Ketone of fitcndc add, 41. 
KyupbaQln, 924. 

LASoitATOBiRa, chemical, orwork- 

•hopi, 1. 
LnhmdMrlU', osatyaia of twu liioda 

of, 826. 
Lanthanom, atomic weight ut. 

an. 

LaujthlfB, .T. Eneo, M.D., on. 
mode of extracting molybdu- 
jiom and chrt>rntuni, 'ifi. 

Lead, actk>n of wat*>r njfon, it>lk 

Ltctur*a, l>y Dr. Letheby. M.A., 
M.B,, etc, oii food, T, Tl, 119, 
ISS, i»i. 
by Dr. ti.llbig, IVf.B., F.ltSi., on 
the chondcftl cVanpca of car- 
bon, at the Koynl Mi-'^tltutlon : 
Lflietitre I., marble, lliue, car- 
bonic gaa, 181 

• Lecture II. carbonic fHi, air, 
t>xMi:a,185. 



Lecture TTT. atr. oirfdei, c&rboa 

or c'barcoiil. U(t, lliM. 
Lecture I V . nirbonic goa, or flied 

air, ion. 34^. 
Lecture \. grAphlte, tlliunond, 

carbonic suiphldi*. S48. 
Lecture Vl. carbonic dl»idi»hM»». 

C-arl>on, carbonouA oildv, car- 
bonic gtis, 240. 
Leclurn- exiterhncnts, note on,25S 
Lonion Julc*, and JtJ* dcCoQip^Kl- 

tton. nolf» on, by W. W, blod- 

dart, F.G..'^.. 8. 
Lolhel)y, Dr., M A., M. B., etc., on 

food : conatraclion of dl.«tarle# ; 

prepftTJitlonand ciiUn'iry treat- 
ment of food, 7. 
prr«er\'ntton of food; nnwhole- 

ftonie and ftilalu-rated food, 71, 

119, 18S, 2>!a. 
LaacLn and tyrosin, action of Jud- 

bydrlc ni-ld upon. 150. 
Liohens. spirit from. 2S2. 
Liebig. liitron. on tlii' alleged pol- 

aonouft qnality of beef-taa and 

extract of tncrtU 11-*. 
Lleblg's e.\ tract of ment^ 49. 
Light, on a new B^-rlf^ of chemical 

reacttoiiA produc"! by, by J. 

Tyndall. Lh.lK, F.R.S., etc. 05. 
the alrconia, 71. 
LliJie. cldoride of, afitlon of ofHin 

anlllno. by W. 11. Perktn, 8S. 
in l>r. Odling'a lecturea on the 

cheniieal cbangea of carbon, 

181. 
Lfqijid*, cftheiloD flfarea of, 94, 

154, 157. 
Liqiiora, fermented, new alkaloid 

in, 18S. 
Lockver, J, N., F,K.A.8., and Dr. 

E. Fmnkland, F.R.8,, on re- 

«4*archert <»n ^naeou^ tpectra in 

rfiation tu the phyiii<'al COD- 

BtitQtlor) of ihv pun, 278. 
on fpectniecope ulnscrvatlona on 

the »un, lis. 
Loetr, 0., oq the ocilon of Bun- 

llcbt CD blaulpblde of carbon,. 

11&. 
r.x<ndon, TTnircTiltT of, fW. 98. 
Loivc. M. J., OM llic* fornittlion of 

cIIabIo aofd by ujeans ol gal- 
lit- add, 1851, 
Lowi'ring of teoiperature duo to 

the lolatloa of baits in water, 

826. 
Laage, Dr., on a nt'W vobimetric 

proctiAA for Bulphuric acid and 

0alpliato,a^ 252. 

Mactxar and Bald. Memra,, on 
eiait d^-poalta at staaafurt, 177. 

" Magic, Letti'rs on Natural." By 
81r HuvM Hrewrattr, N»<w 
edition, routed by ,J. A. Smith. 
London : Win. Tegg. 18<58. 90, 

MaimeatuiM. cheap. 96. 

MalleaUte Iron and ileel, oa the 
coancctlun tn-tween the me- 
chanical qualities of, and the 
aoiouttt of phottphonia they 
ccmtain, by Dr. B. H. Paul, 
J4«. 

MancheBter Lltt<rarr and Pbllo- 

aophical ^ocl«ty, 40, 59. 14^, 

149. 251, S18. 

on auliihnroua acid in the air of, 

by Peter Spcnce, F.C,8., 25t. 

MaUKaneM!', on an oxalal^> of, by 
Pr%.f. How, D.C.L., 122. 
on the non-prccjpitatjon of, by 
eiilphido of anunoalum, la 
preaencc of aome organic am- 
monincal wita, »jy Prof. How, 
DC.L., 2ae. 
altlcon and ariiphlto. on the de- 
termination of, in iron and 
eteel. 20. 
the Doh -precipitation of iolptdde 
of, «««•. 

Manure-, artlflctat, 44. 

Murhk',iD Itr, Odltng^a lecturcton 
the rh«'mlcai cbaagea of car- 
bon. 181. 

Marguerllt»\ M. F., on a new 
nietliod of innnbfactarlag and 
rafLnlug kti{:ar, 805. 



Mnakclyne, Prof E. 5.. M.A., » 
preliminary nnticeof the mln- 
rr»1 consllinents of the Brclt- 
••nbaeh meteorite 2£>2. 

Uatchea, looJf*-r. on thi- imbadtn- 
tii>n oraodiiim for phosphorus 
in. 240. 

Mattldi.i«<>*n, Prof. A„ and C. Tl. A. 
Wright, B.Pe., on re*enrcbe§ 
Into the clwrnical constitution 
nf nareoline. and of its pro- 
duct* of decouip'i^ition, 805. 

Ment extnicl of, and be*f-tea. on 
the ni:<'gfd jwitMtnou'' quality 
of, by Baron Ltel)ig, ll8. 
preservation of, 1S1. 

.Vfelilotic acid, and eoamartn and 
cuutnarlc a«'«l. on the <"on»tt- 
tiitioo of, by Prof K. FitUg, 
1»0. 

'* Mvnioirena.r la eompostlion cld- 
tntque dea Mt>nniTlc*ni?c'rlan- 
d&lsefl et Bur lu robiliiisatkni 
de lArgeiit." Par A. l>. Van 
KieinMlijk. Dorteur e« Scico- 
ce». Pp. 88, 8>7. 

Morcnry compound o^f acetylene, 
by II. BBHcti, 117. 

\1c»ltylen, 827. 

ilet>»oric Irons, oa the tmitedlato 
analysis of, by t*. Jleanlar, 
118. 

M«!teor1te^ nnaly<<l9 nf a, 81S. 
from South Africa, analyala of a 

by Prof ChurcK 89, 
the Breilentweh, preilmlnarT 
notice of the mineral coo»lI- 
tHcnt* of. by I'rof. E, 8. Maa- 
kelynf, M.A.,292. 

Meteora, peridoU', 46. 4fi. 98. 

Muunler, »., on the Ini mediate ana- 
lyaia of metiorlc Irona. 118^ 

Microscope, on n^w apnlirattona 
of the. to blowpipe erleud^try, 
by H. C, Sorbv. K.K8.,285. 
OB anew airang^nieniof bintwa- 
lar Bi>cctruuj, by W. CrookeS^ 
P.K.!5„ St*. 
the spectrum, Application of, to 
mtnornJrffy, 2()8. 

MlcrosH^-opkal pxiunlnfttiim of durt, 
by J. B. Danecr.F.K A.».,aSl, 
8fionce, the Quarterly Jour- 
nal of. 49. 

Mildi-w In cott<»D goodji. 82. 

Miller. F. K, F C.S , on the appU- 
catlnn of chlorine eas to tho 
toughening and refining of 
gold. 87. 

Miller, W, A., M D . LL.D., V. P. 
K. 8. •' Eletoenta of Ohenddtry^ 
Theoretical and PractlOJiL^ 
Part II. Inorgimic Cbemtrfry. 
London: Lnngmana, Green, 
&eader, and Dytr. 91 . 

Mineral, od the aifa<y«iBora green 
flbroua, trtum t-athkln, by J» 
Wallace Yonng, 2, 

Ulaeellaneoua, 47, 97, 157, 218,301, 
882. 

Moffat, Pr, R. Carter, on nleogr*- 
pby, being a proeesa for ih« 
utillantton of TotnlloBon'a oo- 
hfiloii Ogurw. 85. 

Moir, P. M.. on the preservation of 
limber, 240. 

MolybiJiMium and ebromiam, on ek 
mode of extraciiiig tbetn, by 
J, Eneu Loutfhlln. M.D,,2«. 

Molybiiio add, a teat for tocirphlA, 
820. 

Mono- Irl- and pt-nta- bromo-ben' 
aoiGa«ld.m 

MoTBon, John Edwanl, M.A., 
M.D. *^Town Life amoOf tbo , 
Poorcat," London : Duig- 
maoa, Oreea, and Co., 828. 

Miupmtt, Dr., boat of, 100. 

NaacoTiTrx. reaearebes Into tbo 
cbcoUcal constitution ot, and 
of lu product? of dicompoal- 
tlon, by i'n-t A. Maithlecaeji, 
and C. R. A. W^tgb^ B. B&, 
800. 

New baaea, SOB. 

Newoaaite Chemical Society, SQtt, 
S»,811 



m 






N«weMlte Lltornrr and PhUoMplii- 

eal 9oekty. 149 
H«w earth \n iooie sItoojqi, the, 



Nitrngen, on Mtni' eompoandp of 

fho<i()horii» ountalning, by J, 
I. Gla<lB^»ne, Vh.V>„ FJt.S.. 

80. 
Nltro^vn, prrpjimtlort ut, 161. 
Nllr . M 

Nili r nrld, dllntfd, 

i Kn, Il.tf<j.,F.C.S., 

'IX>. 
Norwegian tltanireroni Iron ore*. 

on tliccompcflltton and mvUiU 

lur»ry of annne, hy I). Forbes, 

rjtH., etc., m. 
Holes rinrl QM-rloa^ M, HX), Iflfl, 



Ntit. 



No-. 



Liicii and lu do- 
ty W, W. Stod- 

■' 90, »1, n, 
: 11, -'W. »2I. 828, 



Oj»Ttr*«T : Mr. O*0w Lowe, P. R.8-, 

J. K. Fori ►en, B.C^h., LI*D., 

F.K.8., IflO, 
Bj%n>n v.»n lU'klumbach, IflJ, 
^Obltunry NoUcos of l>ucoascd 
Fello^rii (JVtK'ec'Mii^n of tha 
Royal Swlct>% Nov. «i\ 1868),*^ 

Odlltig. Dr., coinpllmenUrT •t&a.- 

a(vr U\ saH. 
Odllne. W., E^<,.. M.B., F.R.S., 
Ixictnres ou the ebemlcal 
chttr.jrc-* t»f carhon, at the 
li<',val liutltiuU>n: 
Lo<.tijrc L Mnri)l«, Ume, caf* 

Winic (ia», 181, 
Li-cture 1(, i'orbotilo gaa. air, 

otide-N 1J15. 
Lecture ill. Air. oxfd«%oarbon, 

or diarroa], 1*1, 194 
I.^'rtiirf fV. rj»rt.orUfl gtl, or 

t' ■ ■ = ■- ■ • " • 
L dlftmood, 

:«. 
L«"i K'. \ L turtifinJc dUnl- 
(ikiido, rarlKin, earbouoaa ux- 
Ulv', curbonie gu^, 24& 
Ole<>(nrii|;>h^ 20». 
OlooKniphm tho eobeftoti ifurw of 

IkifiVK iri7. 
Ok"- ina; a pn>r«M for 

rt of TwtnkliiM>i]''a 
Miri's bj Dr. R. 
( arttT MitTjit, S5. 

OmU, ««n lomei'pUciil r>heDomcna 

of. bv W. I V>oket, F.ii.Si.,807, 
Oplu!' . :i.'L 
Ol.ti. : 

Opio "QA of opal t, on 

iomc., by W, Crookea. F.litt, 

MT. 
Omife tr«o: analyalB of U»e aahM 

«r« dlMABed, by T. E. Thorpa, 

«T. 
Oxalate] of manoBBeiM, oq so. br 

Prof. Il.-w.UC.UlSfl. 
Oxide, carbonic, in Dr. OdUnir'a 

k-'CtiirtiAflti ihu rhoinlcnt cbaa- 

lies nf carbon, S4&. 
of sntlmony, na the tolpbatef ot 

by W. P. Iiexter, I2». ITO. 
Oxides, In L)r Odlln^ir's lceture>« oa 

Ibo chemlcuil cbuvn^i^e* of c»f- 

b.»n, !«,, 140. 
reduction «if by hydrogen, 810. 
Oxland, R., F.U.9., on the pu- 

rlflcrvlion of tla Orea from 

Wolfniui, 80. 
OXjgvn fciut, pn^paratlon of per- 
fectly pure. 84*. 
OKOn«>, 44, 151 
Altnoepberic, rornarka on Sir. 

Baxendrirs Iamtb of, by W. 

IPtanloy JeroD&, M.A„ 40, 
dett'ClloQ ot In the aLmoapherd. 

890. 

FALLADtrv, on tho relation of 
h^drofea to, by T. Grabam, 



FatUntoQ, John. F^ i-h 

and forflum aU. ,d 

dilorfnfctricsJ 
Paul. Dr. B. 11.. on ttic imuu. ill<.n 

WtwocQ the inechaolcnl r|ual)- 

lU'f- of tnalloab'c li»iu and 

ateel, and tlic auiouut of ]]hos- 

phonic Uiey cj^nuln. 146. 
PcekbiiiiL S. F., on the dbUlbtloB 

»f nydrocarlM)n& at bigb 

t«inp'eratur«<B. 39^ 
PentAcbb>ri'te of pbii«pboni», on 

lli« action of. ufKtn lacchaiiQe 

fiuh<^tance«, 827. 
Perldfd* inctoors, 4&. 46 Oa 
Pcrkin, W, H,. on the n«t1on of 

chloride of lime npon nnitine, 

88. 
on anme new aniline dyea, S9J. 
on tbo livdrlde of botyrosallcyl 

and imtyrle-ouaii arlo acid, 

8", 
on the confttltntioD of eoamartn 

and LViumarIc aclil, 81ii. 
PelMletira act. the new, 811. 
acU or isaa, JSeS, abstract of 

the.Stl 
Phartnacaatlcal Society, 206. SfiA. 

81T. 
PhoDoconfo actd,, and the trana^ 

frvrtniitlon of beiikol toto tor- 

Uirlc add, fti». 
PhenoU on .*ciuic molocutar cora- 

blnatlooaof. Hn 
Phenomena aiid r'rm.itlon of 

cloinla, by J. TyndaU, LL.D., 

F.RS„?fl9. 
Phlrtbapbon. 894 
r'h-<rjOL-l<i'irM*c<ipe, a, 8£S. 
1 . Mj ajfrknlture, 29. 

> le, m 
amjddted o.Tychlo- 

rVlt* of, 89. 
contained In east Iron : rt- 

aeorcbea lo the eatlniatlon of, 

by M. V. Tantlo, 81. 
delet^tton of by ineaos uf magoe- 

alum, ftiil 
UitMnand »ieol, 210. 211, MT. 
on M)in<; ctMiiputJnd* of, coiiUin- 

Ina: iiUroifitn, l*y J. II. Glad- 

•t..iK,, i'li.l)., F IMS.. S©. 
P]iolo;,:rnp]dc nppulrilim-nt, JJO. 
rboloj.'rnjjb?^ of Ihu talo tKtllpfte 

taki-nbi India, lOS. 
Photoitfrjiphy In connection with 

iU*i Abv»in[an Kxriedition, by 

II. liadcii PrlUbard, SS, 
Physical i>>a<tl(utiou of the ftun : 

rtiiearebi.'Q on K^Mt'oua «iiec4ra 

In relation lo. by Dr.F.. Frank- 
land, F.lt.S., and J. N. Lock- 

ycr, F.K.A.S.. *79. 
Plcrou>xio, deteclion of In beer, 

mo. 

Pig Iroa, on the Influence of the 
oxMi-a of chromium aiul ilLa- 
nltim on the composiUlon of, b}' 
A. A, and 8, 1>. Il3yt^tt*6. 

PltcbitctncR of thckfttahd of Arnut, 
by J, Wallace Young, 291. 

Platinum c«mpound-s 819. 
dlaeorery of. In is^tljuid^ ftB4. 

PolaoQoua dyi*a, 414, 

<|ttAH»-v, tKo ulli'sced, of beef- 
Iva and extract of meat, by 
Baron UelilR. US. 

PoijonA act, tbe ntw, 9^, 

Popalar science, 61. 

PoLoMJani cyanate. action of Upon 
atnldo-acitLi, 149. 

Pre<:lidtotea. ou tUe waabtntr of, by 
Profe^aor R, Bunaun, 281. 

Pteclpltatis white, 95. 

Preservatloti of foo^^l. In I>r 
Lctheby'a Iccturvs on fi>od, 71, 
119. 
of tliuUer by P. M. Molr, 240. 

Prltclurd, II. Raden, «o phnto- 
g^apby In coonoctlon with the 
Aby>»iTilan oxtHMhtlon. &2. 

Propane (hydride of propyl) de- 
rlvallTM q(^ by C. Scborleai' 
nKvr, 801. 

Propyl c *mpoand.s dt^rlved from 
thfl prrvpyllc alcohol of ftr- 
tuooutl'tti, by K. T. Cbapui.an 
and M. U. Smith, 813. 



Propyllc alcohol on tho exist- 
ence of a normal, 824 

Ihirlflicatloii uf tin orei from wol- 
fram, by It. 0\hind,F.i;.S.,80. 

Pyrophoaphonltrylic add, 89. 

Pyruvic icid, USA. 

Qcixtxi, OD a certain reaction of^ 
by ProffSMir 0. O. Stokea, 
F.R.8., »4 



KArxMio acid, formation and oon- 
•Ututlon of, l&K 

Ravet, M. O., 4m tberefV'anglbUlty 
of the brilliant yellow ray of 
the aitUr atmoetthert*. 279. 

B«adlly Infiamnuble liquid oilx- 
tnre, 892. 

aef^n^bllity of tho brjtllant yel- 
low ray of the (Mdar atmo6- 
ph<»rc. br .M. O. Kavet, 279. 

Eeprliilii and new odltbini^, RO. 

Reyimlid'*, Dr. Ktm^rjoo, f*n the 
Isolntlon of sulphur nrea.41, 

Beyuoldti, .1, K,, on the Uobtlonof 
the tnLiMnil aulphur urea^ 144 

Ro^olla tlnctoria, aome Tarteties 
of, 884. 

Rodwell, a. P., F.C.S., note on 
jVrlitiitle. aoil the dlacitvety 
of the Welch t of the air, 2M. 
note «m the diBr.«oveTy of the 
wolifht of the air. 807, 

Koynl i;e"l-»pl'*l &'jcli'ty of Ire- 
land, 2b5. 

Royal ln*tltiitioa. 48, 244 817, 
Friday eve, arranireujenLa, 00. 

Royal Miidng Acadetny tn Berlin, 

Roynl |M}|ytecbnlc, 99. U>9, 881 

Royal Society, 50, 888. 

Kowsiu. Th<;tna&. on the examina- 
tion of the "fliime" of the 
BeMi^mer cunvi>rter, SSfi. 



Salr of polgkmB act, 160. 

Siillne aolutlon.ti. action of, upon 

rainemU, ^21. 
Salt action <•£. upon obfluytlte, by 

Prot Church. 89. 
d^'poslL* til ^ttujfurt, by Me«irs. 

Bald AMactenr. liT. 
** Sanitary Siftlnpi., or Iteauli* of 

tSewaj;e dyslenis i'oiti pared," 

Lond<»o: £. ^ F. M. 8pon, 

Oharlnic Ckhm, 49. 
Sauocpana.'tbe tlnnlof oC 9S, 1b6. 
dchorletnmer, C, on the derira* 

Hvii* of pmpane \hydrhle of 

propyl). 809, 
Sohuhck, E,, Ph.D.. P.tt.&., on the 

chemical formula of alUarlne. 

Science and art denartineDi, 96. 
and vloleocti, 1T8. 
For-lt-n. 8^2, 38, 84, &7, 142, 148, 
900, 901. 2^0. 
Science, Aradotny of, 84. 8S, 86» 

147. 206. 815. 816. 
Bd«uce ]ei.'tarekhip at the City of 
London achiKil, 47. 
pnpntar, 61, 
how wrillen, 158. 
** Scientific IJliU! Book.i. No. ll,** 
Ninth retHirt of the modlcaj 
offlt.<«r of the IVlvy Coundl, 
with appendix. London, l&S. 
Bcientlflc inilrunienta, SiiS. 
ScHlngvi work, S2Bl 
*"5ewa(fo of the city of MdboQrna, 
report on," by Sidney Otb- 
bous, F,C,8., P.R.M.S., *e., 42. 
report on, 838. 
"ftewaite Procesa, the A.B.C." 
London: Yatea it Alexander, 
7 Symouds' inn, Cbuncory 
Iadc. 4 .'. 
the A. B.C. 4^. 

piirlfliC.itloa uf Mr HillarS pro- 
ccaa.by Ur, Frat)klaii<l,F.U.ii., 

Silicon, trrapiille, und mangAnese, 
on the dctcftolnritl.Jii «f. In 
Iron and Bt«el^ by Pfof. Y. 
Kgj^rtz, 95. 



mv. 



!>, on a mo»lJflcn- 
t " iIjihI of oMUiylni; 

[ wet wtty, by M. 

Slau. 111. 

SflTcr, rwducllonof ehloHde ot 819. 
SilTfririi.- i.! t^- Kpt-ciila, 159. 
tJnjii r, 845. 

Smi ' A , on TegretablB 

,■ ■ ' wn. 

Smith. .\1 H , an uiAO. 

on hromidt- > 
on propyl c«>TiM rifed 

ft-otn the jrr'ip^ilc iylfi.ihr>l of 

fcrmentailon. 818, 
«n aome di'rir:ti[i'i-i'l'n* ''>f the 

acJd»nr ^13- 

on the ' '1*' 

rived fr -leo- 

inentati'jii, 'WJ. 
Bmlth, i;. A. Pli, 1>., F.H.8 F C. 

8. '*DfRlnfi'Ot*nt» and Dlaln- 

fectlon.** K'llnburKh: !■-<*• 

iDontton & poq^Uv ISW. 

SOS. 
SoAp, notes on the mannflicturo 
' of, 825. 

8 'id*, dlthlooate of, new prepara- 
tion oC 819. 
Sodium, atomicity of, by Prof. 

Wauktyn. 818. 
etbylate, ooniuooltion of tho 

oryataU of, IM. 
«thylatc of. exparlmenU oa, by 

Ptot Waoklyn, 906. 
bow to proacrvo aailiniteli*d, 

S63. 
reat^archea on lla action apOQ 

the fltht'iTt of the fpitty aclda, 

by Prof. WankUn, 8"», 
on the iobAtltutton of, tiir pbua- 

pboraa^ In luclfcr matcheai 

apectrum, revenat of, 45. 
Solar aimti4pbere. on tho refhan- 
crlhdtty of the brilliant yellow 
rny of the, by M. O. IS* ret, 

S79. 
protnberanco*. the, 161. 
SohihiUty of luillfito, 863. 
of imllDti nud aulpbur In pclro* 

k'lim. 32:1. 
offtillco :' .MtMsiotn la 

dUut. idl, 8i0. 

aoiuii.iup.: I-, ^:n, 

Sorby, 11. C, 1 i ^ np. 

iillualloua vi I j-e to 

blowpipe chii 
on jari^onlnui oud Uie Ccyion 

jarjfon, 806. 
Sp«otM»c>|)c, new pocket, i«4 
8[»ecU>o«copk: obsiirTatlons uci tb« 

»iin« by J. N. Lwckyer. II a, 

SSfl. 
Bpoetrum analy^s, as applied to 

tlie heavenly bodies, ti(\ aome 

further ro/ultv of, by IV. 

Hogk^na, F.K,'-.. «17. 
00 the Mit?tliu<!« uud reont pro« 

gnsB of, by A. S. Ucrachol, 

B A., F.li.A.r* , 271. 
:ipectrain, an artlHclol, on tho 

foruuitlon of, with a Fiaun- 

horer Unt", by A. Wallner, I;^ 
Spcclram nili;n:isco(>f . bbuicijinr, 

i»n a new urn>;i>j« (ikih of, by 

W. Crookew. I 
Spectruni obttT •'t«-l 

with then?*; i LhO 

tun, 19. 
ob»ervutlon.<i of the ann. 28. 64. 
Spence, Peter, V.C.lt^ un aulpUn- 

roui acid In the air uf "— 

ehitter, 951. 
Spurious guaoo. 218, 957. 9561 
t^taa, ti-, on a modlQrHtiun of lb« 

method ofodaaylng •liver ouu 

pound* In iho wi I way. 111. 
Seaaafbrt, oalt d« podia «, by] 

Measttt. Bald and Maot«tf« 

177. 
Sttel and Iron, on the dcti*rnilnft- ' 

tion of sillcoij, ynii'lilto^ and ^ 

m»niean<'«e lb. by Prof. \ Eg- 

frerta,23. 
and Iron proe««s, lleatoit'a. In Ita 

present Btato, 188, 218, «14 t, 
iUid mallciihie In^n, 011 the eon 

nectioo beiweeu the mMhaaU] 



I 



CsrMiCkv News, I 
June, 1869. f 



///(/<:, 



/i(U'J.\ 



IX 



caI nuft1lt1e»nr, ftoA tb? ftmouBt 
or nhitflphnraj) they conUiin, 
br l)r. II. ». Paul, IW. 

BtthliUrt, W VV., K.CJ.s. ; note* on 
lemon j^k* 4nd iU decuutpo- 
frUliTi, 8. 

fllokc>fl« l'f.»r O. G,, on n corUin 
reiirlliio of quinine, i&L 

8treet.«r, I'fU.n W. " Mlnt« to 
rurolia^cr* of .loirelry iid<I 
Wfttohc?!, wUb ftfi AcoutJl uf 
tho RetAUvtf V!ilu« of tlic <Hr- 
fiTi'Dt giiBlltlea of Gulil." 
LoihUim: 8Un[ikin, Mftraiiall A 

Co , aott, 

BtrouU I, ^tiipbnle of, action of heat 
00,824. 

Btrychtiltte. on tbe pr<<<lacUi uf the 
ullxn of sulphide of atn'Tit^ 
nltiru upon It, by Pruf. How, 

Stxlrlrn cry»ulll»iktloa. S(M), 8S0, 

880. 
BligJir mnnu fact lira anrl »ugrur re- 

flnlajj, on llie cbcinijtry of. by 

Dr. Will*c*?. F.U,a,E., F.CJ5.. 

7<L «l»3. SIS. 
lottrr oti samo, by P. C«.*b- 

Ba^ar. on a ucw melborl of tnann- 
fiti'turio'.; nnd rr'Qtiiag, by il, 
V. Margnerittc, »(Ji5, 
refining, lue cavtabtry of, 381, 

rvrtiilhg^ the chemistiy of; 

Oeairn'n'* pnvcvid ft>r parityhig 

bone b Jut! t, 359, 
SulphAti'fl (if ♦ixld.' of &nt)moDy. on 

tfi#, by W. P. JJext«r, 12;^, 

175. 
Sulptilde, cni-bodlc. In Dr. Oil]in!f'ii 

lectureA on tbe cUuml4;uil 

clmnifcii uf cnrbon, HH. 
Sulpivi aclt]<« of ibe hydri'Carbons, 

LV Hii l.-JO- 
Siilpbobcra>tlc fldl. 150. 
SuJpbur. <J tectlon uf by means of 

tHftnaaiuri 

;iiiuivti<<i!l 

ncUon ..f upitn ojcide ot Iron, 

Jl'i'l livdraLud oxiiltj ot irutk. 

BVJ. ' 
Salpluir hi organic iiihatances, for 

di*tv<!Mit|f. f»p<?cittUy of aijiinal 

SuJjtburJc nokiL and ethyl eulpho* 

cyAHttt<?. a07. 
Bad Milpli-itea. A new tdIxi- 

m-^trifj (ir<K;i!^ for, by Dr. 

Lange, 431 
Batpburou) ttoid, W C. H. Wood, 

255. 



fUwiurn, 321). 
Bulpliuivt^'d tiydroi^en CM, OD Ibo 



an«1 hypovulplmroasadd, dtft<?c- 

tlon of, 82^. 
3ulpliiiran» udd In the aJr of 

Mauch6«tf r. by Pc^tcrr Speuce, 

K.U.!?., »1. 
Salphur aroii. on tba UotatloQ of, 

by Or K<ryno!d«, 4t, 144. 
Sua, »p«ctrr>M3fiplo obserrtttlwa* of 

the, by J. N. Locli;er. US. 

s^pi'Ctrtirn observations connect- 

ei] wltb ttiu rc'CoDt tscUpsv, lil. 

acHMjtrujii uUaei'viitlu'iu ut the, 

pliyHleiiJ eoiintftatton of the, 
rtafa.rQb«.>« on ganeom nnectrji 
In r«l<iU<>n to tho, by Dr. E, 
KranWlwU F.li.S„and <J. N. 
LockycF, F,RA.S.,«^. 
Sunll^'^hi;. on tbu Hctloa of, oo bl- 
unlpiiido of carbon, by O. 
LODMT. X18- 

SynthcttiH of kliZArlne, WL 
Sypbofi flIU'ra t.lu%by l>r CFIeti* 
cb«T, of Uresdrn, 289. 

Tait, Prof., W€>rk oo tiv»nnodyn»- 

tnks. SO 
Tantln, M. V., rpnearcbca on tho 
* «j<tbnittli>D of pho^tpburqa coo- 

talinnd In »l<t Iron, St. 
Tartaric Acid, quautlt&tive Ofltl' 

uuvti' tif 51 1 y. 

T«iiebiiiK< Oi'rtniiD, gluDCC^ At. 26. 
TumtiitiitidLalfd U'trnph'>ttp!io- 
p«tiiUrnlo (idd. action of LucLt 

TeallDst^ *)l ^Iri^eria for lugar iind 

d*:ttr»n, 814. 
TelrAtilioitptiotetrlmU: &eld, S9. 
Tbolllum, ivroxiflo of, rctuorluible 

pi-oiMirty of, 26 i. 
Th«rtiiiMlyi»«mU»^ ProfMaor Tait'ii 

work on, '^, 
"TheSokntUJcHoirlow." Vol, ir„ 

No. 1, JAOunry. 190$. m. 
Thorpe, T. E., note uo the sfmA- 

no vrAvtty ftn4 iM^illDg jiolul 

of cUpjuiyl dlchlrtrtile, 87. 
no •miiy»ta of (he jab>'« af k dlv 

ciksvd oranicc-trt-o, 37. 
Tddi«n. W. A., B.Sc., K.CS.. on 

illlutcHi nltro-iiydfocMorto 

ncld. 255. 
Timber ou iho premsnralloQ of, by 

P. M. Molr. JW, 
Tmnlni^of flaaoefMint, B6i, 154. 
Tin ore*, on their purtflRation from 

witlffttin, by It (>xbin<I, F.U.s* , 

Si>. 
Tltuiic nold, on tlio MliOMUoa of, 

by U. Ymhv*^»,tL6^abo.y lU. 



Titanium and cbrooitarft, on the 
InfluenreH of the *nrliles of. on 
ibe composition of pig Ir.m, 
by A. .V. and a. D. llayet^ as5. 

Toluol, 821. 

ToiiiUtHJon, Mr., on e&tharUfn, or 
tli'i Inlliicnce of obeinlcally 
clean fnirfact'n, 2ffl. 

"Town life araone the Poorrat." 
By John KJward Morjran, 
M.A., M,D. London: Long- 
iuttn.«, Greeu A Co., SSt'i. 

TrI met tiyl benzine, re« «u-cbe« on, 
161. 

Tyndidl, J., LL.D., F.ILS,, on a 
utfw seiic* of chemical reac- 
tions protlncod by llcbt, dSu 
on thii fomiAiloQ and pbcnoujena 
of clutidv ««. 

TyroKin and U-imin. luitloa of lod- 
hydiic acid on. 150. 

UjiiFiiuiiiTr Iq taking l|;nUing 

points, 2H». 
Univoralt^ of Edlnhiirgb, 98. 

Londn. 50, i»a 
(JnwholeS'Mnu Rnd adnltorated 

fiMMl; in Dr. Letht-'bv'B lt*c- 

tnreaon food, 71, 119. IsS, ^;^6. 
Un»a. the mlni^lni; sulptnur. on itut 

Isolation of, by J. E. Key- 

ooId^ 144. 
Crio aeld, pntfuirstlon of^ Aram 

Prrtirlaa giiano, 987. 

Vau KiKMHOijK. A.D., Doctoar f« 
Scieiicoa. *' Mtitiiuire «ur la 
coiu(io«lUon chltni()no d<» 
moativrifs bi'vT lairiilAl»«« vc 
aiir la vol.ilitl&atioii dc I'Ar- 
gent'" Pp. 8S, 8*7. 

Vapuura of Bome couiinorclsl pro- 
• dact*, on the l^riiitlng ^liit uf, 
by W. R. HutU>n. Ea<i.. 183. 

Yegltflablo eJuciromotoi-^, by Ed- 
win Umlth, .y.A., 8liL 

Ventilator, a now, 161. 

Vlntrmi, l>r.. ai5. 

Violence atxl Bcli-nro, 178, 

" Vf*! -o, llio, and How to u»e Tt," 
by Chttrle» Jamos HlabcudiTi. 
Londivn : publfislied si 5i 
MorUroor (trcet, CavcndlAb 
B()iiarc, 33d. 

Yolutuetric [iroce*s, a new, for sul- 
pbaiic acid aJid «ulpbate», by 
Ur. Lunu-e, STil 

Wai.i.*ci^ Da., K.RS.E., F.C.J*., 
on th(} ohemlntry *rf Ka^tkr 
inAnufn'>tur« and *uffar r«- 
flukUit. 7"i, t^H. 
note wQ the Mme, 8L3C 



Walliiflr, A,i on tbe formation of 

nri artitlclar spect am with a 

Fniutilh.fer line, 15f2. 
Wanklyn, ProfeMor, ou atomicity 

of sodlwu), ft 18. 
on experltorniA on etbylal* of 

ttodhiui, ^ti5. 
rcfiearcbtfs on tho action of «o- 

dium iip'iM the ctlicjA of the 

fatly a<?<dK, %\ 
Washing of ]>rwl pi tat tss, by Prof 

U. Uu^.^cn, 281. 
Water, action \*U «P'>n lead. 159. 
Water-supply and Uto death rata, 

of towns, 47, 
Wax, CanaulMv, on tbe chcmteal 

cortipo«iiloa of, by Vwruoa 

llarconrt, 145 
Wtitlfbt of tlict air. illaoovery ot^ 

and note oo Arbtotle, by Q.W* 

Kodwvll, F.G.8, ii84,8uT. 
White preciplutv. t».*i. 
Willlariuiou. A. W., F.R.S., F.CS., 

**t:bfiiiiutry for 8tud«at«,^ 

nrw editiou, Cla.rendou PftMi 

H(H, l&l. 
WoUrani, on tb(^ puriflcatiun of tin 

oreB from, 80. 
Wood, C'. 11., on sulpbarooa add. 

•' World of WoiuK'r*,^ the, 167. 

Wood want, C. J„ )}.i4c., OQ tha 
fxbtultion of cotivMoj] l)|fnre« 
to a lecture audk>nec, 117. 

Wright, r. li. .\., lt..>c., and Prof. 
A .\Iat,tbi«tiMa on rt<»«AreU«a 
into tb4> chemical condtltntluit 
of niircutine and imnc of tta 
products of dV'C4>uiuu«itlufi. 
U0&. 



Yom^i, J. Wallace, on tho analy»ti 
of a ^ceu Dfirouft iulQ«ral 
from at^kln, i. 
oil the pltcU«t<>uua uf the lolaod 
uf Arraii, 2U1. 

Zi.f c-rriiTL, on the preparation olv 

Zino, on the cotnpotliloa of by> 
drat«<t »u|)dlide of, }M\, 

Zircon la light, the, 71. 314. 

Zlrcooiuoii, a i<ew eJvitteiit fteoom' 
patijina, dUoivcred by mean* 
of ^pfctruMi analyidA, iill. 
another n«.'W etomeul aA»*iul4t«d 
wkb. 4»l. 

Zlrcou«. ou lb« n«w earth In •ume. 

aa5. 



IXDEX TO AMERICAN SUPPLEMEISTT. 



[December, 1863; Vol, III., American REPRrNT.] 



AxaatrAit DrncidM*.' Prlc« Cor- 

renl, lity, 1 ■?.<>■>, JtW. 
" AnttiricBU <louronl i>f ^oienoe 

and Arta," Not, IS«8,Ma 

" Btrton. M(cr'<»ooplc Kxnmlnotlon 
of, and VegKtiklloo* found In 
V»Ho|t», Va<.'cina,aod Typhoid 
ftver," bv J. II. tiallfthojy, 
A1.1>. N.'w York: W. A. 
T ►« ntfud ii AflainA W!*.' 

" BlowpljH', a .systoa i.f |n»tnio- 
tion In Ibv Practhal Use of 
tbe." with Appenilix, etc., by 
G. W. l'lytn|nim. New York ; 
IK Van Nuj.triuiri, WT. 

" Bulldlo>( MnuK', \.*Au<T ou," by C. 
II. lWl.r, M.li., 8*3. 

Butter from ititik, Mt. 

CkookMv W- . F.R8, and E. K^ih- 
rilt. Ph.D., M. It. " A Pntcil. 
eal TrvatLio oq MfatAlIurgy." 



I Ltmdon : Lonirmans, Gr«cD A 
I Co. Ntw York: J. Wlloy A 
j t^on, IU7. 

" DALWiK. J. C, M.D., •• A TreWla* 
f on Phyidoloicy noil Kygiene,** 
New York; lUrper a fJro»>, 
Londi'D : f<am{)s»a Low, Sun, 
k Mureton.^8 
Darwin, C, AIA, F.B5. *• The 
VniiatJoQ of Aulirud« and 
Pl.inta under Donve«tlcatlon.'* 
Anthoriotd tnlltloii, wltb aur*- 
face by Prof. A. tjruy. NbW 
Y'ork: O.-Judd A Co.. 817. 
Druggists' Price Ciirrout, Amerl* 
caI^ Deo t^<{8,849. 

" Eaktb Clobkt^ : How to Make 
Thi-m anil How to U9c TIkmii." 
by U. E. Wadnit, Jr. New 
\ ork : Tbe Trtmm* ^ssucla- 
tluu.84S. ' "^ 



Gab PuinriCArios, report on tbe 
mfrilft of title Hnio and iron 
iDi'tliods ot by Urnry Wurta^ 
848. 

Gloat atalner, the tun m a, 848. 

Ureoting, 846. 

'' How Crops Grow." By 9. W, 
JohnAon, M.A. New York ; O. 
JudiJ J» Co., M3. 

I 
ITKM9 and MoWis, 849. 

Joirs«n5, 8. W., M. A., •• How Crops 
Orow." .New York :U. Judd 
X Co., 818. 

'"Linrrr; lis tnflnencu on Lifct and 
He.ilth,*' by Forties Winalow, 
Ml), etc. .Ni-w York: W, A. 
Townteod A Adauaa, MS. 



** MA?(f!ATTA> fiA* Co., Report t«T 
ibo, on the Merita of the Lloxi 
and Iron Mtthwlj+jf «Jru Pu* 
riflcation," by Ueory Wurt«, 

♦* Metallurey, Practical Treattoo 
on,'* by W. Crook^^^ F.ll.y„ 
and ErneM liohrltc. Ph.D. Lou- 
don : Luniruiana, < i ret-n Jfc C!i », 
New York : J. Wiley it ^«D, 

Sdilk, butter from, S47. 

NtTKOOLTi ERfifK, 845. 
Notec and Item*. 84A. 
Nugent, E., t.E, "ATreatUaon 

Opilw." Nt*w York : 1>. Van 

NoaLrand, d48. 



Omcs, a TreallM on," by E. 
Nu^rent. O E. New York : D, 
Van Noatrand, 848, 



X 



Itulex to Ame7H€an Supplemmt 



Jam, tv^. 



PAuritLm. MS. 

ra.teiit rlftlma for InTenttoiu lii 

the U oiled !?tat(>^ 847, 
*• Phy^toJocj- sn<l H rglvne, k Trt-^tr 

bi' on^ i>y J. C. iHiHoti. M.I>. 

N«ir Voik : Hftrpnr At Br<«». 

Lomlon :* S>iini{v!i>f>ii LoiTt 8«n 

A Mftrston.M''. 
IMljTOtH'in, O. \V„ "A Systcro of 

lu«trucUon in Uu* rractlcul 

U»« of Ibe Bl<»w|tl|>e/' N«w 

York : D. Vau Nt:>9traiw], 

MT. 



Porter, 0. H.. M.H, " BulWInff 

!>Umc, PuiM?r on/' 84S. 
Pub)ltiition«, S'cw, :Mt 

Roumij E., Pli.I),, M,D.,iii><l W. 
t;ro<»k«. F.llH. "A Pr.»ctlcal 
TivoUbc on MotallnrRy." Lon* 
don: Luiigniuns, Oreen «t Cu^ 
New Vork : J. WUey .)c S^oo, 
84T. 

SALwnanY, J, II„ M.D., '♦ Mlcrrvwo- 
plc lCxBuilniitii>iia of D!lh>(3 suil 



Yitpi^fXiiUumt fniintiln Vnrloln, 

New York! w'. A. TyWUseltil 

4: Adttmjc 34H. 
Shoe backing. ''{16. 
8uii, tJie, AA a glaas sUlner, 844. 

" Vaw*tiow of Animnli and rbntj, 
under Hotnestlcjtiloti," hy C 
Darwin, M. A., Fli.S. AuUn»- 
rl]U>d edilliin. wirii jiri-fure by 
Prof. A. iJray. New York : U. 
Jiidd ft Co ^847. 



WAHi!»a,Q. E-.Jr..- Earth i.l)»*et», 
liow to make ttu-m and bow toi 
U!«* thi'in/* Ni'w York ; Th« 
Tribune A-wplailon ««. 

WtOMrtVCj Forb«'«, M.l)"., »tc-, 
** Light ll4 lndi}enr<^< ita LIT* ^ 
and doulUi," N«w V.-rk : W. A, 
'lownncnd A AdamA.iM'^ 

Wurtx, Prat H., " Ut-jMjrt to ttitt ' 
MkUiIiallJiii Gn4 Cn., on tha 
Merits of tha Utiii^ nnr! Imti 
MetUtJdA.if Ga4 l'ur)Jlc*t»oD," 

&43. 



[Jaa'uary to Jdlt, 1869 ; Vol. IV., American Rbprist.] 



»• Ap*i»k«t ot Sciiwcrtof Phllft- 

rtdldita, PriK-eedlnstsof.*" BepL 

wjif Oct. !:>«;«. 104. 
AdulUtralJon uflbud, &4 

of Uquurs, ih.«, 101. 
••Alwiholic loloxU'allur^on Clirtjn- 

le," by SV. Marcit. W. A. 

TuWTi»«?ad A Adaouti N. Y^, 

AUToilnarn, a»S. 

American DruirzlstsTrtrc Current, 

" Jammry. *CB, 57. 

» Fi'bru»ry, '6!*, 106. 

March, 69, 1<». 

•* Aprf. m SSI. 

May, "W, ST8. 

•• June, '60, »4I. 

"American Journitl of J^clenccand 

Art," .\J»r. h, '69, 22. K 

"Amrrieau >»turuUit, the," 104. 

AnB;<thetic», linprovwiiieut tn, ^a. 

•♦ Anniml of !*cieiiUfli: DUcovery," 

\A(S9. Ed. by ». KiiL-elaud, 

A.M., M.l>. Biwtun: 0"Ulil4 

LUicuin, 'i^iO. 

AoiWrrs ti> Correspondent*, M, 

104, 8«0. 
ArUnds, |KrJ»»ida,a40. 
Atomic notAtlun, iho. U O or BiO, 

A(»in\ thi- numerical relations of, 

new etcniunu [irvdiol«d, 817. 
Auf'ini borfalU, thu, 8ST. 
the. and tb« ttlegraph, 889. 

Btowrii'E, a mw self «*^1ng, IflT. 
Boiird of Iteattb and Uic gua uul- 

aaifict*. K*. 
Butler waiei^i of the Paelfle Rail- 

rofld, 88s 
r»Uh\v»ile*» Retrospect of Pme- 

ticiil M. dltln.-' An<t Mif;,n.'ry '^ 

Part Ivlil.. Jaiu WfiB. New 

York: W A. TyWLU*nd &, 

AdumA, 1(4. 
BrevflW {Mt. U»4,«(l. 
** Buff do MvdlcAl aod BorgloJiil 

Journal." J 04. 

"OilAAACTtK, bow to Re*tL*' N. 

y ; H. K. Wella. «0 
'•Ohemlciil Phllo*(»phy. First Prtn- 

ci\Arnt <>l, ' Pari I,, by J. P. 

( ,..k -1r. CaiubrbhiB : Wiilch^ 



» 

Clieiiilclry. • new Dictionary of, 

108. 
*' th(t new FrcDch DlctloDAry of;"' 

217. 
** Iu««rpiDfo and Onrajale, Lesstm* 

Iti kitsjncuiarv." Hr H. K. 

KaariK", B A., r. K,-S. Lntidon : 

M- "■■'■ '-<^., N.Y.:t>.Vwi 

K^ 
0.>DCM .JH by, 54. 

OuOk..', .'. i M. iir»i Prltid|de8 

of Uhenileiil Phlli.*o[»by/' Part 

l.Cnmbrldjfc; W«l(;li, Blgcluw 

A Co., 320. 
CorrfBpon^loiita, Aaswerft to, 06, 

lr»4. 22iK 
Cra«klng uf petr»leatu, 103. 

•• alia. IC'j. 

Cracking again, 819. 



Dbad clacfllcfl fjT, llvtnff Mlenc*. 

Thii at.*w wlunation, 819. 
Disad, our, of l*OS, ftO. 
Dewr, ihi« theory of; ft froMO 

ndiie, 370, 
•* Danratw UialbeslB. tbe ; or, Ec«e- 

ina and ita allietl AJTe^tlotuu*' 

By A, Hardy.M.D., lt>4. 
DrngM^U" Price Current, the 

American, Jan,, l&6t>. 67- 
Feb., I^b9, 105, 

" " MiircL, I84l». 109. 

" '' April, lSfl», 221. 

♦• " May, l96iK 278. 

" •* JuDd, l»69. 841. 

** EniJt«iTBon Ekview," January, 

IS4iV. 2-20. 
Etghti'ea hundred and ilxty eight, 

our di'iiil of iU. 
"Electro Ch.Tinkal lUth, the." 

London : Trmbnor He. Co. ; Now 

Yorl, ; John W Ik) & Son. 273. 
£]eIn«^tf^ pairing of ihe, n ttist of 

iha atomic nuinbeia, 870, 
palrlDt: nf ib.^ mO. 
'* Lto 'llMoal Dl*fa4^t» »( the Sym- 

Kiitbt^tlo Nerves," Murray, 
lew Y«rk ; W. A, Townacud 
dk Adam«, 104. 
Ex|»l(i«ion by conruuton, 54, 
ExpluiStotiv the philosophy of, &S, 

Food, adultkirallon of, ftl 



Gas Nuisance^ ttio, and tbe Board 

of Heiillli, 108, 
"G«;ol«>gy, KJewn'titafy." By Ed. 

iHlLheoHjk, D.D., LL.D.» 66. 
•*Qynec«j|Mgy, (.^oatrlbutioos t»>. 

No, 8." Ily J. Bynu., M.l>. 

New i'ork: W. A. Towmscnd 

ft Adaws, 2T2. 

nOorHjO,* The atomic notation, 

81S. 
" HvBterhi " By F, O, &key, P.ItB. 

6«<sjiid AuL Kd. N. Y.: W. 

A. Tuwiueud At Aduui», 880. 

KtToiiK,H, revolution In the, IVS. 

Kueelanii, H., A.M., "Annual of 
l^ckntiflc DfBCorery," 1S<1I>, 
BoAtoti : Gotittl A Uncotn, S-iO. 

Ltg^iroM, the adultoratlnn of, 101. 
Lye«aiu of Nutorul lllalury, the 
New York, 230. 

•♦ Majt. Wh^ir^ Whence, and 
Whither.'' By David Page, 
LJ*,f>., F.ltSE,, »-.4i.i?.. &(?, 
New York : W, A. Towujsi nd 
ic Adama, 104. 

tlccbuuiu^, u <}ue4tl'ju iu, 108, 871. 

.Mint*, a iiofen. Tbo theory of 
l>ew, 870, 

Nn-RrmLTCSBiNt. an improvement 

111 the luanufi^cture of, 1C61. 
Nitrous o3Ci«U% oxvtfonrtt*;d. A new 

an(e«thetic, lifi. 
New Publicution>,;.«. 104, 168, 880, 

272. 
New York Lyc>oum of Natural 

History, 220. 
Koleiice tti, 108. 

'* OHfiTlfTiuo\ the Ameriean Jour- 
nal of, iind DlBoasis of Wmujc ti 
and Children. ' N. Y. : W. A. 
Towu»t>iiil &, Ad.kua, 97'i. 

aili, cra^jklog of, l(V>. 

" Optica. Iha Aoiidcrs of." N, Y.: 
ChiirlvB 5eilbinT * to, 278. 

Oxygen pmceaa, tiie new ; an apo* 
iogy - juit once." 1*1. 

Oxygi-n:it4.td nitrous uxide, A new 
anos^thetlv-, 102. 

Oxyiiydrugeu light, the, 631. 



Pacino railroad, boiler w«t«rv of J 

the, 888. 
FalrlJig of the elcmenta, 389, 
Paraphleta, M. 104. 272. 
Periaaada, artlndii. »*J, 
Petrob-um, omcJiliip of, 102. 
•' Phttosuphy, A-Ttxt-bookof Nft- 

ifuraL" ily L. C. Cooluy. LV 

$crlbner«!k Co., N.Y„ Atl. 
PhlhiMHJ'phv of Kxplo^iiDft, tlict, 68, 
Pboa,<horlc actd lii aullt ttud lu iroa 

on », 26*9. 
Physlcii lluid* of Life, 272. 
" Phy»lc4i UttsU of Liie." By T. 

h. UiJJtby, LLl>., K.it.!?. 

Y'^ole Oollegf, New Uu\'cn, 

Couu. : The tJuUege Cuuraoi, 

279. 

QuEsnoH In roechantcs, 103, til. 

dciCNCK and SupernaturatEam, 8S7. 
In New York, 108. 

SclentlUc TracL ?!oi;l,.ty, Kk. 

*'al#!bi. Color, EU'ctnoJty nod Mag- 
netism, TfirntUcA oil,"' By i. 
F. Jtncken, M.V. IrAiialaied 
and profitcvd by bittoilciU 
and crlllcal e»sa>i». liyHtU' 
ry It. ..U'lickc-n. Lo«J..u: 
1 rubner it Co, New York : 
Juhu Wilry A t>oo, 272. 

Bkey, F. C, Kli.H., "avHlerla," 
second Am, td. N.'V.: W*. 
• 'liuja, r2l>. 



A. Tliw 
Spirit pb- 
Slate |£tfot' 
•'Stock lii... 

By C. A 



, .-, i;72. 

■i r. lUlUUttl, lh«." 

Cameron, Pkl>,, 
M.l>. London uqiI New York : 
LaaaeJl, Palter * tJ«^i>ln, W. 
*'9iig.kr Itai-ct, the.* by U. Nicoll, 

Siiperuaturaltain aud Science, U97. 

TiEt.EaRAi'11, the, and the Aurora. 

HS9, ^ 

'* Thunder and LkLtolBg,*' New 

i urk : C. Soibuer Jk Cg.. 87t. 

" Vxs iSoirKMnvi^i EcU'ctlc Kagl- 
nevrtng Magtizine," &G. 

" WESTMtNftTKR fit view," JaDBOTT 
l!»G», 220. ' 



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